Looking at the healthy woman beside him, Kain sighed.

He was willing to believe he had returned to the past. According to the date he saw, it was approximately one month before the world collapsed. It would also explain why the system said he had one month to find the kids.

Since he was back to the beginning, he needed to make preparations. He had the money; Jake and Nicky were looking for the kids. All he needed to do now was convince Amelia that the world was about to end.

If she was willing to believe him, her family needed to be taken care of. He couldn’t understand how such kind people gave birth to such a monster of a daughter.

Regardless, those kind people inevitably didn’t make it to the establishment of the New World. They died fairly early on. Amelia didn’t tell him how, but he had a few guesses.

As for the rest of the Hartwell family... He sneered. He remembered seeing them when the New World came into being. They were well-fed and powerful. Even Amelia’s trusted partner was there.

It was obvious they had been thriving. Fifteen years of desperation and destruction had hardly left a mark on them. If he had to guess, they either made a deal with someone or they knew what was coming and said nothing.

If he could be reborn, what was stopping others from being reborn? But to let Amelia and her family die, after everything they had done for them, they truly embody the word betrayal.

"Amy, I need to ask you something."

She looked up. Having just sent the necessary information to Veronica, she was lounging on the bed.

"Tell me, has your uncle been asking for money lately? More money than usual?"

He felt the need to confirm his conjecture. That way, he would know how to proceed. Having the Hartwells as a partner in the New World would give him early access to resources. He could use those resources later to fund an army if he needed to.

It wasn’t necessarily food that he needed. Countless mutated beasts would serve as food. What he needed was lab equipment. The creation of new weapons was a major undertaking of the New World. Even people gradually gaining powers, weapons were still the best way to go.

Amelia wrinkled her nose, hearing Kain mention her uncle. The man was useless and cunning. She had been telling her father to separate himself from his uncle’s family. But his father is too good a person.

With an empire like the Hartwells, as long as her uncle didn’t do anything too outrageous, she knew her father wouldn’t take action.

Nodding, she replied, "Aside from his usual allowance, he’s asked Dad for almost 500 million, claiming he’s doing business. I’ve been looking into it, but he is being extremely secretive.

It looks like he might be going into pharmaceuticals. He’s been buying up down-and-out companies."

"More like he wants to keep them working then keep the stock for himself." Kain scowled.

He was sure someone was advising her uncle. As for who, he didn’t care to find out now. What he needed was to make his own preparation.

"You sound sure," Amelia responded, tilting her head to look at him.

"I am sure." Kain looked at her, his eyes radiating an intensity that forced Amelia to look away. "I need you to trust me. I know what I’m going to say might sound crazy, but since your uncle is already preparing, you need to know too."

It was uncertain what Amelia saw in his gaze, but she licked her lips and nodded sharply.

Exhaling sharply, Kain began, "The world as we know it will end in one month." He kept his eyes trained on her; he saw the disbelief. He didn’t expect her to accept what he was saying. Anyone would find it hard to believe.

"I know you won’t believe me. I don’t expect you to. But I need your help. Pretend I’m crazy for a minute and listen to the rambling of a madman.

Your uncle knows what’s coming. How or why he knows, I have no clue. But I’m certain he does. He’s buying all those drugs to set himself up for what’s to come. He’s most likely buying equipment, foodstuffs, and other medical supplies. And I suspect someone is helping him hide it.

In the next month, there will be a massive earthquake followed by torrential downpour. The water levels will start to rise. In less than a week, most houses will be unlivable. Everything will be submerged. I’m not asking you to believe me. I’m asking you to prepare."

Kain watched her face cycle through a myriad of emotions. If he didn’t need to be serious, he would definitely laugh. Finally, she closed her eyes. Nodding lightly, she opened them.

"I’m willing to believe you." A brilliant smile flashed on Kain’s face. She continued, "...I won’t ask where you got your information from. But I hope you can trust me enough to tell me soon."

"I trust you," he said softly, " but there are some things it’s better you don’t know."

After hammering out the details, Amelia left Kain’s villa. She didn’t need to ask her father for money, but she wanted to investigate her uncle. She also had a bone to pick with the lab, and she needed to check on the other information Kain had given her. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Kain had told her Gigi wasn’t trustworthy. She wanted to go back and look into exactly why he thought she was.

While Amelia went on her own manhunt, Kain was having a conversation with the system. It had come so suddenly that he felt uncertain. He knew nothing about its origins or why it decided to latch on to him.

Now, it was linked to Amelia, so he needed to find out all the information he could.

So once again, Kain found himself in bed, propped up against the headboard. He made himself comfortable before calling on the system.