Chapter 201: Chapter 201: The God-Worshipping Cult

According to the official count, a total of 17 residents of The Metropolis Residences were killed and over 50 were injured in yesterday’s terrorist attack.

Additionally, over 20 homes on the lower floors were bombed and burned down. Those goddamn terrorists shot out the windows and threw grenades right inside...

At this thought, Manager Grant turned to Melody Summers and Winnie Summers and said earnestly, "Oh, and I really must thank you two. If it weren’t for the fire extinguishers you donated during the wildfire on the back mountain, the consequences this time would have been unimaginable..."

With the chronic water shortage, the community’s fire hydrants were basically useless. If the fires hadn’t been put out quickly, they would have spread to the upper floors. You can imagine the consequences—many more people would have died.

Fortunately, Melody Summers had donated a large number of fire extinguishers, which was how they managed to get the blaze under control in time.

Melody Summers quickly replied, "Please, don’t mention it, Manager Grant. We’re all part of this community. It was the least we could do. Thanking us makes us sound like strangers."

Winnie Summers then asked, "How are the injured residents doing?"

Hearing this, Manager Grant shook his head with a grim look. "They just went to the hospital to get patched up and came right back. They didn’t even get any anesthesia. There’s nothing to do but endure it..."

It was now the second year of the cataclysm, and medical resources were extremely scarce. Not only had the price of many medicines skyrocketed, but there was also a severe shortage of medical personnel. Even many medical students who hadn’t graduated yet were being temporarily hired to help in the hospitals!

Nowadays, ordinary people simply couldn’t afford to get sick; all they could do was pray they didn’t.

A property management employee mixing cement sighed and said in a low voice, "Enduring it is its own kind of pain. The way things are now, it’s better to be dead than to suffer through life. Death is a release..."

For a moment, a heavy atmosphere fell over the main gate. Everyone went back to their tasks in silence.

Manager Grant sighed and said to Winnie Summers, "Yesterday’s attack has everyone in a panic. People were already depressed because of the perpetual night, and now this... Sigh. Our emergency response office will have to start doing more home visits for psychological counseling, or we’ll see even more people jumping from buildings..."

Winnie Summers nodded, her expression grave.

After saying goodbye to Manager Grant and entering the residential complex, Melody Summers first took Winnie Summers to Crystal Mart. Inside the supermarket, a few people were lined up to collect their sand vine cakes.

As the weather had been growing colder, the residents who came for sand vine cakes were all bundled up. After yesterday’s terrorist attack, no one was making small talk as they usually did; they just waited in silence.

Only Officer Tristan Tanner and Crystal Lynch were in the supermarket. A shipment of supplies had needed to be transported the day before, and due to a manpower shortage, Colin Summers and the Lynch father and son had gone to help. They wouldn’t be back for a couple of days.

Winnie Summers hurried over to take Crystal Lynch’s place so she could get some rest.

Melody Summers went up to greet Crystal Lynch but noticed her eyes were as swollen as walnuts.

Seeing this, Melody Summers asked with concern, "Crystal, what’s wrong? What happened?"

Crystal Lynch said in a hoarse voice, "My elderly neighbor... he was killed in yesterday’s terrorist attack..."

"He came to get his sand vine cake yesterday and told me it was his granddaughter’s birthday, so I gave him all three portions of candy meant for my family. I also secretly gave him a bag of dried noodles I’d stored at the supermarket. He was so happy, he just kept thanking me." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"But he didn’t make it home. He ran into the terrorists... They started shooting at anyone they saw, and the old man got hit..."

"After he was shot, he clutched his wound and somehow managed to crawl to the elevator. He used the last of his strength to get home, gave the supplies to his family, and then... he passed away..."

After the old man passed, his family cried all through the night.

Crystal Lynch was right next door. Listening to the desperate sobs coming from their apartment, she curled up under her blankets and cried with them all night long.

When she woke up in the morning, her eyes were so swollen she could barely open them.

It wasn’t just Crystal Lynch’s neighbor. Tragedies like this had played out many times throughout the complex yesterday. The residential towers were filled with screams and cries...

In the silence of the long night, these cries were especially piercing, like a death knell tolling in everyone’s heart.

As she listened, Melody Summers’s eyes began to sting. She pulled Crystal Lynch into an embrace, comforting her gently.

Yesterday’s terrorist attack was a nightmare, casting a shadow over the entire community.

Humanity was insignificant in the face of the cataclysm, but at this moment, compared to the horrors people could inflict on one another, even the disaster itself seemed to pale in comparison...

******

On the drive back to the villa district, Melody Summers kept wondering what was really behind this terrorist attack.

Melody remembered. ’In my past life, during the long night in the second year of the apocalypse, Anworth did have a lot of disappearances and kidnappings, and some criminals took advantage of the chaos to raid government supplies.’

’But I don’t remember a terrorist attack like this ever happening in the city!’

’Even if my rebirth caused a butterfly effect, how could it lead to such a massive change?’

Melody Summers pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Her mind was a mess, and a heavy feeling settled in her chest. ’Things are starting to get out of my control,’ she thought.

After parking in the underground garage, Melody Summers greeted the renovation crew. They were working diligently; the walls of the main hall had already been repainted, and the previous greyish-black marks were gone.

Melody Summers made an excuse to go upstairs to get something, then wearily lay down on her bed and began scrolling through the community group chat on her phone.

Perhaps because everyone was starting to recover from the shock of yesterday’s attack, the community group chat was once again flooded with 99+ notifications.

"4-1209 Slacking Off: Is everyone... okay?"

"3-805 Gummy Bears: Still alive, thankfully."

"Nina from 4-2009: Ugh, don’t even get me started. I had just gotten home yesterday when an explosion went off downstairs. If I’d been a second later... I would’ve been a goner!"

"Kiki, Mom of Two from 3-1007: I’m at my breaking point. There were gunshots and explosions everywhere yesterday. My little Bobby was so scared he spiked a high fever. It only broke this morning."

"Holly from 6-2702: @Kiki, Mom of Two from 3-1007 My kid, too. He was so scared he nearly passed out."

"Kiki, Mom of Two from 3-1007: But why...? What are these people thinking? Why attack us? Just surviving is already so hard. What have we ever done to deserve this? Why do people have to hurt each other like this?"

"Coco from 2-1908: Have you guys seen those discussion threads lately? They’re saying the terrorists who attacked last night were from a cult in the next province over. It’s called... The Advent Sect."

"Coco from 2-1908: The police wiped out that organization a while back. The posts say some remnants got away and fled over here."

"The Lover from 6-702: @Coco from 2-1908 I saw those posts too. It’s terrifying. Apparently, they’re suicide attacks, the kind where they have no regard for their own lives!"