Chapter 23

Testing her hypothesis was simple: she only needed to select a direction in the navigation mode, set the speed for “directional drifting,” and she would quickly see the results.

However, the test didn’t hold much practical significance at the moment. Moreover, she was both exhausted and starving, and she wasn’t sure how many rescue boats from Suicheng were still in operation. It wasn’t the right time to move recklessly.

The phone she had left on the bar table near the front door began flashing—a call came in from the same number multiple times. She had saved this number; it was Cheng Yu’s.

He must have realized she wasn’t on the boat, much earlier than she had anticipated.

She had thought he wouldn’t start paying attention to her whereabouts until all the boats had docked at the shelter in Ningcheng’s outskirts. By then, she would have blended into the crowd, and even if she couldn’t be found, it wouldn’t raise much suspicion.

But now, she couldn’t figure out how, at this point, while on another boat, he had managed to discover her absence. This made things tricky.

Zhang Tian, Chen Fa, Wu Shaoshan, and Zheng Feifei weren’t at the same evacuation shelter as her. They had assumed she had followed protocol and evacuated. Over the past couple of days, they had occasionally contacted her, and she had always responded promptly. They didn’t doubt whether she had truly evacuated.

But Cheng Yu’s call was one she couldn’t answer.

They had left the same shelter and boarded the same batch of boats. From his perspective, her disappearance from the boat now could only mean one thing: she had fallen into the water.

Shu Fu wasn’t sure if he would request the rescue team to search the surrounding waters for her, but she knew this was something she could never explain to him. So, answering the call was out of the question. Yet ignoring it entirely didn’t feel right either. She didn’t want to waste rescue resources.

After some thought, Shu Fu picked up the phone, typed out a message, and sent it to Cheng Yu. She then quickly turned off the phone and removed the SIM card.

The message read:
“I’m safe, but I have some private matters to deal with. Sorry, please help let the others know I’m fine. Thank you.”

Deep down, she still held onto a sliver of hope that she could return to her original world.

Whether it was Cheng Yu, Yao Ruoyun, or Lu Zheng, they were all people she would likely never see again. There was no need to explain herself, but she also didn’t want others to worry unnecessarily.

This was the best approach—leaving behind a vague, unexplainable answer. With time, they would naturally forget.

Fortunately, when she had purchased additional phones and satellite phones, she had also bought new SIM cards. If she needed to contact the outside world, she wouldn’t be entirely out of options.

As for Zhang Tian and the others, she could use another device to log into WeChat and stay in touch. Cheng Yu didn’t know her WeChat account, and as long as she didn’t enable location permissions, no one could track her through it.

For now, she needed to lay low. Once the evacuation from Suicheng was fully completed and people began to realize that the apocalypse had truly arrived—bringing chaos and an increasing number of missing and deceased individuals—she could effectively hide among the crowd without drawing attention due to her disappearance.

Shu Fu retrieved a large pot of oxtail and radish soup from the storage rack in her wristband space. It was something she had prepared at home earlier—a full pot she had only eaten once.

As soon as she lifted the lid, the rich aroma of the soup filled the air.

She took out a bowl, chopsticks, and a spoon from the cabinet under the bar table, served herself a generous bowl of soup, then placed the pot back into storage. Next, she retrieved a box of crispy fried chicken wings and a cup of taro bubble tea.

For the past few days, her meals had been limited to instant noodles or self-heating rice. Breakfast consisted of small bread rolls paired with boiled eggs or sausages. The taste of self-heating rice didn’t compare to takeout rice bowls or her own fried rice, and even though instant noodles were flavorful, eating them for five or six days straight had made her feel nauseated.

She was used to eating fresh fruit, meat, vegetables, and desserts every day. The past few days, she hadn’t had any of that. Between meals, when her mouth craved something, all she could do was nibble on dried fruit, vegetable chips, or candy—snacks that were small and easy to store.

