Chapter 108

Chapter 108: The Gate of Rebirth in the Apocalypse – Full Novel Website

Chapter 108

Gu Ning’s daily life now consists of riding in cars, beating people up, and killing zombies.

After spending three days in one city, Ji Jiuzhe takes her to another.

It’s been three weeks since she last went home. She’s either flying in the sky or running on the ground, but she always calls Gu Mama in advance to let her know, so she doesn’t worry. Gu Mama is always concerned that she’s not eating well outside and wants to go to her rental place to cook for her for a few days, but Gu Ning firmly refuses.

Additionally, she hasn’t forgotten her worn-out weapons from the apocalypse. She calls Zhuang Chen to ask if there are any powerful cold weapons available.

Zhuang Chen doesn’t even ask questions and agrees immediately, saying it will be taken care of by the time Gu Ning returns.

This is what Gu Ning likes most about Zhuang Chen—she never probes unless Gu Ning brings it up herself. Whether it’s the Celadon Glazed Sunflower Wash or this cold weapon, Zhuang Chen never pushes. Every time, Gu Ning feels grateful she didn’t quit during the oath-taking. If she had made a different choice back then, her connection with Zhuang Chen might have ended.

So far, Gu Ning has traveled to three cities, starting from the bottom of the pyramid with the seventh, sixth, and fifth squads. She hasn’t encountered any opponents who could truly challenge her yet.

Moreover, in the midst of one intense battle after another, she doesn’t feel any fatigue or burnout. Instead, she feels incredibly energized, both mentally and physically. Her combat skills are also improving day by day, and she learns something new from every opponent, keeping her constantly curious about the next one.

At the same time, she notices that Ji Jiuzhe’s attitude toward her is becoming more “friendly.” After all, mentoring someone with good comprehension is quite interesting. Perhaps as her own strength improves and Ji Jiuzhe’s attitude shifts, Gu Ning’s initial awe of him has gradually faded. Instead of the pressure-filled superior-subordinate relationship, it now feels more like a partnership between equals.

While Gu Ning’s life is incredibly fulfilling, she has no idea about the trouble Jiang Yu is facing.

After the treasure appraisal show aired last Sunday, the Northern Song Dynasty Celadon Glazed Sunflower Wash, confirmed as genuine on the show, quickly dominated the headlines of major portals. Posts about the Celadon Glazed Sunflower Wash sprouted like mushrooms on forums, and Jiang Yu, the owner of the artifact, who is stunningly beautiful, elegant, and has a pleasant voice, instantly became a sensation! Many online hailed her as a goddess.

The show’s previous record for discussion volume was around five million, but after this episode, online discussions skyrocketed to over twenty million and were still climbing. Even the shocked expressions of the experts on the show when they saw the Celadon Glazed Sunflower Wash were captured and turned into popular memes.

However, just as major websites and media were gearing up to contact Jiang Yu for interviews about her newfound fame due to the two-billion-yuan antique, an even more explosive piece of news broke out!

A set of photos, clearly taken with a phone backstage at the TV station, quickly spread online, accompanied by a detailed explanation. According to the whistleblower, after the show’s recording, two women stormed into the dressing room, claiming that Jiang Yu had taken the Celadon Glazed Sunflower Wash without permission to appear on the show! Photos were also taken of the two women taking the artifact away.

In the photos, Jiang Yu’s pale and embarrassed face suddenly looked despicable, while the other two women had their faces completely blurred, making them unrecognizable.

The online sentiment is always volatile. In the morning, it was all envy, jealousy, and admiration, with people praising her beauty and elegance. By the afternoon, it had turned into sarcasm and ridicule, with terms like “green tea b*tch” and “desperate for fame” flooding the comments.

Jiang Yu’s phone was bombarded all day, and the news quietly spread within the company. In the morning, she was basking in compliments, but by the afternoon, everyone was looking at her differently.

Jiang Yu hid in the bathroom, scrolling through the vicious comments online. She felt her blood rushing to her head, her mind going numb, and she almost dropped her phone.

After leaving the bathroom, she planned to ask her boss for leave. But as soon as she stepped out, a girl called out to her, “Jiang Yu, Manager Huang wants to see you in her office.” Her tone was clearly disdainful.

