Chapter 56

Two days later, Shu Fu lay sprawled on the chaise lounge in her underwater bedroom, completely drained.

The protective shield of the raft had long since been closed, and the drifting island house was now anchored in an uninhabited river passage flanked by towering mountains. Over the past two days, she had tried to go ashore, but despite the small towns appearing close to Qinghe on the electronic map, the nearest one was still seventy or eighty kilometers away.

And she couldn’t even climb onto the land on either side of the river, as if the river itself was an invisible barrier restricting her movement.

Before, she had been trapped inside a city. Now, she couldn’t get into one.

The only silver lining was that she had finally connected to the internet.

Perhaps due to the remote location or the lack of stable signal towers in small cities—many of which had been destroyed by the storm—the signal on the river was weak and intermittent. Even when she managed to get online, the speed was abysmal, making it agonizingly slow to load even a single news article.

After spending hours piecing together fragments of information, she still found that much was missing.

What she did learn was that after the world-ending mega-tsunami, apart from a few provinces that had stationed large military forces in advance—such as Fengshang Plateau—every other surviving city was descending into chaos. This included the small towns along the riverbanks where she currently was.

Before the tsunami, some of these cities had been designated as official relocation sites for refugees. But after the disaster, nearly everyone was fleeing further west. People had abandoned their jobs and schools. In many places, desperate crowds stormed supermarkets, frantically looting supplies. Rationing rules were ignored, and people simply grabbed what they could and ran.

When only a small fraction of people commit crimes, the majority will stand on the side of justice, condemning and stopping them.

But when an entire city engages in the same lawless acts, legality ceases to matter. In that moment, the only thing that matters is ensuring you are not among the few who are left with nothing.

The internet was flooded with videos and images uploaded by civilians. She couldn’t open the videos, and the images took forever to load. But once they did, every single one without exception depicted scenes of chaos—looting, brawling, anarchy.

Social order was collapsing in more than half the cities on the planet.

The tragedy was that, at this point, the authorities were no longer capable of restoring order as they had before. Their only option was to retreat and shrink the range of cities they could still keep under control.

Over the past two days, her map panel had twice issued alerts about a temporary waterway opening between Yuncheng and Qinghe. The first time, she was too far away to make it before the hour-and-forty-minute countdown expired. The second time, the countdown was three hours, and she was close enough to reach the entrance just in time.

However, the temporary waterway appeared to be one-way. She could travel from Yuncheng to Qinghe, but there was no way to go the other way.

She felt like a fish stranded on a beach—helpless, unable to move, left to dry out under the sun.

The waters of the Qinghe River were rapid, and though the river was wide, there were no small islands in the middle. On top of that, she had already used three days’ worth of time-delay cards in Yuncheng’s waters, consuming twelve hours in total.

The thought made her heart ache. She had no idea how long she would be stuck here.

Fortunately, that evening, the long-silent black notebook finally began to flicker.

Shu Fu let out a deep sigh of relief—finally, a new task.

[Within 15 days, check in at any store in Hexi Town to receive a 20% progress boost towards Raft Level 4. (Current Raft Level 4 progress: 0%)]

[Note: Failure to complete this task will result in a 15% deduction from the progress bar.]

Being asked to visit a shop in an unfamiliar town during these chaotic times—it was no wonder the task offered a high 20% progress reward. Clearly, even the system recognized the difficulty.

She quickly pulled up the electronic map and located Hexi Town. It was in the middle and upper reaches of the Qinghe River, in an area where the terrain was relatively gentle, with riverbanks and a delta. There was a city called Lucheng nearby, and Hexi Town was built along the river near it.

The mission had a 15-day deadline, which she estimated accounted for the time it would take her to reach the area, given the unpredictable timing of the temporary waterway openings.

Looking at it from this perspective, she had actually completed half of the journey ahead of schedule by arriving at Qinghe early.

With a new task came a renewed sense of purpose. Shu Fu perked up, sitting cross-legged on the carpet and using the chaise lounge as a makeshift desk. She began comparing the river route map with the electronic map.

Though land still existed on both sides of the Qinghe River, after eight consecutive months of rainfall, the river had swollen, changing the landscape from what was shown on the electronic map.

After triple-checking the maps, she confirmed that a deep green marker on the river route map indicated her destination. This marker hadn’t been there before, likely because the location had previously been outside the barrier’s range.

The area was now surrounded by water on all sides. If she hadn’t miscalculated, then Hexi Town had been completely cut off from the mainland due to the rising floodwaters, turning it into an island-like settlement in the delta.

The fact that it now appeared on the map panel likely meant that the mission had activated it—finally allowing her to go ashore.

The raft slowly followed the black navigation line, drifting forward once more.

