Rise of the Phoenix - Apocalypse Rebirth

Chapter 31 - Country M

May 19, 3031 - Country M, City LA

John Chen was a tall handsome man, coming in at 6'2", with dark hair and soft brown eyes. His family has been in Country M for 3 generations already, leaving Country C to establish their own company overseas. The Chen family was at their very core an organized family. They were phenomenal at coming in and managing other people's business for a certain amount of time to succeed before leaving with a big paycheck.

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Melanie Shu met Joseph Chen when she applied for a position at his father's company. She was an intern and worked her way up to managing accounts of her own in less than 5 years. During that time she collaborated on several projects with Joseph who was the CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) at the time.

Melanie fell in love with Joseph, who was completely clueless, and after some deep thoughts, Melanie decided to leave the company to work somewhere else. Her leaving caused Joseph to notice how invaluable she was to the company. He sent people to sway her back with higher pay and a ton of benefits. She refused repeatedly and he gave up. 2 years later, they bumped into one another at a convention in Country HL and hit it off. At this time she was a Director at her new company.

Joseph had some ideas of wooing her back to the company but the moment he looked into her eyes, his chest tightened and he realized how beautiful her smile was. He was confused by his feelings and they left Country HL on good terms, promising to meet up again for drinks. Melanie smiled bitterly to herself at that off handed promise thinking she'll never see him again.

Surprisingly, Joseph actually called her for drinks. Then dinner. Then movies. Over the course of 6 months, he courted her with flowers and sweet romance. He finally asked her to be his girlfriend. She agreed. 2 years later they got married and had John then David.

Joseph's father stepped down as the CEO of the company to retire and Joseph stepped up. Melanie returned as the CRO and their family business expanded under her leadership. John and David also worked for the family business, though John did a 4 year stint in the military after finishing his studies. This led to military contracts for the family which John exclusively dealt with. The company had over 1000 employees all managing different types of businesses across Country M with around 200 employees located in City LA.

When the ZA broke out, John was stuck in Country C. He awakened a powerful black ability that can slow down time where he can move quickly out of danger. To others, it looked like he was a speed ability. Aria met him during a battle in the 4th year when she was surrounded by a horde of zombies and her energy was almost depleted using her wind blades. John happened to pass by while separated with his group and saved her. He was impressed by her skills and froze time, reaching her and bringing her out, thereby exposing his ability to her.

She traveled with him for a few months before they separated and she got captured by Lily.

She met him again inside Edward's lab. He was brought in right before she was injected with something Edward was working on. With John's help, she was able to kill the scientists in the facility and release the prisoners before she died right outside the lab in John's arms.

Even though she owed John nothing in the last life since she saved him at the very end, their encounters left a big impression in Aria's mind. She knew he had always regretted not knowing what happened to his family. If they were in the same country, there's always a chance to search and find what happened to them. But families separated by a large ocean will never be able to reunite in this life ever again.

So this time around, she decided to contact him due to his management skills and to keep him and his family safe in one country.

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