Jiang Yu, disheartened, entered Manager Huang’s office, already sensing what was coming. Sure enough, Manager Huang didn’t beat around the bush or even ask about the online rumors. She simply said, “Jiang Yu, you don’t need to come to work tomorrow. Come by on Friday to settle your salary with finance.”

“Manager Huang…” Jiang Yu wanted to explain, to salvage the job she had worked so hard to get. She was just one week away from passing her probation… But Manager Huang didn’t give her a chance, cutting her off coldly, “You don’t need to explain anything to me. I’ve always recognized your professional skills, but this matter has blown up too much online. I have to make a decision before it affects the company. I’m sure you understand.”

Jiang Yu looked into Manager Huang’s deep eyes, feeling a lump in her throat. In the end, she could only nod reluctantly.

Manager Huang showed a satisfied expression, “Good. I’ll have finance add an extra month’s salary for you. You can go now.”

Jiang Yu struggled to stand up from the chair, her mind in a daze as she pushed the door open and walked out. She could feel numerous eyes on her—disdainful, sympathetic, gleeful…

Yet, amidst these gazes, Jiang Yu slowly straightened her back, suddenly becoming spirited. She held her head high and walked out of the company she had worked at for nearly three months. The moment she stepped out of the company doors, her energy seemed to drain completely. She hailed a taxi and headed straight home. Right now, all she wanted was to go home.

“Jiazhi, isn’t this the girl who had dinner with you last time?”

Having just completed a project, Lu Jiazhi treated the team to a meal. A male colleague, who usually got along well with him, suddenly leaned over with his phone and asked.

Lu Jiazhi frowned slightly at the smell of alcohol from the man’s breath, but his eyes immediately froze when they landed on Jiang Yu’s face on the phone screen. He took the phone and confirmed—it was indeed Jiang Yu.

He quickly skimmed through the news and instinctively clicked on the photo set. However, his gaze soon fell on the blurred figures… That tracksuit looked exactly like one Gu Ning owned…

The male colleague was still asking, “Right? It’s the girl from last time, isn’t it?!”

“She’s my friend’s sister. I’m not very close to her; we just had some business dealings last time,” Lu Jiazhi said casually, handing the phone back.

The colleague took the phone and added, “This girl is really bold. She probably didn’t know how valuable that thing was. If the owner really presses charges, a two-billion-yuan antique! She could be looking at several years in prison! She must be desperate for fame.”

Lu Jiazhi smiled absentmindedly, took a few sips of his drink, and suddenly stood up.

The colleague called out, “Where are you going?”

“To the restroom,” he said, heading in that direction.

He stood in the corridor near the restroom, pulling out his phone and scrolling through his contacts.

His parents’ numbers were followed by Gu Ning’s new number.

Gu Ning often changed her number due to unpaid bills, and each time, she asked him to save her new number right after his parents’.

So this time, even without her asking, he instinctively placed her number after his parents’.

He stared at the familiar number for a long time but didn’t call.

Just as he was about to put his phone away and return to the dinner, a text message came in.

He opened it—a multimedia message from Zhang Ji.

The content was simple: a photo and a line of text.

The text read, “I’m in Qingping. I think I saw Gu Ning.”

The photo showed two people’s backs.

One tall, one short; one male, one female.

The woman was wearing a tracksuit with striking golden short hair. Lu Jiazhi recognized that back immediately—it was Gu Ning. Qingping? What was she doing in Qingping? Lu Jiazhi frowned slightly, looking at the man standing next to her. He was wearing a long black coat, standing tall, and was significantly taller than Gu Ning. Just from the back, Lu Jiazhi felt an inexplicable chill.

This man was even taller than the one he had seen at the hospital, and his back was unfamiliar.

He thought about Gu Ning’s recent attitude toward him. Was it because of this man?

During the three months Gu Ning was missing, he realized how much she had left in his life, how many habits she had formed around him. A month after Gu Ning went on her trip, Gu Mama called to say she was missing. He had always known how much Gu Ning liked him, but he wasn’t sure if he liked her back. He was just too used to having her around, his mind always preoccupied with planning his career and future, never taking the time to think about what Gu Ning truly meant to him.