Route Information: 【923/15:22:58】

Departing now means she’ll arrive by tomorrow morning.

**

The next day, Shu Fu woke up in the underwater bedroom, startled by the dense school of gray fish outside the glass wall.

The raft had come to a stop, gently swaying with the surrounding water. The current in this area was very mild, and the water was exceptionally clear. Even though it was still raining outside, the view from the underwater bedroom remained unobstructed.

The raft hadn’t completely docked yet. Before going to sleep the previous night, she had activated the protective shield, planning to circle around the town upon arrival to observe the environment before deciding how to go ashore.

As Shu Fu stretched on the large round bed, preparing to get up, she suddenly saw a massive gray-green fishing net dropping from the river’s surface, covering the school of fish below. Startled, the fish darted in all directions, their lifeless fish eyes wide with panic.

Many fish swiftly escaped past the sides and bottom of the underwater bedroom, but a large number were caught in the net. Shu Fu heard sounds coming from above the water’s surface.

She immediately got up, ran barefoot to the upper level, and pressed herself against the floor-to-ceiling glass to observe the situation outside.

A wooden boat, seemingly an old-fashioned vessel, was moored not far from her raft. Several people on board, wearing gloves, were struggling against the heavy rain to pull up the fishing net. The net had landed perfectly this time, catching an abundance of fish, making the haul difficult to retrieve but also bringing joy to their faces.

This wooden boat didn’t appear to be a fishing vessel. Instead, it resembled the sightseeing boats often seen in scenic areas. It wasn’t very large, about thirteen or fourteen meters long, with both ends curving upwards and a low cabin in the middle.

The people on deck worked together, finally managing to heave the fishing net onto the boat. The net bulged with a writhing mass of fish, flopping wildly across the deck. The sight of their bountiful catch elicited cheers from the group.

However, their celebration quickly turned into an argument. Several individuals at the bow began quarreling loudly, their voices carrying over the rain.

Under the eaves of the raft’s rear entrance, Shu Fu stood in slippers, holding a toothbrush already covered in toothpaste. She brushed her teeth while listening in on the dispute.

The argument seemed to revolve around their catch. Some felt that they had gathered enough and wanted to return to town immediately to exchange the fish for essential supplies. Daily goods were rationed, and if they arrived too late, there might be nothing left.

Others argued that since they had stumbled upon such a large school of fish, they shouldn’t stop after just one haul. They insisted on casting the net two or three more times to fill the boat completely. Renting a boat from the team was expensive, and with so many people involved, if they didn’t maximize their catch, each person would only get a small share of supplies—far too wasteful.

“Don’t be greedy! We agreed before setting out—don’t get greedy! Last time, Ah Zhong and his group got greedy and ended up encountering a mutant fish. Their boat was almost overturned, the fishing net was ruined, and they lost all the fish they had caught!”

“You really believe that? He’s told the story so many times, but can’t even describe what the mutant fish looked like!”

“Exactly! Don’t compare Ah Zhong to us—he’s not the brightest. It was just one unlucky incident, and now he’s scared out of his wits, always rambling about mutant fish. Who even believes him? None of the others on his boat saw anything! What are the chances of that? They all said the waves were just high that day! Ah Zhong probably messed up pulling the net and didn’t want to take responsibility…”

“Enough arguing! If you had put this energy into fishing, we’d already have pulled up a second net!”

“Yeah! Stop yelling on the boat—you’re scaring the fish away! And aren’t you uncomfortable standing in this downpour?”

“Who isn’t uncomfortable? I’m drenched too! Just shut up! Let’s cast one more net and then head back!”

“No dictators here! Let’s vote—majority rules!”

“Fine! Let’s vote!”

…

Shu Fu continued brushing her teeth as she eavesdropped, gathering valuable information about the town’s current state.

First, money seemed to have lost its value in Hexi Town. Shopping had completely shifted to a barter system, with limited daily supplies. But who still had resources available for trade in such conditions?

Was it the government? Shu Fu found that unlikely. A town this close to the river, with an elevation not entirely safe from rising water levels, wouldn’t be worth maintaining a military presence.

Second, fishing itself wasn’t difficult, but boats and fishing nets were vital assets. Especially boats—even these fragile-looking wooden ones were expensive to rent.

Third, these people were well-equipped with rain gear and adhered to rules like renting boats and voting on decisions, indicating that some level of order still existed in the town.

Fourth, there might be mutant fish in the Qinghe River.

Of course, the fourth point was still uncertain. So far, only one “not-too-bright” person had claimed to have seen them, and the others remained skeptical.

This meant that the shop she needed to check into for her task was likely the same place these fishermen would visit to exchange their catch for supplies. Such a location would be crucial in the town’s current state, making it relatively easy to find.

