Natural Disasters Strikes: I stockpiled like crazy! - Chapter 181

Chapter 181: Nether Bone Gang
He Cuifen’s gaze lingered on the unfamiliar faces. She didn’t recognize any of them.

Suddenly, a small hand tugged at her trousers, and a child-like voice followed.

“Aunt!” the voice exclaimed.

The voice was oddly familiar as it reached her ears.

When she looked down, her eyes widened in shock. Her body stiffened, unsure if the boy before her was just an illusion. She only regained her senses when the little boy wrapped his little arms around her leg. “Auntie!”

“Hao’er! Is that really you?”

He Cuifen immediately scooped the boy up, her eyes brimming with tears of joy.

In this apocalyptic world, seeing reunions like this always brought an inexplicable happiness. It brought smiles on everyone’s faces.

The others made space for the two.

A few minutes later, inside He Cuifen’s modest home, her expression darkened as she heard about Si Lei’s passing.

She clutched the jar containing her brother’s ashes, her sorrow matching that of Si Hao. Though she said nothing, her grief was palpable, and everyone in the room could feel it.

Nanzhi, observing He Cuifen closely, thought her face looked somewhat familiar. Yet, she was certain they had never met before.

Why did she feel this strange sense of recognition? Nanzhi pondered.

“Thank you so much for bringing Si Hao to me. I will never forget your kindness,” He Cuifen said, wiping away her tears and gently stroking Si Hao’s head.

Si Hao had met He Cuifen before during gatherings and she would never forget to bring him toys and candies. Therefore, the little boy’s impression of his aunt was very good and in just a short moment, the two became inseparable.

He Cuifen was also childless and her husband had passed a month ago. Si Hao was like a child she never had.

“It’s nothing,” Nanzhi replied, before asking, “I noticed a camphor scent in the paint on the walls. What’s that for?”

He Cuifen’s expression shifted. Her eyes reflected fear.

Nanzhi detected a faint tremor in her voice as He Cuifen spoke. “It’s for the ants. They began appearing before winter. At first, only one or two showed up, but soon there was an ant tide. Thousands of them swarmed the base, killing thousands of our people…”

A Tier 1 Ant queen can lay hundreds of eggs every week, given the right conditions.

A Tier 2 Ant queen can produce thousands of eggs weekly.

And a Tier 3 Ant queen can give birth to tens of thousands of eggs.

Nanzhi’s mind raced. She thought about the implications of these creatures. Given the system’s mode of issuing tasks, it should have issued a mission involving the ants but up until now, it had remained silent. She was starting to understand what it meant when it said she was alone in this time.

“…They stopped after the blizzard. But once the winter passed, their numbers only grew.”

“Can you describe the ants that attacked?”

Besides from the lesser mutant ant and the acid attribute soldier ant, what else is there?

Meanwhile, in the first building, Lao Gong sat in a room, his brows furrowing. His eyes sharpened as though recalling a painful memory. “I know them. They called themselves the Nether Bone Gang. Some of them were survivors from here. But when a strange fever struck most of the guards, they took advantage of the chaos and turned on us. Our base was already heavy on losses after the ant tide and so it was easy for them to fulfill their plans…”

“To worsen it, they brought in a strange group to raid our supplies before killing the guards and the management. After the base leader’s death, he entrusted me with leading the remaining survivors…”

Lao Gong’s mood plummeted as he recalled the bloody night when so many had died, and his own leg had been crippled. “I know their leader. I rescued him once—fed him, gave him clothes, sheltered him. However, I didn’t realize I was saving a white-eyed wolf. Once he awakened with powers, he revolted, bringing along with him the others awakeners. He was the one who killed our base leader and crippled me.”

“The man’s name was Mingsi. Though I doubted that was his real name. Mingsi had also been the one to destroy the communication equipment in this room and confiscate all the satellite phones.”

Lao Gong sighed deeply, sitting on a stool by the door. He hung his head, blaming his poor judgment for the deaths of their leader and the guards.

Lin Weihao’s doubts were cleared. The communication between the two bases had stopped when winter set in, and after the weather cleared, he hadn’t heard any updates. It seemed there had been infighting in the base. Combined with the strange fever, the military wouldn’t have been able to handle everything, leading to a breakdown in security.

But.

Mingsi… wasn’t that the name of the man they had met before? The one who had stolen two military jeeps from the Plant Conservatory operation?

“Excuse me, but is this Mingsi around forty years old?” Lin Weihao asked.

Lao Gong shook his head. “No. He looks about your age.”

Lin Weihao stopped asking.

“Can you fix it?” Lin Weihao asked Hei Qian and Bingwen.

“We’ll try, Brother Lin!” Bingwen answered.

Hei Qian nodded in agreement.

“Tell me more about Mingsi and the Nether Bone Gang,” Lin Weihao pressed, dragging a stool over to sit next to Lao Gong. Half of his face was obscured in shadow, his expression grim.

Lao Gong sighed again. Since these people had been so helpful, he saw no reason to refuse.

Meanwhile, in the abandoned underground train station, inside the stationmaster’s room, Big Fang lay on the floor, spitting blood. Half of his face was badly swollen from the beating.

A shoe pressed down on his cheek, the dirty heel grinding, crushing his skull.

“You had one job, and you messed it up! Give me one good reason to let you go!”

Big Fang heard a whistling sound, followed by a sharp crack—like a hammer striking concrete. Stone shards splintered, hitting his face and leaving bloody scratches.

He gulped when he saw the white, glossy spike sinking into the concrete, just an inch from his nose. There was no doubt—had it missed, his head would’ve been obliterated.

His face turned pale, and his hatred for his late brother’s failure only deepened.

“Boss, I was wrong! I’m sorry! Please spare me! I swear I’ll get that egg for you!”