Chapter 88

Shu Fu slapped the table and abruptly stood up, startling the four others who were eating fruit.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you okay?”

At that moment, her mind was in a whirlwind, and the more she thought about it, the more plausible her guess seemed. Otherwise, why was the prize called “Raft Tow Slot” instead of “Boat Tow Slot”?

And a function that only appeared at Level 5—surely it wasn’t just about towing. The protective shield might be shareable as well!

Although this theory could only be tested once the raft reached Level 5, she felt as if she had just uncovered another piece of the world’s truth.

She had Lu Ce to thank for this realization, so she walked over to him without hesitation, placed a slice of matcha mille crepe cake in front of him, and solemnly praised him, “Having dreams is a good thing—it deserves a reward.”

Lu Ce: ??

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Aside from Lu Zheng, Chen Fa, and the four people with them, the others had always stayed in the renovated cabins on the slope near the lake. They couldn’t even enter Lu Zheng and Chen Fa’s cabin and had little to do when they visited.

However, because of the two bottles of red liquid that Chen Fa and Lu Zheng had handed over, they had earned points and exchanged them for ample supplies. They were grateful for this and held no resentment over Chen Fa, Lu Ce, and Shu Fu being closer.

As Xu Tingfeng had privately told the others, “Exceptional people are as rare as phoenix feathers, just like winning a hundred-million-dollar lottery in the past. It’s completely normal for ordinary people not to encounter them. And now, this ‘lottery winner’ is willing to take us along in this chaotic world—that in itself is a blessing.”

Fixating too much on things that weren’t yours and giving in to greed could easily lead to disaster—even losing what you already had.

In truth, even if he hadn’t said it, the others understood. But he still wanted to say it aloud. Because now was different from before. In the past, no one had witnessed how the raft appeared. There were suspicions, but no certainty. Even those who had left, like Xiaoxiao and Gangzi, had no way of explaining it if they wanted to.

But after moving to the lakeside, they had personally seen Shu Fu store away two cars and witnessed Lu Zheng and Chen Fa materializing a raft out of thin air. It was only then that they began to glimpse the extraordinary truth.

That was why Xu Tingfeng made his stance clear—if anyone leaked any secrets or harbored improper thoughts about their teammates or the leader, he would be the first to deal with them.

Yes, their ten-person team had officially re-elected a captain and vice-captain.

Chen Fa was the captain, and Lu Zheng was the vice-captain. The decision was unanimously approved.

---

August 20 was Chen Fa’s birthday, while Shu Fu’s birthday was just three days later, on August 23.

On the afternoon of the 19th, the rain finally stopped. Shu Fu asked Lu Ce to go to the cabins on the slope and invite Xu Tingfeng and the others over for dinner, telling them to come early so they could start eating sooner.

Lu Ce put on a pair of rain boots, hopped off the raft, and quickly made his way up the slope.

The past ten days had seen continuous heavy rain, with multiple hailstorms, causing the lake’s water level to rise unknowingly. The shoreline where the rafts were moored was now much closer to the slope where the cabins stood.

The night before, Shu Fu had spoken with Chen Fa and Lu Zheng, mainly urging them to head south as soon as possible instead of lingering here any longer. Rising lake levels meant that the Qing River was also swelling. Once the water level difference on either side of the breached dam in Youcheng disappeared, the monstrous fish from the west side of the river could appear at any time.

There was also the threat from the northern city, which was like a ticking time bomb. If that deranged organization ever decided they no longer wanted to experiment on the people with ichthyosis, they might simply cross the river via the bridge.

When they left the military academy shelter, they had taken a few radios with them, leaving one with Shu Fu. This radio was primarily used to receive updates from the military academy shelter.

Of course, it could also pick up official and military broadcasts—so long as they were within signal range.

The shelter had a watchtower equipped with searchlights and was manned 24/7. If the northern faction or ichthyosis-infected individuals crossed the river and approached, an alarm notification would be issued.

There were no signs of trouble yet, but who could predict what would happen?

