Chapter 24

Half an hour later, buildings started to emerge from the water, looking like factories in the suburbs. The trees around also began to increase, most of them with only the treetops visible above the water. Some of the branches were arranged neatly, making it seem like the plants had originally been planted along the roadsides as greenery.

The factory gates and walls were almost completely submerged, leaving only the taller factory buildings above the water. From her perspective, she could only see dark gray buildings, hard to distinguish one from another.

Shu Fu took a sip of grapefruit lemon tea, got up to check the function screen, confirmed the raft’s current location on the map, and then sat back down on the lounge chair.

About ten minutes later, she heard the sound of an engine. She looked up and saw the shadow of a lifeboat in the water ahead of the raft.

It was still early morning, and everything around was shrouded in a gloomy rain. The lifeboat was moving slower than the raft, probably because of the poor lighting and the concern of hitting floating debris, so it was moving cautiously.

Although Shu Fu trusted the functions of the drifting island house, she was sitting just in front of the wooden house, and as the lifeboat got closer, both would eventually come under the same cover. She would be completely exposed to their line of sight, which made her instinctively nervous.

The waterway wasn’t very wide, with tree branches entangled on both sides. As the lifeboat and the raft drew closer, Shu Fu could clearly see everyone on the boat: the weary rescue team members, the disheveled civilians wrapped in raincoats, and the half-covered boxes on the boat wrapped in plastic. She didn’t understand why they had waited until now to evacuate.

The people on the boat saw her as well, and Shu Fu could clearly feel the gaze of the rescue team sweeping over her. However, the gaze was brief, emotionless, and quickly shifted away. The civilians, who appeared desperate and hurried, didn’t even spare her a glance.

The two boats quickly passed each other on the waterway, continuing in their respective directions.

Throughout the whole process, Shu Fu had indeed been seen, and both the raft and the drifting island house had been noticed. But there was no surprise, no confusion, no curiosity, no investigation—nothing. As described in the function, to others, at this moment, the raft and the people on it had no presence, no significance.

Shu Fu relaxed again. About half an hour later, she changed the raft’s direction to “South” on the waterway map.

The raft had entered a familiar urban area. The buildings here were clustered together, and though the low-rise buildings had been submerged, there were still many familiar tall buildings and landmarks that helped her recognize where she was.

Since she couldn’t use the automatic navigation to reach a specific destination, for the final stretch of the journey, she stood by the half-open front door, observing the water outside and quickly adjusting the drift direction on the function screen.

Familiar shopping malls and commercial buildings appeared in front of her. If she drove past the shopping mall on the left, she would reach the neighborhood where she lived.

The shopping mall’s floor height was between four and five meters, and it had once been a temporary refuge for nearby residents due to its high ceiling, rich supplies, and backup generators. Now, even the third floor had been submerged.

Shu Fu quickly calculated that the water level near her neighborhood had risen to nearly ten meters, so the building where her home was located had likely been submerged up to the third floor.

Her apartment was on the fifth floor, so she was lucky to have a few more days of safety.

Along the way back, she saw not only a rescue team’s assault boat but also several civilian rubber boats, even small rowboats. The people on these boats seemed to be transporting and relocating supplies from the submerged buildings.

She speculated that this situation would last for a few more days. After all, some people, for various reasons, preferred to act independently rather than follow the official arrangements.

As the raft passed the shopping mall, the “Reel” button on the automatic water fishing rod lit up. Shu Fu temporarily stopped the raft to collect the metal basket from the water.

This time, the metal basket was filled to the brim: bags of dried scallops, bags of abalone, bags of cod, bags of oysters, bags of tiger prawns… and a bag of toilet paper?

Altogether, there were more than a dozen bags of seafood, with a roll of toilet paper mixed in, which left her dumbfounded.

Could it be because there was a supermarket nearby? That’s why this haul was so… unique.

After the “Disinfect” process, the metal box opened, and the full metal basket slid out.

