Feng Chen never could recall any warning signs before the apocalypse arrived all those years ago.
If you really squinted, perhaps losing the backpack keychain Yan Bubu gave him that day had something to do with it.
April 7, 2105.
“Young Master Feng, the plane leaves for home in half an hour. We should be going now. Do you have any more things to pack?”
A military officer stood in a simply furnished dormitory for one, head slightly bowed and voice respectful.
Across from him was a well-built teen who was fixing his tie in the mirror. His reflected features were very handsome. The steadfast aura he gave off belied his still childish features.
Feng Chen did not reply. He turned and walked out of the room. The officer picked up his suitcase and backpack before following.
There were several teenagers congregated on the lawn outside the dormitory building, shaking hands and saying farewell to one another. Feng Chen’s appearance made them all unconsciously go quiet. The smiles on their faces stiffened.
Feng Chen walked towards the main entrance without even glancing their way. The sunlight spilling down from the side made his somewhat pale skin glow like cool jade.
One teen watching him leave quietly grumbled, “This guy took first place in the Juvenile Division Eagle Special Warfare Training again.”
“Isn’t it because you’ve been sick and off your game recently? You’ll beat him for sure next year.” One of the others said comforted.
“But I’ll be fifteen next year! That’s too old to take part.”
“Ah, what should we do then? Feng Chen’s only twelve or something. Does that mean we have to let him beat us for three more years?”
“There’s no point comparing yourself with freaks.”
They weren’t exactly quiet. Feng Chen remained expressionless as he got into the jeep waiting at the gate, swiftly departing the training center.
Half an hour later, at a nearby military airport, a small private plane shot into the sky for the distant United States.
In the cabin, the officer put away the rest of the luggage as the TV blared news in the background. Feng Chen leaned back in his seat and turned his phone, which had been off during training, on.
The moment the screen lit up, several messages appeared.
Mother: [Feng Chen, when your training is over, we’ll go on a family vacation to the island.]
Mother: [Feng Chen, your Uncle Chen is going to give a speech as part of his presidential campaign in Hong City. Your father is an old friend of his so we have to attend. Adjutant Wang will pick you up.]
Feng Chen glanced at the date that message was sent.
Yesterday.
He set down his phone and tuned into the voice of the anchorwoman.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“…It isn’t known yet if General Feng Zaiping will be present for Chief Magistrate Chen Size’s speech–”
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Actually, he did feel a little under the weather. He’s had an unexplained low fever for a while now. It always quickly disappeared after some time, so he didn’t think much of it.
It was back now. He couldn’t help but raise a hand to his forehead. The officer, who was extremely good at reading other people, only needed to ask a few questions before setting his marching pack down and going to get medicine from the flight attendant.
Feng Chen was the only one left in the passenger cabin. He looked at the black marching backpack and suddenly noticed that the keychain on it was missing.
A brown, fluffy accessory made to resemble a bear or perhaps a rabbit. He never paid it much mind. Only when something occasionally tapped his backpack lightly did he remember its existence.
Of course, he couldn’t help but think of Yan Bubu as well.
Yan Bubu often stuffed odd things into his backpack before he left the house, ending with him once using a chocolate that looked like an eraser during a test. Even worse, he had pulled out a small, colourful sword under the watchful eye of his combat instructor.
He was very angry, sure, but Yan Bubu was only six years old. He could only chastise him sternly and intimidate him with a glare.
It was very effective on everyone else. They all left him alone afterwards, but Yan Bubu proved to be the exception.
Yan Bubu was incredibly thick-skinned. Right after being disciplined by him, that curly mop of hair would hover around him again.
Feng Chen could only endure and pretend Yan Bubu didn’t exist. He would be going to a military boarding school in a few years anyway. Yan Bubu would disappear from his life then.
He hadn’t thrown the keychain away not because he liked it, but because he had grown used to being indifferent. He was used to ignoring all traces of Yan Bubu’s existence.
“Young Master, would you like to rest for a while? The plane won’t arrive for several hours.” After Feng Chen took some medicine, the officer retrieved the glass of water and asked.
Feng Chen nodded. Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes.
He sensed the blackout shade being lowered and his seat being reclined. A thin blanket covered his body. Soon, he fell asleep to the monotonous hum of the plane.
***
The sun was shining bright today. After one of the maids, A-Mei finished her tasks, she hurried back to the servant accommodations and brought a blanket to air out in the small courtyard.
The dark coloured wet patch on it made A-Mei ask with a sullen expression, “Yan Bubu, did you drink water again before you went to bed last night?”
Under the eaves stood a six year old boy with his thumbs in the chest pocket of his dark blue overalls. His mess of curly hair shifted as he lowered his head and mumbled, “Yeah.”
“Didn’t I tell you not to drink water before bed?”
Yan Bubu lightly kicked the leg of the table in front of him with a sneaker-clad foot. He replied in a small voice, “I only drank a little because I was thirsty and couldn’t sleep.”
“How much is a little?”
“Just a glass.”
“A full glass?”
“…En.”
A-Mei unfolded the blanket. She felt a little lightheaded. Sure enough, she was running a low fever again when she checked. She said with slight annoyance, “Which six year old still wets the bed? People will laugh if this gets out. From now on, even if you are thirsty, don’t drink too much before going to bed.”
“Got it.”
Seeing that A-Mei was done scolding him, Yan Bubu asked, “Mommy, is the young master coming back today?”
“It seems like it. Adjutant Wang went to pick him up yesterday.”
Yan Bubu’s big eyes glittered with joy. He bounced in place, sending the soft curls on his head flying in every direction. Two strands slipped in front of his ears.