Even then, she had to ration these carefully, as her backpack space was limited. Taking out a few cans of candy or some bags of dried fruit was fine, but she couldn’t endlessly pull items from storage.

So now, even though she was very hungry, she had no desire for noodles or rice. She just wanted something crispy and savory—fried meat.

The box of fried chicken wings contained only wingettes. The skin was fried to a golden crisp, generously seasoned with cumin powder. With the first bite, the salty, flavorful juices burst in her mouth.

The chicken wings had been marinated, making the meat flavorful. As she tore into a wing, the tender strands of chicken separated easily, releasing more delicious juices. It was so good it felt almost spiritual—a soul-satisfying sense of happiness.

One bite of chicken wing, one sip of taro bubble tea, and then a spoonful of oxtail soup garnished with scallions—Shu Fu felt fully revived.

The box contained ten chicken wings. After finishing a bowl of soup and six wings, she was too full to continue.

She placed the dishes and food waste into the kitchen sink. Then she went to the control screen, activated the “Garbage Shredding and Purification” options, and began testing the new functionality.

The kitchen sink, unlike the bathroom sink, had a covered drain with a filter. Once these were removed, the drain was wide enough to dispose of food waste directly.

Trusting the functionality of her floating house completely, Shu Fu dumped the food waste into the sink. From deep within the sink came faint clicking sounds, as if something was being ground up, accompanied by the soft sound of running water.

In about three or four seconds, all the subtle sounds subsided.

Was it over already?

Shu Fu was a bit surprised. She had watched videos of household garbage disposal machines before, which typically required turning on the faucet, manually starting the machine, and waiting at least ten seconds while keeping water running throughout the process.

Now, this process was completely automated.

She checked the function screen and saw that the “water tank” still contained 478 liters of water. The amount used during the garbage disposal likely didn’t even reach a liter.

This “Garbage Disposal and Purification” function was incredibly practical, perfectly solving the problem of household waste.

Of course, she still needed to place a trash can in the living room outside the cabin for regular dry waste. If she found a proper disposal site in the future, great; if not, she planned to toss everything into the sink’s drain.

Shu Fu reinstalled the sink filter, washed the dishes, and took out a Bluetooth speaker shaped like a retro radio. She opened another phone, played a soothing music playlist she had downloaded earlier, and began setting up the new kitchen area while listening to music against the backdrop of the rain outside.

She moved all the stacked storage boxes, big and small, to the outer side of the kitchen partition, arranging them neatly against the wall.

The refrigerator, coffee machine, and everyday dishware and utensils, which had previously been placed in the living room, were moved into the kitchen. Conveniently, the kitchen’s partition door faced the bathroom’s partition door, making it easier to connect power lines.

Thanks to the wristband space acting as a transport tool, setting up the kitchen was incredibly efficient. She moved the food stored at room temperature in the living room into the kitchen’s wooden cabinets. Since the wooden house didn’t have 24-hour electricity, she temporarily used the refrigerator as a storage cabinet for beverages that wouldn’t spoil quickly.

She also retrieved her microwave, oven, cookware, electric kettle, induction cooker, knives, and cleaning supplies from the space and organized them neatly. The previously simple and empty little kitchen now truly looked like a proper kitchen.

Finally, she affixed two long, thin rechargeable motion-sensor lights: one above the sink and one by the entrance. These lights could be easily stuck anywhere, lasted a long time after a single charge, and automatically dimmed or lit up depending on whether someone was present.

In the living room, near the bathroom wall, the removal of the refrigerator and coffee machine left only the standing water dispenser. This area now looked spacious but a bit empty, so Shu Fu retrieved a rotating bookshelf she had kept in the living room and placed it in the corner where the walls met.

The rotating bookshelf stood over two meters tall, with six tiers that could rotate 360 degrees. It could hold not only books but also small miscellaneous items like a Bluetooth speaker, power banks, drinking cups, and tea tins.

On the left side of the bookshelf, near the floor-to-ceiling window, she laid a thick cushion and added throw pillows for a cozy reading nook.

