Natural Disaster: I Started By Hoarding Tens Of Billions Of Supplies - Chapter 396

Chapter 396: Chaos (3)
The soldiers fired relentlessly, injuring and killing almost all of the gang members. Not far away, Yao Ran summoned vines with her wood element energy. The vines shot toward the remaining gang members, who were trying to run away.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

As the vines wrapped around them, the gang members cursed and struggled to break free.

Realizing they couldn’t escape, one of them shouted, “Brothers, do it now!”

Hearing this, Long Yu’s eyes flickered in alarm. “Ran Ran, take cover!” he said as he ran toward Yao Ran.

Seeing that those gang members had taken something out of their pockets, Shi Xuan acted quickly. He waved his hands and teleporting all the gang members into the air. A second later, they exploded the moment they appeared in the air.

Boom!

Below, Long Yu shielded Yao Ran with his body, using his wind element ability to create a protective barrier around them. At the same time, Shi Xuan and the soldiers hurried toward the villas to take cover.

Moments later, blood and body parts rained down, covering the ground with blood and burned flesh. Long Yu pulled Yao Ran to take cover in their villa while waiting for everything to calm down.

Two minutes later, Yao Ran spoke. “Let’s go and take a look.”

“Alright,” Long Yu replied.

When the two walked out from their hiding place, Shi Xuan approached them and asked, “Are you guys alright?”

Yao Ran nodded. “Yes. How about you?”

“I’m fine,” Shi Xuan replied.

Looking at the mess on the ground, Yao Ran said, “Fortunately, you reacted quickly. Otherwise, the explosion might have killed many people nearby.”

Shi Xuan nodded in agreement. “These people really dare to do anything.”

While they were talking, Long Yu inspected the remains scattered on the ground. Spotting something reflecting the street lamp’s light, he moved closer to investigate.

He picked up the item and examined it. When he saw the image engraved on it, his expression changed.

Noticing that Long Yu only stood there in silence, Yao Ran and Shi Xuan approached him.

“Did you find something?” Yao Ran asked curiously.

Long Yu handed her the item and said, “Take a look at this.”

Yao Ran took the object and inspected it carefully. When she saw the familiar insignia, her eyes flickered with murderous intent.

“It’s the badge worn by the members of The Ark,” she said after a long silence.

Hearing this, Shi Xuan frowned. “Looks like they are coming for you, Yao Ran.”

“Yes,” she agreed.

Just then, a soldier approached them, prompting Yao Ran to put away the scorched insignia.

The soldier saluted and said, “Thank you for your help, Comrades.”

Long Yu and Shi Xuan returned the salute.

“We are just doing our duty to protect our home,” Long Yu said.

Noticing the soldier’s trembling hand because of the cold, Yao Ran retrieved a few packs of warming pads from her space. Handing them over, she said, “Thank you for your hard work, Comrade.”

When the soldier saw the warming pads, he hesitated to accept them. Even in this new world, he was reluctant to accept something without earning it.

Understanding his hesitation, Yao Ran pushed the warming pads into his hands. “It’s getting colder. Please take these and stay safe.”

After giving him the warming pads, Yao Ran pulled Long Yu away. Shi Xuan turned to the soldier and said, “Just accept them. It’s not easy working in this cold.”

The soldier clutched the warming pads tightly and expressed his gratitude. “Thank you.”

Once the three of them had left, the soldier distributed the warming pads among his comrades before resuming his task of waking the villa owners and patrolling the area while some of his comrades left to clean up the area.

While order had been restored in the villa district after the gang was killed, the same couldn’t be said for other parts of the base.

Eternal night, combined with plummeting temperatures, unleashed humanity’s darkest and most brutal tendencies, spreading chaos like a virus.

The slums were hit hardest. After more than a year of oppression and starvation, the survivors there were like wild animals, desperate for revenge against those living in better conditions.

With the soldiers preoccupied, the slum residents rushed out in waves. They smashed street lamps and light bulbs, broke into official stores, and raided residential areas.

Although soldiers responded quickly, the situation escalated too rapidly.

Instead of retreating upon seeing the soldiers, the rioters charged at them. Anyone wearing a uniform became a target. Many soldiers were injured, some falling into pools of blood, never to rise again.

Watching the chaos unfold through a drone’s feed, Yao Ran’s eyes filled with murderous intent.

Clenching her fists, she thought, ‘I have poured so much effort and so many resources into keeping these soldiers alive. And now, these people are killing them after being protected all this time. These people don’t deserve any kindness.’

While she planned her next move to avenge the dead soldiers, Shi Xuan suddenly reported, “Captain, three groups of rioters are trying to breach the outer district barricade.”

As he spoke, Shi Xuan manipulated the drone to get a closer view.

Recognizing one of the individuals as a slum resident, Yao Ran pointed to the screen and said, “This man—I have seen him in the slum before.”

Unlike the central district, only a few villas in the outer district had power grids to protect them. Without them, when the barricade is breached, chaos will erupt in the villa area.

When the rioters broke through the barricade, Yao Ran said, “If they get inside, it will be troublesome. I’m going out to stop them.”

Long Yu looked at her and said, “I will go with you.”

He then turned to Shi Xuan and added, “A Xuan, you stay and provide support.”

Eternal night reduced visibility, but the drone’s night vision camera provided a clear view. Understanding Long Yu’s reasoning, Shi Xuan nodded. “Yes, Captain.”

After his response, Long Yu and Yao Ran put on night vision goggles and left the villa.