Chapter 51

Shu Fu sighed and slowly steered the raft closer to some floating debris from buildings on the water’s surface. She turned off the protective shield and then “anchored” the raft.

With the floating debris around as camouflage, the low-profile raft wouldn’t easily attract the attention of helicopters flying overhead—even without the protective shield on. Of course, that was assuming any helicopters passed by at all.

Over the next two days, the waters remained quiet. Probably because it was too far from the western land and the tsunami had been so intense, it was assumed that no survivors could exist out here. Even helicopters showed up only once.

That one time, the helicopter passed far off on the horizon. Shu Fu had to watch through binoculars for a while before she could even tell it was a helicopter. The people aboard definitely wouldn’t have noticed anything in this stretch of water.

During those two days, there were occasional thunderstorms and heavy rains, sometimes even hurricanes churning up waves. But for the most part, it was just regular heavy wind and rain, with one or two hours where the weather would ease up slightly.

Since those calmer periods happened to be during daylight, Shu Fu released her inflatable boat onto the water, fully expanded and covered with a rain-blocking canopy. She had even pre-installed the boat’s outboard motor, just in case.

Originally, the inflatable boat was a bright orange color. To make it less conspicuous, she covered it with a layer of smoky gray fabric that matched the water’s color. She’d used curtain fabric she’d stocked up on earlier.

The first time she climbed onto the inflatable boat in the middle of this vast, empty expanse of water, Shu Fu felt a bit nervous. After all, the safety rating of the inflatable boat was far lower than that of the raft. She worried that if the weather suddenly changed, she might not have enough time to deploy the raft and return to the drifting island house.

But then she reminded herself that she had a portable protective shield. If the weather really deteriorated quickly, she could just activate the shield, and the wind and rain wouldn’t slow her down from getting back to the raft.

With that thought, she relaxed. Once inside the inflatable boat, she even pulled out two soft cushions to make herself more comfortable.

Staying in the inflatable boat felt more like being out at sea. The boat swayed up and down with the waves, and the rain pounded noisily on the canopy.

Since she didn’t have a specific destination or need to steer, she zipped the canopy shut to keep out the rain. Then, she opened the two small side windows, which were made of waterproof plastic, allowing her to keep an eye on the outside.

When she was covering the inflatable boat with the gray fabric, she had carefully cut two small square holes to avoid blocking the boat’s “windows.”

The first time, she stayed on the inflatable boat for over three hours. The weather didn’t worsen, but as night approached and it became riskier on the water, she returned to the raft. The second time, she only lasted an hour before the sound of thunder sent her scrambling back to the raft.

In total, over those two days, she managed to save over four hours on the raft’s delay card. It wasn’t much, but every bit counted.

The rest of the time, she completely relaxed in the drifting island house. She let herself sleep in as long as she wanted, waking naturally with no pressure to get up right away—no tasks to handle and no need to worry about managing raft usage time.

Sometimes she wouldn’t get up until around ten, grabbing her tablet to pick up where she left off watching a variety show. She’d watch the comedians trying hard to be funny while she brushed her teeth and washed up, occasionally laughing out loud at the funny bits.

When feeling lazy, she’d just pick something from her stash of ready-made foods. But when there were too many choices and she couldn’t decide, she’d write down a few breakfast options on small scraps of paper, crumple them up, and draw one at random.

Whatever she picked, she’d eat—no second guesses.

Sometimes, when she felt like cooking, she’d power up the kitchen with an energy card and get to work herself. With her wristband’s space stocked full of ingredients and a complete set of downloaded recipes, she started trying dishes she’d never made before.

One example was king crab seafood porridge. Besides the crab leg meat she cut out, she also hand-peeled a good amount of shrimp. Both were boiled with scallions and ginger first. After skimming out the scallions and ginger, she added in the vegetables she wanted to eat. Once everything was cooked through, the final step was to add pre-cooked porridge.

This was the lazy method. The porridge could be made ahead of time in a rice cooker since cooking raw rice directly in a pot often led to burning for beginners. The seafood also needed to be soaked beforehand to remove any fishy smell, so she opted for this more convenient approach.

Once the porridge, seafood, and vegetables were stirred together and brought to a boil again, she added salt and sprinkled in scallions with either black or white pepper—and it was done.

It turned out that as long as someone was smart, they could nail a dish even on the first try, no matter how unfamiliar.

Of course, it might have also been because the ingredients were so good that it was impossible to mess up. The seafood porridge was savory and fresh, the shrimp was springy, and the crab meat was unbelievably sweet.

She downed two big bowls in one go and stored the rest for next time.

