Apocalypse Supermarket: My Four Overpowered Husbands Wontstop Hoarding

Chapter 89: Chapter 89 Escalating troubles.

Aside from the blood moon that still hung in the sky like an evil omen, nothing else seemed to be moving through the area. The only thing disturbing the eerie silence was the government aircraft circling above the island, its mechanical engines producing a constant, irritating roar that was beginning to give Luna a headache.

She glared at Astrid. "Ever since you people crossed onto this island, I knew I wasn’t going to have peace anymore."

Astrid was still standing beside Kai, quietly sniffling as he tried to hold himself together. That somehow irritated Luna even more. "And now you’re acting like the victim here. Come on, stop the act. We all know it’s bullshit."

Kai’s expression immediately changed. "Luna." She looked at him. "You’re a baddie, I know that, but your actions are getting on my last nerves." He pointed toward the ceiling. "We have a massive threat right above us. Can we deal with that instead of blaming Astrid for everything that happened for five minutes? Maybe that would actually help."

He had clocked her so hard that Luna fell silent. Her eyes slowly moved toward him. Kai stared right back. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Luna looked away. Her attention returned to the window, where the enormous shadow of the aircraft continued to pass over the mansion. The monitor beside them displayed an even clearer view of what was happening outside.

Rowan folded his arms. "I wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t activated that invisibility shield in time." Luna didn’t answer immediately. They all knew—the military would have spotted the mansion, and once they did, there would be no hiding anymore. That was exactly why Luna had activated the shield.

Unfortunately, the shield wasn’t the only problem. The military was still attacking the remaining monsters. Every explosion sent another vibration through the ground. The walls trembled. Dust occasionally dropped from the ceiling. Even the furniture shook slightly whenever one of the weapons fired.

Adrian looked toward the monitor. "Are we seriously going to keep watching them?"

Luna glanced at him. "Why?"

"Because if we keep waiting, they’re going to destroy everything around us." He pointed toward the monitor. "Look at the front yard. It’s already a complete mess."

Luna’s gaze shifted toward the screen. The once-impressive front grounds were now covered in blood, shattered equipment, chunks of monster flesh, broken trees, and craters left behind by the military attacks. She sighed. "Fine." She stood. "But think about this carefully." Everyone looked at her. "If we go out there and attack the military, what happens to the monsters?"

Adrian frowned. "We kill the monsters first."

"And then?" He fell silent. Luna continued, "Suppose we help them eliminate the remaining creatures. What exactly are we going to do with the soldiers? We can’t kill all of them." She folded her arms. "And if we somehow did, we’d only create a bigger problem." Her eyes narrowed. "Erasing an entire military unit will bring even more government forces here. We’ve already seen enough government officials to last us a lifetime, and I have absolutely no interest in inviting more of them."

Her gaze moved across the room, then stopped on Astrid. Their eyes met. Astrid immediately looked away. He could feel the hostility in Luna’s gaze. He was beginning to realize that she blamed him for what had happened. Even though he hadn’t asked the government to come, even though his friends were dead, he still couldn’t help feeling responsible.

Luna turned back toward the monitor. "But something doesn’t make sense."

Kai looked at her. "What?"

"They didn’t come immediately." Luna walked toward the screen. "That bothers me." She tapped her finger against the table. "If the government truly didn’t care about the awakened, why send this many people after them?" She stared at the aircraft. "At first, we assumed they had abandoned everyone." "But now?" "Now I’m not so sure."

The military had sent an enormous force to the island. That meant something had changed. "They didn’t come here simply to kill monsters." Luna’s voice became quieter. "They’re looking for something."

The system reacted to her thoughts. A translucent blue panel appeared in front of her. Everyone except Astrid could see it—he was still too new to Luna’s group for her system to recognize him as someone she trusted enough to share its functions with. The display expanded. A map of the island appeared. Several points marked the position of the military aircraft. They weren’t scattered randomly—they were forming a massive circle around the island. The shadow they had been seeing wasn’t from a single aircraft. There were multiple aircraft moving together, and their formation completely surrounded the island.

Luna’s expression darkened. "They’re not leaving."

