Su Li felt both excited and a bit regretful.
With his improved strength, Su Li had gained a certain confidence. Even if he encountered the one-eyed frog again now, without relying on the terrain, he could put up a fight. Staying here any longer held little meaning, so he finally decided to leave at dawn tomorrow to search for other survivors and a way out.
Having made up his mind, Su Li found it hard to fall back asleep. He lay on the sofa, eyes open in the darkness. It was already past three in the morning, with two or three hours until dawn. He resolved to leave as soon as it was light.
In the time that followed, although several corpses were piled up in the living room, no corpse beasts appeared.
Su Li didn't idle either. Since he couldn't sleep, he got up and pulled out various clothes and sheets from the cabinet. Some items he didn't plan to take were cut into long strips with scissors, and he began weaving them into ropes.
He had already made quite a few ropes before, but he felt they weren't enough. With a bit of time left, he decided to weave more as backup.
By the time the sky began to lighten, Su Li had woven a large pile of ropes stacked on the sofa. He picked up the hammer and walked to the living room, where he started smashing the window frames of the balcony.
He had decided to lower the raft directly from the balcony window into the water. The raft was quite wide, and these window frames were in the way, so he had to break them off.
With Su Li's current strength, he easily smashed each obstructive window frame. He only stopped when he was sure the raft could pass through, then returned to the bedroom and carried the raft, made from two wooden doors, to the living room.
After that, he removed the last wooden door in the house—the bedroom door.
He had too many things to take, and just two wooden doors were too small. Su Li decided to make the raft bigger; the larger the surface area, the more stable and safer it would be on the water.
Even with three doors joined together, Su Li wasn't satisfied. He opened the security door, went into the apartment at the end of the hallway where a young couple once lived, and took two more wooden doors.
Only when five wooden doors were joined together did Su Li feel content. He then used iron nails to horizontally nail a large number of planks onto these five doors, and wrapped them tightly with the ropes he had woven the night before, ensuring it was as sturdy as possible.
After a full hour of hard work, Su Li wiped the sweat from his forehead, a satisfied expression on his face.
Although this raft couldn't compare to a real boat, it looked fairly solid for now—at least it wouldn't fall apart easily. If he could find more iron nails or wire later, he could reinforce it further.
He had used up all the iron nails he had collected.
Next, Su Li boiled a pot of water, tore open his last pack of instant noodles, added a sausage, and soaked it with hot water.
He decided to enjoy a hearty breakfast before setting off.
Using the leftover tap water in the basin, Su Li brushed his teeth, washed his face and hands, wiped himself down, and changed into a clean set of clothes, making himself look much more refreshed.
Leaving this place, no one knew what lay ahead, and Su Li couldn't predict it either. Looking at the apartment he had lived in for over a year, he felt a faint, indescribable reluctance.
After finishing the noodles, Su Li let out a long breath and lifted the raft from the floor.
This raft, made from five wooden doors and numerous planks, was no lightweight. Fortunately, Su Li was now full of strength; an ordinary person wouldn't be able to move it at all.
Su Li, however, lifted it with ease. He extended it out from the balcony, slowly moving it outward, and finally pushed it. The raft slid down the balcony, landed on the water outside, and splashed up droplets.
Standing by the balcony, Su Li watched the raft float steadily on the water.
He was very pleased. A thick rope was tied to the raft—one Su Li had specially reinforced—and at the end of the rope were three bricks he had found on the rooftop, forming a simple anchor.
He pulled the rope tight, making the raft hug the balcony edge, then secured the rope to the handle of the security door closest to the balcony.
After that, Su Li began moving his belongings.
First was the storage box filled with boiled water. Su Li carefully carried it to the balcony and placed it on the secured raft. The heavy box settled on one side, causing the raft to sink slightly, with the other end tilting up a bit, but the lean wasn't severe.
"This box full of water is no lightweight. I didn't expect just a slight tilt. Good thing I used five doors, or it would have been trouble."
Su Li was delighted. He stepped onto the raft himself. It was sizable and floated steadily on the water, which satisfied him greatly. He then moved the storage box to the center of the raft and tightly tied it to the ropes already binding the raft, securing it in place.
Following the same method, Su Li took out travel backpacks filled with items from the bedroom and living room—oil, salt, seasonings, rice, some clothes, extra ropes. Finally, seeing the raft still had plenty of space, he brought along the gas canister, stove, and kettle, all tightly fastened to the raft.
He grabbed a suitably sized plank and tied it to a drying pole to serve as an oar.
As for the one-eyed frog's corpse, since it had been gnawed on by corpse beasts, Su Li dared not eat it and had to abandon it.
Untying the rope from the security door handle, Su Li took one last deep look at the living room, stepped onto the raft, and pushed off from the balcony. The laden raft stirred up water and began to drift slowly away.
Standing on the raft, Su Li noticed it wasn't like a boat. Loaded with goods, it sat deep in the water, with the water almost covering the raft's surface. His shoes and socks were soon soaked through.
But there was no helping it—Su Li couldn't build a real boat now. Creating this simple raft was the best he could do.
"At least I don't get seasick," Su Li thought to himself. Standing on the raft, he wielded his homemade oar. He had never rowed before, and as he paddled in the water, he found the raft only slowly spinning in place, not moving toward his target.
Su Li didn't panic. He observed the pattern, and after a few tries, he got the hang of it. The raft finally began to drift slowly forward.
His first destination was the nearest other building.
That building, like the one he lived in, had thirty floors, with only the top floor now above water, about forty to fifty meters away.
Su Li paddled with both hands, keeping the cleaver and hammer on him. He remained highly alert to his surroundings.