Chapter 53

His hair was disheveled, his beard unkempt, and compared to the last time, he looked in terrible shape. He seemed mentally unstable, his hand trembling as he filmed himself, muttering the same words over and over.

“…Something’s wrong… Everything’s messed up! No, you have to believe me… There wasn’t supposed to be a tsunami this year, not even in the next ten years… This isn’t right, I had everything prepared… It’s impossible… Why… You have to believe me, I really was reborn, I remember it clearly, there was no tsunami… No! There wasn’t a tsunami this massive… Something’s wrong with this world… Ah, they’re here, they’ve come for me… I have to upload this quickly…” The video ended abruptly with the man suddenly turning his head, his face filled with panic.

The entire video was less than a minute long, but it left everyone who watched it with an eerie chill.

What did he mean?

There wasn’t supposed to be a tsunami?

Everything had been prepared?

Who prepared what?

And—who were they?

Those who already believed in the doomsday prophecy video were panicking, unable to understand why things had spiraled out of control like this.

Others, who never believed in the doomsday theory or the claims of reincarnation, grew even angrier, accusing him of being a fraud, pulling stunts just to gain attention, and questioning why someone like him was even allowed online.

Perhaps because the man involved was a key figure, the video disappeared not long after it surfaced.

But the public was prepared. Those with lightning-fast reflexes had already downloaded the video and continued to spread it like wildfire across various groups and platforms.

If that were all, Shu Fu wouldn’t have seen it. She hadn’t logged into WeChat and just happened to pass through an area with a signal—it shouldn’t have been so coincidental.

But shortly after this video surfaced, it reappeared overnight on numerous websites, without exception. No one knew who was responsible, but the video was like a stubborn nail hammered firmly into the fabric of the internet.

Alongside this new video, the original doomsday prophecy video also resurfaced. The two videos were pinned at the top of every site, making them nearly impossible to ignore for anyone browsing online.

Countless comments and threads piled beneath the videos, with many speculating whether the person who posted this was the same one who created the doomsday prophecy video.

Why was this person doing such things?

It had taken the authorities three or four days to completely remove the previous video. How long would it take this time?

Some even started new threads to count the days the two videos remained online, with people checking in daily to track the time. This gave the public a new outlet for their anxiety and fear, shifting their focus and significantly reducing the number of people engaging in online arguments.

After watching the video, Shu Fu checked the countdown thread. The videos had been up for four days now, reaching the critical point. People were even voting on whether this time it would surpass the previous record of four days and make it to five.

Someone set up a prize thread, promising a cash giveaway to 200 randomly selected commenters if the videos stayed up longer than the last time.

Others asked if they could receive supplies instead of money, as they were still trapped in disaster zones waiting for rescue…

And sure enough, someone started a new thread, promising that if the videos stayed up for a week, 300 people would be selected for cash or air-dropped supplies of their choice.

Many people joined the thread, though some complained that a week was too long—whether the videos lasted or not, their stomachs wouldn’t hold out that long…

Onlookers watched the spectacle, jokingly asking what kind of supplies the thread creator planned to airdrop. Drones probably wouldn’t cut it—was this some rich person with a private plane?

Shu Fu: …

Truly, the people of Huagou never failed to entertain themselves, even in the darkest and most difficult years of disaster, finding ways to lift their spirits and let loose.

She rubbed her eyes, strained from browsing too many pages, and continued checking for updates, focusing mainly on official rescue announcements.

Because the disaster area was so vast and many regions had lost all signals, rescue teams couldn’t arrive in time. It had been decided that supplies would be air-dropped across all affected regions.

“All regions” meant every patch of land. As long as there was still land exposed above water, no matter how small or whether any survivors remained, supply packages would be indiscriminately dropped.

The supply packages were wrapped in double-layer waterproof material and contained energy-dense food, purified water, pull-string neck life rings, disinfectants, warm clothing, rain gear, signal flares, and more—none of which would expire within five years.

These supplies were meant to help survivors in disaster zones who hadn’t yet been rescued.

Since survivors in no-signal areas might not know the situation outside, each supply package included a note of encouragement, assuring them that the authorities were working hard to reach them and urging them to hold on in the face of despair and not give up until rescue arrived.

Special emphasis was placed on the signal flares, with instructions included in each package, stating that the flare should only be used when a rescue helicopter was spotted nearby, greatly increasing the chances of being saved.

News of the supply drops shifted public attention once again, with people posting all kinds of prayer and encouragement threads.

…

Shu Fu read through all this news, feeling a gentle warmth filling her chest.

She found an official, legitimate donation platform and logged into a payment account on this phone that wasn’t linked to any chat apps, donating the entire balance. Luckily, she had prepared for both scenarios and had stored money on this phone; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to do anything now.

Since she wasn’t heading into the city, she had no expenses, and the money had been converted from gold—taking from the people and giving back to the people.

