Su Li took a closer look and saw the words "Purple Wind Building" clearly.
His heart skipped a beat as he studied the four characters, examining the central circle and the scattered circles around it, some marked with crosses. A vague understanding began to dawn on him.
"What... what is this?" Ding Longyun asked with difficulty, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.
Su Li handed him the paper, pulled the two daggers from Wang Kaikang's body, then lifted the corpses of Fang You and Wang Kaikang from the floor and tossed them over the balcony railing into the water.
"What are these drawings? Purple Wind Building... what does it mean?" Ding Longyun mused.
Su Li gazed at the endless expanse of water beyond the balcony and said in a low voice, "I suspect the three of them came from Purple Wind Building."
Ding Longyun's heart jolted.
"We'll talk later. Xuehui, help Brother Ding up. Monsters will be here soon."
Su Li picked up the steel shovel he had placed in another corner of the balcony and handed it back to Ding Longyun, while he himself took the iron rod and stood on the balcony.
Ding Longyun was badly injured, so Su Li had just thrown the two bodies into the water to lure monsters, hoping to use their spirit sources to help Ding Longyun heal.
Low-level corpse beasts appeared on the water's surface, their heads emerging one after another—at least five of them. Su Li stepped back, letting them climb up the balcony, then knocked them down and let Ding Longyun deliver the final blow.
Though gravely wounded, Ding Longyun managed to swing the steel shovel, successfully killing the first corpse beast and absorbing its spirit source.
Once he had the spirit source, killing the remaining beasts became much easier. After Ding Longyun finished off all five and absorbed their spirit sources, his vitality fully recovered.
He gently touched his chest and let out a long sigh. "That was a close call—I just came back from the brink of death. One inch closer to the heart, and it would have been fatal. By the way, Su Li, your reaction was incredibly fast. I never saw Ni Jianrong's sudden attack coming, but you managed to dodge Fang You's strike."
There was a hint of unease in his tone, clearly suspecting that Su Li had anticipated the attack. Otherwise, like him, Su Li would have been caught off guard and unable to evade.
If Su Li had known they would strike and warned him, he wouldn't have fallen for Ni Jianrong's trap.
Su Li could guess what Ding Longyun was thinking and smiled bitterly. "It wasn't that I was fast. I just felt Ni Jianrong's words were evasive and insincere, so I kept my guard up. I was planning to quietly warn you to be cautious later, but I didn't expect them to strike so quickly. I thought they'd at least wait until they saw the supplies and understood the situation before making a move."
Su Li explained the reason openly, and Ding Longyun gave an awkward smile, feeling a bit embarrassed himself.
"Honestly, it's my fault for being too naive, too quick to trust them. You're sharper—you sensed something was off." Ding Longyun sighed, his expression darkening. He still couldn't fully understand or accept the sudden betrayal.
Su Li said, "Brother Ding, you're not naive. You're just too kind, and you see the best in people."
Ding Longyun replied, "Looks like I can't get too excited when I see other survivors from now on. I never know if they're worth befriending or if they're out to harm us."
Su Li nodded. "Yeah, until you know for sure, it's wise to stay cautious." He then waved Xu Xuehui over.
She obediently approached, looking up at Su Li with a puzzled expression, as if asking what he wanted.
"Why did you suddenly rush over earlier? Do you realize how dangerous that was? If it weren't for Brother Ding, that machete would have hit you."
Hearing Su Li's reproach, Xu Xuehui lowered her head, then whispered, "I... I saw you were in danger... so I rushed over..."
Though his tone was scolding, Su Li understood she meant to help him. Hearing her words, a warmth spread through him. He reached out and gently patted her head. "Don't do that again. No more reckless moves."
"Oh." Xu Xuehui replied, and seeing that Su Li was no longer angry, her beautiful eyes lit up again.
"Su Li, do you really think they came from Purple Wind Building?" Ding Longyun held the paper, studying the crude drawing with a contemplative look.
"It's very likely. The central circle represents Purple Wind Building, and the surrounding circles are probably other buildings sticking out of the water," Su Li shared his guess.
Ding Longyun asked, "Then what do the circles with crosses and those without mean?"
Su Li said, "I think the crossed-out circles mean they've already been to those buildings, or the supplies there have been looted, or maybe the survivors there were killed. The uncrossed ones likely represent buildings they haven't checked yet."
Ding Longyun said, "That's a plausible guess. So our place is probably one of these circles too. But the drawing is so crude, I can't tell which one is us."
Su Li said gravely, "If this is really a simple map they made, it means they're using Purple Wind Building as a center and systematically searching the surrounding buildings and areas. Look—the circles closer to Purple Wind Building are mostly crossed out, meaning they've been explored. The uncrossed ones are farther from the center."
"Completing this kind of work couldn't be done by just three people. Plus, Purple Wind Building has thirty-eight floors, with at least eight above water. We guessed there were many survivors earlier, and now, combined with today's events, it seems the survivors from Purple Wind Building have formed a powerful organization."
"And what's frightening is that they seem to have no shortage of people, or maybe it's due to resource scarcity. More people mean more supplies. They can't sustain or don't need that many, so Ni Jianrong and his group didn't try to recruit us as allies. They just wanted to kill us and take our supplies."
Hearing Su Li's analysis, Ding Longyun shuddered, his face turning pale. He muttered, "Can such a thing really happen? We've just been hit by a massive flood, our city submerged. Those who survived are already few. Instead of banding together to find a way out, these few survivors are turning on each other? It's beyond comprehension."