When the World Ends, She Begins novel Chapter 22

If Bumblebee were here, that white dog wouldn't even come close to landing a bite on him.

With fangs that sharp and a body so quick and powerful, this woman wouldn't be able to stand against him at all.

Aside from his master, he had no fear of anyone. Even the day his master knocked him out cold, he hadn't fought back ...

If only he were still around ...

His mind grew hazy, and he almost thought he saw Bumblebee charging toward him.

Natalie watched as the man slowly went under, then started up the dinghy to go after the last woman.

Hearing the hum of the engine behind her, the woman paddled frantically ahead as she begged, "Don't kill me! I admit I was wrong!"

But Natalie didn't respond. She steered the boat directly toward her.

They had ganged up on others, plotted to rob her, to gorge themselves on her wealth. And now she wanted forgiveness—just because she'd lost?

Too late for that.

The water soon stilled again, as though none of them had ever been there.

Natalie pulled out a towel and began drying the soaked dog.

"Lucky, you can't just bite whatever you see; it's filthy!

"You're a little lady. You have to act like one, okay?"

Lucky nestled quietly against Natalie, making a soft grunt.

It was as if she was saying, "Sure!"

After drying her off, Natalie tucked the dog back into the backpack, stripped off her wetsuit, and packed it away to avoid any more conflicts.

She fired up the dinghy, turned it, and set course deeper into Broadview District.

She remembered overhearing those people mention heading to the Tech Tower, and it suddenly occurred to her that there was another skyscraper in Broadview District.

But that tower sat right at the edge of the district, nearly requiring a full crossing of the area to reach.

Without a dinghy and just relying on a kayak or a plastic tub, getting there would be impossible. That meant it probably hadn't been searched yet.

Those people must have thought the same thing, which explained why they'd traveled all the way from Centralview District.

Natalie headed straight for the Tech Tower.

Two hours later, she arrived, and in the endless expanse of floodwater, the building stood alone above the surface.

The top still bore the glowing Tyro Tech Tower sign.

The Tyro Group was the province's second-largest conglomerate, mainly in electronics but having branched into all sorts of industries.

This skyscraper served as their Northlorn headquarters.

Natalie drew closer, spotted no one nearby, stored her dinghy away, and entered the building with her backpack.

Broadview's low terrain meant the first 11 floors were underwater, leaving only the top six above.

Collect, collect, collect!

On the next floor, she found the group's three-year-old branch, Create Tech.

She'd read in the news about their work on a high-tech textile, which was comfortable, cut-resistant, and capable of regulating temperature.

That piqued her interest.

If the fabric really worked, she'd never again have to suffer through extreme heat or cold.

She combed the R&D section but only uncovered failed prototypes. The meeting room's whiteboard still showed flawed data and notes for revisions.

Looked like that miracle cloth wasn't finished yet.

Natalie sighed in disappointment. "All hype, no results."

She left the lab and kept exploring. Another department caught her eye.

Inside was a brand-new drone model priced at 300,000 dollars.

It boasted long flight time and ultra-clear cameras—three units in total.

Natalie happily took them, plus all the spare parts.

After finishing her sweep, finding nothing else of worth, she moved on to the 15th floor.

This level housed a seed company.