Upon hearing Miaomiao's words, Fang Ze almost lost control of his expression.
Fortunately, he was wearing a mask; otherwise, Miaomiao might have seen the astonishment on his face.
Surprised by how different the situation was from what he had imagined, Fang Ze composed himself and then tentatively asked, "Is that so? How did you manage to train Awakeners in such a short time?"
Upon hearing Fang Ze's question, Miaomiao eagerly explained the events of the past two days.
It turned out that even before the headless Black Buddha appeared, Miaohua City had already experienced some strange phenomena.
The day before yesterday, after three headless female corpses were discovered, four more headless female corpses were found in Miaohua City.
At that time, the entire city was in a state of panic, fearing that there might be a serial killer on the loose.
Zhixi and Miaomiao also discussed whether to lead the thousands of Believers they had gathered and leave Miaohua City.
However, before they could decide, that very evening, Black Rain suddenly began to fall from the sky.
The rain was thick and black, like ink.
But because it was night, not many people realized there was something wrong with the rain until someone got wet and inadvertently looked in a mirror at home to discover there was something off about the rain.
At that moment, everyone was startled. No one knew what was going on with the rain or if it was harmful, so they rushed home to hide and did not dare to go out. Even if they did go out, they made sure to use an umbrella.
But, being a lower-tier city, although most ordinary residents hid, there were still some poor people in the slums. Many of them could only sleep in the streets, with no place to stay.
So, even though they also hid under the eaves of some houses to avoid the rain, by the end of the night, they were still drenched.
Then... the next day, strange things began to happen.
Some of the homeless and Beggars who got soaked discovered that they seemed different from before. It seemed like they suddenly possessed some strange powers.
Some could transform into cats, others could breathe fire, some controlled insects, and others' bodies turned into paper, which could be directly reconfigured...
Consequently, Miaohua City was thrown into chaos.
These homeless people and Beggars, suddenly empowered and having lived at the bottom of society for so long with immense suppressed emotions, started acting recklessly, robbing, killing, setting fires—doing whatever pleased them...
Miaohua City was initially overwhelmed by this onslaught, and many citizens were harmed. But soon, under the joint law enforcement of the security station, the Federal Defense Team, and the Investigation Bureau, these criminals were quickly captured.
Although the official organizations caught these criminals, the fact that getting drenched in Black Rain might result in Awakening Abilities still gradually spread throughout Miaohua City.
Thus, that night, as the sun set and Black Rain fell again, some daring individuals began to secretly leave their homes and let the rain drench them.
Despite repeated warnings from the security station that the origin and effects of this Black Rain were unknown and might have unimaginable side effects, the lure of Awakening Abilities was too tempting, so many still disregarded the warnings and sneakily went out to get soaked.
And the next day, indeed, even more people gained Awakening Abilities.
Soon, rumors spread throughout Miaohua City claiming that this Black Rain was a blessing from heaven, pitying Miaohua City for its years of suffering and granting it a great opportunity, allowing all Miaohua Tribe members to become Awakeners and turn Miaohua City into a powerful city full of Awakeners!
Along with this rumor, information about Black Rain also spread.
It was said to be Law Rain from the Spirit Realm, which would fall every night after sunset, continuing for a total of eighteen days.
Only those who gained abilities during these 18 days would become new members of the Miaohua Tribe!
This rumor spread very quickly, and by the third evening when it rained again, even more people started secretly running to the streets, wanting to bathe in the Black Rain.
Among them were many who hadn't gained Awakening Abilities in the previous two days!
And that night, many fought over the rainwater.
Some even climbed onto rooftops and high platforms to be more easily drenched by the rain.
Miaohua City was truly in complete disarray.
Eventually, the security station, in conjunction with the Federal Defense Team, had to militarize the city, impose a curfew, and somewhat control the situation.
Hearing this, Fang Ze's brows were deeply furrowed.
There's no such thing as so many pies falling from the sky in this world!
Especially in a world endowed with all sorts of bizarre abilities, each strange opportunity was actually priced secretly!
So thinking of this, Fang Ze couldn't help but ask, "So... did you also get drenched in the rain? Did you rely on the rain to train 200 Awakeners?"
Miaomiao quietly explained, "No."
She said, "Actually, right from the start, Zhixi and I felt there was something wrong with this Black Rain, that it was dangerous. So to be safe, we gathered all our Believers and forbade them from going out."
"Later, Zhixi learned from her father that starting from the second day of the Black Rain, all of Miaohua City's external communications were cut off. This even included the special private line of the Governing Hall. It is said Zhixi's father was so worried he didn't sleep all night."