She replaced the single-seater sofa with a larger, wider, and softer double-seater couch, perfect for lounging or taking a nap.

On the other side of the window, she placed a small dining table and chair. Since she now ate daily in the floating island house, sitting on the floor by the coffee table had become uncomfortable over time. Besides, the larger space allowed room for proper furniture.

She then put away the camping air mattress by the other floor-to-ceiling window and brought out a mattress she had stored earlier. She laid it in the sleeping area, covered it with sheets and a thin blanket, and placed pillows and a lightweight quilt.

This mattress was 1.5 meters by 2 meters, newly purchased when she moved. It was perfectly comfortable, neither too soft nor too firm. Although she hadn’t initially planned to use it because the floating island house was too small, the upgraded space now accommodated it easily, making her nights much cozier.

For the areas by the front and back doors where she changed shoes, she decided to add rugs and modular shoe racks.

Shu Fu busied herself joyfully, arranging her little wooden house. Though these tasks seemed trivial, they were vital to her future daily life.

After tidying up the wooden house, she retrieved the electric card to test the new function she had been eagerly anticipating.

[Entire Cabin Electrical Energy: Electric Card Equipped (23:59:58)]

Once activated, the electric card displayed a countdown timer. Based on the 24-hour usage period, this likely represented the remaining time the floating island house could use electricity.

But after activating it, how was the electricity used?

She had never found any power switches or outlets in the wooden house. The function screen, when tapped, only showed an option to “uninstall the electric card” but didn’t reveal any new choices.

Shu Fu was puzzled. Had she overlooked something in the wooden house?

As she pondered, a faint chime suddenly came from the kitchen. The sound resembled a short and familiar alert tone, like a phone notification.

Curious, she walked into the kitchen, where the motion-sensor light automatically turned on.

To her surprise, the double-door refrigerator’s control panel lights were on.

How could that be?

When she was arranging the kitchen earlier, she hadn’t connected the refrigerator’s power cord to the generator’s outlet. So how was it suddenly powered?

Shu Fu reached out and opened the refrigerator. Sure enough, the light inside turned on, and she could hear the refrigerator beginning to cool.

She froze for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening. She turned around and began trying to turn on the microwave, oven, and induction cooker. Sure enough, every household appliance that needed power was working, even though none of them were connected to any outlets!

So this was what “whole-house electrical energy” meant!

As long as the electric card was equipped, all the appliances in the wooden house could be used without needing to be plugged in, as long as the usage time hadn’t expired!

“Awesome!” Shu Fu couldn’t help but praise aloud.

This was some must-have, lazy-tech for home living or traveling!

Shu Fu quickly checked every corner of the wooden house, hoping she hadn’t missed any other functions. To her surprise, she found something else.

With the electric card equipped, rechargeable electronics like phones, power banks, electric heating pads, and charging lamps would automatically start charging when placed inside the wooden house.

When the faucet was turned on, the water wasn’t cold anymore—it was warm, and the temperature could be adjusted by turning the faucet left or right, just like the gas water heater she used at home, providing instant hot water with customizable temperatures.

This new feature was perfect and flawless. The only problem was that the electric card seemed to be obtainable only through a lottery, and winning depended entirely on luck.

Considering this, the electric card seemed extremely precious. She immediately went to the screen to uninstall the card. She would save such a valuable resource for when she really needed it, and it would be best to take out all the electronics in her space that needed charging and charge them all at once, making the most of the usage time.

For daily small amounts of power, the generator was still more suitable.

She carefully stored the electric card in her space and then took out another golden card. This was a drift bottle shield experience card she had won, usable on any level of raft. Given her current situation, she felt the need to figure out what this shield was.

She placed the card on the screen, which detected it and prompted: [Drift Bottle Shield 24-Hour Experience Card, Do you want to use it?]

She clicked “Use.”