When she got bored, she switched on the “manual modification” mode and rearranged the eight raft railings she had drawn, trying to organize them without blocking her access to the raft.

In the end, she discovered that the railings could be installed not only on the raft’s deck but also on the roof of the drifting island house.

Since the roof was as flat as the deck, once the railings were set up there, it essentially gave the island house an external second-floor terrace. With that, what she had once considered the most useless prize instantly felt like an upgrade, giving the whole setup a bit more style.

She installed all the railings on the roof of the wooden house. Since the roof wasn’t a compressed space, the eight railings covered about half of it, forming the beginnings of a terrace. However, without an external staircase, getting up there was inconvenient—she figured she’d have to rely on future draws to get a blueprint for that.

Surprised by how useful the railings turned out to be, she took out the “Primitive Style Thatch House” blueprint and swiped it on the screen to see what it looked like.

Just like with “Manual Remodeling,” equipping the blueprint projected a 3D model of the drifting island house, allowing her to preview the design before deciding whether to switch.

But of course, surprises can’t happen all the time. She stared at the wild, untamed style of the 3D model, feeling conflicted.

The interior was indeed much larger than her current setup, and once equipped, the existing split-level design and the second-floor terrace on the roof would transform to match the thatch house’s primitive style, completely altering the internal structure. The wooden split-level, resembling an indoor treehouse, was pretty creative.

However… grass flooring and mud walls? Was this for real?

Did this style even consider the homeowner’s mental well-being?

Shu Fu felt this aesthetic just didn’t suit her at all. In the end, she quietly exited the “One-Click House Swap” function.

She still preferred a cleaner, more modern architectural style and hoped to draw a different blueprint next time.

Even though her supply of power cards was abundant, Shu Fu stuck to her usual frugal habits. Whenever she powered up the entire house, she’d do everything at once: charging devices, making soup, baking in the oven, making ice, washing, and drying clothes—all together.

At times like these, the drifting island house was lively, filled with the sounds of various appliances, plus the chatter from TV shows and variety programs—it felt full of life.

Three more aimless, laid-back days passed. It proved that creative people, with their rich and powerful inner worlds, could never feel bored even when alone in the vast, empty waters.

Of course, there were moments of loneliness, but she also enjoyed that solitude—it represented absolute freedom.

Especially in the evenings, just before sunset, she’d lie on the soft cushions by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the world, imagining what she’d be doing if she were still in her original world.

Would she be working herself to death with the crew, swearing to treat herself to a good late-night snack afterward?

Or maybe, when some connected actor flubbed their lines for the nth time, she’d have to rewrite a long script on the spot at the director’s black-faced demand?

Or perhaps, hiding her work badge and sneaking outside for a break, only to be mistaken—yet again—by some fresh-faced young actor for a background extra and getting hit on?

…

For so many years, she’d always been busy with work, striving to earn more money, gain a higher industry status, and seek recognition—pushing herself to the limit every day.

And the result?

Just as she’d become a head screenwriter, just as she’d finally paid off her new apartment, just as she thought she could start enjoying life… she got thrown into this completely unfamiliar post-apocalyptic world—and muddled through four whole years.

If time passed the same here as in her original world, she’d have been missing for years. Who knew if her job, apartment, or car were still there…

Thinking about these things only hurt. The more she thought, the more she wanted to sink deeper into this laid-back, indifferent life.

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By noon on the sixth day, the rain began to lighten and eventually stopped.

It was the first time the rain had stopped since the mega-tsunami. Not only did the wind and rain cease, but the heavy clouds in the sky also began to clear, revealing patches of light blue sky through the gaps.

Shu Fu stepped out from under the eaves, standing on the raft’s deck, stretching her arms in the rain-free air.

Though the rain had just stopped, it wasn’t too cold outside—around fifteen degrees. It was late March now, technically spring, so the temperature felt about right.

Not wanting to miss the rare good weather, she launched the inflatable boat before even having lunch. Once on board, she stowed the raft away.

With no rain and mild temperatures, she left the tent zipper open, leaning back inside with her head resting near the tent entrance. All she had to do was turn her head slightly to see the surrounding waters and sky.

Whenever she was on the inflatable boat, Shu Fu felt incredibly close to the world. Sometimes, she even had the illusion that she’d reached the very edge of a world untouched by humanity.

Perhaps because of the good weather, the surrounding waters had become much clearer. Shu Fu read her novel for a while, and when she started feeling hungry, she took out a cup of taro mochi milk tea and a box of golden-fried chicken feet.

The sweet, chewy taro mochi paired with the savory, crispy chicken feet was a divine combo. Shu Fu read her novel, feeling the gentle rocking of the boat on the water, enjoying the peace and solitude of being cut off from the world.

