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The vast expanse of water stretched endlessly, with almost no trace of buildings in sight.

Instead, a few swollen, waterlogged corpses floated on the surface, bobbing gently.

At a glance, Lin Chu could tell they had been dead for over ten days. Most of the bodies had already taken on a giant-like appearance.

If left any longer, they’d likely explode.

Just as she thought this, a loud boom echoed in the distance, followed by a splash of water.

Several mission participants who had witnessed such giant corpse explosions before looked visibly disturbed, instinctively lowering their eyes to the water beneath them.

The water was a murky yellow.

With their bodies submerged, looking down, one couldn’t even see their own hands or feet.

Swimming forward a few strokes stirred up splashes that landed in their mouths, reeking of a foul, fishy stench.

Staying in the water like this—even setting aside the issue of drowning—was unbearable due to how filthy it was. Those who couldn’t swim found it even harder to endure.

Though broken, the wooden door panel Lin Chu was lying on was at least a place to rest.

Several people had already started quietly swimming in her direction.

Non-newcomer mission participants didn’t have the initial 60-second protection shield.

Once deployed, the battle began immediately.

Lin Chu glanced at the text that had appeared in her mind earlier:

*[Main Mission: Within 60 minutes, find a fully functional door and establish your shelter.
Mission Reward: Random treasure chest 1
Mission Failure: No further shelter placement possible in this world.]

Sixty minutes.

That was double the 30 minutes she’d had in the zombie world.

But in this vast, watery landscape before her—where could she possibly find a fully functional door to establish a shelter?

The door beneath her, now reduced to mere driftwood, clearly didn’t count.

Even though Lin Chu had guessed as much, she had still tried it, just in case.

There was no reaction whatsoever.

While the people eyeing her piece of driftwood were still only slowly approaching, Lin Chu surveyed her surroundings, her mind racing.

“Look! There’s a patch of land over there!”

Everyone turned their heads toward the voice.

Following the direction the person pointed, they could indeed make out a small mist-covered hill.

The fog was slowly dispersing, revealing the hill’s shape.

Rather than calling it a hill, Lin Chu felt “mound” might be more fitting.

Perhaps a large mountain lay beneath the surface, but above the water, only a tiny mound was exposed.

From the looks of it, it was only about 100 meters high.

The slope was gentle, and there were a few low buildings and tents on it.

It appeared to be a small survivor base.

Where there’s land, there’s hope!

But that slope was at least several hundred meters away. If anyone wanted to place a shelter there, they had to leave now—no time to waste.

Realizing this, many people began swimming immediately.

Most people’s attention shifted away from Lin Chu. Only a few who couldn’t swim well kept their eyes fixed on the driftwood she was on.

Lin Chu looked up at the blazing sun high in the sky.

Floods had submerged the buildings, but the sky showed no sign of rain.

The sun was so fierce, it felt like it could instantly dry the water on her hands.

Lin Chu frowned slightly.

She was still thinking, but the others around her weren’t giving her much time.

They started moving.

So did Lin Chu.

Suddenly, she slid forward and dove headfirst into the water.

Ripples surged behind her as the wooden board bobbed violently.

A few of the people swimming toward her were caught off guard, splashed in the face.

By the time they blinked away the water and cleared their vision, the woman who had been on the board had vanished.

But they weren’t here for her—they were after the board. Now that it was unclaimed, who cared where the woman had gone?

They all surged forward to fight over the floating board.

Meanwhile, Lin Chu, having withdrawn from the scramble early, had already swum far away.

She surfaced for a breath of air, then dove again.

She wasn’t heading for that mound.

It had buildings and tents—clearly a place where survivors had gathered.

Going there might yield a working door, but the terrified survivors, scarred by the apocalypse, wouldn’t give anyone a chance to approach.

Let alone allow someone to insert a key and vanish into a shelter right before their eyes.

That would blatantly expose her as different.

If someone had enough supplies, they might hole up in a shelter for 30 days and never leave—that could work.

But Lin Chu knew the missions in this world would only get harder. If she didn’t grind for daily missions and gather resources while the difficulty was still low, she’d be left with nothing in the advanced stages.

That wasn’t her style.

So she set her sights on a nearby residential building, now submerged except for the tip of its rooftop.

Though the building was underwater, it had been intact before the flood.

Finding a working door shouldn’t be too hard.

The only issue was that it was underwater, making access inconvenient.

But Lin Chu had two sets of diving equipment from Ma Yan. Living underwater might even be easier than mingling with the locals.

She swam toward the submerged building. Along the way, she spotted several massive black fish.

Calling them fat was an understatement—each was as thick as the thigh of a slightly overweight adult male.

Their length was about the same too.

As one brushed past her, Lin Chu could almost see the rows of tiny, sharp teeth in its mouth.

Fortunately, the fish didn’t seem aggressive.

Reaching the back of one pointed-roof building, she used it as cover and took an oxygen mask from her storage space, securing the tank and diving underwater again.

The underwater environment was extremely complex, but these residential buildings weren’t much different from the ones in her original world. She quickly located an open window and swam inside.

A quick glance told her this was a small duplex with a loft and three bedrooms on the lower floor.

All the doors were open.

She swam to the nearest one and reached out against the water’s resistance, trying to close it.

Maybe it had soaked too long, or maybe it was just old—but the force dislodged two screws from the hinges, and the door collapsed halfway.

The moment she let go, it drifted sideways with the current.

That door was useless.

Lin Chu turned to try the other two doors in the house.

40 minutes left on the countdown.

Plenty of time.

Calm and methodical, she finally closed the third door successfully.

She then took out a key and placed it on the door.

In the next second, the feeling of water pressure vanished, and her body felt light.

When she opened her eyes again, she was back in the little courtyard where the tilling had just been finished.

[Ding—Congratulations, Host, on completing the shelter placement mission. Reward is being issued now.]

The familiar mechanical voice echoed in her mind.

Lin Chu shifted her attention and claimed the reward for the shelter placement mission.

It was the same familiar box.

Last time, it had yielded a bunch of daily necessities.

Things like bed linens, workout clothes, a kettle, a Swiss Army knife—very practical items.

This time… who knew what she’d get?

She brought the box into the house, sat on the floor of the activity room, and opened it.