Chapter 137: Highland Drift

Chapter 137: Highland Drift

Shu Fu gathered the people from both rafts and had everyone go to the rest area on the second floor of the hotel building. Since they had internet access, she prepared to check information online while holding a meeting.

So far, Yao Ruoyun and her family of three had not directly encountered patients with the fish-scale disease. Although the six people with Lu Zheng had experienced many things with her, they left You City earlier than her and took a different route, so they hadn't seen the current appearance of the fish-scale disease patients in Na'an County.

Therefore, after everyone arrived, she first gave everyone a cup of coffee or milk tea to calm them down, then shared the information she knew with them.

Shu Fu, after all, was a screenwriter who worked with words. Even her simplest descriptions were vivid and gripping, especially when she talked about how the fish-scale disease patients caught the amphibious carnivorous fish, ignored their attacks, and tore apart the fish flesh and internal organs. Everyone turned pale.

Although Yao Ruoyun had never seen a fish-scale disease patient, she had been with Shu Fu in Wei County and heard Han Lan mention the experimental breeding ground in You City, so she immediately understood the point Shu Fu was trying to make.

"Senior, do you think there might be people from that organization behind this?"

"It's possible," Shu Fu nodded. "Of course, it could also be a simple biological disease outbreak."

Xu Tingfeng sipped his refreshing, slightly bitter iced Americano, and his slightly furrowed brows relaxed a bit: "But if it's that organization behind this, shouldn't they conduct experiments secretly? How could they let the experimental subjects escape like this? Now that multiple lives have been lost, not only the authorities but also the current survivors in Hua Country know about this. With such a big uproar, there will definitely be further investigations, and whatever experiments that organization wants to conduct will surely be hindered."

After flipping through several news websites, Jiang Dai spoke up: "Is it possible that the secret experimental base of that organization is near Na'an County? These fish-scale disease patients might have accidentally escaped, so no one noticed them during the entire mutation process because they were always locked up."

"That's a strong possibility," Lu Zheng and the others nodded.

Na'an County is mountainous, sparsely populated, and vast, with abundant water resources. Compared to other overcrowded cities and towns in Xizhou Province, it is indeed a good place to set up a secret experimental base.

Lu Zheng, who had been deep in thought, spoke up: "If that's really the case, then the troops in Na'an County should have already taken action before we saw these messages today. After all, what we can guess, the authorities couldn't have missed."

This matter involved many lives and was old news from more than ten days ago. Given the speed of official action, it was probably already wrapped up.

However, these follow-up messages could no longer be found online, as they involved secret experiments and that brainwashing organization, so many messages would be sealed.

Yao Ruoyun sighed in relief: "That's right, even You City, which is so far from Xizhou Province, was dealt with quickly back then. Now that the incident is within Xizhou Province, the investigation and suppression actions should be even faster."

As she spoke, she thought of something and leaned closer to Shu Fu with her milk tea, whispering: "Do you think Cheng and Liu might be tied up with this, which is why they haven't replied to your messages for so long?"

Shu Fu shook her head; she wasn't sure.

Seeing the slight frown on Shu Fu's brow, Yao Ruoyun comforted her: "Senior, don't stress too much. Team Leader Cheng is so capable, even if he gets injured this time, it definitely won't be as severe as last time!"

Shu Fu pushed Yao Ruoyun's round face away: "Is this supposed to help? Feels more like twisting the knife. And where do I look like I'm worried?"

"Isn't this the expression of worry?" Yao Ruoyun gave her a 'don't treat me like an idiot' look.

"I'm not worried," Shu Fu chuckled softly. "He promised he'd make it through this time."

Yao Ruoyun quipped: "...What's the use of that? Losing an arm or leg still counts as living."

Shu Fu: ...

She shot a sideways glance at the teasing Yao Ruoyun and said lightly: "You should be more concerned about Xun Huiming. Didn't he handle the settlement quota for you in Sha City a month ago? You're not going, and you're not letting him know where you are. A young man like him could easily get depressed..."

Yao Ruoyun whimpered. She was wrong; she shouldn't have been so bold, and now she was the one getting a face full of it...

