The "Chosen One" Had Empty Pockets

It was still before the Apocalypse, and Long Tianyu had no money in his pockets.

So they held their meeting in an old factory building, with drafts blowing in from every side. The three of them sat on the floor, a supermarket shopping bag filled with beer and snacks in front of them.

-the "chosen one" was still in his growth phase, and money was a little tight.

Of course, neither of the other two minded.

They were just as broke.

Ke Jiaxue munched on potato chips and asked curiously, "Tianyu, what happened before you were reborn? Can you tell us?"

Zhang Kun reached into the chip bag and grabbed a handful, his eyes equally eager.

There was nothing to hide. Long Tianyu took the beer out of the plastic bag, cracked open a can, and took a long swig before slowly recounting his previous life.

In his previous life, he had survived until the second year of the Apocalypse, awakening his Flash Ability during the first year.

At first, however, his Flash Ability had not been powerful.

His teleportation range had been very short, and he had suffered plenty because of it.

But later, as his range increased, he had become the perfect assassin, able to appear beside anyone in an instant.

He would catch them off guard, break through their defenses, and complete the assassination.

He had become a somewhat well-known Superpower Person and joined a powerful team of Superpower People.

Later, however, a group of concealed Otherkind had killed them while they were fighting over meteorite fragments.

Even after exhausting his ability, he had still died at the hands of the Otherkind.

The fear of death lingered over him, but soon he lifted his chin and regained his fighting spirit.

Long Tianyu let out a breath.

Fortunately, everything was different now.

He had been reborn.

Using his memories from before his rebirth, he had tracked down many Superpower People from his previous life. Unfortunately, none of them had awakened yet except Ke Jiaxue and Zhang Kun.

Ke Jiaxue, a Water Esper, had actually been a bonus.

A Space Esper had been his real target.

But Space Espers were extremely rare. Long Tianyu had only encountered a few in his previous life, and the strongest among them had been a Spatial Ability User named Li Wanyun.

Yet since his rebirth, he had been unable to find Li Wanyun and had no idea where she was.

Presumably, she was somewhere out there living an ordinary pre-Apocalypse life.

He had not found Li Wanyun, but he had found Zhang Kun.

Zhang Kun's space was only an ordinary storage space. Unlike Li Wanyun, he could not use it in combat, but that was fine. Long Tianyu could handle the fighting himself.

-a Space Esper's value lay in helping him stockpile supplies, anyway.

At the thought of fighting, Long Tianyu's breathing quickened.

Before his death in his previous life, his maximum range had been a hundred meters per teleportation, and five consecutive long-range jumps would exhaust his ability.

After his rebirth, however, he had become even stronger.

Not only had his maximum range reached two hundred meters, but he could also teleport ten times in succession.

What did that mean?

Within two kilometers, he was the undisputed king!

He had not only been given a second chance but had also become even stronger. If that did not make him the chosen one, what did?

This was his greatest cheat!

But...

Long Tianyu looked puzzled. "I was reborn before the Apocalypse, and my ability became stronger. But the two of you, Superpower People who awakened before the Apocalypse, are also incredibly powerful... several times stronger than the Superpower People who had just awakened in my previous life. It's strange."

"Could people who awaken before the Apocalypse be different from those who awaken afterward?" Zhang Kun suggested.

"Possibly." Long Tianyu frowned. "But in my previous life, I never heard of any Superpower People awakening before the Apocalypse. Back then, I got to know Jia Xue because I wanted to buy water. She was barely getting by, and she couldn't produce much water each day."

Yet in this life, right after his rebirth, she had already surpassed her previous self!

It was a very strange phenomenon.

It was not just him. The same was true of Zhang Kun and Ke Jiaxue.

The three fell silent.

Soon, Ke Jiaxue came up with an explanation. "It must be the butterfly effect caused by your rebirth, Tianyu!"

Realization dawned on Zhang Kun. "Right, that's very possible. Tianyu was reborn, so by anime logic, he's the protagonist. We're on the protagonist's side, so we got stronger along with him."

He smiled a little shyly and said softly, "Tianyu, I'll always follow you. I'll never betray you."

Seriously, anyone who betrayed the protagonist and opposed him was a villain.

Villains were destined to fail.

Hearing this, Long Tianyu smiled in satisfaction and nodded.

"Don't worry. We're a team. Even if more people join us in the future, you two will still be the ones I trust most. We started preparing before the Apocalypse, after all."

Thinking of the grain they had moved out of the granary, Ke Jiaxue's eyes shone, and her voice brimmed with excitement.

"We knew the Apocalypse was coming ahead of time, started stockpiling supplies while everyone else was still in the dark, and formed an ability team. Maybe the Apocalypse will be our chance to achieve something great..."

Long Tianyu nodded emphatically.

Before the Apocalypse, he had been an ordinary man still waiting for his chance. But this time, he had stockpiled supplies in advance, formed a team of Superpower People, and gained a powerful ability... He would become the king of the Apocalypse!

Ke Jiaxue said, "Let's give our ability team a name!"

Long Tianyu answered without hesitation. "The Phantom Ability Team."

"Phantoms..." Zhang Kun murmured. "Appearing and disappearing without a trace-isn't that just like a phantom? No one will know where we are or be able to catch us."

Ke Jiaxue said, "Then Tianyu is the Ghost King! Hahaha, that sounds so imposing."

Ghost King!

Long Tianyu smiled. Yes, "Ghost King" suited his ability perfectly. This time, he would make that title famous.

He raised his beer can, his face alight. "To the success of our first operation, and to the founding of the Phantom Ability Team."

"Cheers!" Ke Jiaxue and Zhang Kun immediately raised their cans and clinked them together hard.

The three happily downed a beer each.

As the alcohol went to her head, Ke Jiaxue opened her eyes wide. "Tianyu, what do we do next?"

Long Tianyu was feeling a little lightheaded too.

It was not just excitement. He was also a little... drunk.

During the Apocalypse in his previous life, everyone had been poor. Who had any alcohol to drink? His tolerance was therefore very low.

Two cans of beer were about his limit.

Long Tianyu's cheeks were slightly flushed, his gaze proud. "Keep stockpiling supplies, naturally. In my previous life, all of Stone City was wiped out. It's only right that we take its supplies."

They had no money, so they could only "shop" for free and milk the state for all it was worth.

"We already have grain. Next is..." Zhang Kun blinked.

Long Tianyu smiled. "You both said you'd eat well if you followed me, so naturally-we're stockpiling meat."

At the Doomsday Special Affairs Office camp.

"...So the punk with the Flash Ability is this young man named Long Tianyu." Hao Jingye briefly outlined Long Tianyu's entire life history.

From the age at which he had started school to the trouble he had gotten into there, other people's assessments of him, and the pay and circumstances of his various jobs...

There was even information retrieved from his phone, including but not limited to his contacts, chat logs, search history, purchase history, and so on.

-in short, they had laid his entire life bare.

Sheng An calmly looked through it.