Supreme Son-in-law: Reborn With the Apocalypse System

Episode 6: An Old Friend, A New Threat

Jared sat alone in the Bai family’s garage, his hands black with grease, hunched over the engine of a forgotten SUV. The thing hadn’t run in years, but he remembered it vividly—an old model the Bai family deemed too ugly for their polished image. That was fine. He didn’t need pretty. He needed functional. Strong. Durable. He needed an escape vehicle.

The system’s timer hovered faintly in his mind’s eye:

[Time Remaining: 71 hrs 03 mins]

[Mission: Secure a Safe House]

There was no more time to play the fool.

His shirt clung to his back, sweat soaking through the thin fabric as the heat rose—part from the weather, part from the thickening dread outside. The smoke was creeping closer. Reports were trickling in: riots downtown, a strange virus spreading, people tearing each other apart in traffic jams and supermarkets.

It wasn’t panic anymore. It was desperation. The first taste of collapse.

But inside this garage, there was only the sound of clinking metal and Jared’s even breathing.

“Hey.”

He didn’t turn.

“I said hey, Jared.” A pause. “You got a second?”

Jared slowly turned his head. A tall, broad-shouldered man stood in the doorway, hair slicked back, wearing a sharp suit that looked out of place in this new world unraveling by the second.

A world where clean suits meant nothing.

“Vin,” Jared said, standing upright and wiping his hands on a rag. “Didn’t think I’d see you again so soon.”

Vincent Wang.

His old college buddy. Once his closest friend. Now the CEO of Eastern Pharmaceuticals—a company built, in part, on Jared’s stolen research. In the old timeline, Vin had become a warlord in the new world, hoarding medicine and selling hope to the highest bidder. Jared remembered watching him on a rooftop as fire rained down from the sky, his friend-turned-tyrant laughing while cities burned.

But here he was again. Clean. Polished. Still pretending this was a world that could be saved with charm and a Rolex.

Vin smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “I was in the neighborhood. Heard about the fire, thought I’d check in. You okay?”

Jared narrowed his eyes. “You came here to check on me?”

Vin chuckled, stepping into the garage. “Well, no. Not really. I came to talk to Mr. Bai, but he’s in full meltdown mode upstairs. Something about losing contact with his warehouses. Figured I’d kill time with an old friend.”

“Friend,” Jared echoed.

He didn’t forget. Not the betrayal. Not the lies. Not the last time he saw Vin holding a gun to his back.

“You’re quiet,” Vin said. “Did I offend you?”

“No,” Jared said. “I’m just deciding whether or not to punch you.”

Vin gave a low laugh. “Still got that temper, huh? That’s good. Means you haven’t totally given up.”

Jared went back to the car. “What do you want, really?”

Vin leaned against the wall, arms folded. “I want information. You’re not acting like the loser son-in-law you used to be. People are talking. You’re calm when everyone else is losing their minds. That usually means one thing.”

“And what’s that?”

“You know something.”

Jared said nothing.

Vin continued, “You always had that brain. You see things others don’t. Hell, you warned me about that virus theory back in school, remember? The one that mutated under radiation stress? You called it ‘Phase Z’.”

Jared froze.

Vin grinned. “Yeah. That one. The same strain some news outlet just mentioned five minutes ago. You told me it was theoretical. Funny how it suddenly isn’t.”

“You’re reaching,” Jared muttered.

“Am I?” Vin stepped forward. “I think you know what’s coming. And I think you’re planning something. Stockpiling. Hiding. Escaping.”

Jared kept his expression unreadable.

Vin’s voice dropped. “I want in.”

Jared looked up slowly. “You?”

“Yeah. You’re not the only one who sees the writing on the wall. Whatever you’re building, I want to be part of it. No strings. Just survival.”

There it was. The same snake charming his way into safety. But Jared wasn’t the same fool who once trusted him.

“You’ll betray me the second it benefits you,” Jared said.

Vin didn’t deny it. “Maybe. But right now, I’m useful. I’ve got contacts, warehouses, tech. You’re going to need people like me.”

“I don’t need rats.”

“You’ll need allies,” Vin said, stepping closer. “And trust me, when society collapses, the only people still breathing are the ones who knew how to play dirty.”

Jared met his gaze. And for a moment, it was like looking back through time—at the man he once admired. Before the power. Before the greed.

“Here’s what I need,” Jared said, tossing a wrench onto the workbench. “Three crates of antivirals. Two satellite phones. One secure truck with an armored chassis.”

Vin blinked. “That’s a tall order.”

“Consider it your buy-in.”

Vin’s mouth twitched into a half-smile. “You drive a hard bargain.”

“I’m not bargaining,” Jared said. “I’m building a future. Either you help me or get the hell out of my way.”

Vin stepped back, clearly weighing his options. Then he nodded once. “Alright. Give me twelve hours.”

“Eight,” Jared said.

Vin arched a brow. “That’s not enough time—”

“You said you’re useful,” Jared interrupted. “Prove it.”

They stared at each other for a long second. Then Vin smiled again, this time more genuinely.

“You’ve changed,” he said. “I almost forgot what you were capable of.”

Jared didn’t answer.

Vin turned and walked out, disappearing into the thick heat of the late afternoon. The smoke was thicker now. Sirens had stopped. The city was falling silent in the worst way.

And Jared?

He tightened the last bolt on the engine and closed the hood.

The old SUV roared to life.

One step closer.

The countdown ticked on.