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

Episode 7: The Tipping Point

The SUV’s engine rumbled low and steady like a warning growl. Jared stood beside it for a moment, listening, testing—every gear, every turn, every tremor in the machine. It wasn’t perfect. It wouldn’t outrun an explosion. But it would move, and in the days ahead, that was enough.

He wiped his hands clean, though the grease clung to his fingers like guilt. The garage lights flickered. Another surge. The city’s power grid was failing in waves now, and no one was fixing it.

[Time Remaining: 68 hrs 42 mins]

[Objective Update: Gather Med Supplies – In Progress]

The system had gone quiet after that, no new prompts. No help. Just a countdown.

He turned back toward the house.

A sharp voice echoed through the halls upstairs—Mrs. Bai, again, her shrill tone cutting through silence like shattered glass.

“You’re saying we can’t get through to the warehouse? What do you mean gone dark? Are you telling me the entire eastern district shut down and no one knows why?”

Jared climbed the steps slowly, each footfall careful and quiet.

He reached the top landing and saw chaos in motion.

Mr. Bai stood near the window, phone pressed to his ear, face pale as ash. Beside him, his wife paced with fury in her heels, clutching her tablet like it held answers. Mei sat on the couch, biting her thumbnail, her eyes darting from screen to screen on the TV.

News reports played on a loop.

Riot in Port Harrow.

Supermarket looted in broad daylight.

A man attacking paramedics on Main Street.

No motive. No warning.

Just… rage.

“What’s happening to people?” Mei whispered.

Jared watched her for a second longer than he should’ve. Her soft voice didn’t match the fear in her eyes. This wasn’t the world she was raised in. The ivory tower was crumbling—and she had no idea how to breathe in the dust.

Mrs. Bai finally turned, catching sight of him. “You.”

Jared raised a brow. “Me?”

“You fixed the garage car, right? I want it moved into the covered port. It’s not going to sit outside in that filth.”

“I’ll get to it,” Jared said, voice flat.

“Now,” she snapped.

“Sure. Right after you all stop ignoring the fact that this city’s falling apart.”

That made the room pause.

Mr. Bai looked up from his call. Mei slowly turned toward him. Even the television anchor seemed to hold his breath.

“What did you just say?” Mrs. Bai asked, her voice sharp with disbelief.

“I said you’re pretending this is just a bad news cycle. But it’s not. This isn’t a riot. This isn’t a protest. It’s collapse,” Jared said evenly. “The supply chains are gone. Communications are failing. People are panicking. And in about three days, the real violence starts.”

Silence.

Then Mrs. Bai scoffed. “And what—now you’re some kind of expert? Please. You’re a mechanic, Jared. An unemployed son-in-law we dragged in from the streets out of pity.”

“Enough,” Mr. Bai barked, but his voice lacked bite.

Jared ignored her. His eyes went to Mei. “You saw it. You’ve been watching. You feel it in your chest, don’t you? That sense that something’s wrong—not just wrong, but different.”

Mei didn’t speak. But she didn’t look away either.

“Listen to me,” Jared continued, tone low. Measured. “In less than three days, whatever’s spreading will reach this neighborhood. And once it’s here, your gates and bodyguards won’t mean a thing.”

“We have a panic room,” Mr. Bai muttered, as if repeating a prayer.

Jared nodded slowly. “Sure. You do. But it’s stocked for maybe a week. After that? You’ll need fuel. Food. Water. And good luck finding it when the whole city’s tearing itself apart.”

“You sound insane,” Mrs. Bai spat.

He turned to her now. Fully. Calm, but firm.

“I sound prepared. You’ve spent years treating me like a ghost in this house. Useless. Weak. Like I belonged beneath your heels,” Jared said. “But here’s what’s going to happen. In about sixty-eight hours, those same heels will be soaked in blood, and you’ll realize the world doesn’t care how rich you were. It only cares how fast you ran and who you stepped on to survive.”

Mrs. Bai opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Jared took a slow breath, then turned to Mei again. “You still have time. If you want to come with me when I leave, I’ll keep you safe. But I won’t ask twice.”

Mei stared at him like she didn’t know who he was. And maybe she didn’t. Not this version. Not the one who wasn’t afraid anymore.

Jared turned and walked out without waiting for a response.

Outside, the sky had turned gray.

Thick smoke crept in from the northern districts, and sirens had given way to silence. The kind of silence that rang too loud. That hinted at something breathing in the dark.

He stepped into the SUV and closed the door.

There was a knock on the window. He looked up—and saw her.

Mei.

She stood stiffly, arms crossed, hugging herself. Her voice muffled through the glass.

“Where would we even go?”

He rolled the window down halfway. “Out of the city. Into the hills. I know a place.”

She hesitated. “And my parents?”

Jared’s jaw clenched. “You know they won’t come. Not until it’s too late.”

She didn’t answer right away. Then nodded once. “I’ll pack.”

He watched her turn and hurry inside, and for the first time in hours, something shifted inside him. Not relief. Not comfort. But resolve.

He wasn’t just surviving anymore. He was choosing who to save.

[System Update: Companion Acquired – Mei Bai]

[Survival Bonus Activated: +15% Resource Luck]