But the next day, he put a hold on the tightly scheduled project he was working on and flew to the city Gu Ning had said she was traveling to. Upon landing, he immediately contacted local police and media, using his connections to spread the news of Gu Ning’s disappearance across social networks.

He stayed in that city for a whole week but found nothing, and as a result, he missed out on the project he had been following.

Then he returned to his normal routine—work, meetings, socializing. But at night, he would wake up abruptly from nightmares of Gu Ning suffering inhumane treatment.

This was the first time he truly understood fear. He had always had a smooth life—a harmonious family, many friends, and popularity among women. The only thing he had to strive for was his career. But after Gu Ning disappeared, he often felt afraid, afraid that she might never return.

Even then, he didn’t feel like he was going to lose her. But now, looking at the photo on his phone—just two backs—he felt a deep unease.

He finally understood that what Gu Ning had said to him wasn’t just out of anger.

He didn’t call Gu Ning immediately but instead called her home.

Gu Mama answered the phone.

Lu Jiazhi, unusually impatient, skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point, “Auntie, it’s me, Jiazhi. Is Gu Ning still tutoring?”

Gu Mama glanced at Gu Papa, mouthing “Lu Jiazhi” to him, then said, “Yes. What’s up, Jiazhi? Is something wrong?”

Lu Jiazhi said, “Yeah. I need to talk to Ningning about something. Do you have the address of the family she’s tutoring for?”

Gu Mama replied, “No. Ningning said she didn’t want me bothering her at work, so she didn’t give me the address. You should call her and ask.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Gu Papa got up to answer it and was surprised to see Fang Fa standing there. “Xiao Fang, what brings you here? Come in, come in!”

Fang Fa walked in with a bag of fruit, smiling, “No big deal. Gu Ning has been busy because of my friend lately and hasn’t had time to visit. I was passing by after work and thought I’d drop in.”

“Ah! Xiao Fang is here!” Gu Mama’s eyes lit up, forgetting she was still on the phone with Lu Jiazhi. She excitedly said, “Great! I just cooked dinner! Stay and have a meal with us!”

Lu Jiazhi heard the young man’s voice and Gu Mama’s enthusiastic greeting. “Xiao Fang”—that wasn’t a family member. The voice sounded young and somewhat familiar… The man he met at the hospital was also surnamed Fang. And from Gu Mama’s tone, she seemed very happy…

Gu Mama finally remembered she was still on the phone and quickly said into the receiver, “Sorry, we have a guest! Jiazhi, do you need anything else?”

Lu Jiazhi paused, then said, “No, it’s fine. You go ahead, Auntie.”

“Bye then!” Gu Mama hung up without hesitation.

Lu Jiazhi stared at the ended call, falling into silence.

Gu Ning said she was tutoring, but Zhang Ji had photographed her in Qingping with a man.

When Gu Ning saw the flashing number on her phone, her expression changed subtly. She hesitated but answered, “Hello? What’s up?”

Lu Jiazhi’s voice came through, “Where are you now?”

Gu Ning paused, then said, “Working.”

Ji Jiuzhe glanced over at her.

Lu Jiazhi’s voice hesitated, then said, “Does tutoring require a business trip to Qingping?”

Gu Ning was taken aback, then coldly said, “What’s it to you, Mr. Lu?”

Then she hung up.

Hearing the dial tone, Lu Jiazhi was completely stunned.

After a while, someone shook him awake, “Jiazhi?! You’ve been in the restroom for half an hour! Did your soul leave your body?”

It turned out the others had noticed Lu Jiazhi hadn’t returned and sent someone to find him.

“I have something urgent to take care of. You guys enjoy the meal; I’m heading out,” Lu Jiazhi said, then hurriedly left.

After hanging up, Gu Ning had lost her appetite. She excused herself to Ji Jiuzhe and stepped outside to call Gu Papa. She wasn’t sure if Lu Jiazhi would bother her parents, so she wanted to give them a heads-up.

Ji Jiuzhe watched Gu Ning leave the room, then turned his gaze to the bubbling hot pot in front of him, deep in thought.