43: The ignored truth!
Bai Wanning stared at her phone's black screen, slowly raising her head.
The sky was still overcast, but deep down, she clearly realized… the Apocalypse had truly arrived.
Mutated Rats had appeared; next, perhaps very soon, the city would be swallowed by a tsunami.
She sighed, her gaze falling on an open bakery on the street. After some thought, she pushed the door open and got out of the car, intending to buy all the bread and pastries from that shop.
No matter the time, a single loaf of bread in the Apocalypse could be worth millions. She had to stock up on everything she could while she was still able to act.
As she walked towards the bakery, she lowered her head and sent a message to Lei Qian’s assistant, demanding that he transfer the funds Lei Qian had arranged as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Lei Qian was still standing in place, staring at the string of numbers left when the call ended, a look of bewilderment on his face.
He didn't understand how Bai Wanning knew these things, but he had no choice but to believe her.
Because he didn't want to die, and even less did he want to die meaninglessly, only to have his corpse gnawed clean by those Mutated Rats.
He thought for a moment, then turned to the two Bodyguards beside him and said, “Let’s go. There’s no other way; we can only do as she says.”
Those rats couldn't even be killed by bullets, and everyone was too scared to get close. Since that was the case, they might as well trust her this once.
As soon as he turned around, he found three pairs of shocked eyes staring intently at him.
“Brother…”
“Did you just say…”
“You like someone?”
Lei Qian’s face immediately flushed to his ears. He had been so focused on confessing that he completely forgot his family was also beside him… and they had all heard it.
He glared at them, his face ashen: “What time is it now? Do you still have time for gossip? Hurry up and get to work, go clear out those Mutated Rats!”
When Lei Yan heard that she had to kill those disgusting monsters, her face instantly turned pale, and she asked in a small voice, “Brother… do I have to kill them too? I… I really can’t do it…”
“If you can’t kill them, then just wait to die!” Lei Qian’s tone was sharp and merciless.
He looked at his sister, who had been spoiled by their parents, his voice so cold it held almost no familial affection: “You’ve seen the situation outside. If we hesitate any longer, we’ll all die.”
He didn't doubt Bai Wanning’s words. She wasn’t the kind of person who would be so bored as to make up lies to tease him.
The reason she was willing to spend time telling him these things must be because this information was truly useful, truly life-saving.
As he spoke, he opened the small storage compartment in the car, pulled out several guns from inside, and tossed them to his family. Father Lei and Mother Lei cried out as they caught them, while Lei Yan’s body stiffened as she looked at the cold firearm in her hand.
She was only sixteen this year, yet her brother was forcing her onto a battlefield of blood and fire.
“Do I really have to do this?” she asked tremblingly.
Lei Qian said no more, only abruptly rolled down her car window and said coldly, “Either shoot, or I’ll throw you out.”
That night, the Lei Family Members experienced the most absurd and cruel night of their lives.
On the other side, Bai Wanning also stayed awake all night.
Although she had no feelings for Lei Qian, she was still worried about him.
He was, after all, Xiao Cai Cai's father.
There was no love between them, nor any blood relation, yet there was an indescribable bond… a deeper connection than any other emotion.
How could she completely disregard that man’s life or death?
However, when she searched online, she found that all news about Y City had been blocked, and even information about rising water levels and sea levels had vanished without a trace.
Bai Wanning stared at the meaningless content on the screen, gently pursing her lips. She knew in her heart that the authorities were deliberately concealing it.
She wasn't surprised, because it had been the same in her previous life… It wasn't until the tsunami truly swept through the city, and half the urban area was completely submerged, that the authorities finally realized the situation had spiraled completely out of control and could no longer be hidden.
She clicked on all accessible links on the internet.
She knew that relying on those people was meaningless; rather than waiting for rescue, it was better to save herself.
So, she opened the Bartering System again. Although she had already made ample preparations, it would undoubtedly be better if she could get a “safety pods” of the kind only seen in sci-fi movies.
That type of safety pods was made from high-strength materials like titanium alloy, not only boasting excellent airtightness but also featuring a self-contained oxygen circulation system, navigation system, anchoring device, and even shock absorption and stabilization systems. Even if a tsunami submerged the entire city, it could safely float and not be swept away by the currents.
The only problem was… her current system level was still at [Level Two].
This meant she couldn't actively initiate bartering requests and could only rely on browsing and waiting for opportunities.
She couldn't directly post tasks or bounties like higher-level users; she could only try her luck and see if anyone would proactively offer these items for trade.
Bai Wanning frowned, diligently searching for information.
As she refreshed the page, she wondered whether to exchange some items for intelligence first… Unfortunately, just like last time, she searched for a long time and still found nothing.
She was a bit frustrated, but she didn’t give up.
The Bartering System had everything… mechanical mainframes, medical equipment, intelligent robots… She firmly believed that those “safety pods” must also exist; it was just that she wasn't yet qualified to encounter them.
She barely slept all night, browsing various obscure posts, and finally, in the early morning, she found a small, seemingly unremarkable piece of information that caught her attention.
The post’s author was unknown, and the click-through rate was dismal; no one took it seriously. But for Bai Wanning… this kind of “ignored truth” was often closest to the root of the disaster.
According to that person, a nuclear power plant near Y City had been secretly discharging various industrial wastewater into the sea. A month ago, the nuclear power plant exploded, causing the immediate deaths of over forty workers.
However, not only did they fail to provide any compensation to the workers’ families, but they also preemptively sued the families, claiming “operational errors caused immense losses” and demanding compensation.
Most outrageous of all… the bodies of those dead workers were directly thrown into the sea.
After reading it, Bai Wanning pressed her tongue against her cheek and clicked her tongue lightly.
“No wonder something like this happened…” she murmured, her voice filled with suppressed regret and anger.
If those people truly died in a nuclear leak explosion, and their bodies were thrown into the sea without proper treatment, how could the marine ecosystem not have problems? Who knew what would happen to these corpses? Would there be uncontrolled reactions? Or some unexpected biological mutation?
She was almost certain that the source of the Mutated Rats was here.
The contaminated waters became a breeding ground for viruses, and these rats… were the initial carriers.
It was just… this disaster happened a month ago, and it was now too late to stop it.
Early the next morning, Bai Wanning quickly washed up. As soon as she walked out of her room, she found that her brothers had already gone to the company early.
She shook her head helplessly, put on a jacket, and headed out to the convenience store near the building.
Although her current supplies were enough to last a long time, at this moment, who would complain about having too much?
About ten minutes later, she arrived at the convenience store downstairs.
She got out of the car and stepped into the shallow accumulated water. The terrain here was higher, and the seawater had not yet fully flowed in; the water level only reached her ankles, not yet affecting normal entry and exit.
The supermarket, however, was already packed with people.
It was almost as if everyone in the city had poured in, crammed together like sardines.
“Everyone, line up! Line up!” At the entrance, the salesperson kept shouting into a megaphone: “All product prices are marked on the packaging. No bargaining will be accepted. Please enter in an orderly manner, no pushing, no shoving!”