Shu Fu knew that they had already stayed with her long enough—it was time for them to leave.

So today’s meal wasn’t just a birthday celebration—it was also a farewell feast for Chen Fa and Lu Zheng.

Of course, when she sent Lu Ce to invite the others, she didn’t mention the birthdays—only that it was a farewell gathering.

She instructed Chen Fa and Lu Zheng to adjust the angle of their rafts, positioning them side by side along the shore in a straight line. The cabins were on opposite ends, and the large front decks of the rafts were connected, forming a lakefront platform. Shu Fu’s raft was docked at the end, linking up with this platform.

That way, when Xu Tingfeng and the others arrived, even if they couldn’t enter the cabins, there would be plenty of space to enjoy a lakefront raft barbecue.

Of course, if they were interested, they could also board Shu Fu’s raft and head up to the second-floor terrace for a panoramic view of the lake.

Despite having been around for so long, the group had never once tried to mooch a meal, which Shu Fu appreciated. So in a way, this meal was also her way of fulfilling everyone’s star-gazing wish from before.

This time, she didn’t bring out the kerosene stoves or cassette stoves—those were too small for such a large gathering. Instead, she took out a large, freestanding rectangular charcoal grill, the same kind she had used at the cave restaurant before. There was plenty of charcoal and a metal grilling net to go with it.

When Xu Tingfeng and his group arrived, the charcoal fire in the grill had already been lit on the deck where the rafts were joined together. Three camping tables were arranged in a straight line nearby, accompanied by various styles of camping chairs. They could sit or stand as they pleased.

On the tables, skewers were placed in individual aluminum foil trays. The skewers were already cooked, seemingly fresh off the grill. Though they had cooled slightly in the breeze, a quick reheat over the charcoal would make them ready to eat.

The selection included crispy pork cartilage, chicken gristle, eggplant slices, enoki mushrooms, lamb skewers, squid tentacles, chicken wings, fatty pork edges, pork belly skewers, potato slices, and grilled mantou buns—plenty of variety.

Beside them, a large rectangular iron tray rested on an iron rack, heated by two small alcohol burners underneath. The flames were low, just enough to keep the food warm. Inside the tray was grilled fish—two whole sea bass caught by Lu Zheng from the lake. He had cleaned, filleted, marinated, and fried them before placing them in the tray, adding a special sauce and vegetables to make iron-plate grilled fish.

Next to it, there were more than a dozen different Sichuan dishes packed in large takeout boxes, with a mix of meat and vegetables. These were the kind of complete dishes Xu Tingfeng and his group hadn’t had in a long time. Alongside them were over ten boxes of hot, cooked rice.

Shu Fu remembered Xu Tingfeng’s wish from the other day. Seeing him staring at the Sichuan dishes, she said, “There’s no spicy hot pot, but there’s duck blood and offal stew, enoki mushroom beef pot, and boiled meat slices. Should taste about the same.”

Xu Tingfeng hadn’t expected her to remember such a casual remark. He looked up at her and sincerely said, “Thank you.”

Although they weren’t aware that it was Shu Fu and Chen Fa’s birthday, they still felt it was inappropriate to come empty-handed. Everyone brought small gifts—nothing extravagant, given the scarcity of resources, but all carefully chosen and practical: a brand-new foldable water cup, a beautiful pen, some canned drinks, an unopened kitchen knife… Though simple, each gift carried thoughtfulness.

Shu Fu accepted them all with thanks, planning to leave them for Chen Fa to use.

Beside the Sichuan dishes, there was a large pot of vegetable and egg soup. While Xu Tingfeng’s group also had dehydrated vegetables, eggs were something they hadn’t seen in a long time. Since eggs were fragile, they were never included in airdropped supplies, and they had no way to trade for them.

Next to the soup pot, disposable bowls, chopsticks, napkins, and canned drinks were prepared.

For Shu Fu, this wasn’t much—her Sichuan dish set alone had over thirty different dishes, and what was on the table wasn’t even half of that.