She didn't want to be like this, but Xun Huiming wasn't a person with special abilities—later, Shu Fu confirmed that even though he had awakened and had a raft, he wasn't a companion. So even if he knew where she was, what could he do?

He was so young, had parents, and was the only child in his family. Besides, they weren't even boyfriend and girlfriend yet. How could she ask him to choose between her and his parents before they even started?

Now that the entire planet was submerged in water, with disasters everywhere, all she wanted was to be with her mom and dad, living a stable life as a family. This was something even she couldn't achieve, so how could she ask someone else to do it?

In that case, it was better to say nothing.

Yao Ruoyun fell silent, but suddenly heard a voice coming from the other side.

"Is that Team Leader Cheng... Xun Huiming's uncle?"

Yao Ruoyun turned around and saw that it was Lu Zheng asking. She nodded at first, then quickly caught on and added, with a hint of gossip: "You should have seen him before—he's that tall and strikingly handsome rescue team leader from the library in Sui City! His name is Cheng Yu, and he's incredibly capable. He once went back alone to rescue his team members in Wei County! But Senior is even more remarkable—knowing that an avalanche was coming, she still rushed back to save people! In the end, she successfully rescued everyone!"

Although half a year had passed, many things that happened in winter were still vivid in Yao Ruoyun's memory.

What felt anxious and scary back then now seems like a pivotal part of life in retrospect.

She recounted to Lu Zheng in such detail, partly out of gossip, but also because she genuinely missed the time spent with Senior in a small teahouse in Wei County during the heavy snow and low temperatures, and the days when she and the team members and survivors ate biscuits and canned food in the tunnel.

Lu Zheng looked somewhat taken aback. He didn't expect that with just one question, Yao Ruoyun would say so much.

Every incident involved Shu Fu, and all were previously unknown to him.

Although he had thought that every time she went missing, what she saw and experienced must be thrilling, and she would constantly meet new friends, get familiar with different people, and even become life-and-death comrades, just like when she was with Chen Fa and them on the North Plateau.

But, how to put it, he had always considered himself the most special, after all, they came from the same world. He and her from that world had many pasts and intersections; they reunited in this world, went through life and death, exchanged secrets, and became teammates.

But until this moment, he realized that whether he was special or not didn't matter—the one who could always be remembered by her was the most important.

Lu Zheng didn't continue Yao Ruoyun's conversation. He shifted his gaze back to Shu Fu, lounging in the corner of the sofa, her forehead resting lazily on two pale fingers, gently pinching Yao Ruoyun's face as the latter flattered her.

Upon meeting her again, he noticed more similarities in her demeanor, aura, and maturity to the fragments of his memories of her. She seemed to have completely let go of some things, no longer deliberately distant and low-key.

But because of this, when he occasionally spent time with her, he would unconsciously fall into the fragments of memories. Even though in this world, there were no obstacles or people between them, he still couldn't get too close to her...

It felt like being ensnared in memories, a sensation both familiar and alien.

As if repeating the same mistakes, but powerless.

**

After some time, Hua Qiong, who had been meticulously browsing the website, stumbled upon another news article.

The news emerged following the capture of several patients with fish scale disease by the team members in Wei County. It said that during the capture, a middle-aged woman suddenly rushed out from the crowd and started wailing at one of the patients, claiming that he was her long-lost son.

The incident occurred so abruptly that the team members were unable to intercept her, and she rushed to the patient with fish scale disease. Everyone thought that at such a close distance, she would be attacked by the patient.

Instead, the patient gazed at her with a blank expression for a moment, refrained from attacking, and instead emitted a sharp cry, which sounded very much like a wail...

Later, someone interviewed the middle-aged woman, and she insisted that the patient was her son—otherwise, how could it be explained that he did not attack her?

She explained that her son had been missing for over six months. At that time, China experienced a major temperature drop, and he was on the North Plateau, unable to reach Xizhou Province as planned, and subsequently lost all contact.

She had long believed her son to be dead and never anticipated seeing him again today.