[Raft has entered Drift Bottle Shield mode (23:59:57). In this protective state, all areas of the raft are upgraded to “Owner Mode,” and a “Drift Bottle Barrier” forms around the raft. The barrier significantly reduces the spatial presence within, making it appear as a meaningless and naturally reasonable floating object. Even if seen, it won’t attract any attention.]

This was the first time Shu Fu had seen such a detailed explanation of a function on the screen. Without this explanation, she wouldn’t have understood it at all.

Being seen but not attracting attention—becoming a meaningless and reasonable floating object—was essentially like floating debris or roadside grass and stones. Even if seen by countless people every day, they wouldn’t give it a second glance because it seemed completely insignificant.

It wasn’t about disappearing from others’ sight, but about becoming a more natural, reasonable, and meaningless existence. The shield’s function was so powerful it almost seemed overpowered. No wonder it was a golden third-prize item.

Shu Fu had already figured out how she would return to her dwelling within the raft’s usage time tomorrow.

She reached out, deactivated the Drift Bottle Shield state on the screen, and carefully stored the golden card in her space.

Next, she took the lottery wheel out from her wristband, took a deep breath, and began the lottery.

After completing this task, she had five chances to draw. She wasn’t asking for much; even if she didn’t win a gold prize, it would be great to get some green or red prizes.

However—

Red Fourth Prize: Sichuan Cuisine Gift Pack.

This gift pack was even more exciting than the BBQ and hotpot gift packs because it contained ready-to-eat Sichuan dishes, each packed in environmentally friendly kraft paper boxes. The pack featured all kinds of Sichuan dishes she knew and didn’t know. She counted, and there were more than thirty boxes, meaning over thirty different dishes.

Green Fourth Prize: One-week Electric Card.

Blue Fourth Prize: Back Door Eaves.

Gold Third Prize: Drift Bottle Shield (24-Hour Experience Card).

Her luck was through the roof this time—she didn’t get anything lower than a fourth prize, and in the end, she even drew a second prize!

[Blue Second Prize: Automatic Water Area Fishing Rod (3 uses per day, can be used on any level raft)]

[Do you want to claim this prize?]

[Yes/No]

Even though this blue prize wasn’t her first choice, once she saw “Second Prize,” she knew it was a rare prize, so she chose to claim it.

Just like with the previous blue prize, the prize didn’t appear in front of her. The lottery wheel only showed “Placed” on the screen.

She used her phone as a flashlight and carefully inspected every corner of the wooden house. There was no change inside, so she expanded her search to the outside of the wooden house. Finally, near the front door of the wooden house, she saw a new item added to the raft.

It was labeled as a fishing rod, but it actually looked more like an automatic catcher. It was placed outside the right side of the front door eaves, about a meter high, near the edge of the raft.

The setup consisted of a roller with a thin cable, a metal rod, a large metal basket, and a metal box holding the basket. The operation seemed quite simple, with only three buttons: one labeled “Throw,” another labeled “Reel,” and the last one labeled “Disinfect.”

The metal box, facing the water, was currently open, and inside, the metal basket was clearly visible. The basket’s mesh was very fine, with no hooks for bait and no netting. The bottom also appeared to be movable and could open, resembling the type of simple fishing catcher you’d find in a game.

In the original single-player mini-game on which the “Never-Sinking Drifting Island House” was based, the fishing rod was an important tool, allowing players to catch various kinds of sea fish and seafood, which could be cooked to increase their hunger satisfaction.

However, Shu Fu hadn’t included this feature in the main storyline of the animation, as fishing rods in a water world seemed too ordinary—almost like a default item.

Moreover, the fishing rod in the game and the one in front of her were completely different, aside from the name.

Shu Fu crouched under the eaves and studied it for a moment, before deciding to try it out. She pressed the “Throw” button.

As soon as she pressed the button, the roller spun, and the metal basket slid out of the box, moving along the metal rod toward the water, and with a soft splash, it disappeared into the water.

