Though the Shadow Rain lasted for only forty minutes, it successfully created a never-before-seen panic among people. The theories of how the world was coming to an end emerged once again and took over internet, forcing people to once again rush out to grab more supplies.
The situation of robbery, assault, and terror, that the military had pain-stakingly brought under control, returned once again in full force as people rushed out to grab whatever rations and other supplies they could before locking themselves in their houses in the hope that it would keep them safe from whatever disaster was going to hit the city next.
It took less than twenty-four hours after the happening of Shadow Rain when the news of eruption of four different volcanoes around the world started making headlines. The smoke and ash covered the sky, creating another heavy layer other than the ominous dark clouds that had been hiding the sun for months.
The very next morning, a strong earthquake of magnitude 8.3 hit the southern end of the Starship Country, shaking up the entire nation as several cities were heavily damaged while those located on the opposite end felt the tremors even thousands of kilometers away.
- - -
[Days left before the end: 33 Days and 8 Hours]
Grace finished the two-hours long gym session and walked toward the bench to sit and drink some water.
"Don’t slack off, Grace. You need to train with me now." Rune was immediately there, enjoying his chance of calling her by her name.
It had been 3 days since Shadow Rain and 3 days since Rune actually got involved with their day-to-day schedule. He was now the one incharge of their physical training along with Davian. The two of these men were barely on talking terms, and yet, they were showing great teamwork as they trained everyone.
Grace put down her bottle and turned her attention toward the young man who wasn’t even trying to hide his intentions. After these three days, she was sure that every person living on the top three floors had realized that something was going on between her and Rune.
"Stop wasting time. Let’s go." He said while offering her his hand that she eventually took with a soft sigh.
They had been training even more after getting drenched in the Shadow Rain. Because of their great physical health and the energy-rich food they had been eating thanks to the harvest from Grace’s space, the rain’s virus was working progressively in their bodies.
2025 was keeping track of the changes in each of them, making sure that none of their bodies were showing any sign of turning into a zombie.
In the previous timeline, it took three long months for the virus of Shadow Rain to show effects. It was only after those three months that people either developed magical powers or started turning into zombies. However, as per 2025’s status, it was supposed to take only fifteen days before the virus would show its effect in Grace and her companions. This difference was only because of the accuracy of the time for which they were in contact with the rain and also because of how good their health conditions were compared to everyone else who ended up getting in contact with the rain.
With such short time in their hands, Davian and Rune immediately took over the task of training all of them. The training took over most of the hours of their days, leaving very little time for Grace to work in her space and focus on stockpiling.
That’s right! Even after all she had already stocked up, her mission of stockpiling supplies was still not over.
On the ninth night from the Shadow Rain, she finally restarted her stockpiling mission. She and Davian headed to a village in Country S where a famous butterfly and silk farm was located.
Though she had already bought bees, she still planned to buy butterflies so that they could help with pollination. As for silkworms, they were also needed for the production of silk which could later be used for making textiles, ropes, or even bio-materials.
Arriving at the village, they headed to the silk farmhouse and met the manager there. Grace had done a little research on the silkworms and butterflies, and the manager was also eagerly telling them about the kinds of the two they had in the farmhouse.
"The most common breed of silkworms here is known as Domestic silkworms. They produce very high quality silk. Then there are Tasar silkworms and they produce strong and coarse silk suitable for tougher fabrics. Muga silkworms produces golden-colored silk, which is strong and long-lasting and is considered valuable for luxury items."
The manager, a man in his late fifties who had spent nearly forty years of his life working in that farmhouse, introduced them to the types of silkworms one after the other.
"Eri silkworms produces a soft, warm silk and are suitable for cold climates. And the silk produced by Ailanthus silkmoths are good for survival-focused textiles."
After hearing about all the silkworms, Grace decided to buy all the breeds.
"I want 1000 larves of the Domestic silkworms, 500 larves of Tasar silkworms, 200 larves of Muga silkworms, 200 larves of Eri silkworms, and 200 larves of Ailanthus silkmoths." She placed her order, surprising the manager in the process.
Still, the man didn’t ask them any questions even if he was curious. It wasn’t the first time he had received such a big order, but it surely had been a while. He could only guess that his customers were rich who were going to set up a silk farm.
He quickly noted down the order and alloted the assignment to a group of five employees who had to pack up all the larves safely and deliver them to the given address by the evening.
Once the orders for the silkworms were placed, it was time to look into the butterflies. First, the manager led Grace and Davian to have a look at all the breeds of butterflies available in the farmhouse.