Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm

Our impromptu date, wetsuits and all, was exactly what I needed. Just the ability to relax around the guys and make jokes made all the difference in the world. Even the dead fish floating around the bottom of the tanks being eaten by the other fist wasn't enough to dampen our spirits. And now, I was more than ready to face whatever the commander was going to throw at us.

We made it to the docks around 1230, and before any of the Sea Dragons managed to. I sat that the end with my feet dangling in the water. Knowing I was the biggest bad around made it a lot easier to do shit like that.

"You're early," growled the commander. It was obvious that he wasn't impressed with our punctuality.

"What? I thought that you would be worried that we were going to be late, so to put your mind at ease, I thought being here 30 minutes ahead of schedule would make you happy," I said with a shrug of my shoulders as I stood up. My men flanked me, and the four of us watched as the Sea Dragons dragged oxygen tanks and other equipment behind them.

"Is that for us?" I asked, cocking my head to the side as the men threw them into the bottom of a boat like it was no big deal. To say I was unimpressed was an understatement.

"Well, last I checked, you can't exactly breathe underwater, now can you?" sneered Commander Huang Nian Zu. "Unless, of course, you are a reincarnated Goddess or something."

"Nope, no Goddess here," I said with a strained smile. "But I didn't know if those were for your men or if you had prepared them for me and mine. Unless, of course, you are all reincarnated Sea Dragons or something?"

"These ones are for you. My men have their own," confirmed the Commander, and I had never been so happy to have stol—

commandeered those oxygen tanks a few days ago. There was no way I was trusting the commander to have our best interests in his heart.

In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if there was just enough oxygen to get us to the device. I looked at Liu Wei, and he nodded his head, getting into the boat and inspecting the tanks. "What is he doing?" demanded the commander, glaring at my man.

"Inspecting the tanks," I replied as I crossed my arms. "I figured it is a lot like a parachute. You can never be too careful."

The commander only grunted as he looked at one of the men with an oxygen tank already on his back. "This is Jiang Chang Ming. He is in charge of the underwater team. You will be answering to him," he introduced as the new man came forward. I looked at his face for a second.

"Liu Wei, why does he look familiar?" I called out, my eyes never leaving the man in front of me. Maybe Beta will be able to get that snack after all.

"I had him pinned down on the beach a while ago," replied Liu Wei, only taking a second to identify the man before going back to inspecting the tanks.

"Ah, that's it," I said with a nod. "Nice to meet you. I am sure that we will get along fabulously well," I continued with a smile on my face. The other man grunted before turning to the other men behind him. "Guo De Lun, Luo Jia Yi, they will be coming down with us." Okay, so make that one man and one woman. Sorry, in my defense, it was really hard to know she was a woman in that wetsuit.

"Maybe we should discuss how this is all actually going to work? This is my first time really going scuba diving," I said with a shrug. If there was one thing I could do well, it was making people underestimate me.

"Are you serious?" demanded Luo Jia Yi. "You've never scuba-dived before, and you are coming into the water with us?"

"Well, I figured that if you wanted to live, it would probably be a good thing if I tagged along," I replied with an even bigger smile. "Besides, I'm already dressed for it."

I watched as the Sea Dragons all looked at each other with a smirk on their faces.

"And I didn't think that there was much need to know how to scuba-dive. After all, I am nothing but chum, right?" Yeah, that's right, bitch, I remember you too. A second snack for Beta. I turned to look at the commander. ｂｅ𝚍ｎｏ𝚟𝚎ｌ.𝚌𝚘ｍ

"Last time you did this, you lost six men. How many are you planning on losing this time?" I asked. Have I mentioned how fun it is to press buttons? I didn't even need Perky to be happy right now.

"I better have all of my men at the end of this dive," said the commander grinding his teeth.

"But not all of mine?" I replied, cocking my head to the side. "You might want to be more careful, commander. You need us more than you know." No longer bothering with them, I turned around and boarded the boat with Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han right beside me.

I closed my eyes and gently tugged on the bond between me and Beta. Within seconds, I could see a pair of eyes rising out of the water in the distance. Perfect. My ducks were all gathering like they should be. Now, hopefully, Beta and I were on the same page when it came to just how far his territory extended.

"Is everything okay?" asked Guo De Lun as he boarded the boat and walked over to where I was standing. He, too, looked off in the distance. "Quack, quack," I said with a smile on my face.

"You know, it's okay to be nervous," he said with a small smile as he looked at me. My eyes narrowed, trying to figure out his angle. Was he being a dick, or was he a genuinely nice guy?

"And if I am?" I asked seriously. "It's not like it will change anything."

"I can swim next to you; make sure you are safe," he suggested with a kind smile on his face. Wow, he might just be one of the few nice people left in the military.