Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Survivor in the City Center

Jiang Yan steered the assault boat, following the direction indicated by the Compass and theodolite, and headed towards the city’s CBD.

But she didn’t go too fast, fearing that she might accidentally crash into the fourteen or fifteen-story buildings that were just submerged by the water.

These high-rises, not far from the surface, were like hidden reefs.

Half an hour later, more and more high-rise buildings emerged above the water surface in her field of vision.

She had no choice but to take the rubber dinghy out from her Space again, and then she stored the assault boat back into the Space.

Along the way, she passed vast stretches of white water areas.

Looking at many of the street scenes she was familiar with, and her once favorite quaint shops now all submerged under fifty meters of water, as a born-and-bred Anming person, Jiang Yan couldn’t help feeling a bit wistful.

To be safe, when Jiang Yan got to about a kilometer away from the nearest high-rise, she took out a high-powered telescope from her Space.

Through the telescope, Jiang Yan held her breath at the sight.

Perhaps because they realized the rain had stopped, in the cluster of closely packed high-rises near the city center, some people, like her, were throwing rubber dinghies out of the windows.

There were also people piloting assault boats.

Without exception, each boat carried quite a few people.

The central city area was expensive real estate; people who lived in these high-rises were as wealthy as those in the posh villa districts around the city. It was no surprise they could afford such items.

Of course, assault boats and rubber dinghies weren’t that expensive, but not many people were as aware as Sun Jingtao and Su Dai to buy them and keep them at home.

After all, if you went camping on a whim, you could just rent one nearby.

They took up quite a bit of space at home, too.

Then there were others, donning lifebuoys, car tires, the green alligators and giant yellow ducks the kids rode in water parks, pink swans, and flotation boards adults used for learning to swim, all simultaneously swimming outward.

Most likely, they were swimming from their residential buildings to nearby business offices to look for usable supplies.

The water was cold; since most of these people went into the water in swimsuits, even for short distances, one could imagine the discomfort.

Actually, just below the surface near these high-rises were dazzling shopping malls, supermarkets of all sizes, and various snack shops.

Even after high temperatures and heavy rains had spoiled most of the food, or it had gotten too damp to use, there was still much more to find there than in the office buildings.

But diving for these supplies directly was obviously unrealistic.

Due to water pressure and lack of oxygen, the record for free diving stood at 113 meters, and professional divers could only go down as far as 30 meters.

Ordinary people would have trouble beyond five meters, let alone bringing up goods.

Jiang Yan even saw survivors yelling out loud and frantically waving in her direction.

Someone had cut and straightened a metal clothes hanger, tying a red piece of clothing or a colorful balloon at the end and waving it out of a window.

They were likely signalling to her and her boat.

Jiang Yan’s brow furrowed slightly.

Theoretically, a person could see a high-rise several kilometers away, but seeing faces, not past fifty or sixty meters.

So the other party probably had tools like telescopes.

After all, it wasn’t uncommon for parents to buy toy telescopes or proper ones for their children.

And that didn’t include astronomy enthusiasts.

These scenes had indeed taken her by surprise.

At the moment, she was like a person with social anxiety, particularly disliking crowded situations.

She wasn’t afraid; she simply didn’t want to waste her time on trivial people and matters.

With that thought, she turned the rubber dinghy around and paddled swiftly towards the distance.

Fortunately, there was a nearly submerged office building not far away that provided cover, and she stopped there temporarily.

It seemed her plan to head directly to the city’s most upscale shopping centers was no longer viable.

She had to enter from the entrance of the pedestrian street, taking a roundabout approach, picking up the jewelry on the outskirts before heading underwater to those high-end shopping centers.

The pedestrian street had several gold shops, the type with storefronts that directly served customers.

The buildings here were only four or five stories high, surrounded by some of the old districts and early residential areas.

At most ten or eleven stories tall, they were all now submerged.

Usually, walking further inside from the pedestrian street would have been an easy task.

But now, submerged underwater, visibility and various obstacles created significant hindrances.

One could say that the city center area, once familiar to her, had turned into an underwater labyrinth.

However, she had her own “treasure map” to rely on, her vision was enhanced, and her equipment was top-notch, so there was no need to worry about getting lost underwater.

As Jiang Yan thought about these things, she had already checked and replaced her diving equipment again without pause.

She donned a diving headlight on her head and an underwater flashlight on her arm.

The Cannibal Flower, which had been eager to come out, was now released by her.

Looking at the vast ocean-like scene around it, Hua Bao had a moment of confusion.

To avoid being noticed, it was now very small, only as tall as the palm of a hand.

It looked just like a particularly mini, lively Cannibal Flower figurine.

“Jie Jie Jie?” Mommy, are you going to go underwater?

It had learned human knowledge, and quickly recognized the diving equipment on Jiang Yan.

“Yes, Hua Bao, you will help me navigate later,” said Jiang Yan, handing over a map encapsulated in a waterproof film and a diving compass to it.

It was time to test the “child’s” learning outcomes, as a mother would.

Jiang Yan didn’t actually know if it could understand the map; she had never considered letting it “digest” the map before; it was a spur-of-the-moment idea that sprang to her mind.

She also had a theodolite in her Space, but it was heavy and bulky.

She was fairly familiar with this area anyway; as long as she knew the approximate direction, she could find her way.

Hua Bao, the Cannibal Flower wrapped the map and Compass with two leaves, its small eyes whirring around:

“Jie Jie Jie?” Mommy, the map is in my mind now, do I still need to hold it?

Jiang Yan was very pleased: “!!!” Truly a genius baby!

“No need,” she replied with a gentle smile, taking the map back.

“So, Hua Bao, shall we go into the water?” Jiang Yan pointed to the water surface.

She remembered the Cannibal Flower could embody states of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, and thus should not be afraid of water.

“Jie Jie Jie…” Mommy, I’m scared, unless mommy takes me…

Speaking, Hua Bao swiftly extended vines to wrap around her calves.

“…” Jiang Yan gave a wry smile for a second and then patted her left wrist, saying,

“Okay, I can take you, but can you not wrap around my feet?”