And since the task specified “any” shop, there was more than one.

With this preliminary information gathered, Shu Fu decided to further survey the river’s terrain around the town and find a suitable landing spot.

She couldn’t afford to disable the protective shield—it had to stay on. Fortunately, once she landed, the system would automatically store four hours of shield usage per day. As long as she could replenish it, she wouldn’t mind the cost. Unlike the time-delay cards, which were a limited resource—those, she truly hated using up.

Since she had a task at hand, she kept her breakfast simple— a beef and cheese croissant with a small cup of coffee, drinking as little water as possible.

Even while eating, she stayed busy, manually steering the raft as it circled the island where Hexi Town was located.

Strictly speaking, this place wasn’t truly an island. Continuous heavy rains had caused the river to rise, submerging the land surrounding the town and cutting it off from the outskirts of Lucheng. As a result, there was a significant difference in water depth between the floodwaters to the northwest of the town and the Qing River waters to the southeast.

The town was fairly large, and even at full speed, it took the raft over an hour to complete a full circuit.

As she patrolled, she compared her observations with the information she had previously researched when she had internet access.

Hexi Town was situated on the northwest side of the Qinghe River, which was how it got its name. It originally bordered the outskirts of Lucheng, but now, the floodwaters had spilled over the low-lying southwest area of the town and the valleys in the northeast mountains, completely surrounding and isolating it, turning it into a standalone landmass resembling an island.

The original low-lying areas and valleys were still distinguishable. Tall treetops and some utility poles protruded from the water, not yet fully submerged. When she looked out from her underwater bedroom, she could even identify which areas had been forests, which had been slopes, and which had once been mountain roads cutting through the valley.

The town’s terrain was lower in the southwest and higher in the northeast, where several mountain peaks stood. The population was mainly concentrated in the southwest. However, even before the flooding, the town didn’t have many residents— and now, after everything that had happened, there were likely even fewer.

After completing the circuit, she confirmed that she couldn’t venture further inland toward Lucheng, even though vast water expanses lay ahead. She simply couldn’t get through. So, was the entire Level 4 raft mission confined to Hexi Town?

The town was sizable, but compared to Suicheng and Lou Yuncheng, it was still much smaller.

Lastly, she noticed another issue— there seemed to be no internet here.

**

An hour later, Shu Fu stopped in front of a shop on a small street in the southwestern part of town, wrapped in a raincoat.

The raincoat was an old military-green one she had deliberately chosen. It was similar in color and style to what the people on the wooden boats wore. It had a large hood that she could pull low over her face, and when combined with a mask, it concealed most of her features.

Although it wasn’t as hot as the area near the cave restaurant, the temperature was still around twenty-five degrees Celsius. Underneath the raincoat, she wore a lightweight, waterproof athletic outfit and knee-high waterproof boots— also old and covered in mud.

Her backpack was waterproof as well, in a dirt-resistant dark gray with a worn-out design. It contained only a few symbolic supplies— just enough to look natural.

She had intentionally docked in a shaded, deserted spot. After scanning the surroundings, she swiftly landed, walked through the forest for a short distance, made a turn, and then stored the raft in her wristband, only deactivating its protective shield afterward.

This sequence ensured that the raft left no trace of its presence and wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention.

Fortunately, for some reason— perhaps due to the northern plateau’s terrain, geographical location, or differences from the cave region— she hadn’t encountered any insects after coming ashore. Whether mosquitoes or crawling bugs, there were surprisingly few, even in the forest.

Following her downloaded map, she easily made her way into the town on foot.

Maybe it was because her raincoat resembled those worn by the locals, or perhaps her confident, natural stride made her seem unremarkable— but as she walked through town, no one paid her much attention.

Of course, it was also possible that there were simply too few people around.

Aside from her backpack, she carried a black plastic bag under her raincoat. Inside were two freshwater fish she had caught from the Qinghe River over the past few days— ordinary-sized, nothing special.

The fish had been stored in her space, so they were already dead but retained their just-caught freshness. Taking them out for trade wouldn’t seem suspicious.

Most of the town’s buildings were low, single-story houses, mostly residential, with very few shops. The one in front of her was the only open shop she had seen on her way.

The storefront was old and worn. The sign had missing characters— likely damaged by storms— making it impossible to tell the shop’s original name. Inside, only a dim light was on, and on such a gloomy, rainy day, it looked even more rundown.

Before, when stockpiling supplies, she would never have stepped into such a dilapidated shop. But in this town, these shops seemed to be in high demand. At this moment, aside from her, several other raincoat-clad individuals were walking inside, each carrying bags— seemingly bartering goods.

Shu Fu observed for a moment before stepping inside.