Rebirth: 100 Days Before Doomsday-Chapter 176: Blood Rain’s Unknown Territory

Grace wasted no time and immediately opened her eyes, pulling her focus away from the scan. Rune’s face was pale, and beads of sweat were glistening on his forehead as he kept his eyes shut. His brows were furrowed in concentration.

"Rune, stop," she said firmly and her hands tightened around his. "You have done enough."

"I can keep going," he replied, though his voice was faint, making his exhaustion very evident.

"No, you can’t," she insisted in a serious tone, leaving no room for argument. "Pushing yourself further won’t help anyone."

She felt him hesitating, and noticed how he pressed his lips into a thin line. But as she gave his hands another squeeze, he finally let out a deep exhale and opened his eyes. His grip on her hands loosened slightly but he didn’t let go.

"Fine," he muttered, though the corner of his lips twitched upward in a tired smile. "You win."

Grace let out a relieved breath. Her gaze softened as she studied him. "Thank you for trying, Rune. Really."

Dr. Kian appeared at her side almost instantly, crouching down to check on Rune. "You need to rest," he said in a firm but gentle tone. "Your energy levels are dangerously low."

Rune waved him off. "I’m fine," he said, but the slight sway in his posture betrayed his words.

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"Here," Davian said as he walked over and handed Rune a glass of water. "Drink this before you pass out and scare everyone."

Rune chuckled softly, and accepted the glass. "Thanks, dad."

Davian just shook his head but didn’t respond, instead his attention shifted to Grace. "Did the search turn up with anything useful?"

Grace let out a small sigh as she recalled the results of the long search they just ended. "Not exactly. All the plants with traces of Shadow Rain were dead. But..."

"But what?" Dr. Kian prompted as he too shifted his full attention to her.

"2025, explain the Blood Rain energy we detected," Grace instructed and the little creature immediately appeared next to their group, ready to show its otherworldly aura to its favorite group of men.

"While scanning the five locations, traces of Blood Rain absorption were identified in several plants. The percentages differed, but these specimens are still alive and showing signs of adapting to the alterations the virus of the Blood Rain are making within them."

Dr. Kian’s eyes brows furrowed and he asked the first question, immediately getting interested in the topic. "What kind of energy are we talking about?"

"The energy signature is distinct from the Shadow Rain mutations. It appears stable for the time being, but we will need to keep an eye on them to see how this will work out." 2025 explained.

"And how are you going to do that? Keeping your eyes on these plants?" Dr. Kian asked, wanting to know what was 2025’s plan.

The little creature literally had a smug smile on its face as it revealed. "Because I have already picked up a few dozens of these plants and saved them within the space."

There was a silence that lasted for next few minutes while the men just processed the information they just received. Then all eyes turned towards Davina who crossed his arms as he asked, "So, these plants cand turn out the same way as those mutated plants from the Shadow Rain?"

"Potentially. However, there’s no telling for now whether this mutation will be in a good direction or bad. We can’t hope for the best considering the Blood Rain haven’t showed any kind of positive reactions in either humans or animals."

Compared to before, Rune was now looking slightly less pale. He set his glass down and leaned back against the nearest couch before speaking, "Looks like we have a new lead, then. Or more like a new task."

Grace nodded as she allowed herself to relax against Dr. Kian who had taken a seat right behind her on the carpet. "Yes, but I feel like we will need to approach this one carefully. Blood Rain and its mutations are uncharted territory. We don’t know what we are really dealing with yet."

She felt Dr. Kian’s hand finding its way to her shoulder before he gave her a light squeeze of reassurance. It was his way of letting her know that she had him right there with her.

"How about the other task I gave you? Have you find anyone reliable so far?" She asked as she returned her attention at 2025.

The little creature immediately knew what she was talking about and was ready with a positive update. A digital screen appeared right in front of Grace while it began to explain.

"I have indeed found a few candidates, not only from Starship Country but all around the world. You can take a look at this report and decide whom among these you want to pull on your side. But let me warn you, because of the ongoing disasters, several of them are on the verge of losing their lives."

A new screen opened at 2025’s words and Grace found herself looking at a list of those candidates who were stuck in bad situations because of the ongoing disasters. The list was also divided in three parts - red, green, and yellow.

Those in Green part weren’t in direct threat. Those in Yellow part were facing threats but could easily stay safe for a while. But those in the Red part could lose their lives at any given point.

"What is going on? What kind of list is this?" Rune asked as he was at a complete loss about what was going on with this so-called new task.

"I’m planning to create a team of experts who can continue research on these mutated plants and animals. This is the list of such experts that 2025 has come up with." Grace explained what was goin on to the three men.

Before anyone else could have spoken, they all heard Dr. Kian’s surprised voice as he suddenly spoke - "Professor Neil?"