Apocalypse Queen: My Space, My Rules Chapter 85: The Night the Flood Awoke

Chandler tightened his grip on the precious sniper rifle and turned to look for Mariella. The floodwater had turned so murky he couldn't even see her silhouette right beside him.

Mariella realized almost instantly that the flash flood had begun.

The current roared, and the water churned.

Underwater, visibility dropped to zero, and even something inches away was impossible to see.

Thankfully, she had the foresight to tie a rope between her waist and Chandler's. Otherwise, they would have already been swept apart without a trace.

Gripping the rope, she made a decisive move and pulled both of them into the storage space.

...

In her previous life, the flash flood had struck during the day, destroying a third of Liraelith and leaving countless dead and injured.

This time, it came earlier, and in the dead of night.

The rain had only just stopped for a couple of days. People had rushed out to scavenge for food, even after dark.

No one could have imagined that one moment would be calm, and the next, the world would turn upside down as a wall of water surged in.

Before such catastrophic forces, humanity was as insignificant as drifting weeds—utterly powerless to resist.

A thunderous rumble echoed across the sky. Those floating on the water, scavenging for supplies, thought it was thunder.

But the sky was unnaturally dark, like it had been sealed under an airtight iron dome. There was no light and no stars, nothing.

The water began to surge. Waves rose where there should have been none.

People clinging to kayaks, makeshift rafts, and inflatable boats were nearly thrown into the water.

They clutched onto whatever they could and shouted in panic while swinging their flashlights wildly, "What's going on? Why is it suddenly pitch black?! I can't see anything!"

"This is a city! Since when do we get waves like this?"

"Waves? This only happens during a typhoon. Don't tell me another one's coming?!"

Realizing something was terribly wrong, they tried to head back home.

But in the suffocating darkness, no one could tell which direction to go anymore. Most people spun in circles, colliding into one another in the chaos.

The deep, ominous rumbling grew louder. It sounded like some colossal beast was rising from beneath the water, ready to unleash devastation.

The waves surged higher and higher. It no longer felt like a flooded city, but an open ocean on the brink of a storm.

The two bodyguards sent by Harvey continued searching from their inflatable kayak, sweeping the area with high-powered flashlights.

From time to time, they fired shots into the water just to make it look like they were working. In truth, they saw nothing.

The sky grew darker. Then, suddenly, all remaining light vanished.

Even with their flashlights, the darkness seemed to swallow everything. They couldn't see far, and they could barely even see the water right beneath their boat.

Then, the surface exploded into violent waves, and the kayak nearly flipped over.

Luckily, both men were heavy enough to stabilize it, but the waves only intensified, tossing them back and forth.

Suddenly, a strange, distant rumble echoed from the horizon. Something beneath the water surged upward, forcing the water level higher and higher.

The two men panicked. They waved their flashlights wildly, trying to locate the hovering helicopter.

But in the blink of an eye, their kayak had already been pushed far away.

"Help! We're here! Pull us up!" they screamed, abandoning the search entirely.

In the absence of light, sound was carried farther.

"Idiot! Call Mr. Graham!"

One of them fumbled for his phone, hands trembling, and dialed Harvey's number, but it showed no signal.

...

When the waves surged, the helicopter hovering 10 feet above the water was hit hard as well.

The aircraft shook violently, and the pilot's face turned pale as he fought to stabilize it.

"Is it another typhoon? Mr. Graham, we should pull back!"

Inside the cabin, Harvey staggered, nearly losing his footing.

He grabbed onto something to steady himself and barked, "Contact those two and find out if they've located Mariella."

Before he could finish, a deafening rumble tore through the air, and out of nowhere, massive waves surged upward.

The hovering helicopter nearly got dragged into the water, spray splashing into the cabin.

The pilot panicked and immediately aborted the hover, climbing several feet higher.

"I can't reach them! There's no signal!" he shouted. "All communications are down!"

Harvey's eyelid twitched. "Forget those idiots. Gain altitude, now!"

The helicopter wobbled violently over the churning waters, buffeted by unstable air currents like a drunk losing balance.

Fortunately, they climbed in time. At around 160 feet, they finally cleared the chaotic air currents rising from the surface, and the aircraft steadied, but barely.