Infinite Disasters: I Hoarded My Way to Godhood novel Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Justin Brooks! Inquiry and Inspection

The next morning, Seraphina Sullivan woke from a hazy sleep to find her room unusually dim.

She could hear the sound of rain outside.

She threw off her blanket and rushed to the window. The sky was as dark as ink, and a fine drizzle was already streaking the glass. Below, the road glistened with water.

"It’s really raining?"

Seraphina was instantly wide awake, all traces of sleep gone. She had just received the rain notification yesterday, and now it was raining right on schedule.

Seraphina had never known the weather forecast to be so accurate.

Her phone suddenly vibrated. A message from Dexter Luther popped up on the screen:

[Seraphina Sullivan, that Disaster Game thing online is real! A friend of mine became a Player, and he says our world is changing. You have to stock up on supplies!]

Seraphina stared at the message, her brow furrowing.

’Dexter Luther didn’t care about the online rumors before. So why now...’

’This guy... Don’t tell me he became a Player himself? And he’s feeding me that clichéd "I have a friend" line.’

As she thought about this, Seraphina suddenly realized something. ’If Dexter Luther was chosen at the start of the second Disaster Game, that means the number of Players is still growing...’

Outside, the rain began to fall harder, the drops hammering against the windowpane with increasing intensity.

Seraphina turned on the TV. Every channel was broadcasting an emergency weather alert:

"Breaking News! A period of continuous, heavy rainfall is expected worldwide..."

"Meteorologists state this anomalous precipitation may be linked to global climate change..."

"Citizens are urged to avoid going outdoors. Residents in low-lying areas should prepare to evacuate..." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

But Seraphina knew this was no ordinary weather event.

She quickly replied to Dexter Luther with an ambiguous message:

[Thanks for the heads-up. You take care, too.]

She didn’t reveal that she was a Player, and she didn’t expose Dexter Luther’s disguise, leaving herself plenty of room to maneuver.

She turned and headed to the storage room to take another inventory of her supplies.

If this downpour was truly the first disaster of Azure Star’s apocalypse, it would likely be followed by floods, power outages, or even...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

The sudden knocking at her door shattered Seraphina’s train of thought.

On reflex, she instantly formed a Silver Needle.

"Hello, census!" a man’s voice called from outside. "Please open the door and cooperate with our inspection!"

Seraphina glanced at her phone. It was already past nine. The census that property management had mentioned yesterday was already underway.

Seraphina peered through the peephole. Two uniformed officials were standing outside, and they did have ID badges hanging on their chests.

But what put her on alert was the strange device one of them was holding.

As Seraphina looked through the peephole, she suddenly recognized one of the two census takers.

’Isn’t that Justin Brooks, the son of my next-door neighbor, Miss Webb?’

’He probably doesn’t know me, but I know Miss Webb quite well.’

So she’d heard a lot about Justin Brooks from her.

"Just a minute! I’m getting dressed!" she shouted, intentionally raising her voice. At the same time, she quickly scanned the room to make sure nothing suspicious was visible.

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