Gong Xiao had already guessed his intention. Going into the water just now was merely for final confirmation. With a single stride, he landed steadily on the raft, followed by Xu Xuehui and Xu Haishui.
Now Xu Xuehui had finally stopped using the sledgehammer, switching to the baseball bat Gong Xiao had given her as a weapon.
Ding Longyun untied one side of the raft's rope, then jumped into the water, placing his hands on the raft. "Su Li, which direction?"
Xu Haishui's face showed surprise, and he couldn't help but say, "Brother Ding... Brother Ding, why aren't you getting on?"
Ding Longyun glanced at Xu Haishui but ignored him. Gong Xiao said, "Brother Ding gets seasick. If he gets on the raft, he'll want to throw up."
Xu Haishui let out an "oh" and shut his mouth, not knowing what else to say.
"Over there—that's where Xuehui used to live. It's close from here. Let's go check out that building first." Following Su Li's voice, Ding Longyun laughed heartily. "Got it, let's head out then." Pushing the raft with both hands, he kicked off the building wall behind him with his feet, propelling the raft forward.
Su Li took an oar from under the raft, dipped it into the water, and began to row.
Xu Haishui hurried forward. "Brother Su, let me handle this."
Su Li didn't look at him, just shook his head, refusing his help. "You all keep an eye on the water around us, in case we get attacked."
Xu Haishui said, "Brother Su, don't worry. Most monsters rest during the day. As long as we don't disturb them, we usually won't get attacked."
Su Li rowed at the front, steering, while Ding Longyun swam behind, pushing the raft. The raft carried the four of them, moving swiftly toward a nearby building.
That building was where Xu Xuehui had once lived, the closest structure to them, only about three hundred meters away.
The journey was uneventful, and the raft quickly reached another thirty-story building three hundred meters away. Xu Xuehui's former home was in this building.
And just fifty meters from here stood another thirty-story building—the one where Su Li had previously lived.
Su Li suddenly changed his mind. The raft didn't stop at this building but bypassed it, heading toward the building fifty meters away where he had once lived.
Ding Longyun, still pushing the raft, said, "Su Li, why the change?"
Su Li smiled. "Let's go check out my place first. I want to show you the apartment I used to live in."
He didn't reveal the real reason. Just now, he had noticed Xu Xuehui standing silently on the raft, gazing at her former home with a dazed expression.
Seeing Xu Xuehui like that, Su Li thought of her father, who had died here. She might be overwhelmed by the memories, recalling those terrible times. He should have realized it sooner.
So he changed his mind on the spot, steering the raft toward his own building.
Hearing Su Li's explanation, Gong Xiao didn't believe it, but she said nothing. Ding Longyun laughed heartily. "What's so interesting about a guy's place? It's not like a pretty girl's boudoir. If it were Gong Xiao's bedroom, now that I'd be curious about."
Gong Xiao shot Ding Longyun a look. "Uncle, you're being a bit inappropriate."
Ding Longyun immediately protested, "We're all young people here—why am I suddenly 'Uncle'?"
Gong Xiao pursed her lips and ignored him.
The fifty meters passed quickly. Su Li controlled the raft's speed, slowly bringing it to a stop by the window along the corridor's edge of the building.
Ding Longyun let out a long breath. "Finally here. I'm exhausted."
Su Li set down the oar, picked up the machete, reached out to grip the window edge, and vaulted through the window, landing on the corridor.
He knew this corridor all too well. He had left alone before, and now he was back with the group. A wave of emotion washed over him.
Gong Xiao tossed him the rope. Su Li pulled it, drawing the raft tight against the wall, then tied it securely.
Ding Longyun slowly climbed onto the raft from behind. Pushing it for three hundred meters had tired him out.
"Su Li, what now? Are we really going to check out your bedroom?"
Su Li smiled faintly. "You said a guy's bedroom isn't worth seeing, so let's skip it."
Then he looked at Gong Xiao. "Gong Xiao, you stay here with Xuehui. Better yet, go to the rooftop—it's more open there. Ding Ge, Xu Haishui, and I will go down to check things out. If it really is a monster's lair, we'll figure out a way to lure the monsters up."
Gong Xiao raised an eyebrow slightly, her phoenix eyes fixed on Su Li with displeasure. "Su Li, you're always so chauvinistic. Why do you keep leaving me and Xuehui behind? Why do you always think women are inferior to men?"
Su Li said, "Xuehui wouldn't be safe alone up there, and it's not suitable for her to go into the water. That's why I arranged for you to stay with her."
Gong Xiao's lips parted as if to say more, but Ding Longyun laughed and cut in, "Let me swap with Gong Xiao. I'm really tired from all that swimming just now. I'll take a break with Xuehui, and you guys handle the underwater part."
Seeing Ding Longyun smooth things over, Su Li didn't insist. "Alright, let's go with Ding Ge's plan."
Gong Xiao's irritation faded into satisfaction. "That's more like it."
Ding Longyun climbed over the window via the raft and joined Xu Xuehui on the corridor.
Su Li, Gong Xiao, and Xu Haishui prepared to go into the water to investigate.
"Su Li, should we wait here or head to the rooftop?" Ding Longyun asked.
"Wait here for now, but be ready. If there are too many monsters, we'll head straight to the rooftop."
"Got it." Ding Longyun waved the steel pipe in his right hand, grinning. "My pipe's been itching for action. Can't wait to take these monsters down."
Xu Xuehui watched Su Li and the other two as they entered the water and suddenly spoke. "Be careful."
Her big eyes were full of concern.
Su Li smiled. "Don't worry. You two be careful too." Then he took a deep breath and sank into the water.
Gong Xiao was an excellent swimmer. Once in the water, she moved with agility, diving down to the gap between the twenty-ninth and twenty-eighth floors.
Su Li slowly descended, peering into the twenty-ninth floor.
Xu Haishui remained silent, following the group's orders. He gripped his short spear and stayed about two meters behind Su Li.
Inside the twenty-ninth floor, Su Li spotted some snakes floating in the water.
These snakes were a dull yellow, covered in white spots of varying sizes, their bodies coiled up, making it impossible to judge their length. Based on the thickness of their bodies, the widest parts were at least as thick as a human arm.
There weren't many. Su Li counted about seven or eight at a glance, all coiled up, floating motionlessly inside the rooms on the twenty-ninth floor.