Chapter 18 Why is there such a strong smell of tea?

Meng Xin tried to look outside but couldn't see anything. He asked curiously what had happened.

Shanran told him what she had seen.

Meng Xin also groaned, clinging tightly to Shan Ran, clutching her clothes, and said in a trembling voice, "What should we do? Ran Ran, I'm so scared. Will we be alright?"

It was as if the person who had just condensed a water column and made a grand statement that he would stand in front of Shan Ran was a completely different person.

Shan Ran didn't pay attention to any of this. She just felt sorry for Meng Xin, who had just woken up and had no memory of anything, having to face all of this. Moreover, she had brought him from a familiar area to her home.

So Shanran patted the fluffy head that nestled against her shoulder and gently comforted her, "It's okay, sweetie, our house is very sturdy, we're not afraid of these things."

Our family.

Upon hearing this word, Meng Xinye couldn't suppress the smile on her face.

Rhine's eye twitched, not missing the sly smile that appeared when the other person lowered their head.

He gritted his teeth. He hadn't drunk any tea tonight, but why did he smell such a strong tea aroma?

Immediately afterwards, Rhine saw that several panes of glass in his neighbor's house had also shattered.

He turned to look at Shanran, "All my other supplies are in the storage room in the basement. I'll move them over when the wind calms down."

Shanran: "...Move them all over here?"

Rhine lowered her head and sighed softly, "Ranran, many of the windows in my house are broken, and it's no longer habitable. Can you take me in temporarily?"

I'll give you all my supplies, including the solar panels I removed. There's also a lot of gasoline and diesel I stockpiled in the basement over there.

I am the next head of the Lawrence family. Whatever you need, my family and I will do our utmost to fulfill it, in gratitude for your help in my time of need.

The entire Lawrence family?

Shan Ran blinked, a soft hiss running through her mind.

The Lawrence family has a deep-rooted history, while the Shan and Xie families are just "newly rich" families that have only emerged in the first two or three generations. The old aristocratic families call these "newly rich" nouveau riche.

With the assistance of a family like Lawrence, even if they directly confront the First Continent's powerful family behind Rong Shuyao, they will have more trump cards in their hands.

Shan Ran never puts everything on others or relies on others. Her most important task right now is to improve her own strength.

Of course, she wouldn't refuse the overtures of the next head of the Lawrence family.

It's simply a matter of having more people and more mouths to feed.

So she nodded, "Okay, you can stay here without worry. The wind will blow all day, so let's not go out yet. We'll move your things over when the wind calms down."

Rhine smiled very happily.

"Ranran, thank you."

Meng Xin's teeth were practically grinding to powder.

Won't he have to cook for three people from now on?

So annoying!

Meng Xinye's room is on the second floor in the northeast corner, directly opposite Shan Ran's room upstairs, and he is closest to Shan Ran.

Rhine chose a room in the southwest corner, and she and Mengxin were at opposite ends of the corridor.

Before going to sleep, Shan Ran received a message from Xie Qingheng, informing her that she was safe and sound. However, the Xie family was in disarray; Xie Qingheng only had time to confirm Shan Ran's condition before hanging up.

The three people in the villa went to sleep, and nothing happened that night.

However, many people will be unable to sleep peacefully tonight.

After midnight, the wind speed increased several levels again.

Many trees were blown down, some even uprooted.

The large floor-to-ceiling windows simply couldn't withstand the storm; almost all of them were shattered. Some residents on higher floors might have been sound asleep when the wind suddenly swept their blankets and blankets down to the ground floor.

The street signs were torn to pieces, and many things were flying around outside. Paper scraps, slippers, and lamps were nothing unusual, and bicycles, outdoor chairs, and washing machines were also common.

You might be sheltering from the wind at home when suddenly a fish slaps your face, still jumping and wagging its tail.

Fortunately, things were too chaotic outside recently, and almost no one was out at night, so very few people were out facing the storm.

Residents of ordinary apartment buildings at least have a place to live, but those in the slums of Zones 2 to 4 are living in hell.

Some of the slightly better slums consist of low-rise buildings connected together, and still have a sliver of strength to withstand hurricanes.

The worst ones were makeshift tin shacks cobbled together at random.

When the strong winds came, the tin shack was powerless to resist. All the tin sheets, including the items inside, were overturned and blown into the sky.

A little girl hugged her grandmother tightly, and the grandmother hugged the metal pillar that supported the house. This was the only thing left in their home; to be precise, they no longer had a home.

Grandma's life savings are all in this small tin shack. She raised her granddaughter alone. Everyone says that living in the slums is difficult and hope is slim, but Grandma still wants to give her granddaughter the best of everything, hoping that she can grow up in peace.

But it turns out that such a small wish was just a bubble, easily popped.

"Grandma, I'm scared."

