[edited]

Jiang Ning watched as the floating objects drew closer. It wasn’t until she poked one with a stick that she realized they were bodies. 

It was shocking and nauseating at first, but then she got used to it after seeing it many times. When they came out, several bodies were already floating in their neighborhood. 

Jiang Ning kept track of time, but after a minute, there was still no movement on the rope in her hand. 

Two minutes passed… 

Three minutes… 

Four minutes… 

Growing increasingly anxious, Jiang Ning tugged at the rope twice, but there was no response. 

Even for someone skilled in swimming like 1801, four minutes was too long to be underwater. 

Sensing the danger. Just as she was about to pull the rope, there was a splash on the surface. 

1801 emerged from the water. “I checked several shops, all of them had their doors forced open, and they were emptied inside.” 

Emptied? Who could be so capable! 

Lu Yu sighed in disappointment, “We couldn’t find any liquefied gas bottles. Even if we had something, we wouldn’t be able to cook.” 

They were fast enough, but unexpectedly, someone had beaten them to it. It seemed they were still too young and lacked the life experience. 

Jiang Ning glanced at 1801. On the second day of the typhoon, these small snack shops were already submerged in water. Even if some shopkeepers managed to move their goods, it was impossible for all shops to be looted. The floodwaters were muddy, and the water flow was fast. Making it impossible to succeed without a diving mask and good swimming skills. 

Unless… these shops were looted right at the beginning of the natural disaster. 

She had a vague suspicion. “Now we can only try our luck at the liquefaction station. Let’s hope that all the stores are not emptied out. ” 

Since they had come all this way, there was no reason to return empty handed. They could only try their luck at the liquefaction station. 

Jiang Ning took out the mobile phone in the waterproof bag from her bag, found an offline map and showed it to the two of them, “It’s probably at this place. There seems to be a big banyan tree at the door.” 

It was about six to seven kilometers from the Jinrong community. It’s not particularly far but just a bit remote. 

After figuring out the location, the three of them drove the motorboat to the liquefaction station. 

There are bungalows everywhere in the suburbs. Now they are all submerged in water and look particularly empty. 

On the way, they encountered firefighters trying to rescue the stranded people. Upon seeing their motorboat. They hurriedly used a loudspeaker, with the intention to seize control and transferring the stranded people. 

In this millennium flood, the rescue tools were simply inadequate. 

Huo Yishen paid no attention, and the three of them roared past in the floodwaters. 

The city turned into a vast sea, and it was difficult to tell the difference between east, west, north and south. Jiang Ning observed with her binoculars, “Look to the right. The green things in the water should be big banyan trees.” 

Slowing down, they approached, and sure enough, it was banyan leaves. 

Such a tall banyan tree, now only the top of the tree can be seen. 

They anchored the speedboat to the banyan tree and Jiang Ning pointed out a rough direction. Huo Yishen put on a diving mask and dived into the water. 

After more than two minutes, Huo Yishen surfaced and said, “I found it, but the liquefaction station has rolling shutters and sliding iron doors. It’s not easy to pry them open.” 

After saying that, he asked Jiang Ning to take the folding crowbar from his bag. 
 

Lu Yu, “…” 

Why was he the only one without proper equipment? 

Jiang Ning had the equipment in her space, but she couldn’t bring it out in a team setting. Seeing the simple diving mask and ropes in 1801’s bag, she didn’t hesitate to tie the rope and put on the mask. “I’ll go down to help, you keep an eye out around, if there’s anything unusual, pull the rope immediately.” 

Lu Yu nodded, “Be careful, both of you.” 

The floodwater was icy cold as Jiang Ning dove in, using the light from her waterproof lamp to swim towards the liquefaction station, while also taking out the steel pliers. 

From afar, she saw a faint light and hurried over. 

Huo Yishen stood in the water, struggling to lift the roller shutter door, but the water resistance was too strong. 

Jiang Ning leaned over and reached out to help lift it. 

Their eyes met, and they exerted their strength together. 

The roller shutter door slowly lifted, revealing the sliding iron gate inside. 

Huo Yishen took the steel pliers from her hand, cut the iron chain on the door, and then together they pulled the door open. 

It was dark inside. Just as they were about to swim in, a dark figure swiftly came towards Jiang Ning. 

Huo Yishen quickly grabbed her, and the figure grazed over her head, swimming rapidly towards the surface. 

Shining the flashlight, they saw it was a liquefied gas bottle. 

Not just one, but many liquefied gas bottles floated out from inside and it quickly to float to the surface. 

Jiang Ning instinctively reached out to grab them but then realized they were probably empty bottles. 

Filled liquefied gas bottles have a higher density and do not float easily. 

She took out a bright waterproof flashlight from her pocket, surveying the dark surroundings. She faintly saw several bottles lying in a corner. 

Swimming over, she tried to lift them but couldn’t budge them. 

Huo Yishen, being strong, lifted the liquefied gas bottles from inside and came out, pulling on the rope tied around him with force. 

Lu Yu grabbed the rope and pulled them up, and soon they emerged from the water. 

Jiang Ning climbed onto the motorboat, and with their combined effort. They bring up the heavy liquefied gas bottles. It seemed that the owner hadn’t had time to move the remaining stock. 

“You guys stay and pick them up above, and I’ll bring the others up.” 

After taking a breather, Huo Yishen dived into the water again. 

The water pressure was heavy and coupled with holding her breath. Jiang Ning felt uncomfortable. She sat on the motorboat and panted. 

Lu Yu used the binoculars to look around carefully, and suddenly said nervously: “Anning, someone is coming.” 

Jiang Ning stood up and indeed saw a motorboat rapidly approaching in the rain. 

It was hard to see them clearly, but there were at least four or five people. 

Lu Yu pulled the rope hard, and Jiang Ning searched for weapons to defend themselves. 

Huo Yishen surfaced again while dragging a gas tank with him. 

As he flipped onto the motorboat, the other boat had already come close. Six burly men held sharp steel pipes in their hands, “We’ve taken over this liquefaction station. Be smart and hand over what you’ve salvaged.” 

“Big brother, we don’t have diving masks.” 

Another one laughed arrogantly, “That’s easy. Just let them bring everything up and hand it over to us.” 

“Right and leave the motorboat and other supplies. We might consider letting you go.” 

They were acting like a tiger and a dragon and they are clearly members of some gang. In a society where order had collapsed, it had become a world of thugs. 

They didn’t care about the thoughts of the three people at all, as if they already had it in their pocket. 

Lu Yu looked panicked, tightly gripping the crowbar and glaring at them. 

Jiang Ning reached into her pocket, “Sure, come and get it.” 

“Just you wait, little lady. The brothers are coming right away.” 

The men chuckled obscenely, steering their motorboat slowly, their eyes on Jiang Ning like hungry wolves. 

Just when the distance was less than ten feet away, Jiang Ning was about to retrieve the items, but Huo Yishen’s hands moved faster, and with two swift movements. 

bang bang…