Jiang Ning watched the floating object drifting closer and closer. She gave it a nudge with a stick and realized—it was a bloated corpse.

At first, the sight was shocking and nauseating. But after seeing so many, she had grown used to it. When they first left the neighborhood, there were already several bodies floating around.

She kept an eye on the time—it had already been a full minute, yet the rope in her hand hadn’t moved at all.

Two minutes…

Three minutes…

Four minutes…

A growing sense of unease gnawed at her. Jiang Ning gave the rope a couple of tugs—still no response.

It was impressive for a normal person to stay underwater for even a little over a minute. Even if 1801 was good at diving, four minutes was too long.

Sensing something was wrong, she was just about to tug the rope again when the water suddenly rippled noisily.

1801 surfaced. “I checked several of the shops. All the doors had been pried open, and the inside was completely cleaned out.”

Cleaned out? Who could be that skilled?

Lu Yu looked disappointed. “No gas cylinders. Even if we find food, we won’t be able to cook it.”

They had moved fast, yet someone had still beaten them to it. Clearly, they were still too young and lacking in life experience.

Jiang Ning glanced at 1801. Those snack shops had been submerged the day after the typhoon. Even if some owners had managed to evacuate, not all the shops could’ve been pried open. The floodwater was murky and fast-moving—without proper gear and strong swimming skills, it was almost impossible to get inside.

Unless… the shops had already been looted right when the disaster began.

She vaguely sensed a possibility. “Our only option now is to try our luck at the gas depot. Hopefully, not everything has been taken.”

Since they were already out, there was no way they’d go back empty-handed. The gas depot was their next shot.

Jiang Ning took out her waterproof phone from her bag and opened the offline map, pointing to a location. “It should be around here. I think there’s a big banyan tree in front.”

It was about six to seven kilometers from Jinrong Community—not too far, just a bit remote.

With the location settled, the three of them set off in their inflatable motorboat toward the gas depot.

The suburbs were full of one-story houses, now all submerged, making everything feel eerily open and empty.

Along the way, they encountered some firefighters rescuing trapped civilians. Seeing the boat, the rescuers shouted through a megaphone, trying to requisition it to help with evacuation.

This flood was a once-in-a-millennium disaster, and there simply weren’t enough rescue tools to go around.

Huo Yishen ignored them, and the three sped through the floodwaters.

The city had turned into a vast ocean, with no clear sense of direction. Jiang Ning used binoculars to scout ahead. “Go forward and then right. There’s something green in the water—it’s probably the banyan tree.”

They slowed down as they approached. Sure enough, they saw the banyan leaves.

The massive tree was now reduced to just its topmost canopy peeking above the water.

They secured the boat to the banyan tree. Jiang Ning pointed in a general direction, and Huo Yishen put on his diving mask and went under.

More than two minutes passed before he surfaced. “Found it. But the depot has a rolling shutter and a sliding iron gate. It’s not easy to pry open.”

He asked Jiang Ning to get the folding crowbar from his bag.

Lu Yu: “…”

Why was he the only one without professional gear?

Jiang Ning had supplies in her storage space, but she couldn’t use them while teamed up. When she’d seen that 1801’s bag had a diving mask, rope, and a tie strap, she hadn’t hesitated to tie herself up and put on the mask. “I’ll go help. You keep an eye on the surroundings. If anything strange happens, tug the rope immediately.”

Lu Yu nodded. “You two be careful.”

The floodwater was freezing. Jiang Ning dove in, using her waterproof flashlight to swim toward the depot while pulling out a steel cutter.

She spotted a faint light in the distance and swam toward it.

Huo Yishen was standing in the water, straining to lift the rolling shutter, but the water resistance was too strong.

Jiang Ning swam up beside him and helped push it up.

Their eyes met. Both focused their strength on the task.

The shutter slowly lifted, revealing a sliding iron gate behind it.

Huo Yishen took the steel cutter from her and snapped the chain on the door. Then they pulled it open together.

It was pitch black inside. Just as they were about to swim in, something suddenly lunged at Jiang Ning.

Huo Yishen reacted quickly and yanked her out of the way. The dark shape missed her head by inches and floated upward.

A flashlight beam revealed it was a gas cylinder.

And not just one—soon, more and more cylinders floated out, all rising quickly to the surface.

Jiang Ning instinctively reached out to grab one but stopped herself. They were probably empty.

A fully filled gas cylinder is too heavy to float so easily.

She pulled out a high-beam waterproof flashlight and scanned the dark corners. She spotted several cylinders tucked away.

She swam over and tried to lift one—but it wouldn’t budge.

Huo Yishen, stronger than her, picked up one of the heavy cylinders and swam out, yanking the rope tied to his waist.

Lu Yu hauled on the rope, and the two of them surfaced quickly.

Jiang Ning climbed onto the boat, and together they heaved the heavy gas cylinder on board. It must have been one the shop owner hadn’t had time to move.

“I’ll hand them up—stay here and grab them.”

After a brief rest, Huo Yishen dove back in.

The water pressure and lack of oxygen made Jiang Ning feel light-headed. She sat in the boat, trying to catch her breath.

Lu Yu scanned the surroundings nervously with binoculars, then suddenly said in alarm, “Ah Ning, someone’s coming!”

Jiang Ning stood up and saw another inflatable boat speeding toward them through the rain.

She couldn’t make out the people clearly, but there were at least four or five of them.

Lu Yu yanked the rope hard. Jiang Ning looked for a weapon.

Huo Yishen surfaced, dragging another gas cylinder with him.

By the time he got on board, the other boat had already reached them.

Six burly men stood on it, each gripping sharp metal pipes. “This gas depot is under our control. If you know what’s good for you, hand over what you fished up.”

“Big bro, we don’t even have diving masks,” someone muttered behind them.

Another man let out a wild laugh. “Then make them dive and bring everything up for us!”

“Yeah, and leave the boat and supplies too—we might consider letting you live.”

Their muscular arms were covered in tattoos—these were clearly gang members. In a world where order had collapsed, it had become a paradise for thugs.

They made no attempt to negotiate, already acting like everything here was theirs.

Lu Yu looked panicked and gripped the crowbar tightly.

Jiang Ning slipped a hand into her pocket. “Sure, come take it yourselves.”

“Heh, just wait, sweetheart—your big brothers are on the way.”

They laughed lewdly, slowly steering their boat closer. Their eyes on Jiang Ning were like those of starving wolves.

Just as they got within ten feet, Jiang Ning was about to pull something out—when Huo Yishen moved even faster. With a loud bang bang…