The roller kept spinning for a while. The thin cable didn’t unravel completely and even rewound a few times, as though there were someone controlling the fishing line, adjusting its length.

After that, there was no more movement.

Normally, fishing would require a long waiting time.

But considering the area was flooded land, the chance of fish being there was probably very low, right?

Shu Fu didn’t dwell on it too much. It was her first try after all. After pressing the button, she returned to the wooden house.

The raft could only be used continuously until noon the next day. Now that she had finished her tasks, she planned to sleep earlier. After all, it was her first night on the water. She wanted to get some rest, so she could be alert in case anything unusual happened during the night.

Neither of the wooden house’s doors had locks, but with “Owner Mode” on, there was no need to lock them.

She turned off the bathroom light and glanced at the function screen again as she passed by the back door. She felt like there was something she might have overlooked during the recent upgrade.

It wasn’t until she adjusted the alarm clock, turned off the desk lamp, and turned on the small rechargeable nightlight on the rotating bookshelf that she remembered what she had missed.

After the raft reached level 2, it seemed that the progress bar for leveling it to 3 hadn’t shown up.

Was it because the new task hadn’t arrived yet, and that was why it wasn’t showing?

She turned over in her thin blanket, gazing at the dark water surface outside the floor-to-ceiling window and listening to the faint patter of rain on the glass. She quickly closed her eyes.

**

At 5 a.m., she woke up to the alarm. Since she had gone to bed early, she had slept a full eight hours.

The Drift Island House filtered out the noisy rain from the outside, maintaining a comfortable, dry, and constant temperature. Thanks to its unique stability, she slept even better than those few nights she spent at the library.

It was still pitch dark outside, with heavy rain pouring down and very low visibility.

Inside the house, it wasn’t cold at all, and she hadn’t added any extra layers. She was still wearing her cotton long-sleeve home clothes. She went to the bathroom to freshen up, then took a cup of homemade hot latte from her space, sipping it while taking out her tablet. She found the map of Suicheng and then went to the function screen to open the waterway map.

She compared the two maps and roughly located her house on the waterway map. Using a red pen, she marked the location.

Although the raft could be set to drift in a specific direction, it only had four options: north, south, east, and west. It couldn’t move in a curved line.

So based on the mark, she had to travel east for a certain distance first, then manually adjust the raft to head south. The waterway map looked like an elongated oval, so the distance traveling east was about twice as long as heading south.

Luckily, when the raft drifts, it automatically avoids obstacles, making minor adjustments to prevent crashing into exposed buildings or underwater obstacles. Otherwise, the return journey would not be so easy.

She had been at the library for so many days, and the water levels in Suicheng’s urban area must have risen again. She didn’t know how many floors of her building had been flooded or if there were people still trapped inside the city, or rescue teams that hadn’t left due to special reasons.

If the water levels weren’t too high, she could temporarily stay there for a while, wait for the city to become deserted, and then use the 12 hours of raft time each day to find a suitable tall building for long-term residence.

Even though she had two Drift Bottle Shield cards, together they only provided 48 hours of protection, which could be crucial in an emergency, so she needed to save them.

Once she figured out the direction, Shu Fu changed the “Dock” setting to “Drift,” chose “East,” and set the speed to the fastest—40 kilometers per hour.

Finally, she took out the golden card and activated the Drift Bottle Shield.

The raft turned half a circle on the water and headed toward the water city in the pouring rain.

For a raft that resembled a floating platform, 40 km/h felt pretty fast—it had the sense of cutting through the waves, distinct and unconventional.

But with the shield in place, even if she encountered other speedboats on the water, she wouldn’t attract attention.

She needed to conserve the use of the shield, so naturally, she opted for the fastest speed.

At first, Shu Fu was a bit worried, since this area used to be land, and there were many broken trees around. She was concerned about debris floating on the water. So, she opened the front door, stood for a moment by the column under the eaves, and observed the raft’s first drift.

The Drift Bottle Shield made the entire raft area impervious to the wind and rain, with a warmth like spring surrounding her. It was a magical feeling, giving her a sense of complete safety.