However, for the plateau cities manufacturing the supply packages and the unaffected cities, the amount she donated could potentially produce hundreds of additional supply packages for survivors.

The announcement about the nationwide air drop had been made the day before. That day, as Shu Fu restarted her raft and set out towards her destination again, she heard the roar of planes overhead.

Standing on the raft, she looked up to see a plane carrying supplies flying low over nearby hills. The cargo bay doors were open, releasing a series of small parachute packages.

Even though this was a small patch of land deep within the floodwaters, and even though it was highly likely that no survivors remained here months ago, the supply packages still arrived as promised. Some landed on the slopes of the hills, while others splashed into the shallow waters beside the land.

Each of these supply packages was equipped with flotation devices and brightly colored, making them easily visible from a distance. Even if they landed in the water, they wouldn’t sink or get soaked.

Every single supply package could potentially save multiple lives. They were a beacon of hope.

---

After drifting for about half an hour, the network signal began to weaken, and after another ten minutes, it disappeared completely.

Shu Fu was back to being offline. But the waterway to her destination was only about an hour and a half away. If she confirmed that the area was suitable for spending the four hours ashore each day, she could always return here whenever she needed internet access.

Since she couldn’t mark the map panel, Shu Fu pulled out her tablet and placed a marker on the electronic map.

The biggest discovery of the day was actually the new video posted by the reborn individual. The information he revealed in the video might not have been clear to others, but she understood it perfectly.

The reborn individual claimed that the planet-wide tsunami that had occurred this time didn’t happen in the future he had experienced.

Strictly speaking, there were tsunamis, but they were within the range of normal events. For example, the initial 15-meter-high tsunami that struck Huagou’s coastline or the 30- to 40-meter-high waves that hit the Lou Yuncheng dam.

But a super tsunami, like the one from a week ago that reached hundreds of meters and could annihilate entire regions, had never happened—or at least, it shouldn’t have happened at this point in time on the timeline he knew.

In other words, the “past” he was familiar with had been altered, and the future that was supposed to be predetermined had deviated for unknown reasons.

“All preparations had been made.” This likely referred to various official measures, possibly including, but not limited to: preemptively constructing waterproof dams, developing and modernizing underdeveloped plateau towns, initially implementing traffic bans and city entry permits, and later opening a batch of cities for relocation with favorable policies.

But everything that had been meticulously planned was thrown into chaos by this super tsunami.

Neither this reborn individual nor any other unknown reborn people in Huagou had foreseen this disaster.

This time, the casualties were far too high, and he had gone from being seen as a prophet and savior to becoming the target of public outrage.

Perhaps he couldn’t handle the blow, leading to his mental breakdown and self-doubt.

However, the reborn individual’s video aligned with Shu Fu’s previous suspicions. The authorities were clearly unaware of this anomaly; otherwise, their response would have been quicker. For example, when Suicheng and other cities experienced flooding, the mass evacuation had been completed in about ten days.

So now the question arose: why had the predetermined future been altered?

Other people might interpret the reborn individual’s failed prophecy as proof that he had never been a savior but just a raving lunatic whose nonsense had coincidentally aligned with earlier disasters.

But Shu Fu didn’t think that way. She herself was a non-scientific anomaly—a time traveler—so she believed the reborn individual’s prophecy wholeheartedly.

Since he wasn’t lying, then where had things gone wrong?

It felt as if some invisible force was playing a cruel joke. Despite the disasters being predicted and the government taking preventative measures to avert them, the calamities had suddenly escalated.

It was as if this malevolent force wanted to tell humanity that no matter how hard they tried, destruction was inevitable.

What was even more terrifying was that such deviations could happen again in the future.

This meant that the authorities, who had previously relied on the reborn individual’s foresight to implement countermeasures, would now be at an even greater disadvantage.

---

At 7:35 p.m., after spending an extra half-hour in the signal area, Shu Fu finally arrived at her destination.

The rain outside had lessened, and the hills ahead stood silently in the pitch-black rainy night, appearing blurry, like some large, silent animal resting in the water.

These were two isolated hills surrounded by water. The parts still visible above the floodwaters were likely the highest peaks in the area before the disaster. Shu Fu didn’t get too close, as she wasn’t yet sure if anyone was still on them.

Debris from buildings and boats continued to float in the nearby waters. She steered her raft closer, then anchored it and deactivated the raft’s protective shield.

After today’s usage, the protective shield still had 26 hours of storage time left. In another five hours, it would be able to recharge an additional four hours.

For dinner, Shu Fu planned to finish the instant noodles she had for lunch. Besides that, she also took out a box of assorted sashimi from her storage, which included salmon, sea bream, arctic surf clam, and sea urchin. She poured some soy sauce into a small bowl, squeezed out some wasabi, and started her dinner of instant noodles paired with sashimi.

