Chapter 591

"4-2009 Nina: Enough with the nonsense. Can someone tell me what the hell happened yesterday? What’s the situation with those rebels?"

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: @4-2009 Nina Last night, the rebel group on the east side tried to raid the warehouse on the back mountain. To divert the police’s attention, they sent people to launch a surprise attack on our apartment buildings. It was a classic diversion tactic."

"6-702 The Lover: @4-1009 Lowell On Deadline Those people are despicable! They have a complete disregard for human life!"

"4-2009 Nina: Ugh, it’s happening again. I’ve lost count of how many times... I’m getting numb to it..."

"2-1408 Bella Grant: @4-2009 Nina For me, this time was different. My family and I truly had a brush with death..."

"4-2009 Nina: @2-1408 Bella Grant What happened to your family?"

"2-1408 Bella Grant: @4-2009 Nina You might not believe this, but last night, those rebels were right outside my door..."

"2-1408 Bella Grant: If we didn’t have a habit of barricading our door with a cabinet, those people probably would have broken in and killed us."

"2-1408 Bella Grant: We just moved the cabinet to check. There are several new bullet holes in our security door. My hands are still shaking as I type this... It was terrifying..."

"4-2009 Nina: @2-1408 Bella Grant Oh my god! Thank heavens you’re okay!"

"2-1908 Coco: I just got back from the emergency management office. They said that apart from Building 4, all the other apartment buildings had a lot of casualties. Even the villa district was attacked. I heard a villa was even burned down!"

"12-1803 AAA Lawson Construction Materials - Closed: @2-1908 Coco Huh? Why was Building 4 fine?"

"2-1908 Coco: Not sure. Maybe they didn’t have enough people."

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: Haha! I remember someone was saying before that it was unlucky to live in Building 4 because the number ’4’ sounds like the word for ’death.’ That’s why Building 4 supposedly had problems every day, and they even wanted us to rename it Building 3A."

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: Well, look at us now! Our Building 4 was the only one that didn’t have any incidents tonight!"

"12-1803 AAA Lawson Construction Materials - Closed: @4-1009 Lowell On Deadline Or maybe it’s because even the rebels think the number 4 is bad luck and didn’t want anything to do with it..."

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: @12-1803 AAA Lawson Construction Materials - Closed What’s that supposed to mean?!"

"4-2009 Nina: @12-1803 AAA Lawson Construction Materials - Closed If you don’t know how to talk, then shut up!"

"2-1408 Bella Grant: Okay, stop fighting. It was hard enough to get this new group chat going, why is everyone arguing again?"

"2-1408 Bella Grant: @2-1908 Coco Have they all been caught? I’m too scared to go outside now."

"6-2702 Holly: @2-1408 Bella Grant Me too."

"6-2702 Holly: I’m too scared to even go get today’s disaster relief rations. I’m worried I’ll run into rebels lying in ambush. Sigh, my family of three has decided to just go hungry today!"

"2-1908 Coco: @2-1408 Bella Grant It’s hard to say. I heard the police and the military are still sweeping the area. If you’re scared, you should wait a bit longer."

"2-1908 Coco: But today’s disaster relief rations have duck meat."

"2-1908 Coco: [Image]"

"2-1908 Coco: Sautéed duck with mushrooms and wood ear fungus."

"6-2702 Holly: ..."

"4-1209 Slacking Off: In that case, who cares about rebels? Duck meat, here I come!"

"2-1408 Bella Grant: @2-1908 Coco The police haven’t finished their sweep yet? How did so many rebels get in?"

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: @2-1408 Bella Grant I heard they were planted ahead of time, mixing in with those refugees that were resettled here!"

"4-1009 Lowell On Deadline: On top of that, there were also refugees and homeowners who they turned during this time."

"2-1408 Bella Grant: @4-1009 Lowell On Deadline Homeowners were turned, too? What could they possibly gain from that?!"

"2-1408 Bella Grant: They had perfectly good lives but chose to get involved in this stuff that could get them executed!"

"7-408 Gone with the Wind: @2-1408 Bella Grant There were. The male homeowner on the floor above me was one. Apparently, he was swayed by the rebels while he was gambling."

"2-1408 Bella Grant: @7-408 Gone with the Wind What happened to him? Did the police take him away?"

"7-408 Gone with the Wind: @2-1408 Bella Grant The police arrested him last night!"

"7-408 Gone with the Wind: It’s actually kind of funny. He was a deserter even among the rebels. After getting his assignment, he got scared and didn’t go. He actually deserted his post and ran back home!"

"12-1803 AAA Lawson Construction Materials - Closed: Heh, what a motley crew."

"7-408 Gone with the Wind: Speaking of which, these rebels are really stupid. They were actually plotting their rebellion in a group chat. This is the era of big data, with precise satellite positioning and real-name registration for all SIM cards. The police could pinpoint their locations just by tracking their phones!"

"..."

Melody Summers scrolled through the group chat history. ’This turmoil is finally over,’ she thought. ’It’s pretty much the same as I remember from my past life. The rebels came on strong, but they didn’t end up causing too much chaos.’

’Modern warfare is a battle of technology and information. Unless you have the hearts and minds of the people, the old ways of becoming bandits and staging uprisings are no longer viable...’

******

Walking all the way to the medical center, Melody Summers went to Sophie Thorne’s room first.

Quite a few bodyguards were standing outside Sophie Thorne’s room. They were mostly familiar faces, not the two she had seen on the night of the fire. When they saw Melody Summers approach, they didn’t stop her; they even held the door open for her.

Melody Summers stepped quietly into the hospital room and found it was exceptionally silent. No one was there except for Sophie Thorne in the bed.

Sophie Thorne was already awake, leaning against the headboard and staring into space, an indescribable look of desolation and exhaustion on her face.

Seeing this, Melody Summers walked over with the food container and asked softly, "Are you feeling any better?"

When Sophie Thorne saw Melody Summers, her eyes brightened slightly. She replied earnestly, "Much better! Melody, thank you for saving me. If it weren’t for you, I might have..."

Recalling the despair of being trapped in the fire, Sophie Thorne’s eyes couldn’t help but turn red.