She excitedly said that her son still recognized her and that he appeared in Wei County only because he wanted to go home... He definitely didn't mean to attack people, just as he didn't mean to get sick.

They were all once human; who wouldn't wish to live healthily and return home if possible?

He survived his illness, merely altered in appearance, evolving into another form of human, but he still retained memories of home and family in his mind, which is why he appeared here...

It's just that his current appearance prompts normal people to attack him on sight. He is not wrong, just protecting himself...

The phrasing of the news appeared to favor the middle-aged woman's perspective, so it was instantly met with online backlash, given the numerous deaths in Wei County; how innocent were the deceased?

Despite the majority of comments being abusive, a few dissenting voices emerged. These individuals might have endured similar ordeals, losing touch with loved ones during the disaster, and still await a miraculous reunion.

They empathized with the middle-aged woman's predicament, endorsed her theory, and suggested that fish scale disease might not be accurately termed a disease, but rather a form of biological evolution, especially since much of the planet's landmass has transformed into water.

Transforming into a different form of humanity allowed them to survive in the water when disasters struck.

They survived, becoming stronger than before because they needed to fight with other creatures in the water. They could live in the water and walk on land. This isn’t an illness—it’s evolution!

Somehow, when Shu Fu saw the word "evolution" in the comments under the news, her eyebrows twitched slightly.

Hua Qiong sighed, "Although I don’t agree with the views of this small group of voices, if I were the middle-aged woman, I would probably hold the same belief. For her, such a belief is her only glimmer of hope in endless despair."

After all, for any mother, the most important thing is that her child is still alive—no matter in what form.

Later that day, they found no further useful information online.

In the evening, Shu Fu set the raft in motion again and left the shore with a signal, continuing north. After the raft rounded the northwest corner of Fengshang Plateau, they turned east and drifted.

Everyone returned to the endless expanse of water, quickly putting the news from the shore out of their minds. After all, they now lived on the water, and no matter how shocking, the news from land felt distant to them.

Although Chen Fa and the others were still on land, Zhashui County was in the suburbs of Sha City, far from Na’an County.

Only Shu Fu, until bedtime, kept replaying the day’s news in her mind.

She wondered if she was overthinking it, but the recent news she had seen seemed to converge, giving her a sense of an impending storm.

Her intuition had always been accurate, but this time, she hoped it was just her imagination.

**

The area north of Fengshang Plateau was higher in altitude than the plains and was mountainous, with a sparse population. Even after flooding, the water here remained shallow, especially in a large area that used to be a high-altitude basin, now forming a giant lake.

The lake formed a concave U-shape, shielded by the higher land and mountains of Fengshang Plateau, making it relatively free from storms and extreme weather. The lakeshore had become an offshore port for Fengshang Plateau, gradually being developed.

After the Drift Island House towed two rafts into this giant lake, they saw many rafts near the shore.

To their astonishment, those were the rafts of individuals with special abilities!

The rafts were uniformly outfitted with fixed marine engines and sails. On the roofs of the cabins and the front decks, there were similarly shaped container cabins, the kind Chen Fa had mentioned before, made of new materials that could withstand hail and were warm in winter and cool in summer.

She observed that the rafts moved in an orderly fashion, departing from the shore and heading uniformly toward the center of the lake, where the water was deeper. There, several massive ships were anchored, similar in design to the ones she had seen in photos online—fully enclosed, enormous, like floating fortresses on the sea.

The area buzzed with activity. Some massive ships were still being built, with machines and workers busily working on them. Others were nearly completed, being loaded with various supplies.

When the rafts approached the massive ships, their owners would climb up to the open hatches, quickly fold their rafts, and then arrange them inside the ships. Afterward, people inside the ships would drive over with utility vehicles and unload the containers from the roofs and decks of the cabins.

Those containers were likely supply boxes. After being unloaded by the utility vehicles, other transport carts would come to take them away, distributing them to different parts of the ship.

Because of this, Shu Fu, Yao Ruoyun, and Lu Zheng finally confirmed that the owners of these rafts, which couldn’t be towed by the Drift Island House, indeed had special abilities quite different from theirs.