Curious, she leaned against the nearby railing and extended her hand outward. As soon as her fingers reached beyond the edge of the raft, she immediately felt the cold and dampness of the air.

Perhaps because she was the owner of the Drifting Island House, the invisible shield didn’t restrict her movement, but it did serve as a subtle reminder that although the shield protected from the elements, it wasn’t a solid barrier.

If she wasn’t careful standing at the edge of the raft, she could still fall off.

The raft moved at a steady pace, avoiding floating debris on the water each time. The waves outside appeared to be quite large, likely due to strong winds today. The raft seemed to sway with the undulating water, but the sensation was so slight inside the shielded area that she barely felt it.

Good, it seems there’s no need to worry about seasickness.

Satisfied, Shu Fu was about to go back to the wooden house for breakfast when she remembered that she hadn’t reeled in the fishing rod she had cast the day before.

She went to check, and the automatic water fishing rod was still in the water. The metal basket at the end of the thin cable remained submerged, and the “Reel” button was now glowing.

She had originally thought that the rod would automatically reel in the catch, but now it seemed she had to manually confirm it. Had she caught a fish, or was it to prevent a fish from jumping out of the water and dying before it could be retrieved?

As she pondered, when the cable finally rewound, and the metal basket returned to the raft, the contents inside left her stunned.

Was that… a chain?

The large metal basket was empty except for a golden chain lying at the bottom of the fine grid, which, at first glance, looked like some strange piece of trash.

She reached out to grab it, but the metal basket slid into the metal box, and the box’s walls lowered, sealing the basket inside, making the entire box look perfectly closed, like a sealed space.

Then, the third button, labeled “Disinfect,” lit up.

Shu Fu had a rough idea of what this meant and pressed the “Disinfect” button. A faint sound came from inside the box, lasting for about ten seconds, and when it stopped, the side wall of the box that had been facing inward lifted, and the metal basket slid back out, stopping at just the right angle.

Shu Fu reached out and picked up the chain, finding it completely dry with no water stains or dirt—new and shiny, as if it had been deeply cleaned.

“Disinfect?” Did that mean it had been sterilized and sanitized? This was indeed some high-tech stuff, so considerate.

Upon further inspection, she confirmed that it was a solid gold bracelet, quite thick, with a trendy design.

A bracelet of this thickness was probably worth around 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.

She stared at the bracelet for a while, speechless. What automatic water fishing rod? This was more like an underwater salvage device…

No wonder it was a second-prize item; one haul was worth hundreds of fish!

But for her right now, this fishing rod seemed somewhat useless. She couldn’t leave Suicheng, and since the whole city was flooded and the people had evacuated, even if she had money, there was nowhere to spend it!

She might as well have gotten a few more Sichuan and barbecue gift sets. Now, that would be practical!

Despite the complaints, Shu Fu stored the bracelet in her space.

Afterward, she cast the rod back into the water. Since she had three chances per day, she figured she might as well use them, even if the rod felt a bit redundant.

For breakfast, she had spicy soup and pan-fried buns. She didn’t feel like cooking for the next couple of days. After finishing, it wasn’t yet six o’clock, and since she had to keep an eye on the raft’s route, she couldn’t afford to nap. So, she opened the front door of the wooden house, grabbed a low, comfortable lounge chair, and moved it to the eaves.

Sitting there felt like being on a yacht out at sea, with the surrounding water clearly visible, spacious and peaceful.

But she only dared sit there because the shield was active. While she didn’t have experience, she guessed that without the shield, the cold, icy rain would probably lash against the raft, drenching her completely.

She set up a small wooden stool next to her as a table, placing a Bluetooth speaker, some cashews, dried plums, duck tongues, and a cup of grapefruit lemon tea on top. She then turned on some music, selected a slow-tempo song, Insomnia, and began reading a downloaded novel on her phone as she settled into her drifting island house routine.