Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again. - Chapter 479

Chapter 479: Crosstown, not so rosy.
Crosstown was not having a restful night. Just after the sun set, the sky was split with a roar of a vengeful beast. From the shadows and crevices, ten mutated gorilla’s surged forward–their bodies extraordinarily big as always and their combined strength, a force to be reckoned with.

The newly constructed wall, which they were coming to believe could be impenetrable cracked under that force. A massive section crumbled, stone, steel and concrete falling apart as alarms blared across the town.

Superhumans leapt into action, fanning out like a swarm of insects. Scared civilians retreated into bunkers. Lightning streaked across the sky, formed by a superhuman. The streaks illuminated the chaos as the creatures clawed their way into the base.

While chaos engulfed the town outside, it did not forget to visit those inside the bunker. Moon Raine was one of its victims. Her husband Peter was furious. They both knew why he married her; it was for her knowledge on the apocalypse. She had declared Cross town a successful, peaceful, developed town.

Things were not working as she predicted. He was now berating her, blaming her for not having predicted the gorilla attack.

“I…I don’t know this one,” she stammered, clutching Denise’s baby in her arms. “Mutants and mutated beasts attacked everywhere. Different ones. It wasn’t as if we had televisions and radios to spread what was attacking, where and when as it happened.”

“Sir, a whole section of the outer wall is gone in the East.” A man reported over the radio.

Peter glared at her, blaming Moon for that as well. His rage erupted. “You don’t know this as well? You said Cross town’s wall was impenetrable. You said stone, cement and steel would hold. What happened to the foresight you promised me?” His voice cut sharper than a blade.

Moon shrank beneath his words, guilt and fear mingling in his eyes. The baby chose that moment to shriek loudly and announce her presence. The cry made the adults flinch.

Outside, the clash continued for another fifteen minutes. No updates came over the radio, just sounds of the battle.

“Sir, we have killed four and the rest are retreating.” A man finally shared.

Peter took one deep breath. His expression shifted from fury to calculated calm. He looked at Moon with a softer expression and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Forgive me,” he said gently. “I was unnecessarily harsh. All this while, I never realized that your knowledge had some missing gaps. It is my fault for putting the big burden of our survival on your shoulders. As a man, and your husband, I should take the lead and figure things out.” His eyes gleamed with cunning.

It was too soon to dump Moon. Her knowledge, incomplete as it was, still held value.

Moon nodded, torn between relief and unease. She laid blame at the feet of Sunshine, Cassius and the bracelet. Everything had changed, and it was their fault.

****

In the morning, Sunshine called for the billionaires to meet her. To her surprise, they gathered outside her building like a small army and descended on her like moths. Their voices were overlapping, questions flying, panic polished with expensive accents.

“Is it true the watchers are taking people again?”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“Are we next?”

“Do they target wealth? We did not see them taking any of the poor.”

“I bet they will breach the bubble at any time because they are always attacking it.”

“This must be because we stopped offering them fish.”

“Is it true that they have a list of names and targets?”

“Your fight with Pink is getting out of hand. Maybe you should consider giving her what she wants.”

Sunshine had the fleeting thought that restoring the cell network might have been her single greatest mistake because rumors were moving faster than anything she’d ever built, faster than drones, faster than truth.

She stepped aside and walked to her car. They followed anyway. She stopped walking so suddenly that the people trailing her bumped into each other in a clumsy domino effect.

Cory hissed, “Watch it Jin!”

Jin snapped back, “You watch it,” before realizing she’d turned around.

Sunshine faced them with an expression that made them go quiet, her voice steady but sharp. “First of all, the watchers are not taking everyone,” the panic dimmed just a notch, “Second, you are not super humans, so I highly doubt that they have any interest in you.”

A few offended coughs came.

Sunshine ignored and continued. “And third, you live inside the bubble, which means you are safe,” she gestured around them pointedly, “So stop acting like the sky is falling on your imported expensive shoes.”

A few awkward laughs followed, relief tried to settle in, until one man stepped forward, posture stiff, eyes calculating.

Silas_ Jon’s brother and right-hand man_ cleared his throat and said, “With respect, Sunshine, this is still a problem,”

Sunshine tilted her head slightly, “Oh?”

Silas continued, “It is not good that super humans are being taken, they are… assets,” the word hanging ugly in the air, “We planned to use them for outside trade journeys. We pay for them to protect us. How will you keep us safe without them?”

Sunshine’s brow lifted slowly, the kind of lift that warned people they were about to regret their next breath, “Next time, refer to me as Mrs. Quinn. Who are you anyway? Who invited you?” she asked coolly, because she only dealt with five of them and had zero intention of expanding that circle.

Silas pinched his lips, his pride stung, clearly unused to being dismissed, his silence loud and offended.

Before it could escalate further, a car screeched to a stop nearby and Hades stepped out with murder in his stride, taking in the scene in a single glance, “Are these guys bothering you?” he demanded, not waiting for an answer before turning on them, his voice hard, “I told you_ very clearly_ that if you wanted anything, you come to me, not my wife,” the word wife landed like a warning shot.

The billionaires stiffened.

“She invited us.” Jon blurted out defensively.

“Not to my building.” Sunshine replied.

Hades squeezed her hand briefly, grounded, familiar, and as she turned to walk away she heard Jon’s voice rise above the rest, not defensive, not arrogant, but earnest, “All we want is to help solve the watcher kidnapping problem. We don’t know if it is related to why, you asked us to meet you, but it has us anxious.”

Sunshine stopped mid-step, her lips slowly curved as she turned around again. Since they had offered, things would go much smoothly now.

The billionaires straightened instinctively when they saw her expression shift from irritation to interest, “Gentlemen,” she said smoothly, “there is a way for you to carry out your trade journeys and protect yourselves and your loved ones from being carried off.”

A ripple of attention snapped tight, glances exchanged, hope flared. Hades frowned as Jon took two steps toward his wife, cautious but intrigued, “How?” he asked

Sunshine rubbed her hands together lightly, a habit she only had when she was already counting numbers in her head, “How about a real-life demonstration,” she said, eyes bright, “and then we can talk prices.”

Sheldon scoffed softly from the side, confidence wrapped in silk, “Money is not a problem, as long as the solution is good.”

Sunshine nodded once, perfectly satisfied, “Excellent,” she replied, “Then meet me in an hour. I hope your wallets are heavy and elastic.” She winked at Jon. “Don’t let me down.”

Hades stepped in front of his wife. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Jon to let her down. That wink belonged to him.