Chapter 265 - 241: There’s Still Another SSR

Chapter 265: Chapter 241: There’s Still Another SSR

"Looks like you’ve got nothing to do either, Mr. Yu... Care for a game of chess at my place later?"

Ji Luo, also out of a job, spotted Yu Dong and sidled up to him.

"We can talk about chess later. It’s perfect timing, you being here. Let’s set a rebirth key, so I can activate you in my next life."

"Huh? Are you saying... you can be reborn again?"

"I don’t know, but it’s worth a shot... Better than doing nothing. Besides, it’s not like either of us is busy."

With that, the two dictators both laughed.

The research institute was no longer safe, so Ji Luo had led his 200-plus followers to the cruise ship base. They were absorbed into the military, and he landed himself an honorary title. The military had tried to recruit him for an internal management position, but Ji Luo refused.

’If I can’t be the boss, I’d rather not be involved at all.’

"As for a key... is it really necessary? You could just have Xufeng arrange a job for me in Yanhai City. If you told me when the apocalypse was going to start before it happened, I’d never believe you. But it should be simple enough to arrange for me to be by your side around that time. I’d believe you then, naturally."

’Lawyer Ji’s logic was impeccable. He’d just given Yu Dong a simple and clear method, one that was far easier than Uncle Yu’s idea of practicing two special moves.’

"That may be true, but... Lawyer Ji, I need you to believe I’m a Reincarnator from day one of the apocalypse. I need you to help me execute my plan. If there is a next life... I want you to lead the research institute again."

In this life, Ji Luo had managed the research institute brilliantly. He made excellent use of the nearby resources, ensuring they never lacked weapons or food, and even grew the settlement to a population of 200.

To achieve all that as a dictator was truly impressive. That was genuine leadership; it couldn’t be faked.

Sometimes, a person’s ability to lead has nothing to do with their status. Some people are just born leaders.

Yu Dong felt that Ji Luo, like Wang Dingbei, was a born leader.

The only difference was that Ji Luo leaned toward dictatorship, while Wang Dingbei favored a republic.

If there was a next life, Yu Dong would definitely continue to protect the research institute. He’d arrange for Professor Meng to finish the vaccine she couldn’t complete in this life. Over the past few days, Yu Dong had already read through all of Meng Dongqing’s previous experimental data.

And now he’d forgotten all of it.

No matter. His memory became perfect after he died.

’The research institute needed a stable environment and organization. It had to be capable of clearing out nearby zombies, providing for everyone’s material needs, and, most importantly, be under my control.’

Having Ji Luo, who had already succeeded once, take over the research institute again and repeat his success from this life was Yu Dong’s best option.

But just then, Ji Luo looked at Yu Dong with a thoughtful expression.

"I understand what you mean... But how about we play this a different way? I’ll tell you how to win my absolute trust the moment you’re reborn. Then, you share all the information from this life with me and let me start preparing seven days before the apocalypse. Let me set up the research institute my own way. What do you think?"

"So that’s how you want to do it..."

Yu Dong considered it. He recalled the phone call from Ji Luo on the second day of the apocalypse. After asking for information about the previous life... he had used that knowledge to develop with astonishing speed, establishing his own dictatorial settlement. His execution was both swift and sure... he had leveraged that information to the absolute limit.

’If Ji Luo had all my experience from this life, plus seven days to prepare... would he do any worse than I did?’

A jolt went through Yu Dong’s heart. An earth-shattering theory began to take shape in his mind!

The theory originated from a thought he’d had the first time he saw Ji Luo’s settlement.

His assessment of Ji Luo back then was: a "half-Reincarnator."

’If I give Ji Luo all my information seven days before the apocalypse... won’t he basically be another Reincarnator?’

Seeing the excitement in Yu Dong’s eyes, Ji Luo asked, puzzled, "Is it that you don’t want me to have my own ideas? You want me to set everything up according to your plan? Well... I can do that, but I think it would be exhausting for you. You’d be concentrating the entire mental load in your own head while mine sits idle just receiving orders. That’s not the optimal solution. I’m a lawyer; I’m supposed to do the thinking for my client. But if you insist... that’s fine by me. At least the ’me’ of the next life will survive."

"No, no, no! Lawyer Ji, you’ve misunderstood. I need your brain! I need it desperately! You’re absolutely right! One person’s mental capacity is limited. I’ll give you all the information, and then... you’ll have free rein! Now, please give me a key. I need a key that will make you trust me completely before the apocalypse."

"Correct. We must establish a relationship of absolute trust, or I won’t be able to act without hesitation. The key can’t be too simple. It’s like evidence; a single piece of evidence can be interpreted in different ways. Only interlocking pieces that form a chain of evidence can point to a single, undeniable conclusion. I’m going to give you a combination key."