She thought this partly cloudy weather wouldn’t last long, since the clouds hadn’t fully cleared. But to her surprise, she spent a full four hours on the inflatable boat without any issues.

By around four in the afternoon, her milk tea was gone, and she’d finished the chicken feet. Her four-hour timer alarm went off, and Shu Fu realized she’d successfully stretched another day out of her raft’s usage extension card.

She put her phone away, sat up, and launched the raft onto the water. Crawling out from the inflatable boat’s tent, she was just climbing onto the raft deck when her foot accidentally kicked the box of chicken feet sitting at the tent’s entrance.

The chicken feet in the box were mostly eaten, leaving just fragments of bones. She had originally planned to take the box and the empty milk tea cup inside to dispose of them in the sink after boarding the raft and before stowing the inflatable boat. However, with that accidental nudge, the whole box tipped into the water, and the chicken bone fragments scattered instantly. It was too late to retrieve them.

Even though she knew this body of water was filled with all sorts of trash, she had access to the high-tech feature of “Garbage Pulverization and Purification,” so she never had the intention of littering.

Now, seeing the box of bones accidentally dumped into the water, she stood there, staring at the surface for a couple of seconds.

In those brief seconds, she suddenly noticed a disturbance in the water where the bones had scattered—some creature darted towards the fragments and swallowed them in one gulp before quickly vanishing beneath the surface.

The garbage that had troubled her just moments ago was now completely gone.

Shu Fu stared at the rippling water, contemplating the shadow that had just flashed by.

Was that… a fish?

How could it swim so fast?

And it seemed quite large. Was it a freshwater fish?

With sea levels rising, seawater had flooded inland, and heavy rains had turned the land into waterways. The boundaries between freshwater and seawater had blurred. She wasn’t sure anymore whether this body of water was considered seawater or freshwater.

Were the fish here freshwater species, or could there be marine creatures from the original ocean areas?

Shu Fu stood on the raft’s deck for a while longer, hoping to spot more fish, but nothing else appeared. Instead, she witnessed the clouds breaking apart, revealing a bright, clear sky for the first time in ages.

It was a spring evening. The air was fresh after the rain, and the setting sun cast its light across the water, turning the ripples into a shimmering, pale golden hue.

Nature could be cruel at times, but it could also be breathtakingly beautiful.

It had been a long, long time since she had seen such a sunset over the water. The vast, endless expanse had become a dreamlike scene of beauty.

Shu Fu stowed the inflatable boat, transferring it through her spatial storage to the railing under the front porch. She tied it securely with a rope, letting it air dry automatically.

Unwilling to part with this rare, beautiful sight, she decided to have dinner outside. Since she had rushed through lunch to get on the inflatable boat, she would make up for it with a proper meal tonight.

She chose to have a barbecue, sitting under the front porch. This was the cabin area, her private space, so no matter how delicious the barbecue smelled, the scent wouldn’t drift far.

But before that, she wanted to take advantage of the rare sunlight to do one more thing.

Reluctantly, Shu Fu turned back inside and slid open the door to the underwater bedroom.

Sure enough, with the bright daylight, visibility underwater had improved significantly. After the past few days, the surrounding waters had also cleared. Standing in the underwater bedroom again, she could faintly see a deep gray stone wall through the glass floor beneath her feet.

She took out a pair of binoculars and a high-powered flashlight, lying on the glass floor to take a closer look.

Only a section of the stone wall remained. The cross-section at the break was massive, resembling the ruins of a dam toppled by a tsunami. Based on where her raft was currently anchored, this area had originally been at the edge of the dam, and these ruins were likely from the dam’s top.

She recalled that Dam No. 1 had been raised to 140 meters before it was destroyed by the tsunami, making it the tallest dam constructed in Muzhou Province and Xiren Province.

From this remaining dam wall, she roughly estimated the current water level in this area to be between 190 and 200 meters. Adding the original elevation of 70 meters, the overall water level was around 270 meters.

She wasn’t sure how high the water had been in Lou Yuncheng immediately after the tsunami, but according to the water map at the time, no buildings in the central area were visible above the surface.

The elevation of Lou Yuncheng’s urban area ranged from 120 to about 350 meters. The buildings there hadn’t appeared on the water map, which could mean they were either destroyed or submerged. Either way, the water level in Lou Yuncheng must have been higher than the base elevation back then, explaining why there was no dark green marking on the map.

After a moment of thought, Shu Fu concluded: The water level in Lou Yuncheng, which had surged due to the tsunami, was gradually receding.