As for the barbecue, she hadn’t even touched her premium barbecue set. These were just part of the skewers she had stocked up on in Lou Yuncheng—pre-cooked and convenient to eat. Compared to grilled meat, these authentic skewers were more enjoyable, as they were meant to be eaten by hand.

She had considered bringing out some desserts and fruits, but the tables were already full. Besides, Chen Fa and Lu Zheng had stopped her in time, telling her it was enough.

And it truly was enough. This meal wasn’t just about eating—it was about the experience.

For them, a rare peaceful afternoon without rain, in the absence of the Hexi mutant fish or the scalyskin people, by such a picturesque mountain lake, with all team members gathered around the grill, personally grilling skewers, chatting and laughing, clinking drinks… It felt like a long-awaited dream had come true.

By evening, the heavy clouds surrounding the mountain peaks began to disperse. Sunlight, absent for so long, finally broke through the gaps in the clouds. The once dark lake surface transformed into a deep, rich indigo. The snow-capped peaks in the distance were bathed in a golden glow—sunset’s long-lost radiance.

“We’re really lucky!” Lu Ce stood on the floating island house’s terrace, gazing at the sunset. During their time by the lake, his brother had worked with Xu Tingfeng’s group to build covered terraces for their raft houses, but he still preferred standing on Shu Fu’s terrace.

Mainly because their terraces were made from salvaged furniture and bedboards from two abandoned houses on the slope. The mismatched colors and uneven heights made them look awful.

Inside, however, his brother and Chen Fa had installed wooden partitions and curtain doors, separating the living and sleeping areas, which he found quite satisfying.

“Yes, we’re really lucky…” Lu Zheng, standing beside him, turned his head to glance at Shu Fu.

She was wrapped in a fleece-lined home robe that reached her ankles. The collar featured a large cartoon hood with floppy ears.

Perhaps feeling a bit cold, she had pulled the hood up, letting the long plush ears dangle on either side of her face. Her hands were tucked into her pockets, and only her fair face was exposed. From the side, her thick eyelashes, rosy lips, and soft expression created an inexplicably heart-melting contrast.

It was a rare sight—so much so that he couldn’t look away.

Yesterday, they had agreed: once the farewell banquet was over, if the weather wasn’t too extreme the next day, they would set off.

But he really didn’t want to leave.

Once they were gone, she would be here alone.

He knew she was different from them. She had things she needed to do.

But in this apocalyptic world, without companions, walking alone—how lonely must that be?

Shu Fu seemed to have noticed his gaze. She turned to look at him and gave him a small smile. “After tomorrow, be careful with everything. In this world now, places without people aren’t scary—places with people are.”

But he found himself unable to smile back. His mind drifted to their farewell at the Suicheng Library. Looking back, she must have been in the same situation then. Even back at that moment, she had clearly understood that once everyone evacuated, she would be left alone in the storm-ravaged water city, isolated and helpless.

But how had she smiled at them when saying goodbye back then?

During the time when she was out of contact before they reconnected, had she been completely alone in the silent and deserted Suicheng?

Lou Yuncheng must have been the same. And now, even in this moment, she—the one forced to stay behind—was comforting him, the one about to leave for a safer city.

Lu Zheng felt a storm of emotions surging inside him. Part of it stemmed from something else, something from another world. He gazed at her smile, wanting to gently touch her face, but in the end, his hand landed on the top of her head instead.

He ruffled her hat slightly, then pinched one of the soft, dangling plush ears. The sensation under his fingertips made his heart skip a beat.

For a fleeting moment, new fragments of memory surfaced in his mind.

On an awards stage, she was dressed in an elegant black evening gown, holding a trophy in her hands. She was smiling as she gave a thank-you speech. Had she won an award? What award? She was saying: “The script for the second season is already in development. I hope everything goes smoothly…” A second season? What second season?

The scene shifted. He seemed to be standing in front of a massive TV screen. A crowd had gathered around, stopping in their tracks to watch the catastrophic footage being broadcast. His first reaction at the time had been fear. It looked like a devastating disaster—something truly massive. But what kind of disaster was it? Why did it feel both eerily familiar and deeply terrifying?

