Chapter 40: The Original Protagonist Appears

The sudden flood and the drastic drop in temperature had drained the once-bustling metropolis of its vitality. Looking around, the entire world seemed frozen under a layer of ice and snow, cold and lifeless, devoid of any sign of human presence.

The sky was overcast as if it were about to collapse, pressing down heavily on people’s hearts, making them irritable and restless.

The ground was covered in ice. Even with snow chains, vehicles could barely gain traction. Drivers had to stay extremely focused, for a single lapse in concentration could send their car skidding uncontrollably.

“This road is really hard to drive on. Who knows when this kind of weather will end?” Lan Jingxu sighed from the passenger seat.

“Yeah, first it was three months of torrential rain, then this extreme cold. When will things ever return to normal? Half a year of natural disasters already—it feels like forever. I really miss the old days. I just hope this ends soon,” Ke Feiguang echoed from the backseat.

The others didn’t speak but nodded slightly, clearly sharing the same sentiment.

Suddenly, the man sitting in the middle of the backseat spoke, “What if the disaster never ends?”

The other four froze. Except for Zhang Qiu, who was driving and could only glance at the rearview mirror, Lan Jingxu, Ke Feiguang, and Li Hongsheng all turned to look at Xiao Lou, who had been resting with his eyes closed.

Sensing their gazes, the man slowly opened his eyes. The reflection of ice outside stung his vision, making him squint slightly. His dark pupils were deep and still, like an ancient well, with an occasional glint of sharpness that sent chills down one’s spine.

Ke Feiguang couldn’t hold back and was the first to ask, “Captain, what do you mean by that? Did you receive some inside information?”

“Yeah.” Xiao Lou rubbed his slightly aching forehead and shared the message he had just received from home.

“There are rumors from higher-ups that we are about to enter the apocalypse. The natural disasters we’re experiencing now are merely the harbinger and the beginning of the end times.”

“The core decision-makers are fiercely divided into two factions. One believes that civilians shouldn’t be abandoned and that we should rescue as many as possible. The other believes that we should consolidate existing resources and preserve strength to face the challenges ahead.” Xiao Lou sat up straight, his expression grave.

After hearing his words, the four of them fell silent. The car’s interior grew heavy with an oppressive atmosphere.

They had risen above thousands of elite soldiers to become members of a special forces squad, not just because of their superior combat skills, but also due to their intelligence and keen observational abilities. They could see things others couldn’t, and they thought deeper than most.

They had noticed the abnormalities in recent disasters, but deep down, they had still clung to a sliver of hope—or perhaps, an unwillingness to believe that the world had truly changed.

Xiao Lou’s words mercilessly shattered their illusions. It wasn’t that they couldn’t accept it—after all, they had already been mentally prepared—but it was difficult to adjust their mindset so suddenly.

The silence was abruptly broken.

“Thud, thud, thud—”

Loud thumps resounded as their vehicle was struck by something heavy. Up ahead, a group of people emerged…

---

While Xiao Lou and his team were delayed, Yan Mo and his group had already arrived safely at the armory.

“Tsk tsk tsk, this place is built like a fortress. Even the outer walls are this high, with barbed wire and an electric grid on top. If the power were still on and guards were stationed here, who in their right mind would come looking for trouble? It’d be suicide,” Bu Xiangwen remarked, staring at the heavily fortified armory.

“Now the question is, how do we get in?” Shu Xin asked as she stood beside Yan Mo.

Yan Mo ran his hand over the wall, examined the structure, then found a suitable spot. He pulled explosives from his bag. “We blow it open.”

“…That’s a pretty straightforward and brutal method. But I guess it works.” Shu Xin was momentarily stunned. She hadn’t expected her usually resourceful boyfriend to resort to something so direct and violent.

“A-city’s upper management has temporarily forgotten about this armory, but they’re not fools. They’ll realize its importance soon enough. Before they react, we need to secure it for ourselves.”

Shu Xin wasn’t slow-witted. She quickly grasped the logic.

The armory was located far from the city, with no one residing within ten miles. By precisely controlling the amount of explosives used, they could breach the wall without causing too much disturbance.

Inside, the armory was untouched by the flood. However, unlike the outer wall, the internal vault couldn’t be breached with brute force. The weapons stored inside were highly volatile—handling them recklessly was a recipe for disaster.

Yan Mo gave Shu Xin a look. She immediately understood and retrieved the tools Yan Mo had prepared the night before from her spatial storage.

Yan Mo and Mu Qimai each took a side and worked on the vault’s door. Soon, a person-sized opening appeared in the seemingly impenetrable vault door.

Shu Xin and Bu Xiangwen watched in shock. They had never seen such a technique before.

“What are you waiting for? Get in,” Mu Qimai called out, following closely behind Yan Mo into the armory.

“Whoa~”

“Wow~”

Shu Xin and Bu Xiangwen hurried in, and the sight before them left them speechless.

The sheer quantity of weapons was overwhelming. As the largest armory in A-city, the facility was roughly the size of five or six basketball courts, with a ceiling nearly five meters high. Crates of guns, ammunition, explosives, and even some newly developed advanced weaponry were stacked neatly inside.

After roughly assessing the inventory, Yan Mo nodded in satisfaction. Without wasting time, he led Shu Xin in transferring the supplies into spatial storage.

In less than fifteen minutes, the entire stockpile was secured. Just as they exited the armory, they heard the distant rumbling of approaching vehicles.

The four of them exchanged glances and quickly hid.

This area was covered in dense vegetation. The sudden drop in temperature had frozen everything, forming natural ice barriers. Hidden behind them, Shu Xin and her team remained completely concealed.

The approaching vehicle stopped in front of the armory, and five men stepped out. Upon seeing the breached outer wall, their expressions darkened.

“Captain, the wall has been blasted open. Looks like someone beat us to it,” Li Hongsheng frowned.

Xiao Lou said nothing. He walked up to the breach, carefully examined the blast marks, and made his assessment. “This happened today…”