LOGINShare
chapter 26
publish date:
2026-10-28 20:34:22Chapter 26: Silent Poison
The black tail lights of Julian’s SUVs vanished around the corner of 4th Avenue, leaving the industrial district in a quiet, eerie heavy silence. I leaned against the watchtower railing, letting out a long, shuddering breath. Julian was gone for the night, but he wasn't my only problem. Not even close. I descended the watchtower steps and walked through the cavernous, dimly lit floor of Factory No. 1. The massive press machines stood like sleeping steel beasts, bathed in the sharp orange glow of the backup safety lights. Everything seemed stable on the surface. The high-voltage fence was humming, the diesel generators were thrumming steadily in the rear courtyard, and the master lockbox was safe in my tactical vest. Then the factory’s secondary alarm began to blare. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. It wasn't the perimeter alarm. It was the internal environmental console on the wall near the water purification tanks. A harsh red light was pulsing over the digital readout: CRITICAL WATER PRESSURE DROP – SECTOR 3 SUB-LEVEL. My stomach dropped. Factory No. 1 relied on a deep subterranean well system to cool the heavy diesel generators and supply clean drinking water to the living quarters. Without continuous coolant flow, the backup generators would overheat and melt within six hours, cutting off the high-voltage fence and locking me in the dark. I grabbed my heavy wrench, popped open a flashlight, and jogged down the narrow concrete steps leading to the factory basement. The air down here was cold, damp, and smelled heavily of rust and stagnant water. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, I stepped directly into ankle-deep water. "Dammit," I muttered, splashing forward toward the main intake manifold. The primary steel pipe leading from the municipal water line had burst violently. But as I shone my flashlight closer to the breach, my blood ran cold. This wasn't a stress fracture from old age. The steel pipe had been shattered from the inside by a thick, dark, sludge-like corrosion. The water spilling out into the basement wasn't clear—it was murky, slick with oil, and emitted a faint, sickening sweet stench that made my eyes burn instantly. I pulled my collar up over my nose and backed away. I swung my flashlight over to the auxiliary filtration unit. The clear glass sight-tubes were filled with black sediment, completely clogged by whatever chemical contaminant had just flooded the city’s underground water table. The municipal infrastructure wasn't just failing under economic stress. It was decaying from the inside out. The city’s main water supply was poisoned. If I couldn't isolate our well lines and bypass the municipal intake right now, the contaminated water would flood the internal generator cooling jackets, ruining the engines permanently and ruining every gallon of drinking water stored in the lower tanks. I scrambled up the metal ladder to the secondary valve deck, gripping the heavy iron wheel of the main shut-off valve. It was rusted solid. "Come on," I growled, jamming my heavy wrench between the spokes for leverage and throwing my full body weight against it. The iron creaked, resisting. Down below, the dark, foul water continued to rise, lapping higher against the generator pump housing. If the power went out, the automated doors would lock down permanently with me trapped inside the basement, and the city's slow collapse would finish the job before Julian ever came back. With a harsh, metallic CRACK, the valve wheel finally broke free, turning two full rotations into the locked position. The violent rushing of contaminated water died down to a slow, sputtering drip. I collapsed against the metal catwalk, my chest heaving, wiping cold sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. I had saved the generators for tonight, but the realization hit me like a physical blow: the city was dying faster than anyone realized. The food supply chains were breaking, the financial systems were dead, and now the clean water was gone. I looked down at the dark, poisoned water reflecting my flashlight beam. I didn't need Julian to destroy this factory. The apocalypse was already knocking on the door, silent and deadly.
