"Well... sir, I'll confirm it right away!"
Thompson forced himself to sit down at his computer desk and began calling the districts' internal lines one by one.
No one answered the first call.
On the second call, chaotic cries and crashing sounds came from the other end before the line went dead.
The third call finally connected, and a breathless voice answered.
"This is the Seventh Residential District duty post... the situation is terrible!"
"Most residents fell unconscious or became extremely weak after the second shock wave, collapsing on the ground. We... we're not much better off..."
"But those ordinary people aren't the main problem!"
The voice on the other end suddenly grew urgent:
"It's those lunatics!"
"Those religious fanatics in the Seventh District's church have gone mad!"
"They're saying 'divine punishment has descended.' They've rushed out of the church and are dragging people off for 'purification,' forcing everyone to kneel and pray to God! They beat anyone who refuses!"
"And... and there are some bastards!"
"They've taken advantage of everyone collapsing to smash up shops and steal supplies!"
"The reserve warehouse in the Fourth District has already been pried open! Someone's setting fires!"
"Damn it, who are you? How did you get in here?!!!"
A gunshot followed from the other end, and the call cut off.
Thompson made several more calls.
The reports were much the same.
Some districts were still maintaining basic order.
Others had descended into utter chaos.
Religious fanatics marched through the streets, holding crosses high and whipping "heretics" who did not believe.
Rioters exploiting the chaos broke into armories and roamed the residential districts with guns.
Some even broke straight into residents' homes, burning, killing, looting, and smashing things, using the pretext of "Doomsday's arrival" to unleash the most primitive, darkest desires deep within their