All the seafood bags were vacuum-sealed, and it was unclear whether they were originally frozen or if the supermarket’s fresh and frozen section, located on the second floor, had been flooded later, as the weather was cold.

In any case, when she opened the seafood bags to check, everything inside was in good condition. After going through the “disinfection” process, it was all safe to eat.

Shu Fu was quite happy and felt that she had found another way to obtain supplies. She stored all the seafood in her space, leaving the roll of toilet paper in the kitchen area and continuing to steer the raft toward the Peaceful Neighborhood.

The plants along the small paths were gone, the shops and buildings had disappeared, and the streetlights were no longer there. From the intersection to the Peaceful Neighborhood, she didn’t even need to turn or follow the original road; she could go straight across the wide water surface to the buildings in the water.

At 8:50 AM, after seven days of leaving home, Shu Fu returned.

The raft was docked outside the walkway on the north side of the building. The water level had submerged the fence of the third-floor walkway, leaving about half a meter of space between the water surface and the ceiling of the walkway. Fortunately, at this height, with a little effort, she could just manage to climb into the fourth-floor walkway.

Shu Fu put on her fleece clothes, fleece pants, and waterproof jacket. She first deactivated the drift bottle’s protective shield and stored the golden card with 20 remaining hours in her space. She changed into waterproof boots at the door, pulled up the hood of her jacket, reached out to grab the railing of the fourth-floor walkway, and used her feet to push herself up to climb.

The tallest buildings here were like the one she was in, with five floors plus a garage, and a few other four-story buildings or five-story ones without garages, all of which were nearly submerged now.

The entire neighborhood had been evacuated long ago. There were no high-rise buildings or new people coming here, and the area was eerily silent.

Shu Fu walked across the wet walkway and entered the stairwell, operating her bracelet to retract the raft.

Everything was the same as the day she left, including the trash in the stairwell.

She didn’t immediately go home. She put on a mask and disposable gloves, took a broom left by other residents in the stairwell, and began sweeping the trash from the fifth-floor stairs to the fourth-floor stairs. She then swept along the fourth-floor walkway in the opposite direction of her home, clearing all the way to the exterior stairwell at the other end of the floor.

Afterward, she returned to the fifth floor and used the same method to clean the walkway there.

She had no idea how many days the trash had been there. Even though the weather was cold, there was still an unpleasant odor. She couldn’t deal with it, so she could only sweep it as far away from her home as possible.

Shu Fu discarded the mask, gloves, and broom in the stairwell and quickly returned to her home.

The house, with its doors and windows tightly shut for several days, was damp and cold, and there was a not-so-pleasant smell—probably coming from the sewer.

She changed into clean cotton slippers, then went to the kitchen to check. The water, electricity, and gas were all cut off.

Of course, with the residents having evacuated from Suicheng, there was no need to turn on the utilities, even if the pipes weren’t broken.

She first opened the kitchen’s north-facing glass window. The main door was locked with an iron gate, but the inner door was only half-closed. She then went to the balcony, cracked the window open, and allowed the whole house to ventilate from north to south.

As soon as the balcony window opened, the heavy rain poured in. She placed a large plastic basin beneath it to collect the rainwater. As for the rainwater splashing outside, she planned to mop it up later.

She then sprayed alcohol disinfectant around the rooms and lit scented candles in the living room and bedroom to neutralize the odor.

Next, she retrieved some foam boxes, old towels, and sealing putty from her space, and sealed up all the drain openings in the house. Finally, she used glass adhesive to reinforce the outer layer, ensuring multiple layers of protection.

If the water level rose to the fourth floor, the drainage system on the fifth floor would likely back up. A sewer backup was more frightening than hail shattering windows or a torrential storm flooding the house. Although she might have already relocated by then, it was still better to prepare in advance.

After ventilating for a while, the air quality inside the house improved. She emptied the rainwater from the plastic basin onto the balcony, then closed the windows, mopped the rainwater off the floor, and cleaned the balcony.

