Natural Disaster: I Started By Hoarding Tens Of Billions Of Supplies

Yao Ran's eyes flickered as she recognized the familiar light blue liquid. She picked up the small bottle and examined it closely.

After a few moments, she handed the bottle to Long Yu and asked, "Brother Hao, you said the thug leader gave you this?"

Hao Ze nodded. "Yes. He claimed that consuming this potion would grant me a water element ability. He also mentioned that he got it from someone working for The Ark. I didn't dare to try it, so I brought it here for you to examine."

Yao Ran and Long Yu exchanged a look of shared surprise.

At first, Yao Ran thought that the blue liquid might be an energy recovery potion. But to her surprise, the potion could actually grant a certain ability to the one who consumes it.

Setting the potion back on the table, Long Yu asked, "Brother Hao, can you leave this potion with us?"

"Of course," Hao Ze agreed. "That is why I brought it to you."

Hearing this, Yao Ran frowned as she stared at the blue liquid, lost in thought.

After a brief silence, she looked at Hao Ze and said, "Brother Hao, please continue investigating this potion. I need you to find out who is supplying it to the thug leader."

"No problem," Hao Ze agreed without hesitation.

Knowing that it wouldn't be easy to establish connections in the underground society, Yao Ran took out a few bottles of expensive Moutai Baijiu and five packs of high-quality cigarettes.

Hao Ze's eyes widened when he saw those things appear on the low table. Even before the apocalypse, he'd never had a chance to taste such luxury baijiu and cigarettes, let alone now when production had ceased and resources were scarce.

Yao Ran gestured to the Moutai Baijiu and cigarettes and said, "You can use these as needed to find out the information. If you require more or if they demand anything specific, please come find me."

Hao Ze snapped out of his daze when he heard what she said and replied, "Understood. I will do my best to find out who is behind the distribution of this potion."

After storing the items in his backpack, he said, "Miss Yao, Brother Long, I will be heading back now."

Yao Ran nodded, "I will be waiting for your good news."

Before he left, Yao Ran gave him more ingredients to cook medicinal dishes and supplies for his family.

After Hao Ze had left, Long Yu opened the potion. As soon as he did, a dense water element energy filled the air.

As a water element ability user, Yao Ran was highly sensitive to water element energy. She immediately noticed that as the water element energy dispersed in the surroundings, the liquid inside the bottle began to decrease.

Seeing this, she quickly walked up to Long Yu and closed the bottle.

Long Yu looked at her, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

Yao Ran's expression turned serious and explained, "When you opened the bottle, I sensed water element energy spreading in the surroundings. As it filled the air, the potion's volume decreased. I suspect this blue liquid is an extraction of a water element ability."

When Long Yu heard what she said, his expression darkened. "I never expected The Ark to be able to turn extracted abilities into potions this quickly."

Yao Ran nodded, her eyes fixed on the potion. "The water element energy contained inside this bottle is less than that of a level one deformed monster's core."

"I think they must have split an ability into several potions. At most, this potion can only give the illusion of having water element abilities for a few days before the power fades."

Hearing this, Long Yu pondered for a moment and muttered, "It seems like The Ark wants to control people using this potion."

Yao Ran frowned at his words but remained silent.

Noticing her frowning expression, Long Yu asked, "Ran Ran, what are you thinking about?"

Yao Ran looked at him and asked, "A Yu, don't you find it strange? Isn't it pointless for The Ark to do this?"

"What do you mean?" Long Yu asked.

Yao Ran explained, "When we found those extracted abilities in the secret laboratory, I thought The Ark wanted to build an army of ability users. Based on their actions in the past, that seemed like the most logical move."

She pointed at the potion on the low table and added, "Distributing this potion to survivors... that doesn't align with The Ark's usual methods."

Long Yu considered her words and nodded. "You are right. Initially, the number of ability users accounted for less than 2% of the total population."

"However, after the meteorite struck the planet and the tectonic plate collisions occurred, many survivors and ability users perished in the disasters. Perhaps The Ark also suffered heavy losses and wants to use this potion to recruit more ability users."

After saying that, he suddenly paused as his eyes flickered with realization. "Both of us know that awakening an ability requires not only a healthy and strong body but also innate talent."

His voice grew more serious as he continued, "Could it be that The Ark is trying to use this potion to awaken latent talents in survivors?"

Yao Ran's eyes widened at his words. "There is a high chance that is exactly what they are doing. If they lost a significant number of ability users during the mega earthquakes or megatsunamis, they would be desperate for replacements."

"The number of ability users was less than 2% of the total population because awakening an ability required luck and special circumstances."

"But if The Ark can use this potion to activate innate talents and induce abilities in survivors, then the percentage of ability users among the survivors would increase significantly."

Long Yu nodded, and his expression was gloomy. "We need to find out if this potion has any side effects. If it doesn't, then it could actually help survivors by giving them abilities, increasing their chances of survival at the end of the world."