57: Poisonous rain that kills upon contact

If the space could one day upgrade to allow others inside, then Ai Yue's family could hide within it and be completely free from the threat of external environments, no matter what natural disasters occurred outside.

Thinking of this, Ai Yue became even more enthusiastic about collecting gold and jade.

Ai Yue planned to go to the next city to continue her collection, but the weather did not cooperate; she noticed the sky darkening as it turned overcast again.

Her heart skipped a beat. What was going on? Why had it rained several times in this life when that hadn't happened in her previous life?

However, now was not the time to ponder such things. She needed to find a shelter as quickly as possible to avoid the impending rain.

She suddenly remembered the private vault in the antique market that was built like an Underground Bunker; wasn't that the perfect place to hide?

With that thought, she rushed toward the antique market without stopping.

The sky was darkening visibly, as if it were about to turn pitch black.

Upon arriving at the Underground Bunker, she checked the ventilation system and found no issues. During her inspection, she also discovered an electrical system, though it had been left idle due to a lack of power source.

The bunker didn't have power, but she did. Once she connected a generator, the entire Underground Bunker lit up. Other than that, she didn't find anything else.

Having found a safe place, Ai Yue released Da Wang and used her satellite phone to call her parents. She learned that it was also overcast in the area of the Safety Tower, and the light was so dim that nothing could be seen within five meters.

Ai Yue urged her parents to get home quickly and not to go out until this situation ended. Her parents agreed repeatedly, and upon hearing that Ai Yue had found a place to hide, the two of them set aside their worries.

An hour later, the sky that had turned as dark as night regained its brightness, though it remained overcast.

People hid in their homes in fear; such a situation had never occurred before, and no one dared to risk going outside.

Shortly after, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky. People tried throwing metal objects, marble, and other easily corroded materials into the rain to test if it was acid rain.

After waiting for a long while, the items outside showed no changes. Some brave individuals reached their hands into the rain and found no discomfort at all. Only then did people relax, thinking it was just an ordinary rain.

Who could have known that half an hour later, those who had come into contact with the rainwater suddenly collapsed in convulsions, foaming at the mouth, and died in extreme agony.

Others who touched those people also began to show the same symptoms. For a time, everyone was in a state of panic, wishing to stay as far away from others as possible.

Similar incidents occurred at the Safety Tower base. As long as a single drop of rainwater touched the skin, infection followed quickly. The only saving grace was that the virus did not spread through the air; infection only occurred through actual physical contact.

The base immediately isolated those who had come into contact with the rain, while researchers worked around the clock to study the components, cause, and cure.

Those not in the Safety Tower fared miserably; as soon as someone was infected with the virus through contact with the rain, they were immediately driven away or shot dead.

The scene made one feel as if the entire world was undergoing another mass purging of biological life.

Her parents told Ai Yue everything happening inside the Tower via the satellite phone and warned her to protect herself and never go outside to investigate.

For the time being, Ai Yue settled down in the Underground Bunker.

Being trapped underground alone was very lonely. To keep her spirits from sinking, Ai Yue set a daily schedule for herself: training herself and Da Wang after breakfast in the morning, and learning to identify flora and fauna as well as life-saving methods for natural disasters after noon.

The days were not so difficult to endure.

The viral rain finally stopped after three months. Without sunlight for these three months, vegetable yields in the base were low, and plants in the greenhouses also had extremely low yields due to insufficient light, which was not enough to distribute to the entire base. This added another layer of hardship to their already difficult lives, making them miserable.

Not to mention those outside, even the people inside the Safety Tower were so hungry they were tempted to resort to cannibalism.

Under the organization of the high-level officials, people in the Safety Tower could still receive a tiny bit of food to barely stave off starvation, but it was hard to say for those outside the base.

No one dared to step outside their houses; no one could guarantee they wouldn't be touched by a single drop of rain unless they had a full-body NBC suit. Such items were only stocked in the various Safety Towers and were not in the hands of ordinary people. Thus, even if they were to starve to death at home, people did not want to die a painful death from the virus.

During these three months, the base's researchers worked hard to overcome the virus, but the results were unsatisfactory. With current technology, it was impossible to detoxify and provide Healing. The only way was to wait for the rain to stop and for the sun to come out to evaporate the moisture, which would finally resolve this natural disaster.

The viral rain that swept the globe claimed countless lives. Looking down at the world, one would find that flora and fauna were becoming increasingly scarce, and human traces were rare, making the entire planet appear incredibly desolate.

After the rain stopped, puddles of all sizes were everywhere on the ground. The rainwater within them carried the virus, and one would still die of poisoning if they accidentally touched it.

People going out to find food were extra careful on the road. Once someone was touched by the virus, regardless of whether symptoms had appeared, everyone stayed far away from them. It was even worse outside the base; if someone accidentally stepped into a puddle, they would be immediately beaten to death by their companions.

Those who had to go out not only had to watch their step but also had to be wary of others.

After hunkering down in the Underground Bunker for three months, Ai Yue also decided to go out and take a look.

Coming outside, she found many people in rags, as thin as skeletons, carefully avoiding puddles while searching everywhere for something edible. Many others left the city for the mountains to find food in order to survive.

Just as Ai Yue wanted to take a closer look at the street, a sudden scream attracted the attention of everyone nearby. A man had accidentally stepped with one foot into a puddle smaller than his shoe and stood there dazed, while the person next to him cried out in fear.

The people drawn to the scene all raised their weapons and struck the man ruthlessly. Only then did the man react, shouting in terror, 'I'm fine, the water didn't get into my shoe, I didn't touch it...'

But those people wouldn't listen to his explanation. Only after the man who had touched the rain fell and stopped breathing did they lower their weapons and disperse.

Ai Yue watched this scene in shock. Only then did she merge the situation her parents had described with what was happening before her eyes, truly realizing that the power brought by this rain was so immense and inhumane.

These people walking on the streets were no longer human; they had completely turned into soul-reaping messengers from hell.

Ai Yue looked at the sky. The thick dark clouds were heavy and oppressive, and she didn't know when they would finally disperse.

She decided to observe the situation and wait for the rainwater on the ground to evaporate before setting off for home.

Having made her decision, Ai Yue retreated back into the Underground Bunker and waited quietly.

Two days later, Ai Yue returned to the surface and found the sky still covered in dark clouds and not a single puddle missing from the ground. Everything was exactly as it had been two days ago, with the only difference being the many more corpses on the ground that had died in miserable states.