A-Mei turned to give him an admonishing look. “Bubu, when the young master comes back, you shouldn’t scurry over to him all the time anymore. It’s not polite, got it?”
“Got it.” Yan Bubu smiled cheekily, the sun making him squint a bit. He spread his arms and began to spin around happily.
A-Mei knew that he was just promising for the sake of it, but there was nothing she could do. She sighed and walked back towards the main house. “There’s a piece of cake on the table. Wash your hands before you eat.”
Yan Bubu responded while spinning around, looking at the endless blue sky above, the servant accommodations, and his mom walking into the main building.
He could usually spin like this for a long time, but a wave of dizziness soon hit him. He staggered.
He tried to hold onto the nearby small table, but his feet felt like they were stepping on cotton. After a few drunken steps, he fell on his bum.
Yan Bubu stared ahead somewhat dazedly, watching the lawn in the yard undulate like seawater and the pencil straight buildings in the distance bend like wheat fields blown by the wind.
A loud rumbling came from deep beneath the earth, as if an unknown beast imprisoned there was roaring.
As the ground shook violently, the concrete slab above his head cracked. A section broke off and smashed down beside Yan Bubu. The dust and the loud sounds of building collapsing made him unable to stand. He could only instinctively crawl forward.
“Bubu–”
He vaguely heard his mother’s soul-wrenching cry from the direction of the main house. He was just about to respond when darkness enveloped him.
***
The plane was descending. Feng Chen looked through the porthole at the familiar city below.
Haiyun City was surrounded by the sea on three fronts. One structure here was particularly eye-catching. Standing more than a kilometer tall, Haiyun City’s landmark Haiyun Tower pierced the clouds.
Sunlight shone through the porthole, gilding the teen’s fair skin with a layer of gold. His aloofness was softened to a degree, making his features even more handsome.
“Young Master, will you head straight home later?” The officer asked.
Feng Chen had just woken up. His low fever had receded and he was in much better spirits. “Yes.”
The plane accelerated its descent. Its landing gears touched the ground and glided steadily down the runway.
The officer stood up to open the overhead compartment as Feng Chen went to unbuckle his seatbelt.
Boom!
Suddenly, there was a strange sound from somewhere in the cabin. The plane lurched violently.
The officer muttered under his breath, “What’s going on? Wasn’t the runway cleared?”
Feng Chen subconsciously looked out the window, but the scene that appeared before him made his pupils contract instantly. He was frozen like a statue.
The airport terminal in the distance had become slanted to an incredible degree, collapsing with a crash and stirring up a metric ton of dust.
In the white smoke, some people could be seen running towards the tarmac, but wide cracks suddenly spread through the flat road like it was glass and instantly swallowed them whole.
Feng Chen couldn’t hear anything outside in the airtight cabin, only his own rapid breathing. He didn’t have time to think about what was happening before the plane lurched violently again.
Oxygen masks popped down from above the seats as the officer shouted, “Don’t panic, we’re not under attack! Just sit tight.”
The two flight attendants in the back also rushed to take a seat and ask the captain about the situation over the intercom.
The plane shook as it rushed forward. Feng Chen saw how the runway and lawns all seemed to be kneaded and pulled apart by a pair of giant, unseen hands. Some places were squeezed into hills while others collapsed and fell into the depths of newly formed cracks.
Boom! Another loud bang as the plane tilted to the left. Luggage fell from the compartments and smashed into the wall of the cabin.
Amidst the screams of the two flight attendants, Feng Chen gripped the seat panel tightly and watched as two planes parked on the tarmac slid into a wide, bottomless crevice.
“Get your oxygen mask on!” The officer shouted at him.
Feng Chen returned to his senses and quickly pulled the oxygen mask swinging in front of him over. He followed what he learned in case of emergency in training, and buried his head in his knees, pressing them tightly together.
The runway behind the plane was falling away in chunks while the tarmac ahead twisted irregularly like an earthworm. The pilot was probably trying to regain altitude, but it was no longer possible to pick up enough speed. They slammed back into the ground and continued forward.
White smoke billowed into the cabin as alarms blared. The plane rocked several times as if it were about to tip over before making a sudden sharp turn to the right and crashing into the lawn there.
A strong impact suddenly struck, sending Feng Chen flying forward before his seatbelt slammed him back into his seat. Amidst the terrified screams of the flight attendants, his head buzzed and he lost consciousness.
I’m going to try updating once a day or more until we hit chapter 20. Happy reading!
Damn im so freakin looking forward to this!! Thanks for ur hard workkk!!!!
Exciting! Can hardly wait for next chapter 🤣💥❤️🤣
Wow, what a start.
already liking this and yan bubu sounds like ikr such a fun little guy 👀
Thank you for the chapter! 🤍💚🤍💚🤍💚🤍💚
Whoa 😳
Can’t wait for more chapters!
But I’m so confused, why should they wear oxygen masks if they’ve just landed? The masks are there to provide air to passengers in case the plane has a depressurisation event at high altitude… Won’t help if the plane crashes on the ground 😅
Unless the plane is actually on fire, but in that case they should probably just get out of there ASAP
I was wondering the same, I’m just going to assume they were panicking and thought “better safe than sorry”. Anyway, it doesn’t hurt to wear them (I think) 🤷♀️
I also don’t understand how they didn’t see the city falling apart before they landed, but again it might be that they were unlucky enough to land just as the earthquake started.
Intense! Ty
What an intense opening 😍
Gonna read how the cp get along now, Feng Chen didnt seem ti like Yan Bubu, but that the intresting part