It was as if a hot iron had smoothed out all the wrinkles in Yu Dong’s brain.

All the convoluted wrinkles were smoothed flat. He felt he was getting closer to the true secret of being a Reincarnator.

’The reason the key verifications with so many others had failed was because they were too simple!’

’A single secret proved nothing!’

"Qiao Ping’s one million... all that back-and-forth had been useless. In the end, he’d only succeeded by resorting to threats."

In his past life, he hadn’t used activation keys, but there was one person—and only one—who had been convinced through a cross-verified chain of evidence!

Xufeng.

First piece of evidence: He knew Xufeng had 50,000 in savings. That wasn’t enough to win his trust.

Second piece of evidence: He knew Xufeng was going to secretly meet a key person the next evening. At that point, Xufeng was eighty percent convinced and was already willing to help him however he could.

Third piece of evidence: Xufeng went to Officer Wang to check the ledgers and personally discovered how different Yu Dong had become. As his closest friend, Xufeng knew him too well. Someone who had spent months killing zombies in an apocalypse before being blown up and coming back was bound to be different. After that, Xufeng was completely convinced.

In this life, Xufeng had helped him immensely, from setting up the company to buying drones, crossbows, and fuel... Xufeng had helped bring many of his plans to fruition.

And Lawyer Ji had just grasped this concept intuitively!

’At that moment, Yu Dong finally realized... In this life, he had found a top-tier SSR!’

Ji Luo didn’t notice Yu Dong’s shocked expression. Having worked out the logic, he simply stated his combination key:

"I’ll give you three keys."

"The first is an unalterable, objective fact: In a hidden compartment in my safe, there is a DNA test report stating that my first love’s child is mine."

"The second is a private detail I would never divulge: I often wake with a start around three in the morning and can only go back to sleep after praying for forgiveness for the immoral things I have done."

"The third is a precise prediction of the future: Tell me something that can be verified that same day, like the winning numbers for the Shuang Se Qiu lottery, a stock price, or an earthquake... a public event that is difficult for any one person to manipulate."

Yu Dong was utterly stunned.

’Now *that* was professional.’

’*This* was professional!’

"Lawyer Ji, there’s one thing I don’t understand. If your first love’s child is yours, isn’t that a good thing? Why would you hide the report?"

"I’m not her husband."

"Ah, never mind then. I happened to see the Shuang Se Qiu lottery results in this life... I remember the winning numbers drawn at 9:15 PM on the day I was reborn, and I remember Tuesday’s numbers too." ℯ

"Don’t buy a ticket. Otherwise, the numbers will change."

"..."

’Lawyer Ji knows too much,’ Yu Dong thought.

After bidding farewell to Lawyer Ji, Yu Dong didn’t go to practice his shooting. Instead, he went to the villa base to visit Song Jinchuan, the leader of the War God Settlement and the Olympic Sports Center Base.

Time passed as Yu Dong continued to make his rounds, visiting various people.

Everyone was busy with their own lives.

Zhao Wenjie, having escaped death, returned and finally got together with Fu Yuanyuan. After a week of dating, they became intimate... Afterward, Fu Yuanyuan tearfully accused Zhao Wenjie of assaulting her and threatened to report him to the military. In the end, Zhao Wenjie, who had always been a penny-pincher, gave half his points to Fu Yuanyuan to settle the matter privately.

After returning, Huang Zhiqiang stopped going out and instead spent his days hanging around Qiao Ping’s place. Eventually, Qiao Ping was moved by Huang’s persistence and accepted him. Now unemployed, Huang Zhiqiang began to live off the niece of the cruise ship’s de facto controller.

Shen Xinyi and Yu Dong moved in together. After they came clean about their relationship, Liu Ye’ye was so furious she stopped talking to Yu Dong, vowing to ignore him in her next life as well.

Zhou Jian Country discussed his plans with Qiao Yunliang. He wanted to return to his lab in Kyoto, but the military would need to secure the airport before they could transport him, which would take some time.

...

「Day 125 of the Apocalypse.」

The War God Settlement was attacked. By the time the army arrived, the entire residential complex was littered with mangled body parts. The scene was a bloodbath...

"Cai Hong... has come."

According to Fan Zhenyu and Fan Zhenhuang, the leaders of the War God Settlement, they were attacked by an enormous, muscular zombie. It had devoured many of their people and abducted a large group, leaving only a few of them to escape.

The news terrified the other two settlements. Qiao Yunliang immediately ordered them to relocate to the cruise ship base.

The Binhai Avenue safe zone, which they had poured so much effort into creating, was no longer safe!

The few survivors from other small, scattered settlements also relocated there.

The cruise ship base grew crowded and tense.

The Lunar New Year was fast approaching, but everyone was on edge...