After the meal, she cleaned the cookware, freshened up, and climbed into bed early.

Since she hadn’t slept much the night before, even though she had caught up on two hours of rest today, she still felt drowsy. She planned to go to bed early to recharge and have enough energy for tomorrow’s work.

---

The next day, the drizzle continued. Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, she munched on a beef and cheese croissant while using binoculars to survey the hillside opposite her.

This was the area most devastated by the tsunami. Most of the original trees and vegetation on the slopes were broken, now lying chaotically in all directions—truly a post-catastrophe scene.

According to her electronic map, one of the hills was larger and had a flatter top, where several guesthouses had been built. She was now surveying the top of this hill and, amidst the scattered, broken branches, she could see the collapsed walls of buildings.

It was clear that the super tsunami had ravaged this area too. The guesthouses on the hill had all been hit by the giant waves, and without exception, they were completely destroyed.

For Shu Fu, landing on this hill had its pros and cons.

The advantage was that the devastation was severe, making the chance of finding survivors slim. If she could find a suitable temporary shelter, she could spend the four hours each day on land when the raft couldn’t be used.

However, this was also the downside. The destruction was so extensive that every building near the edge of the hill had been destroyed. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to find a proper shelter once she landed.

Four hours was enough time to encounter any extreme weather if luck ran out. She could always deploy the raft on land for shelter, but finding a sturdy, stable place to shield herself from the wind and rain would be much better.

After all, she didn’t know how long she would need to stay in these waters and couldn’t rely solely on time extension cards.

After some thought, Shu Fu decided to check out the other nearby hill first.

When she compared the area with the electronic map earlier, she made an interesting discovery. If luck was on her side, it might solve all her problems.

Shu Fu manually operated the raft, steering it toward the other hill. The two hills, originally connected, now appeared like two isolated islands in the vast ocean. If the water level dropped by a few dozen meters, the sloping land connecting them might be revealed.

The raft easily navigated through the flooded area between the hills. The situation here was similar—trees on the slopes were downed, most piled up in a tangled mess, while others had drifted into the nearby waters, becoming floating debris.

Shu Fu adjusted the raft’s speed to 20 and manually steered it to circle around the hill.

Since the wristband had gained the map feature, she could set destinations for automatic drifting. But for short trips like this, where directions needed frequent adjustments, manual control was still more convenient. Changing direction required operating the control panel behind the door; she wished there was a steering wheel on the upper deck of the cabin, like on a real boat.

The terrain of this hill was different from the other. The summit area was small, making it unsuitable for building guesthouses. The western side of the hill had steep cliffs, and at the top of the cliff was a natural cave that had been developed into a sunset-view restaurant.

When she passed through the signal zone yesterday, she had looked up detailed information about this restaurant and found many photos, which gave her more confidence.

In the face of a disaster, nothing was more solid than the cave itself.

After surveying the hill, Shu Fu found a suitable place to dock. It was a mountain cove near the cave restaurant, and judging by the color of the water, it wasn’t too shallow. The raft now had an underwater room, and she hadn’t yet observed it from the outside, so she wasn’t sure how much space it occupied beneath the raft.

Originally, the raft sat very shallow in the water and could dock anywhere, but now she was worried the underwater room might get stuck in shallow areas, preventing the raft from moving. So, she chose a spot where the water wasn’t too shallow.

If even this depth wasn’t sufficient, she’d have to use the inflatable boat to ferry herself temporarily.

Fortunately, the raft didn’t get stuck. The front end smoothly touched the shore, and she anchored it firmly before stepping off in large strides to set foot on land.

It wasn’t too cold outside, but the rain had intensified. Shu Fu wore waterproof boots and a waterproof jacket and pants. Thanks to the raincoat, she didn’t even carry a backpack—just wore a mask and pulled the brim of her rain hood low. In the end, she chose to activate her personal protective shield instead of carrying the nail gun up the slope.

Today’s mission was to scout the area, and unlike Suicheng, where she was familiar with the evacuated city, this was the wilderness—an unfamiliar place. She didn’t know if there were still people or other living things on the hill, and the weather was rough.

So, this time, the protective shield wasn’t something she could skimp on.

After putting away the raft, Shu Fu immediately activated her personal shield. As expected, once it was on, the wind and rain were completely blocked out. She could even take out her phone and navigate using the pre-downloaded electronic map.

The mountain path ravaged by the tsunami was extremely difficult to traverse. A section of the road that the map indicated would take only four or five minutes took her over ten minutes to walk.

Naturally, she couldn’t keep the protective shield on the entire time. After the initial period of cautious observation, she only used it on the muddy slopes and in areas with poor visibility due to broken trees and tangled woods. By the time she reached her destination, she had used the shield for a total of 4 minutes and 21 seconds—every second spent exactly where it was needed.