bookpower Chapter 83 - 83 "Casting Nets Everywhere
Chapter 83 - 83 "Casting Nets Everywhere
Chapter 83: Chapter 83 “Casting Nets Everywhere
Ye Qing, after pinpointing where to strike, stretched out a hand to shield her face and raised the hammer in her hand to shatter the glass swiftly, accurately, and ruthlessly.
The glass shattered to the ground with a cacophony of cracks and snaps.
“Boom!”
A gust of cold wind laden with rain, the stench of dead fish, and rotten shrimp furiously blew into the hallway.
Jiang Yan and Su Dai simultaneously turned and put on the hoods of their windbreakers.
With the glass cleared, Sun Jingtao stepped forward and joined Ye Qing in hammering away at the metal frame with a barrage of loud clangs.
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It was only in their apartment complex that the hallway spacing was relatively wide.@@@@
In other traditional neighborhoods, one might have needed to knock down part of the wall to make enough space for the rubber raft to get through.
On the other side, Su Dai pulled disposable raincoats, previously bought from Taobao, out of her backpack, and handed two to Jiang Yan:
“Jiang Yan, these raincoats are a bit thin, but they should do the job for now.”
Jiang Yan thanked her and took them.
“In a while you—” She glanced at the rubber raft behind her and hesitated.
Jiang Yan knew what she was likely to say and declared, “I won’t be taking the same route as you guys.”
“Why?” Su Dai was puzzled.
It’d be easier to stick together as a group, wouldn’t it?
With the world outside submerged, it was uncertain whether the rain would intensify.
It’d be better to be able to look out for each other in case something happened.
“Think about it, we’re going out to look for food. After the high temperatures and downpour, there’s already little to find, and if everyone clusters together, the chance of coming up empty-handed is high. And even if we find something, if we share, wouldn’t our portions be even less?
But if we spread out, wouldn’t the chances be greater? After all, from the perspective of avoiding the risk of coming up empty, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket, right?”
Jiang Yan spoke with her eyes wide open, essentially telling a white lie, but it wasn’t without reason.
After hearing this, Su Dai felt a bit down but she quickly convinced herself:
“That makes sense, cast the net wide to catch more fish! Then, Jiang Yan, do be careful on your own.”
Jiang Yan’s lips curved into a slight smile under her mask, and she hummed in acknowledgment.
Sun Jingtao and Ye Qing worked quickly; the exterior frame of the window had already been broken by both of them.
Their actions were actually quite dangerous.
After all, to smash the upper frame, they needed to stand on the thin ledge without any protective gear.
Now, looking down it was all water, but in fact, both stood atop the 16th floor.
“See you later.”
After bidding farewell, Jiang Yan put her back into rowing.
With a cluster of eyes watching her from all around, it wasn’t a good time to take out her compass and map.
But there was no immediate need anyway.
Nearby, a few familiar high-rise buildings remained above water, which could serve as basic navigational guides.
And she’d better get away from the Shallow Bay area first.
Building A’s staircase window was not far from the complex’s perimeter wall; Jiang Yan didn’t need to row much to leave the confines of the neighborhood.
Once she was some distance away, Ye Qing finally dropped their rubber raft for the three of them.
When the trio put on their disposable raincoats, settled in the raft, and were ready to row away, Jiang Yan and her raft were but a tiny black dot in the eyes of the onlookers.
The rain continued to drizzle down.
The cold wind whistled through the air.
Fortunately for Jiang Yan, not only were her clothes wind-proof, water-resistant, and warm, but her body, enhanced by the Space, didn’t feel much of the chill.
She was heading downtown on her first treasure-hunting stop for the day.
The area was full of high-rises, crowded and bustling. It was home to a concentration of malls and jewelry stores.
It was the kind of place where, if you could set up shop, you’d be set for three years, making it her first choice for the trip.
Apparently, she had set out early, and not many others in the city had rubber rafts.
Along the way, she didn’t encounter many living souls.
But there were plenty of corpses.
Men, women, children—all of them.
There was even a baby floating with a piece of umbilical cord attached.
But all were so bloated and disfigured from soaking in the water that none were recognizable.
Their decaying bodies were crawling with swarms of plankton, wriggling maggots, and those glossy black Mutated Leeches, creating a sight that was deeply unsettling.
Since she had to deliberately avoid areas with tall buildings, Jiang Yan ended up detouring a bit.
Once the high-rises were out of sight, she brought out an assault boat from her Space.
This boat wasn’t much different in color or style from the rubber raft she was currently in, except this one had a motor.
She knew she was going to spend the whole day underwater on a “free shopping spree,” and it would require a significant amount of energy.
Paddling by hand was also too slow, so the assault boat with its motor would be faster.
However, the motor was loud and easily attracted attention.
She had to continue avoiding areas densely packed with high-rises until she was nearing downtown before she switched back to the more discreet rubber raft.