…

Apart from these two relatively clear memory fragments, the rest were more chaotic—like a camera shaking uncontrollably, making it impossible to see anything clearly. He tried to focus, but suddenly, an overwhelming dizziness hit him.

A hallucination?

“Lu Zheng!” Shu Fu’s anxious voice reached his ears, but before he could react, his head made contact with the ground. Only then did he realize—the dizziness wasn’t an illusion.

He had really passed out.

—

A while later, when he woke up again, he found himself lying on a floor mat inside the raft house. Shu Fu and Chen Fa were sitting on chairs beside him, and Lu Ce and Chen Yuezhen were also there. Through the lattice window, he could see that the sky outside had already turned dark.

“How long was I out?” He slowly propped himself up.

“About two hours,” Shu Fu replied.

“What about the others?” He was referring to Xu Tingfeng and the rest.

Chen Fa answered, “They had almost finished eating when you passed out. Since they couldn’t come into the house, they packed up the dishes and trash before heading back to prepare their luggage.”

“Are you okay? What happened just now?” Shu Fu asked. She had watched him collapse firsthand—it had happened so abruptly.

Her words brought back the memory fragments he had just seen, making them stir restlessly in his mind again. He had an instinctive feeling that these fragments contained something crucial. But Lu Ce and Chen Yuezhen were still present.

The two of them were most likely “natives” of this world—meaning they weren’t from the other world. Even in his dazed state, Lu Zheng knew that anything related to the other world couldn’t be revealed to them.

If they ever discovered that he might exist in an entirely different reality—or worse, that he might just be an “NPC”—it would be utterly terrifying.

Chen Fa caught the look in Lu Zheng’s eyes and quickly took action. She asked Chen Yuezhen to return to his own place and rest, reminding him that they would be leaving tomorrow and still had to pack their daily-use items from the raft house into their backpacks.

As for Lu Ce, she told him to go help with the preparations.

Before leaving, Chen Yuezhen reminded Chen Fa not to stay too late and to make sure Lu Zheng got enough rest. Then he took Lu Ce with him and exited the house.

Once the door was shut again, Lu Zheng lowered his voice and spoke quickly, focusing only on the key points. “I saw you accepting an award and giving a speech. You said you were already preparing the script for the second season…”

“What?” Shu Fu froze.

“And… I saw a massive disaster happening somewhere. A lot of people died. I saw it being reported on the news, and for some reason, it felt incredibly familiar and terrifying…”

Shu Fu had no idea what he was talking about. She had no memory of either of those things. But as she looked at him, she could see the fear in his eyes—the kind of terror that came from the depths of his soul.

“A major disaster?” Chen Fa suddenly spoke up. “Are you talking about the flash flood? Or the massive tsunami in the waters near Xiaogui that submerged half their land?”

“The news I saw was about a flash flood. You saw it too?”

“Yeah, it just happened in the past couple of days. The footage has been replayed multiple times, so I remember it clearly. The flash flood hit Country H—a whole town was wiped out. The tsunami swallowed up half of Xiaogui’s land,” Chen Fa explained. Then, after a moment of thought, she added, “But I don’t feel any sense of familiarity about it. It’s just a disaster on the news—it doesn’t seem like something connected to me. The disaster is severe, but it didn’t happen in our country. Why are you so afraid?”

“I don’t know… But it felt so familiar, and it gave me an unexplainable chill…”

Yet no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn’t remember what exactly it was that terrified him so much.

Chen Fa nodded. Memory fragments appeared randomly, and in fact, this was the first time that a memory fragment from her mind had aligned with one from Lu Zheng’s.

She turned to look at Shu Fu, wanting to ask if she had any recollection of these memory fragments. But as soon as she did, she was met with Shu Fu’s unusually pale and grim expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“They never happened.”

“What?” Chen Fa didn’t understand.

“The things you mentioned, and what Lu Zheng just said—the two disasters, Xiaogui losing half its land, me accepting an award and giving a speech… None of those things ever happened in my memory.”