Ye Shu opened her mouth, but not a single word escaped. It was as if an invisible hand was gripping her throat.
She had faced countless infected, battled the uncanny, but never before had she felt so utterly powerless. In the face of nature’s wrath, humanity was insignificant—a speck before an unfeeling storm.
The entire thirtieth floor was choked with mud and debris; it was impossible that anyone below was still alive.
Treading silently on the ashen earth, Ye Shu wandered for a long time before returning to her filthy, chaotic room.
She cleaned away the sludge, sorted through the scavenged supplies—all in one seamless flow.
Several hours later, Ye Shu boarded an inflatable raft, two bursting bags of food strapped to her back, and left the Yu Hai Bay compound.
A dozen or so apartment towers were buried beneath the sludge, while the rain pouring from the heavens slowly washed the mire downwards. The very buildings, pounded by the mudflow, leaned precariously, at constant risk of collapse.
Ye Shu paddled, keeping herself as far as possible from this lethal zone.
She needed to reach a state shelter as quickly as possible, or head for the mountains. Jade Lake City’s terrain was unlike anywhere else—another flash flood could strike at any moment.
The black sky loomed, monstrous and hungry, over a city reduced to only a few scattered ruins. Now Ye Shu understood why forum users claimed Jade Lake City always fell first—nobody stood a chance here.
On the dark, yellow-brown water, pale corpses floated in silence.
She sat on her assault boat, every muscle straining as she rowed for the city’s edge. When hunger gnawed at her, she chewed dry rations, never daring a sip of water. So she drifted, all through the night, until at last she passed beyond the city.
It was a mad dash through sparks and thunder, and though Ye Shu’s body was stronger than ever, a day of nonstop rowing left her spent.
After handling her needs aboard the boat, she returned to fiddling with her makeshift radio. The rain crashed down, forcing her to repair the machine every time water shorted it out, but she managed to catch snatches of emergency broadcasts:
"Kzzzt… last night, Tan Chuan Basin… massive flash flood… location… Jade Lake City… He City… incoming… heavy rainfall surge detected… risk of landslides… all residents please prepare for flooding, national response underway… united in hardship, we stand together…"
Rain slammed the little boat sideways, static hissing through the soaked radio. The critical coordinates were lost to the storm, but there was no mistaking it: the calamity was centered on Jade Lake City.
Ye Shu shoved a dry biscuit in her mouth and rowed with dogged, feverish determination.
She couldn’t afford to slack for even a moment.
Her hands switched off, one then the other, numb to the water lapping over her ankles.
She spent half a day following the current. What filled her with despair was that she saw no land, nothing but endless churning water as far as her eyes could see.
Worse still, the flood seemed to be closing in.
She felt the earth tremble, the thunder of rushing water drawing nearer with every heartbeat.
Her headlamp carved a cone through the black, but all around her was nothingness. In mere minutes, the flood would engulf everything.
She paddled like a soul possessed, but she had no direction—all was water, nowhere to hide.
Then, out of nowhere, Ye Shu spotted a large ship several hundred meters ahead. That distant vessel was hope incarnate, and in the blink of an eye, she reached it.
"Help! Is anyone there? Let me come aboard!"
Standing on her raft, Ye Shu waved her flashlight desperately, hoping the crew would see her.
After a long moment, a rope tumbled down from the deck. Ye Shu packed her boat away into her spatial bag and started climbing.
No lights burned on the vessel—everywhere was shrouded in gloom. Clearly, the fishing boat was dead in the water.
A man stood with his back to her, silent, but somehow his presence prickled Ye Shu’s nerves.
Was it just her imagination?
But he had saved her, hadn’t he…?
"Thank you… wait, it’s you—"
She didn’t get to finish her words of gratitude. A fruit knife drove into her chest.
Ye Shu stared in disbelief at her assailant, her arm numbing as she scrabbled for the blade, and then, with a single kick, both she and her pack were knocked into the water.
Her last sight before she plunged below: a single dark tear-mole beneath the man’s eye.
Of course it was him! Again!
Why did he have to turn up in every instance?
Ye Shu’s breaths came ragged, her vision turning red with rage, reaching for her boat—too late. The world-shattering roar of the coming flood howled; the next wave smashed her under.
Ye Shu, dead.
…………
Yet death was not the end for Ye Shu.
That suffocating sense of doom lingered long after her heart stilled, burning with hot anger.
If fate allowed, she would kill Lin Qingyue herself!
Rain struck her face, cold and ceaseless, bringing back her senses.
Water everywhere; the flood would strike any minute. The only possible cover was the fishing boat.
But, her biggest problem: that uncanny man.
Since her first instance, he had been on her tail—relentless, pursuing her through worlds. She would be damned before letting this go!
With barely a pause, Ye Shu took out her mall-bought item:
[Advanced Item: Disguise Earring—Wear to change appearance, voice, hair color, and scent. Lasts 12 hours. Cooldown: 24h]
As she snapped the earring in place, thunder crashed over the water, and the roar of the flood was on her heels.
She paddled for the fishing boat, repeating her plea for help. In moments, a rope was lowered from above.
Ye Shu stored her raft and climbed up.
On deck, she eyed the man warily, approaching step by step, a sharp dagger hidden up her sleeve.
This time, perhaps thanks to her disguise, the uncanny man did not recognize her. Still, when his obsidian eyes settled on her, her skin crawled.
Lin Qingyue sniffed the air warily, searching her strange, alluring face, but said nothing.
"Rumble—"
The flood struck with the force of doom, waves towering as high as mountains. The sky was a smothered gray; the sight of the torrent nearly buckled Ye Shu’s knees.
A hundred meters high—taller than any thirty-story tower, certain death.
In a matter of moments, doomsday was upon them.
Ye Shu’s face was deathly pale. Against a flood of this scale, no human effort could stand. She threw up a shield barrier and ducked below, but watched as Lin Qingyue stood unmoved beside her, his steps steady.
Mud and boulders pounded the shield; for one fleeting instant Ye Shu was thankful she’d bought a life-saving tool. But then she heard the golden shield groan and splinter. Looking up, she saw a fine web of cracks spreading across it, the breach widening in seconds.
She leapt aside just before it exploded.
The current flung her clear, nearly dumping her overboard. She clung to the railing, filthy and sodden, but the earring was still in place.
The man hovered midair, his black jacket flecked with mud.
The flood receded.
The battered boat was now half-buried in the muck—a half-sunken shell.
"Thank you, thank you for saving me. I’ll call you daddy—so what should I call you?" Ye Shu wiped mud from her face, forcing a smile. If she didn’t need to unravel why this uncanny man dogged her, she’d have killed him for vengeance already.
"Ning Die?!"
Lin Qingyue echoed the name in confusion.
What a bizarre name.
"That’s right, Daddy! Everyone calls me your little Daddy. Hero, such great skill—what’s your name?" Ye Shu grinned with fawning exaggeration. The man’s brow twitched, but facing those naive, guileless eyes, a faint amusement surfaced.
"Lin Qingyue."
Ye Shu’s thoughts turned scornful—of course she knew his name…
She sidled closer, her filthy hand laying itself, ever so casually, on the uncanny one’s shoulder.