"Don't be afraid, my dear. Grandma's here. Hold on tight to Grandma, everything will be alright."

The wind was so strong that it muffled Grandma's voice, but the little girl calmed down considerably.

The little girl was terrified by the continuous cries and screams all around her. She wanted to cover her ears, but she didn't dare to let go.

Suddenly, a muffled groan came from above.

The little girl sensed something was wrong; her grandmother was becoming increasingly unsteady. She struggled to lift her head and look towards the wind.

Grandma was injured. She was hit on the head by something and was covered in blood. The blood was blown away as soon as it started to flow, so not a drop fell on the little girl.

The next second, Grandma could no longer hold on and let go.

"My dear, I'm so sorry..."

The little girl didn't hear her grandmother's last words because she and her grandmother were swept away by the storm.

A sharp pain shot through her body. She didn't know what she had bumped into while rolling away. Before her consciousness faded, the little girl had only one thought.

It hurts so much. I hope my grandma and I won't have to suffer like this in our next life.

Such tragedies have been repeated countless times in the slums.

They were already considered beneath the notice of the upper class, and in such terrible weather, they became the first to perish.

It quickly flew away with the wind, leaving no trace.

The storm was still raging in the early morning.

Shan Ran didn't sleep well. The wind was too strong outside, and she was worried that something might happen, so she woke up very early.

When I went downstairs, Meng Xin was making breakfast.

Rhine was brewing coffee at the sideboard.

They both woke up earlier.

Power outages occurred in many places, but thanks to the special network equipment in this world, most places still had internet access, although the signal was so-so.

Shanran checked her phone to find out what was happening outside.

Some people posted photos and videos, while others were devastated by the passing of a family member.

Some people have random things blowing into their homes, take pictures of them, and post them online to make a fuss.

Some people complained bitterly, cursing the district head, the higher-ups, God, the world for its injustice, and the gods for their incompetence.

The three great families of the First Continent—the Ram Family, the Arlesde Family, and the Solomon Family—each have their own churches and beliefs, worship their own gods, and their archbishops are all important figures in their families.

They have churches all over the world. Their missionary work is not only to spread their doctrines, but also to consolidate their family's position and facilitate the brainwashing of the public.

The fact that these three great families have been able to endure for so many years and remain standing is largely due to the strong faith of the people.

However, when the end times came, the gods these people believed in were useless, the three great families were too busy to take care of themselves, churches in various places were practically non-existent, and the faith of many people collapsed.

Such policies of keeping the people ignorant will be quickly shattered when the end times arrive.

Among all kinds of posts, the most numerous are requests for help.

Some people lack things, some are trapped, and some want to exchange everything they have for a safe haven.

However, the strong winds were raging, and no one knew when they would stop, so they had no energy to rescue others.

[Strong winds! Strong winds are coming! That post is going to come true! There will be monsters tomorrow!]

Shanran's prophecy post went viral, ranking first on the forum. Countless people left comments below, wanting the poster to come forward and tell them what would happen next.

Some people believe the poster is incredibly powerful and are begging the poster to save their lives.

Some people believe that the poster is an upper-class person from the First Continent, suspect that all of this is a conspiracy, and think that the poster should be exposed to give an explanation to all the deceased.

Shan Ran frowned as she read this, truly admiring the creativity of netizens.

She switched to two other networks on mainland China and found that her posts had also been noticed there.

Some people say that the family is investigating the authenticity of this post and trying to find the poster.

Shan Ran raised an eyebrow.

Fortunately, she had a backup plan. After waking up, she went to the black market and bought a stolen second-hand broken phone and SIM card. She posted the message some distance away from the hotel and then threw the phone into a garbage truck.

The security and infrastructure in District 4 are among the worst, and besides, a lot of equipment will be destroyed after tomorrow, so she is not worried at all that anyone will find her through the post.

Unless they possess some special superpower.

Oh, and the Lawrence family too.

Thinking of this, she called out to Rhine.

Rhine brought two cups of black coffee to Shanran, sat down next to her, and pushed one of the cups in front of her.

"Good morning, Ranran." With that, Rhine placed a kiss on Shanran's cheek and smiled at her.

This may seem like just a polite greeting, but it also carries some of Rhine's ulterior motives.

Shanran glanced guiltily at the back of Tianluonan, who was diligently working in the kitchen.

She coughed lightly. "Rhine, I posted something about my precognitive dreams before, and it started attracting a lot of attention yesterday. I'm worried that people from the other two continents might come looking for me, and what about your family..."

Rhine quickly said, "Don't worry, I didn't mention you. I just said I saw a post online that I found very informative, and I wanted to prepare the family members just in case. They won't doubt what I say."

"And..." Rhine paused for a moment, "If anyone notices anything in the future, I will say that I had someone post this, that it was a premonition I had before the apocalypse. Don't worry, I will take full responsibility for everything."