Chapter Four: A Different World

The person standing before her was the same one she had encountered downstairs, the one who had impersonated her younger brother. Jiang Yu was deeply puzzled as to how he had appeared inside her home, especially since she had seen no signs of forced entry on the doors.

Jiang Mu turned off the stove and looked at Jiang Yu. "Sis, what is wrong with you? I felt something was off when I saw you downstairs today. You haven't been possessed by some spirit, have you?"

"Are you really my brother?" If he truly was her brother, then things had become complicated.

"I’m the real deal," Jiang Mu replied, then hesitated. "Sis, you haven't lost your memory, have you?" Otherwise, how could she possibly forget that she had a brother?

Jiang Yu played along. "Yes, I’ve lost my memory. I don't remember much of anything from before. Can you tell me who else is in our family besides the two of us?"

Jiang Yu had now figured out a few things: she had been reborn before the apocalypse, but the location of her rebirth was not her original world. This unexpected brother had disrupted her initial plans. As a result, the trajectory of this world might differ from her previous one. She was deeply relieved that the location of the meteorite impact and the system’s selection process remained the same as in her past life. Otherwise, failing to obtain the meteorite fragments or being overlooked by the system would have made her situation far more precarious.

Jiang Mu sighed. "Sis, why don't we eat first? We can talk while we eat."

Jiang Yu nodded, served the food, and walked into the living room. Looking at the spread of delicious dishes, it seemed her brother had been well-trained in the culinary arts. She would certainly be well-fed from now on.

Over dinner, Jiang Yu learned that her parents were still alive and worked at a research institute. They also had an older brother who was married and lived only ten minutes away from this apartment complex. As for her parents, it was uncertain whether they would be able to return home under the current circumstances. However, their safety was likely guaranteed, as both had made significant contributions to the country.

"But I haven't heard from anyone in the family for months. Especially with what happened today, not a single person called me. Is my relationship with the family not very good?" Since arriving, the only calls she had received were from a debt collector and the phone company.

"Our family gets along just fine. Mom and Dad didn't call because their work prevents them from contacting the outside world. As for our big brother, he’s always so busy he barely has time to stand still; even his wife can't reach him unless it's an emergency. I guess today's events were so sudden he hasn't had time to deal with everything yet."

As for himself, he had been through a rebellious phase and had blocked everyone in the family, so he certainly wouldn't have reached out to her voluntarily.

"But, Sis, when did you become so strong?" When he first saw her kill that monster, he thought he was hallucinating.

"Right around the time you ran away from home."

***

Everything Jiang Mu said seemed consistent, yet one thing left her suspicious. "What made you decide to come back all of a sudden?" The timing was perfect; he had returned on the very day the apocalypse began.

Seeing that Jiang Yu was still doubting his identity, Jiang Mu patiently explained, "There have been many 'Awakened' people appearing lately. I sensed something was wrong, so I hurried back."

As he spoke, he seemed to recall something, his pupils contracting slightly as he said with lingering fear, "Sis, you have no idea. You almost lost your cute little brother today."

Jiang Mu had been nearly home when the world suddenly turned foggy. He had sensed danger instinctively. When the monsters began their assault, he watched as those around him were reduced to headless corpses, terrified that he would be next. He had scrambled to escape like everyone else, and fortunately, he had some martial arts training, allowing him to narrowly dodge the monsters' attacks several times. Otherwise, he wouldn't be sitting here eating dinner now.

"Then you were quite lucky." It seemed the family she had been reborn into was not simple. Being able to react nimbly and evade the attacks of the xenomorphs after being terrified was not something an ordinary person could do.

"You're not kidding. Sis, watching you kill that thing earlier, it looked so easy. Are they actually that easy to kill?"

"Yes, they are quite easy to kill. Do you want to try?"

"Can I?" To be honest, he felt a surge of excitement. Although he had been terrified when first confronting them, the fear had given way to a desire to strike back.

Jiang Yu nodded. "I'll take you tomorrow." Even if this person was her brother, he could not be a burden to her during the apocalypse. If he wanted to fight the xenomorphs, it was for the best; it would be a good way for him to familiarize himself with the threat.

"Thank you, Sis."

"Don't get ahead of yourself. If you end up in a life-or-death situation, I won't necessarily be able to save you."

"Got it," Jiang Mu nodded obediently. After the meal, he volunteered to do the dishes, though he tossed and turned in bed that night, unable to sleep.

***

His phone chimed. Jiang Mu checked it and saw a text message from an unknown number: *Bring her to see me tomorrow.*

Jiang Mu glanced at the message and deleted it. In the darkness of the room, he sneered: If they wanted to see her, why didn't they come themselves?

The next day, after breakfast, Jiang Yu took Jiang Mu out.

"Sis, why have those things disappeared?" They had been walking for a while without seeing any xenomorphs. "Sis, what's wrong?"

Jiang Mu noticed Jiang Yu standing still and looked at her in confusion.

Jiang Yu’s gaze toward him turned cold. "Are you that eager for them to be around?" Having lived through one cycle of the xenomorph invasion, she loathed them deeply and wished they would vanish forever.

"No, no." He was just asking casually; why was she suddenly so angry?

Seeing that she wasn't responding, Jiang Mu quickly changed the subject. "Sis, we're not far from our big brother's place. Should we go check on him?"

"Fine."

Jiang Yu followed Jiang Mu to their brother's residential complex. It looked quite ordinary, but Jiang Yu noticed that this area had the lowest casualty rate in the entire neighborhood. In other areas, even if the monsters were gone, the corpses and bloodstains remained. Even the xenomorph she had killed yesterday still lay where it had fallen, yet this area looked as if it had never been attacked at all.

Bizarre.