Chapter 36 A Wicked Stepmother Uses Moral Blackmail? A Pot of Boiling Water Splatters Her Face, Causing Disfigurement
When his fingers touched that multi-million dollar quantum server, the fear in his eyes was instantly replaced by extreme excitement and fanaticism.
"Oh my god! This configuration! Sis, I love you!" Qian Duoduo, like a two-hundred-pound child, let out a happy shriek and dove headfirst into the ocean of code.
Lin Xingwan ignored his howling.
She walked to the Central Control Room console and connected to Huo Yuan's internal communication line.
"Situation changed. Level one combat readiness."
On the other end of the line, Huo Yuan replied with only one word.
"Understood."
The entire Star Fortress, like a steel beast waking up, instantly entered a state of maximum alert.
Hidden weapon systems were fully activated, and the patrolling mercenaries switched into full riot gear.
Twenty minutes later, Qian Duoduo rushed out of the server room, drenched in sweat, holding a tablet.
"Boss! I found it! All official meteorological stations around the world have gone crazy!"
He handed the tablet to Lin Xingwan, the screen flashing with terrifying data.
"Abnormal solar flare eruption, the geomagnetic storm has torn through the ozone layer!"
"Global average temperatures are soaring at a rate of one degree per hour!"
"It is estimated... estimated that by twelve noon tomorrow, surface temperatures will exceed sixty degrees Celsius!"
Qian Duoduo said, while frantically refreshing real-time news intercepted from the Dark Web.
"Boss, look! The internet has completely exploded!"
Hashtags like #Apocalypse#, #YellowSky#, and #AnimalsGoingCrazy# were hitting global trending lists at a terrifying speed.
On the screen, various bizarre phenomena were unfolding simultaneously around the world.
"Damn! The water in the Ganges in India has boiled directly, and the fish in the river are floating on their white bellies!"
"On the East African grasslands, tens of thousands of wildebeest dropped dead en masse during their migration!"
"And this! It's too scary! A golden retriever that was usually docile suddenly went crazy and bit its owner to death!"
Online, people were panic-stricken.
Panic spread like a plague.
In supermarkets in major cities, terrifying panic buying and stampedes erupted.
To grab a bag of rice or a bottle of water, neighbors who used to wear suits and ties were now fighting like wild beasts.
Some even drew knives, blood spattering on the spot.
The whole world, before the natural disaster officially arrived, had already fallen into the prelude of chaos.
"Qian Duoduo."
Lin Xingwan looked at the myriad states of life on the screen, her eyes terrifyingly calm.
"From now on, take over all civilian surveillance networks within fifty kilometers of the base."
"I want to know the gender and age of every rat that attempts to approach our home."
"Received!" Qian Duoduo immediately took the order and rushed back into the server room.
Lin Xingwan turned away, no longer looking at those chaotic images.
She took the elevator alone to the underground level five, the material storage area.
It was deathly quiet here.
Rows of massive shelves reached the top of the warehouse.
They were piled high with supplies that would drive any survivor of The Apocalypse crazy.
Lin Xingwan walked between the shelves like a queen inspecting her territory.
Her fingertips brushed over tons of rice and flour.
She brushed past mountains of meat and canned goods.
Finally, she stopped at the white mountains piled high with millions of packs of toilet paper and sanitary pads.
These were the foundation of her being able to live like a human being during The Apocalypse.
She picked up a bag of potato chips and ripped it open with a "crack."
The rich aroma of barbecue filled the empty warehouse.
While countless people outside were going mad and killing each other for survival, she was here, leisurely, as if strolling through her own supermarket.
This extreme calmness and composure stemmed from the experience she had accumulated in two lifetimes, and more so from these vast supplies sufficient to counter the entire world.
"Ring-ring—!"
Suddenly, the red alarm light at the top of the warehouse flashed frantically!
A piercing siren shattered the silence of the warehouse.
This was the alarm for the perimeter defense network being triggered!
Lin Xingwan's eyes sharpened, and she immediately connected to the Central Control Room.
"What's going on?"
"Boss! You need to see this!" Qian Duoduo's voice was distorted over the walkie-talkie.
He quickly switched the surveillance feed of the outer gate to the tactical watch screen on Lin Xingwan's wrist.
On the screen, a woman in rags, dragging a suitcase, was using all her strength to furiously smash against the heavy explosion-proof alloy outer door of the Star Fortress.
Her hair was messy like dry grass, and half her face looked severely scalded by something, the skin wrinkled together, looking extremely terrifying.
Qian Duoduo couldn't help but gulp as he looked at this madwoman.
"Boss, there's a disfigured woman dragging a suitcase, frantically smashing our outer gate!"
The woman with disheveled hair, frantically smashing the door outside, was none other than the vicious stepmother Zhao Xuelan, who had run away with the money.
Seeing her in such a disheveled state, she must have been robbed of the money she had taken, and she only came to the door because she was at her wit's end.
How did she know she lived here?
Lin Xingwan's eyes turned cold.
It must have been Chairman Lin Jianguo or Lin Chuchu, that pair of idiots, who let it slip.
"Lin Xingwan! You little bitch! Open the door!"
Zhao Xuelan smashed the door for a long time, and seeing no movement inside, she started cursing directly.
"I know you're inside! You unfilial daughter! I raised you for so many years, and now that the sky is falling, are you just going to watch me die?!"
Her crying and wailing performance quickly attracted some refugees fleeing from the mountainside.
A dozen figures were gathering along the mountain road towards The Fortress.
Seeing more people, Zhao Xuelan became more confident.
She pointed at the impenetrable alloy door and incited the surrounding people frantically.
"Everyone, come and see! The one living in this villa is my heartless stepdaughter!"
"She sold off billions in family assets and hoarded food and water inside that could last for several lifetimes!"
"Now that the world is about to end, she's hiding inside, eating and drinking well, and refusing to help!"
These words instantly ignited the jealousy and greed in the hearts of the survivors struggling in panic.
"What? Billions in supplies?"
"Damn it, this woman is too vicious! Why does she get to occupy so many good things all by herself!"
"Smash the door! Charge in! Make her hand over all the food!"
The crowd began to riot, and a few bold men even picked up stones from the roadside, ready to move.
In the Central Control Room, Qian Duoduo was breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Boss, this old hag is too good at inciting people. Should I have Boss Huo take people out to clear the field?"
"No need."
Lin Xingwan leaned back in her chair, a cold arc forming at the corner of her mouth.
"Dealing with such shameless trash, using bullets is too wasteful."
She picked up the walkie-talkie on the table and pressed the talk button.
"Huo Yuan..."