Since the waterways were all connected, the drop in water levels here would also cause slight decreases in Lou Yuncheng, the waterways between Lou Yuncheng and Suicheng, and the original site of Suicheng. She might be able to find a suitable landing spot within these areas where she could currently navigate.

After all, extreme weather conditions still vastly outnumbered clear days. During thunderstorms, lightning, or hurricanes, she couldn’t stay in the inflatable boat for four hours straight. Eventually, she’d run out of delay cards. She could drift on the water for a month or two—maybe even longer—but sooner or later, she’d have to go ashore.

So rather than be caught off guard, it was better to monitor the water levels closely and plan ahead.

---

As she pondered, Shu Fu climbed the spiral staircase back to the upper level, planning to enjoy her rare sunset barbecue dinner on the water before resuming her research on landing plans.

Since there wasn’t a heavy power demand today, she didn’t activate the electric card. Instead, she set up a portable gas stove and a marble slab designed for grilling on her camping table.

Underneath the stone slab was a stand that fit perfectly on the portable gas stove. Around the slab was an oil-draining groove, designed so that when too much grease accumulated on top, the excess would automatically slide into the groove and drip through small holes on either side into the oil collection cup below.

She could save the grease for future stir-frying or just throw it away.

It mostly depended on what kind of meat she was grilling. If it was pork belly, the rendered fat would be lard—perfect for cooking with a rich flavor.

The camping table wasn’t very big. Once she set up the grilling stone and her tablet, only half the space was left. Shu Fu took out a portion of thick-cut pork belly and a platter of oysters and scallops. She also prepped garlic slices, lettuce, barbecue sauce, sea salt, and crushed black pepper—planning to switch things up as she ate.

Having access to a storage space made her pretty carefree; she could whip out anything at any time.

She’d had milk tea and chicken feet earlier, so she was a bit hungry but not ravenous. This meal was purely to complement the rare, beautiful ocean sunset. She turned the gas stove’s flame down low, placed a strip of pork belly and two scallops on the stone slab, and let them cook slowly.

Ten minutes later, the scallops were done. She sprinkled sea salt and crushed black pepper on them, placed them in a bowl, and topped them with some garlic and chopped chili sauce. The fresh, tender scallops combined with the garlic and chili were absolutely delicious!

After twenty minutes, the thick pork belly slice was finally golden brown on both sides, sizzling and oozing fat. Shu Fu rested her chin on her hand, lounging lazily in her camping chair as she watched the sunset, not in any hurry to deal with the meat.

Ahead of the raft, the sun was slowly descending towards the water. The surrounding clouds were tinged with soft orange hues. The sky stretched endlessly in a brilliant blue, while the water shimmered like scattered gold, flickering with the gentle breeze.

On the table, her tablet was still playing the variety show she hadn’t finished. The show had ten seasons, each with twelve episodes, and every episode was two hours long.

She had never watched it before, but now, starting from the first season, she found it surprisingly funny and perfect to watch while eating. It felt like it could keep her entertained for a long time.

She picked up the scissors, slowly cutting the grilled pork into small pieces. She sprinkled sea salt, crushed black pepper, and cumin powder from a grinder, then let them grill further until both sides were a beautiful crispy golden brown before transferring them into her bowl.

Next, she placed two oyster meats on the slab, then put the remaining uncooked pork belly back into her storage space. She pulled out a box of cleaned mushrooms, placing four or five upside down on the marble slab to let them roast slowly.

The pork belly, with its perfect balance of fat and lean meat, was crispy and fragrant. Paired with the refreshing garlic slices and lettuce, it was a dish she could never get tired of.

As she ate, she stashed away the mushroom box and took out a clean cutting board, knife, and a washed eggplant. She sliced the eggplant into thin rounds on the spot, arranged them on the slab, and let them slowly roast in the fat rendered from the pork belly.

Back in her original world, she had also enjoyed barbecue by the sea. In fact, islands and seaside locations had always been her top vacation choice. But to make time for beautiful seaside trips and ensure she had enough money to cover the expensive island expenses, she often had to work hard for long periods beforehand.

Even when she had both money and time, she still needed to coordinate with travel buddies who shared her interests.

After all, in the normal world, there were people everywhere, and she didn’t want to feel out of place being alone.

But now, forced into solitude, she didn’t really mind.

Thinking about it, this laid-back, task-free lifestyle was exactly what she had always wanted…

An unbeatable ocean view, an unsinkable floating island home, all kinds of futuristic gadgets to aid her daily life, and supplies stored away in her personal space—honestly, at that moment, she suddenly felt like maybe she didn’t need to go back to her original world after all…

Five hours after this thought crossed Shu Fu’s mind, reality gave her a harsh slap in the face.