Afterward, she mopped the floors inside the house as well. Once she finished a simple cleaning, she removed her waterproof jacket and pants and changed into home cotton clothes and pants.

These cotton clothes were winter clothes, and she used to wear thin autumn shirts inside them, so she never felt cold at home. Now, despite wearing fleece clothes and fleece pants underneath, she still felt a chill.

Although she could use a generator to turn on the air conditioning, she didn’t want to attract attention since there were still people in the city. So, she closed all the blackout curtains and took out a kerosene stove. After filling it with special oil, she lit it.

The kerosene stove was more convenient than a diesel stove—portable, safe, and didn’t require exhaust pipes. It could be used in any room with normal ventilation.

Of course, the heating effect varied depending on the room size, and there was a peculiar odor from the fuel after it burned for a while, but with time, one could get used to it.

Her living room, which connected to the kitchen and hallway, was a little larger, and after burning for about ten minutes, the kerosene stove had heated the room to a steady 16 to 18 degrees Celsius, about five degrees lower than the normal temperature in a small space like a tent.

But it was enough. The damp chill had completely dissipated, and she leaned back on the sofa, feeling warm and content as she watched the dancing flames in front of her.

It was almost noon. She had eaten breakfast early, and after all the busyness, she was a bit hungry. Thinking about the other use for the kerosene stove, she added the lid.

Next, she took out a camping pot with a handle, a set of folding camping tables and chairs, a tablet with various movies and shows downloaded, and finally, the hotpot set she had won in a lottery.

She fried garlic and beef tallow hotpot base, added mineral water, placed it on top of the kerosene stove, and set the hotpot ingredients on the table: fatty beef rolls, crispy bone lamb rolls, luncheon meat slices, tripe, cuttlefish, water spinach, vermicelli, rice cakes, kelp knots… and several seasonings, cilantro, garlic, and chopped scallions that came with the gift package.

The camping pot wasn’t very large, but the hotpot broth soon bubbled up with a satisfying sizzle. She added half a box of beef rolls and turned on the tablet to watch a comedy movie, enjoying her hotpot lunch.

The spicy, savory, and fragrant beef, the salty and crispy tripe, the tender and fresh cuttlefish, the soft and chewy rice cakes… The rich and spicy flavors made each bite especially satisfying.

After the meal, she took out the trash can, cleaned up the leftovers, and stored the remaining hotpot ingredients back on the shelf in her space. She then placed the pots and dishes back into the space, planning to handle them later when she used the raft.

The raft was to be used for twelve hours daily, which she certainly wouldn’t waste. Her planned usage time was from midnight to 8 AM for eight hours, and then from 8 PM to midnight for four hours.

This would allow her to use it continuously through the night, ensuring a peaceful and uninterrupted sleep.

There were still three hours left today, so she planned to take out the raft at 9 PM.

With no work and no pressing matters, she took out a light blanket and her tablet holder, then lay down on the sofa to watch a movie. Before long, sleepiness overcame her, and she dozed off.

**

She didn’t know how long she slept, but she was awakened by the noise outside.

Thunder rumbled again, the window frame buzzing as the howling wind mixed with flashes of lightning and thunder. It wasn’t as intense as the previous storm, but the rumbling thunder was still unsettling.

Shu Fu took out a desk lamp and placed it on the bar table near the kitchen, then went to the balcony. Carefully, she lifted a section of the blackout curtain. The outside water surface was churning in the strong wind, with floating debris from construction trash constantly battering the submerged buildings.

Around 4 PM, the sky had completely darkened. The howling wind and the heavy rain quickly turned into hail, hissing and cracking against the glass. The roars of nature mixed together like the apocalypse.

Shu Fu thought to herself, feeling a little foolish—wasn’t this the apocalypse?

As it stood, it was her personal apocalypse. Suicheng, swaying in the storm, was slowly sinking beneath the water.

At 9 PM, Shu Fu packed away the kerosene stove, pulled open all the curtains in the living room facing south, and then released her warm little home: the never-sinking drifting island house.

