NOVEL WEB Chapter 332: Rat Infestation
When the man stopped screaming, people went into his house to check him because they noticed the rats leaving through different openings but all they found was a skeleton.
White bones without even a single scrap of flesh. It looked as if dogs had gnawed in the skeleton until it was completely clean.
This development had shocked people so much that they had to take the rats seriously.
Word had spread about the incident which sparked people to fill in any hole available in their houses even if it was the ventilation.
To everyone's dismay, the heat that had been there before the torrential rain had come back.
What made the situation worse was the scarcity of water now.
Because of the floods, water reservoirs had been completely contaminated and could never be used again.
The same thing went for wells and any other water source that had been there before the apocalypse.
Now that the extreme heat had returned, people were falling and dying due to heat stroke even inside their houses.
Purified water had become more precious than gold and now people had to exchange one liter of water for three kilograms of rice.
The problem was that even for one person, a liter of water was not even enough to hydrate them for one day.
Not to mention that they had to cook and eat. Bathing and other things related to cleanliness had been abandoned because it was impossible to have that much water.
Water ability users had become the most important people anywhere they were.
Those whose skills had advanced and could provide twenty liters of water daily were treated like gods.
They were given food and shelter for free just so that they could give someone even one cup of water to drink per day.
If anyone had the ability to produce more than fifty liters of water, the military would take them to their base without asking questions.
They are provided with food and shelter daily. Moreover, because the military leaders want them to provide them with more water per day, they are given crystal cores for free to cultivate so that their output could increase as well.
The problem with this arrangement is that not many water ability users are left outside, thus, normal citizens were dying from thirst in large numbers.
The only good thing about the heat was that it was killing the bacteria and viruses that were causing the diseases such as cholera.
On this day, an announcement was suddenly heard through a loud speaker mounted on a military truck.
"Hello everyone, the construction of safe bases has resumed and everyone is invited to support it and participate in the construction process.
Those who participate will get priority in choosing their houses in the district of their choosing.
They will also be given five liters of water every day with two kilograms of rice, five packets of noodles, half a kilo of sugar, and a kilogram of flour.
If you are interested, please come to the nearest supermarket for registration tomorrow.
Everyone is advised to stay indoors today as the military will partake in a cleansing operation to eliminate zombies in your area.
Please stay in the safety of your houses to avoid accidental deaths.
Thank you."
The message was repeated three times before the military truck moved on to another part of the city.
People could hear the ringing of gunshots and they knew that the soldiers making the announcement were killing zombies to clear their path.
They left behind excitement that had not been felt in a long time. People were happy because they could work to earn a living, albeit incomparable to before the apocalypse.
The five liters of water everyday in the heat were too tempting for people to ignore.
Many who were afraid of going outside to collect supplies because of the thousands of zombies roaming in the streets at all times felt relieved as well because they could get food if they worked in constructing the safe base.
Even though the food offered wasn't much, it was enough to feed families.
They could eat one kilogram of rice per day and save the rest for later.
With daily savings, they would have a substantial amount of food by the time construction was over.
In the third building from the one the Chu family lives in, a meeting was taking place.
Calling it a meeting was an exaggeration because the people there were just scheming to rob.
They were discussing how Chu Miao's team had collected a lot of supplies over time during the rainy season and how they were not short of supplies.
"If we can get our hands on even a part of those supplies, then we wouldn't go hungry for months." One man with skinny arms suggested.
Others nodded their heads while others had disapproving looks.
"Don't forget how scary those two harbingers of death are." Another man just as skinny replied.
He was one of those who disapproved of the plan to go and rob Chu Miao's people.
"Relax, I already inquired, those two are not home. I don't know where they went, but it looks like they left more than half a month ago and haven't come back." The first man asserted.
He was determined to take those supplies for himself. Going hungry had made him a decisive man.
Unfortunately for him, he had chosen the wrong target.
"What if they suddenly come back? Also, are you sure that the people left there cannot protect those supplies? Don't forget that most of those people are soldiers." Another man also felt that their decision was reckless and was not supportive.
"You guys are such party poopers. If you don't take a risk, how are you going to get any rewards? The greater the risk, the greater the reward. Let's stop this back and forth and just decide when to act.
Since we will be leaving to join the base construction, how about acting tomorrow night after we finish our registration at the supermarket?" The one that looked like the leader made a final decision.