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

Episode 8: Fire on the Horizon

Jared didn’t waste time watching Mei pack. He knew the moment she walked back into that house, she’d feel the pull of comfort again. The luxury. The lie. If he gave her too long, she might stay.

He loaded the SUV with what little gear he had—his old rucksack, a folded camp stove, a water filter he hadn’t touched in months. There was a sidearm buried in a lockbox under the driver’s seat. He checked it now, loading each bullet with mechanical precision.

[Time Remaining: 66 hrs 03 mins]

[Objective: Evacuate Safe Zone]

The system’s calm tone was beginning to unnerve him. Like a god whispering in a burning temple—offering guidance just moments before everything crumbled.

Mei came back out fifteen minutes later, wearing a dark hoodie and jeans, a duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She looked different. Smaller. Like the world had finally reached her skin.

“I didn’t bring much,” she murmured.

“Good,” Jared said. “We’ll need room for supplies.”

She climbed into the passenger seat without another word. When she reached for the seatbelt, her hands trembled. He noticed. Didn’t comment.

He started the engine.

The gate slid open slower than usual, its motors straining. As they rolled out into the neighborhood, Jared couldn’t help but glance in the rearview mirror. The Bai mansion sat tall and gleaming, like it still believed the world owed it protection.

It didn’t.

They were six blocks away when Mei broke the silence.

“Why are you helping me?”

Jared kept his eyes on the road. “Because you’re the only one who ever looked at me like I mattered. Even when your parents treated me like I was invisible, you didn’t. You just never said anything.”

She swallowed. “I didn’t know how.”

“I get it,” he said. “But this isn’t about guilt, Mei. It’s about surviving.”

They passed by a pharmacy. The glass front had been smashed in. Shelves picked clean. The street was littered with empty boxes, crushed pill bottles, wrappers. A man sat on the curb, cradling a plastic bag like it was gold.

“This started fast,” she said, voice small.

“It didn’t,” Jared replied. “It just went unnoticed.”

They reached the outer district checkpoint—a set of concrete barricades manned by two soldiers. Young. Nervous. Sweat clung to their foreheads despite the cool morning air.

Jared slowed down, rolled his window down halfway.

The taller soldier raised a hand. “ID?”

“Evacuating,” Jared said calmly. “Heading north.”

The second soldier peered into the SUV, eyes lingering on Mei. “That your sister?”

Jared smiled. “Wife.”

The soldier’s eyebrows lifted slightly, but he didn’t question it. “You’ve got thirty minutes. After that, we’re locking this checkpoint.”

“Understood.”

He nodded them through.

As the SUV pulled away, Mei exhaled slowly. “You’re good at lying.”

“I’m good at surviving.”

They drove for ten more minutes before the skyline behind them lit up.

A column of fire shot into the air—an explosion somewhere in the city core. The kind of fireball that didn’t just light up windows, but shook them.

Mei gasped, turning around in her seat. “That was downtown—Jared, my father’s office—”

“Don’t,” he said quietly. “Don’t look back.”

She didn’t answer. But she stopped turning.

They reached the first fuel point—a small service station Jared remembered from back when he did odd delivery runs. It was shuttered, but the side entrance had been broken open. Inside, two people were already raiding the place—a woman with wild eyes and a man clutching a tire iron like it was a sword.

Jared parked on the far side, grabbed his gun, and turned to Mei.

“Stay inside. Lock the doors. Don’t open them unless it’s me.”

She nodded, wide-eyed.

Jared stepped out, slow and steady. The gravel crunched under his boots.

The man saw him first. “Hey—back off, man. This one’s ours!”

Jared didn’t raise the gun, but he didn’t hide it either. “Relax. I just need a few supplies. You take what you need, I’ll take what I need. No fights.”

The woman hissed. “There’s no sharing anymore!”

“I’m not asking permission.”

The man stepped forward—too fast.

Jared moved faster.

In one clean motion, he slammed the butt of the gun into the man’s wrist, knocking the iron bar loose. A second step and his knee met ribs. The guy went down hard, gasping.

The woman screamed, reaching for her bag.

Jared didn’t fire. He simply stepped back, gun aimed now.

“Don’t. This isn’t worth dying for.”

The woman froze.

“Take your guy. Go.”

She didn’t argue. She dragged the man to his feet and stumbled out the door, cursing as she went.

Jared exhaled once, then turned and began moving through the shelves. He grabbed bottled water, a few remaining protein bars, two packs of bandages, painkillers. Not much. But enough.

Back in the SUV, Mei looked at him like he’d walked out of a warzone.

“You didn’t shoot them.”

“I didn’t need to.”

“They would’ve hurt you.”

He gave her a tired smile. “A lot of people will try in the days ahead. Doesn’t mean they’ll succeed.”

They kept driving.

The roads became narrower. Less paved. Nature crept in through cracks and curbs. Civilization started thinning out.

Mei turned toward him again. “Where are we really going?”

Jared looked ahead, his voice low. “A place I found years ago. Before I met your family. I used to live off the grid for a while, after the military.”

“You were in the military?” she asked, surprised.

“Special unit. Got out when things turned ugly.”

“You never told anyone.”

“No one ever asked.”

They crossed a bridge. Below, the river had already begun to fill with drifting wreckage—pieces of cities, of lives.

A second explosion rang out in the distance.

Jared didn’t flinch. Mei did.

She reached for his hand without thinking. He let her.

“Will we make it?” she asked quietly.

He glanced at her, and this time, his answer wasn’t hardened by experience or burdened by doubt. It was clear. Certain.

“Yes.”