I swiped my phone open. A notification popped up.
Shocking. Jiangzhou heir Chen Lie sells off all family assets, buys abandoned prison in remote mountains.
I opened a live streaming app and randomly entered the number one trending local live stream. It was none other than my arch rival, Su Rui, son of Jiangzhou's richest man.
On stream, Su Rui sat in a luxurious downtown villa, swirling a glass of red wine, laughing uproariously.
"Haha, what's wrong with Chen Lie? Did he have some kind of breakdown?"
"Young Master Su, good thing I saw he was a lunatic early on, dumped him in time, and joined you. I heard he even dragged that aloof Jiang Xinyi off to get some gangster tattoos. So ridiculous."
As the camera shook, a glimpse of a newly inked red floral vine showed at Xiao Yujing's waist, seductive as blood.
I glanced at it, my eyes chilling slightly. Red spider lily. Xiao Yujing didn't have this tattoo in the past life. It seemed that this time, to please Su Rui, she was really putting in the effort.
Su Rui shouted excitedly at the camera. "Fam, get this. Chen Lie not only dumped money into that mountain hovel. I heard he spent over a hundred million ordering pork and rice from supermarkets, planning to live there forever. Haha."
The live chat exploded instantly.
Holy crap. Poverty has truly limited my imagination.
Are rich people's mental states always this advanced?
Jiang Xinyi is the goddess in our hearts. She's actually going to live in an air raid shelter with him?
Chen Lie must have water in his brain. He should be sent straight to the mental hospital.
Seeing the overwhelming mockery and abuse online, Su Xiaodao trembled with rage. "Brother Lie, that Su Rui is leading the charge online. Cyberbullying you like this, I'm going to settle this with him."
"Leave him be." I felt the sting of the needle piercing my skin. Watching Su Rui's smug face on the screen, my eyes were calm. "The higher he jumps now, the harder he'll cry later. Xiaodao, keep an eye on the supply convoy. Our doomsday fortress cannot have a single flaw."
A full seven days had passed since my rebirth. In these seven days, I had barely left this underground private room. Master Gui and his three apprentices worked in shifts, outlining by day, coloring by night, refining details at dawn. To meet the deadline, I even had someone procure from the black market military grade rapid healing gel and bionic repair patches. As each piece of tattoo was completed, the wound was immediately sealed with the rapid healing gel. Otherwise, my skin would never have endured such intensity.
Late on the seventh night, in Ghost Axe's innermost room, the sound of the tattoo machine finally ceased.
Su Xiaodao's Nezha and Erlang Shen were finished two days prior. Jiang Xinyi's Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden received its final stroke yesterday. And on my body, all four forbidden totems were complete at last. Pangu Separating Heaven and Earth on my chest. Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin on my back. Donghuang Taiyi on my left leg. The Great Sage Equaling Heaven on my right leg.
Master Gui removed his gloves, gazed at the patterns on my body, and let out a long sigh.
"It is done. Young Master Chen, in my entire life of tattooing, I've never taken a job as immense as this. Pangu Separating Heaven and Earth. Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin. Donghuang Taiyi. The Great Sage Equaling Heaven. Just this set of designs, in the entire Jiangzhou tattoo scene, no one could say they top old Gui."
I sat up in the tattoo chair. In the mirror, the four forbidden totems covered my chest, back and legs. Every line was sharp, ancient and weighty. Especially the Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin on my back. Nine black dragons coiled upward from either side of my spine, their scales overlapping. Their nine tails converged at the center of my back, firmly dragging an ancient black coffin. Crimson chains entwined the coffin. Though merely a tattoo, it exuded an indescribable aura.
Su Xiaodao circled me once, unable to suppress a gulp. "Brother Lie. This is way too hardcore. If I hadn't watched it being inked myself, I swear this thing moves at night."
I put on my clothes to cover the totems on my body. "For now, they're just tattoos. They won't truly awaken until the crimson moon descends."
Su Xiaodao was stunned. "Crimson moon?"
I didn't explain right away. I just checked the time on my phone. Twelve days until the crimson moon.
"Let's go. To Blackstone Base. Time to inspect our doomsday fortress."
Two hours later, we reached the remote mountains outside Jiangzhou City. Blackstone, the underground base, was nearly ready. The ventilation, the power core, the life support systems, all were online.
For the next twelve days, I barely rested. By day, I oversaw the final prep at Blackstone. By night, I used my rebirth energy to hold back the four forbidden totems.
Truck after truck rolled in. Rice, flour, frozen meat, canned goods, water, meds, diesel, heavy duty trucks, backup generators, military grade suits. I bought everything.
The world thought I'd lost it. I knew civilization's time was almost up.
The day before the crimson moon, the last shipment arrived. Rice, flour, water, cans, meat, meds, diesel, generators, suits piled to the ceiling. Three floors. The vault was packed.
Su Xiaodao stared, eyes wide. "Brother Lie. You planning to live in here forever?"
Jiang Xinyi watched in silence. She knew I'd stockpiled. But seeing this mountain of supplies made her frown. "Chen Lie, what are you preparing for?"
I didn't answer. I walked to the center, raised my right hand, and focused.
Whoosh.
Three stories high. Thousands of tons of supplies, gone. The packed underground vault emptied in a second. Only the floor's indentations remained, and a lingering smell of diesel and grain.
Su Xiaodao froze. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, then ran to the center. He circled the empty spot three times.
"Holy." He spun toward me, voice cracking. "Brother Lie, where is it? All that stuff, gone. I blinked and thousands of tons vanished. No trap doors, no magic trick."
Jiang Xinyi's reaction was more subdued, but those eyes of hers, usually so cool and calm, clearly lost their composure now. She slowly walked up to me, staring at my right hand. "Chen Lie, what on earth is going on?"
I was silent for a moment. At this point, there was no need to hide from them anymore. Less than twenty-four hours until the red moon descended. They had to know the truth.
I spoke slowly. "This is a companion space. It's related to some special changes in me, about rebirth."
I still didn't spell it all out. Not that I didn't trust them, but saying too much right now would only add to their mental burden.
I continued. "You just need to know this space can store a massive amount of supplies. And time inside is almost still. Food won't rot. Medicine won't expire. Diesel, weapons, crystal cores, all can be preserved long-term."
Su Xiaodao's jaw dropped. "So all that stuff you hoarded, you weren't planning to store it in the warehouse, but carry it with you?"