"Now the Public Security Bureau and the City Defense Guard are busy cleaning up the mess left by the mysterious creatures; it gives these people a chance to wreak havoc," Sun Hang said, glancing at the bullet holes in the vehicle.

"Today is just the beginning," the driver said with a bitter face, "Eternal Night has descended, and once the news is officially announced tomorrow, there'll be many difficult days ahead. Not to mention the lunatics who worship mysterious creatures; even ordinary people, driven by survival pressure, will become robbers and bandits...sigh."

"Ordinary people?" Sun Hang was slightly taken aback, "Won't there be strict control measures implemented by then? Ordinary people shouldn't...

"You're still too young," the driver sighed again. "The first couple of years might barely maintain social order, but as time goes on, something will happen. Without daylight, it means that Shuzhou's local grain production is basically zero, and all the grain and a whole lot of other essential living supplies will have to be shipped from elsewhere... not even two years, in just a few months, the grain prices in Shuzhou will skyrocket. There are sixty million people in the entire Shuzhou Region, and with all the grain relying on foreign assistance, the Management Committee simply can't feed everyone's stomachs."

The driver continued, "Moreover, Shuzhou is itself one of the major grain production areas of the Xiazhou Federation. If I'm not mistaken, the news mentioned in previous years that Shuzhou accounts for about 15% of the federation's total grain production. Now the overall grain production and consumption of the federation are just barely balanced. With the arrival of Eternal Night, that's directly 15% less grain production, and sixty million more hungry mouths to feed... Tsk, to put it in a fancy way, it's a 'grain crisis'; in plain words, it means a famine is coming."

"..." Sun Hang fell silent. In his own life of plenty, he indeed rarely considered the issue of the public's grain needs. But for the higher-level managers, this problem is impossible to ignore.

Land without sunlight cannot grow wheat and rice, and the low temperatures caused by Eternal Night make it difficult for mushrooms and crops that do not need photosynthesis to survive. Food is not something you just buy with money at the supermarket; it has to be painstakingly grown in the fields by farmers.

"If the most basic problem of food and clothing cannot be solved, then people with empty stomachs can only take risks..." the driver said. "I just called my wife and told her to stock up on food and essential biological supplies. Once the work here is done, I'll go home to reinforce the doors and windows, buy some gear for self-defense, and bring my parents from the countryside to live with us... Sigh, I have no clue how the days ahead will turn out in my heart."

"Why don't you leave Shuzhou? Look for a new job elsewhere?" Sun Hang asked. "The institute shouldn't force you to stay, right?"

"Where can I go? Qinzhou? Mist City? Or Jing Chu?" the driver showed a bitter face. "I've been driving for fourteen years and only managed to barely buy a house in Tianfu New District. I still have six years of mortgage payments left. You can't expect me to abandon the house and run to other places to become a refugee, can you?"

Sun Hang: "..."

"Those with money and the ability to leave would've left early. Those who stay behind either can't leave or are reluctant to go. All we can do is hope that Eternal Night doesn't last long—just bite the bullet for three to five years, but if it drags on for eight to ten years, we can only tough it out." As the driver spoke, he suddenly spat out the window and cursed harshly, "Damn it, these damn sinister things!"

...

The rescue convoy quickly reached the area where Sun Hang and the others were located. Medical staff in white lab coats carried Song Yarong onto the ambulance with a stretcher, and the wound on the driver's arm was re-treated.

Heavily armed soldiers from the City Defense Guard put up black and yellow caution tape, blocking off the entire road. A light wheeled armored vehicle stopped at the intersection, its mounted machine gun's ammo belt gleaming a bronze color in the streetlights.

Good news came from Ye Jiu's side too—the attacker's vehicle was forced to a stop with two rockets after it forcibly broke through three roadblocks. The driver and the melee thug in the passenger seat died on the spot, while the two in the back were seriously injured.

"If we hadn't consumed so much against the shadowy creatures just now, I alone could have caught all these people!" Ye Jiu said over the communication channel.

"Why catch them? Just kill them directly," Sun Hang said flatly.

He had no compassion for such people.

"Uh..." Ye Jiu paused for half a second before saying, "Even if we impose the death penalty, the regular interrogation process is necessary... Besides, this group should have accomplices, which is also the reason for the interrogation."

"I'm quite curious, though, where did they get their military vehicles and firearms from?" Sun Hang asked.

The whole of Tianfu City was under martial law now, and civilian vehicles were strictly forbidden to operate. Only military vehicles could pass unhindered.

"The vehicle and guns are from the Fourth Regiment of the City Defense Guard. They were ambushed by this group while blocking mysterious creatures in the city. They killed four soldiers of the City Defense Guard, stole this vehicle, two 'Type 04' carbines, and more than a hundred rounds of ammunition—this group of thugs originally planned to leave the city amidst the chaos, but along the way, they saw the symbol of the Mysterious Creature Research Institute on our vehicle and temporarily decided to spray bullets at our car," Ye Jiu said.

"Have they found out about their accomplices?" Sun Hang asked.

"Not yet; the remaining two are severely injured and are currently being rescued."

"Rescue my ass... What a waste of medical resources," Sun Hang muttered. "My suggestion is to cut their heads off and hang them on streetlights for deterrence."

"...That's too barbaric; this is a civilized society!" Ye Jiu couldn't help but criticize. "And doing that would cause public panic."

"If Eternal Night continues, this city will only become more barbaric," Sun Hang said before hanging up the communication.

He didn't return to the institute with the rescue convoy; instead, he casually found a shared bike by the roadside and wobbled back toward "home."

After these few days of chaos, he was very tired and planned to have a good sleep first—no matter what happens, he would deal with it tomorrow.

Somewhat ironically, after the villa was allocated to Sun Hang, he hadn't slept in that bed in the bedroom even once.

Parking the shared bike properly, Sun Hang walked into the yard.

The villa's door was tightly closed, but the window beside it was wide open.

There were obvious signs of deformation on the metal window frame, apparently forced open with violence.

"Was there a break-in at home...?"

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