"Besides, we haven't left behind a large number of corpses. In principle, that shouldn't attract any truly terrifying monsters. The only reasonable explanation now is that these monsters are just like us—each day they evolve and grow stronger, and the monsters that appear will become more advanced."
Ding Longyun said, "The main issue is that there are too few of us. If we had a few more people here to look out for each other, that would be great."
Su Li asked, "Have you thought about going to the Zifeng Building?"
"Of course I have. Like you said before, the Zifeng Building has thirty-eight floors, so there should be quite a few survivors. If all those survivors became Spirit Source users like us and we banded together, we wouldn't have to fear these monsters. Plus, with more people, there's more strength and more ideas. Maybe we could find a way out of this predicament. It'd definitely be better than this. But nearly three kilometers of water... that's really a challenge."
Su Li said, "It's risky, but it's worth a try. However, that raft is still too small. We need to bring a lot of supplies, so we'll have to figure out how to make it bigger."
As he said this, he had already made up his mind to head to the Zifeng Building.
Although this place was temporarily livable and the supplies were sufficient, there were only three of them—him, Ding Longyun, and Xu Xuehui. That was far too few. Given the current situation, the monsters appearing could grow stronger day by day, and their numbers might increase. Staying here, the three of them would face increasingly dangerous circumstances.
Su Li didn't want to die. He had a vague feeling that the best way out now was to go to the Zifeng Building, hoping there would be more survivors there.
There were many tall buildings in the city, some even taller than the Zifeng Building, but those skyscrapers were farther away. Right now, the most suitable target was undoubtedly the Zifeng Building.
"You make a good point... Forget it, let's talk about it tomorrow. I'm going to sleep first..." Ding Longyun's voice trailed off as he started snoring, having already fallen asleep.
Su Li envied Ding Longyun for being able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat, while he himself found it hard to drift off.
He turned over and saw Xu Xuehui lying on the other bed, on her side, staring at him with wide eyes. He said softly, "What are you thinking about, little girl? Why aren't you asleep?"
Hearing this, Xu Xuehui immediately squeezed her eyes shut.
Su Li smiled, thinking that this girl really listened to him.
Listening to Ding Longyun's snores and the occasional faint howls of some unknown monster, Su Li lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. His mind churned with thoughts. From waking up on the morning of the fifteenth to find the city flooded, to today, the seventeenth, only three days had passed, but so much had happened in those three days.
He had gone from an ordinary person to a Spirit Source user with the strength of a thousand jin. He had encountered all sorts of bizarre creatures: corpse beasts, one-eyed frogs, marine iguanas, and a giant crab bigger than a round table.
This city was submerged. What about other cities? The terrain of major cities varied—some on higher ground might not have been flooded. The great mountains and plateaus probably weren't submerged either. But why, after three days, had no rescue arrived? What had become of his family and friends?
There were so many things Su Li couldn't understand. For instance, this thirty-two-story building—even if the lower thirty floors were flooded, there were still three floors above the water. Those floors had many residents, yet besides Ding Longyun, there were only four survivors. Where had everyone else gone?
Had they vanished mysteriously, or was there another reason? Why were the rooms covered in dust, as if no one had lived there for a long time? And why was all of this happening?
Just as they were evolving, these monsters were also evolving and growing stronger, their numbers increasing. The environment they faced was becoming more dangerous. What was the situation at the Zifeng Building, with its eight floors above the water? Were there many survivors there? Would it be safe? Could they safely navigate the three kilometers of water to reach it?
There were many buildings over thirty stories in this city. If that was any indication, there wouldn't be few survivors like them. What was their situation now? Was it similar to theirs, or had something else changed?
If there were cities that hadn't been flooded, which ones were they, and how could they get there?
Su Li thought of Chong'an, known as the Mountain City. It was built almost entirely on mountains, with very high terrain. Given the current water level, would Chong'an have escaped the flood?
If Chong'an really wasn't flooded, it would surely send boats or planes to rescue the surrounding flooded cities.
But Su Li remembered that Chong'an was a thousand kilometers away from their Nanjiang. By the time rescue arrived from there, it would be far too late.
Besides the famous Mountain City of Chong'an, Su Li could only think of the Qingtian Plateau, with an average altitude of over four thousand meters. It probably wouldn't be flooded either, but that was even farther away.
Of course, all of this was just Su Li's speculation. He didn't know the actual situation.
Lying in bed with his eyes closed, Su Li let his thoughts wander. He didn't know how long it took, but eventually, he fell asleep.
He was woken up by Xu Xuehui.
His first instinct upon waking was to reach for the iron rod beside the bed. He grabbed it, then opened his eyes and let go, fully awake now. He saw Xu Xuehui's face, not a monster, and no danger in sight.
"Su Li, are you awake? Girl, call him to get up. Breakfast is ready." Ding Longyun's loud voice came from the next room.
Su Li sat up in bed. Seeing Xu Xuehui standing by his bedside, he rubbed his hair and said, "Did I sleep that deeply?"
Xu Xuehui nodded at him.
Ding Longyun walked in from the doorway, chuckling. "You were tired last night, so it's normal to sleep deeply. The girl and I were careful not to make noise, trying not to wake you. Breakfast is ready. Get up quickly."
Su Li smiled sheepishly, hurriedly getting out of bed. "Did you make breakfast again, Brother Ding? I feel bad. Next time, I'll help."
Ding Longyun said, "Sure, then you can cook lunch."
Su Li paused, realizing he only knew how to make instant noodles and had no idea how to cook. He quickly changed the subject. "How's your injury?" Seeing Ding Longyun's ruddy complexion, he figured it was mostly healed.
Ding Longyun patted his chest and said, "No problem. I told you, after absorbing those Spirit Sources and sleeping one night, I'd be fine."
"That's good." Su Li breathed a sigh of relief, glad he had successfully changed the topic.