Chapter 6 Seizing the Initiative
Han Jiaojiao's pen paused here, and her mood inevitably grew heavy.
She continued to write: On September 7, Earth faced the second impact of an asteroid group with a PHO threat level, this impact centered at the North Pole and almost covered the entire Northern Hemisphere. More than half of the countries in the world completely vanished...
Yes. No one had anticipated that the asteroids would come again just a week later.
In the days that followed, secondary effects from the celestial impact began to appear—frequent earthquakes, gigantic tsunamis, rising sea levels, sudden climate changes... The Earth's environment was completely in chaos, and human living space was drastically reduced. It was a global disaster, and the entire world was enveloped in an atmosphere of panic. Humanity saw no hope, and society seemed to sink into a quagmire. Industrial chains were broken, the economy was depressed, yet churches and temples were always crowded with people who prayed, hoping for even a slight soothing of their spirits.
Humans might be ignorant, they might be fragile, but their greatest strength lies in their resilience.
——The greater the disaster, the more united and strong humans became. Soon, the media began vigorous reporting on the progress of rescue operations. In the face of disaster, the military and civilians united as one, countless medical personnel and journalists entered the disaster areas, and various public welfare organizations also held fundraising activities. Many public figures stood in front of the media, calling for people to love and help each other. At this time, all of humanity became one whole; even national borders ceased to exist in the face of global disaster relief, and cross-border rescues were common! It seemed as if everyone had a fire lit in their hearts—the more people saved, the brighter that fire burned!
At that time, Han Jiaojiao was also inspired by this atmosphere, her blood boiling as she took out all her savings to buy clothes and food, donating to over a dozen different rescue organizations.
But, things did not develop in a positive direction.
After the disaster, a plague began to spread, first among animals, then humans, and eventually, even plants started to fall ill. The infected initially experienced enhanced appetites, limb soreness, hair loss, and significantly reduced vision and photophobia. Since the symptoms were not obvious and not life-threatening, and because medical personnel were already overworked from rescue efforts, the plague was not effectively controlled. People couldn't even spare the effort to understand, research, or treat the disease, and by the time they realized it, it was too late.
The infected underwent mutations. They became unrecognizable and lost their reasoning.
——Their skin turned almost black, their spines arched high, hair almost completely fallen out, most notably their occiput protruded backward, resembling the creature from the movie "Alien", the difference being they had no tails or back-mounted respirators, so people called them: Alien Species.
Alien Species, they ate humans.
Although a portion of humanity acquired some extraordinary superpowers during this catastrophe, the Alien Species still caught humans off guard, and many cities became dead cities for a time.
Thinking of this, Han Jiaojiao couldn't help but sigh.
Mrs. Wu quietly sat beside, peeling an apple. She skillfully peeled it, cut it into small pieces, and served it in an attractive container, which looked pleasing to the eye.
Han Jiaojiao asked her, "Mrs. Wu, what is the date today?"
Mrs. Wu paused, her tone somewhat uncertain, "The 3rd?... Maybe the 4th?" She wasn't sure and handed Han Jiaojiao a cell phone from beside her, "Miss, it should be on the phone, your phone has been charged, though the screen is a bit cracked..."
The phone likely got damaged in the chaos during a shooting incident, but Han Jiaojiao didn't mind; in the apocalyptic world, there was no signal, and such a device was essentially useless.
Han Jiaojiao turned on the phone, ignoring the missed calls and unread messages, she first checked the date and time.
The displayed date was the 5th.
Han Jiaojiao felt a heavy weight in her heart.
The 5th... it was already the 5th, with only two days left. Were the asteroids coming then...
But what could she do? Even if scientists detected the asteroids, what could they do? If it were a single asteroid, perhaps they could use a nuclear bomb to change its trajectory by detonating it in outer space, but faced with a huge group of asteroids, what else could humanity do but endure...
All she could do now was to gather as many resources as possible in the little time they had left, helping her brother secure every possible advantage, and not... allow her brother to die easily.
Han Jiaojiao couldn't help but let out a sneer, thinking self-deprecatingly, "Brother is so strong, how could he die so easily? It's all because of me... because I was too foolish, walked into traps set by others, and caused my brother's death... It was me, I killed my brother..."
Shaking her head, she tried hard to clear away those unhappy memories, Han Jiaojiao encouraged herself—
This time, I won't repeat the same mistakes. Everything will be different from my previous life. This time, I won't blindly trust people, nor will I burden my brother again. This time, my brother will live a long, long life.
Is it all just because of a ring?
Then this time, I'll snatch the ring first! Without the ring, I'll see how those people can compete with my brother!
But... before that, how should she explain it to her brother?
After the disaster, many supplies had become scarce, mainly because too many areas were hit and needed a large amount of material support, and many domestic factories had stopped production due to the disaster in the raw material regions, leading to a scarcity of goods and overwhelming demand. Also, people's panic buying exacerbated the situation, causing prices to soar, while shelves in supermarkets, pharmacies, and convenience stores were almost empty, and previously bustling commercial streets had become desolate and bleak.
Therefore, to gather supplies, she must make the most of the next two days. Relying on herself alone was definitely not enough, but how could she convince her brother to gather supplies?
Han Jiaojiao thought of several reasons, all of which felt far-fetched. She was racking her brain when her phone suddenly rang. Looking down, the caller ID showed "Xuexue."
Xuexue? Hah...
Han Jiaojiao scoffed and raised her eyebrow mockingly. Her relationship with Su Xue used to be so good, even the nicknames were so cheesy. Feeling nauseous, she pursed her lips and immediately rejected the call.
She had no time to listen to that woman's nagging right now, she was busy.
Han Jiaojiao gathered up the papers she had written, tucked them under her pillow, rolled out of bed, and shuffled out in her slippers.
Ms. Wu hurriedly brought over a plate of fruit, "Miss! Have some fruit before you go out!"
Han Jiaojiao took it offhand, "I'm taking it to eat with brother."
Ms. Wu's expression stiffened slightly. The sudden good relationship between the miss and the young master was something she was still getting used to...
Han Jiaojiao, carrying the fruit plate warmly, ran into Han Yi's hospital room. Han Yi had finished his work and was now leaning on his bed watching TV, which happened to be broadcasting the September 1st meteor event.
In fact, the losses from this event were also significant, but compared to the second time, it was nothing.
Han Jiaojiao moved next to Han Yi, picked up a piece of watermelon with a small fork that was just the right size, and fed it to Han Yi.
"Brother... do you have any friends abroad?" Han Jiaojiao asked him very carefully.
Upon hearing this, the smile on Han Yi's face faded a bit.
"No, but I do know some people. Jiaojiao, are you still considering studying abroad?"
—So that's why she suddenly became close to him... was she actually just finding a way to get away from him?
Han Yi looked at her coldly, his eyes as dark as an ancient, deep well.