Ethan leaned closer. "That doesn’t look like a search formation."

"No." Luna shook her head. "It’s containment."

Rowan stared at the display. "They’re trapping something inside."

"Or trapping something from getting out," Adrian added.

The thought made the room quiet. Ethan looked toward Luna. "Could they know about this place?"

Luna’s eyes narrowed. "I don’t think so." Then she looked toward Astrid. "But I think they know something is here."

Astrid’s body stiffened. Luna stepped closer. "Astrid." He looked up nervously. "Do you know what this is about?" His lips parted. Nothing came out. "Why are they here?" Still nothing. Luna’s patience began to disappear. "They didn’t send all these people just to rescue you and kill those abominations. Something else is happening."

Astrid’s hands began trembling. Kai noticed immediately. He moved away from Luna and gently guided Astrid toward one of the chairs. "Sit." Astrid obeyed. Kai crouched slightly in front of him. "I know you don’t trust me yet." He gave him a small smile. "And honestly, I don’t blame you. You barely know any of us." Astrid looked down. "But I’m trying to be your friend." Kai’s voice was gentle. "If you know something that could help us understand why they’re here, tell us." He paused. "You’re not with the government anymore, right?"

Astrid shook his head. "No."

"Do you want to go back?" The answer came immediately. "No." His voice cracked. "I don’t."

Kai nodded. "Then you’re safe here." Astrid’s hands continued shaking. "Remember, we’re protecting each other." Kai placed a hand on his shoulder. "You’re no different from the rest of us." He glanced toward Luna. "And maybe if you tell us what’s happening, Luna will stop glaring at you every two minutes."

Astrid looked up. Luna was, in fact, glaring at him.

Kai sighed. "See?"

Luna crossed her arms. "I don’t have time for this." She stepped forward. "Move aside."

Kai looked up. "Luna—"

"Three minutes." She pointed toward Astrid. "That’s all I need with him." Her expression hardened. "I’ll have him telling me everything he knows."

Astrid’s face immediately paled. Kai stood. "No."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"He’s terrified."

"I noticed."

"Then give him time."

Luna was about to respond when Rowan suddenly stepped forward. He wrapped an arm around Luna’s waist and gently pulled her back. "Give them a minute."

Luna looked down at his arm, then up at him. "Excuse me?"

"Let Kai handle it."

She blinked. "Weren’t you just shouting about Astrid nearly killing you?"

Rowan smiled faintly. "I was."

"You looked ready to throw him out yourself."

"I was angry."

"And now?"

Rowan’s expression softened. "I remembered something." He glanced toward Astrid. "When I first awakened, I was terrified." His voice became quieter. "I didn’t understand what was happening to me. I didn’t understand my powers, and I had already lost people I cared about." Astrid slowly looked at him. Rowan continued, "Maybe that’s what he’s feeling right now." He looked back at Luna. "So I don’t think we should judge him based on what happened outside."

Luna stared at him. "You’re seriously defending him?"

"I’m not defending what he did." Rowan shook his head. "But I understand it." He looked at Kai. "And if I were in his position, I might have done something even worse."

Kai’s eyebrows rose. "That’s surprisingly reasonable coming from you."

Rowan ignored him. "I’ve also realized something." He nodded toward Kai. "Kai may be unreasonable sometimes."

Kai’s mouth dropped open. "Sometimes?"

"Don’t interrupt." Kai shut his mouth. Rowan continued, "But he’s smarter than he lets people believe." Luna glanced at Kai. Rowan smiled. "Probably the smartest among us when it comes to understanding people." Kai looked genuinely surprised. "So if anyone can get Astrid to talk, it’s him."

Luna studied Kai, then Astrid, then the military formation on the screen. She finally sighed. "Fine." She stepped back. "But three minutes."

Kai nodded. "Deal."

Luna pointed at him. "And if nothing useful comes out of his mouth—"

"I know." Kai turned toward Astrid. "Come on."

Astrid swallowed. Kai crouched beside him again. "You don’t have to tell us everything at once." His voice was almost a whisper. "Just tell me what you remember."