Visually, they probably didn’t have backpack slots; otherwise, they wouldn’t need containers to transport supplies. They definitely had water purifiers and fishing rods, but likely lacked unique tools or weapons.

Inside the protective barrier, everyone stood on the balcony of the inn’s small building—the highest point on all the rafts, offering a clear view of everything. They marveled at the bustling, grand scene before them, awed by the power of the authorities.

"This U-shaped lake experiences fewer disasters, making it suitable for building and producing large ships," Xu Tingfeng remarked in awe. They had lived in Xizhou Province for a long time and had discussed the authorities’ efforts to recruit and reward shipbuilding personnel.

Everyone knew the country had been building ships and submarines, but no one was quite sure where the construction sites were.

"No wonder we saw so many patrol boats in the outermost layer of the water before we even approached this lake. This area must be off-limits to the public, right?" Yue Dong looked around, noticing ongoing construction on the shore. There were many shipbuilding bases along the shore, as the initial construction of ships, whether giant vessels or submarines, had to be done on land near the water.

Besides factories, the shipbuilding bases had to build a large number of worker dormitories. Given how much the authorities valued these skilled workers, the conditions of these dormitories were undoubtedly much better than in peaceful times, and the workers’ families likely lived there as well.

With so many people, various supporting facilities had to be built, so these shipbuilding bases probably had planting areas, breeding areas, medical areas, and manufacturing areas...

They had entered the lake area, drawn by its calm waters and shallow depths, with no danger of encountering overly large fish, planning to turn off the protective barrier and go fishing.

Little did they know they’d end up witnessing such a scene.

That afternoon, they did nothing but stand quietly on the terrace. Some held binoculars, while others leaned against the railing, watching the vast construction site before them. They stayed until nightfall, when the raft turned around and left the lake.

A few days later, the raft circled around the northern side of the Fengshang Plateau and re-entered the source waters of the Yinsha River.

At this point, Shu Fu had accumulated 9 chances on her spin draw.

She counted the days and realized that by midnight tomorrow, she’d have enough for ten consecutive draws.

That afternoon, Chen Fa sent a message saying Zhang Tian’s condition was improving and that she wanted to leave Sha City to join them on the water. In about four or five days, the four of them could set off together.

Shu Fu picked up on the key point and replied, “So, Zhang Tian knows you’re a person with special abilities?”

Shu Fu wasn’t hung up on Chen Fa revealing her abilities too early; she just thought it was odd. After all, when she found Wu Shaoshan in Kangsu County, she hadn’t mentioned anything about special abilities or living on the water—just that she was bringing her to join them.

Unless…

A moment later, Chen Fa replied, “Yeah, it’s fine she knows because Zhang Tian’s also a person with special abilities. She probably awakened not long ago because of the recent trauma.”

Shu Fu: What!?

She jumped off the exercise bike in the underwater bedroom, raced up the spiral staircase, and pulled up the “tow list” on the screen.

The “tow list” had changed, but Zhang Tian’s name wasn’t there. Instead, two other names she’d been worried about for a while had appeared.

“Towing Rafts (Note: Bond Value ≥ 80)

1. Chen Fa’s Raft (Bond Value: 100);

2. Zheng Feifei’s Raft (Bond Value: 96);

3. Lu Zheng’s Raft (Bond Value: 91);

4. Yao Ruoyun’s Raft (Bond Value: 90);

5. Liu Shuang’s Raft (Bond Value: 87);

6. Hua Qiong’s Raft (Bond Value: 85);

7. Han Lan’s Raft (Bond Value: 83);

8. Fang Zhuo Wen’s Raft (Bond Value: 81)”

Shu Fu’s eyes widened in shock. She’d been slacking off for a few days, not checking the list before bed. How had Liu Shuang and Han Lan awakened so quietly!?

But what about Zhang Tian? Where’s her name?

Chen Fa said Zhang Tian was also a person with special abilities. She wasn’t one to take things at face value—she must’ve seen it for herself.

So why isn’t Zhang Tian’s name on the list? What’s going on?