After changing her shoes and entering, Shu Fu immediately equipped an electric card.

She had drawn a new “One-week Electric Card,” which, combined with her original card, gave her a total of eight days—192 hours of electricity. Although she couldn’t keep the drifting island house powered 24 hours a day, she could make full use of the limited electricity time!

She already had a plan in mind. After preparing the electric card, she set up various rechargeable devices on the living room floor, placing all the power banks with low battery alongside items like the desk lamp, phone, tablet, and electric hot water bottle.

The floor was soon covered with them, left to charge.

Next, she went to the bathroom and retrieved a new washing machine, placing it alongside the old one. One machine was for washing clothes worn outside, and the other for home and intimate wear.

She then took out a dryer and lined it up with the old one next to the washing machines, then spread the clothes she had worn at the library, dividing them between the two machines.

Now that she had electricity, the water was also hot. She didn’t need to get hot water from her space anymore and quickly took a shower, changing into clean cotton loungewear. The clothes she had changed out of were the ones she had worn today, which she could wear again tomorrow.

She left the bathroom holding her clothes and noticed the living room still lacked a place to hang them. So, she retrieved a portable clothes rack from her space. Originally intended for the balcony, it was now placed next to the water cooler, perfect for hanging clothes she’d wear in and out of the house.

Afterward, it was time to clean up her dishes. Since she ate alone, there weren’t many pots or dishes, and it took only about ten minutes to finish washing. She also brought in the outdoor trash and disposed of it.

By the time she finished everything and packed away the charged devices, the two washing machines in the bathroom had also finished their work.

The peak electricity usage period had ended, and the entire process took just over an hour, even shorter than she had expected. She took down the electric card, placed the clothes into the dryers, and started the generator to power the dryers during the low electricity usage period.

She turned on the Bluetooth speaker, curled up barefoot on the living room sofa with a cup of hot milk, and pulled out her survival notebook, listing the things she needed to do in the coming days.

First, she needed to measure the water level every day, ideally going to the fourth-floor walkway to get accurate readings of the water’s rise.

Second, the automatic water fishing rod could be used three times daily to gather supplies. She didn’t want to waste those chances, and it seemed like the supplies gathered might vary depending on the location.

The nearby supermarket was a good spot to cast the rod, but since there were still people in the city, it would require protective shield time. At this stage, the shield time was more valuable than the supplies, so if she wanted to use it, she’d have to try it out within the neighborhood.

Finally, she planned to compare the water map with the Suicheng map, determining the location of the high-rise buildings she had identified as potential shelters, in preparation for a possible move.

Once she finished writing everything down, Shu Fu thought for a moment and realized that she could also release the raft on the water outside during the twelve hours of nightly use. The darkness of the night would make it inconspicuous, and since it would stay stationary next to the buildings in the neighborhood, it wouldn’t attract attention.

The advantage of this plan was that it would allow her to make full use of the fishing rod’s three daily chances and also let her purify the water. Additionally, if the water level suddenly rose during her sleep, she would be able to detect it before the water reached the interior.

While the raft wouldn’t sink, it was still outdoors. Inside the house, with the ceiling blocking the way, if the water rose enough to submerge the house completely, she’d still be trapped.

Of course, using the raft outside the building also had its drawbacks. For example, she absolutely couldn’t oversleep. To avoid that, she would have to set ten alarms and make sure to return inside before the usage time ended. Otherwise, she would fall straight into the water.

After thinking it over, she realized that while the 12 hours of usage for the drifting island house was safe, it still wasn’t enough. She would need to upgrade it to 24 hours of usage to feel truly safe.

But—Shu Fu looked up at the functional screen behind the door. She had already noticed that so far, the progress bar for upgrading the raft to level 3 had not appeared. She remembered that when the raft was first activated, the progress bar and its task for upgrading to level 2 had appeared immediately.

Did she need some specific trigger to activate it?