Latest chapter
reborn before the doomsday my ex hates me chapter 32
Chapter 32: The Crowbar DefenseThe red outline on Camera 4 pulsed like an arterial bleed.Down in the narrow, oil-stained alleyway between my warehouse and Derrick’s shop, two figures moved with practiced stealth. The rain had softened into a steady, freezing drizzle, slicking the red brick walls and reflecting the pale amber glow of the distant streetlights.I didn't need to zoom the lens to know what they were holding. The dark glass of two magnum wine bottles caught the light, filled with a sloshing mixture of diesel and motor oil. White cotton rags were stuffed tight into their necks.Julian’s street thugs hadn’t just come back to threaten Derrick. They had come to burn his livelihood—and everything inside it—to ash.A cold, lethal calm settled over my chest, replacing the exhaustion that had been dragging at my limbs all night. In my past life, I had stood by while Julian systematically stripped everything away from the people around me, believing his refined, polite lies u
reborn before the doomsday my ex hates me chapter 31
Chapter 31: Bio-Containment and Black MarketsThe dark-web alert on my tablet screen continued to pulse in bright, urgent red: CITY HOSPITAL QUARANTINES FAILING DOWNTOWN.I turned my back on Derrick’s locked garage door and sprinted across the wet alleyway, slipping back through the reinforced side hatch of my warehouse. Derrick’s anger was a wall I couldn't break through with words tonight. But if I didn't focus on the rapidly approaching bio-containment collapse right now, none of us would live long enough to reconcile.Inside the quiet, illuminated vault of Plant No. 1, I pulled up the encrypted police scanner feeds and local hospital dispatch networks across three separate monitors.The official news channels were still broadcasting smooth, rehearsed lies about a "seasonal influenza surge." But the raw emergency dispatch data told a terrifyingly different story.Over thirty ambulance units had been dispatched to St. Jude’s General Hospital in the last two hours alone. Emergen
reborn before the doomsday my ex hates me chapter 30
Chapter 30: The Threat at the DrivewayThe cold rain stung my face as I slipped out through the narrow side hatch of the warehouse. I kept my back pressed flat against the damp brick wall of the alleyway, gripping the heavy iron crowbar tightly in my right hand.Through the dark, I watched the two heavy-set thugs Julian had sent. They were moving quietly toward the side entrance of Derrick’s auto shop, their boots splashing softly in the oily puddles. One of them pulled a heavy iron pipe from beneath his jacket, while the other held a folded manila envelope stamped with a fake legal seal.Before they reached the rear door, the metal garage handle clicked.The door swung open, and eighteen-year-old Maya stepped out into the rain carrying a plastic bag of empty soda cans to the recycling bin.The lead thug immediately stepped into her path, blocking her way."Hey there, kid," the thug grunted, his voice loud and deliberate. "Tell your brother he’s got five minutes to clear his too
reborn before the doomsday my ex hates me chapter 29
Chapter 29: Steel Plating and Hidden EyesThe metallic hum of the arc welder filled the cavernous floor of the vacant warehouse right next door to Derrick’s auto shop. Bright blue sparks showered down onto the concrete deck, casting harsh, fleeting shadows against the brick walls.My arms throbbed with a deep, dull ache from days of relentless physical labor, but I pushed through the fatigue. I was ninety days out from Patient Zero when I woke up in my bed, but every minute wasted was a minute lost.Holding the heavy protective mask over my face, I fused a quarter-inch thick steel armor plate directly over the interior frame of the warehouse’s side windows. From the outside street on South 5th, the building looked like a run-down, empty commercial property. But on the inside, it was rapidly becoming a heavy industrial bunker.I flipped down my welding mask, wiping sweat from my neck with a greasy rag.Using the millions I had liquidated after canceling my assets transfers to Juli
reborn before the doomsday my ex hates me chapter 28
Chapter 28: Fuel, Freight, and Broken TrustI stood over the body of the infected security guard in the dark warehouse, my heart steadying as the adrenaline cooled. The black blood splattered across his torn uniform was proof enough: the world was bleeding out, and I had zero time to waste.My heavy diesel truck was dead on the concrete dock with a snapped rear drive-axle. Locked inside the trailer behind it were three tons of high-calorie MRE crates, dried grains, and medical supplies. If I left this load here, scavengers or infected would pick it clean before sunrise.I pulled my shortwave radio off my tactical vest, clicked the dial to channel 4, and pressed the talk button."Derrick," I said, my voice tight. "I know I’m the last person on earth you want to hear from. But I have an emergency at the Northside Food Depot."Static buzzed over the speaker for five long seconds. Then a cold, rough voice came back—a voice that used to be warm when he held me, before I betrayed him.
reborn before the doomsday my ex hates me chapter 27
Chapter 27: Blood, Steel, and Heavy FreightThe cold rain tapped against the windshield of the heavy diesel truck as I pulled into the dark loading yard of the Northside Commercial Food Depot.If Factory No. 1 was going to survive months of total siege and societal collapse, clean water wasn't enough. I needed tons of non-perishable food—military-grade MRE crates, dried grains, canned meat, and bulk salt reserves—stored safely inside my steel gates before the public realized the grocery stores were empty.I stepped out of the cab, racking the slide of my 12-gauge shotgun. The warehouse was quiet, but the air smelled wrong. It smelled of heavy copper and rot.I pried open the heavy steel side door of Bay 4 using a crowbar, my flashlight cutting through the thick darkness inside. Rows of wooden pallets sat stacked thirty feet high, loaded with thousands of pounds of emergency food rations.Clatter.A tin can rolled across the concrete floor behind a stack of crates.I froze, rais
You May Also Like
Apocalypse: My Husband's Stepbrother Is The 001 Commader
Adunni Ade2.7K viewsThe Apocalypse Started the Day I Divorced Him
The Scarred Beauty430 viewsThe Apocalypse Started With My Warning—The Survival System
Nala4.9K viewsThe Apocalypse Hoarder
Memo Harbor31.6K viewsReborn Before the Apocalypse: He Watched Me Die
secretplace28 viewsREBORN: 5 YEARS BEFORE DOOMSDAY
Teez247 viewsThe Villainess's Replacement
Asia68 viewsTransmigrated seven days before the Apocalypse
Michelle 133 views
