Lu Zhifeng leaped onto the lifeboat, which was now so full it couldn’t fit a single other person.

Seeing that Jiang Si was ignoring them, the other people started throwing rocks and knives at her group. They even used the flesh of the Weasel Crocodiles to lure more of the creatures to attack them.

Lu Zhifeng and the grandfather paddled, while Jiang Si and Qin Shen were the main force fighting off the Weasel Crocodiles.

The lifeboat sped downstream with the swift current. A rescue soldier asked Jiao Songwei, "Deputy Captain, should we pull out?"

It was dark, making it impossible to see the terrain. If they delayed and Longquan Village collapsed completely, none of them would make it out alive.

It was better to be safe than sorry. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The original reason for moving to Longquan Village was the discovery of a water source in the nearby forest, as well as giant mushrooms that could provide shelter from the scorching suns.

But now, the extreme heat of the scorching suns had passed. Longquan Village was remote and in danger of collapse. Song Yao was missing, and Kuang Jiaying had gone to the South City survivor center. This left him in full charge of the refugee camp. Jiao Songwei’s eyes narrowed as he looked toward Jiang Si’s lifeboat. "Everyone, prepare to evacuate! Have Ren Jishan intercept them. That’s our lifeboat, and we need it to save more people!"

"Yes, sir!"

The current led to a large slope. Once the lifeboat shot over it, there would be no deep water left to keep it afloat.

Jiang Si saw a group of special forces soldiers up ahead and said to the others, "Mom, Grandma, gather our things!"

’It’s fine if we lose the lifeboat,’ she thought. ’I still have a luxury yacht in my dimensional space. The lifeboat was just a freebie that came with it. I also have several assault boats and inflatable rafts. Our safety on the water is guaranteed.’

The Weasel Crocodiles were the type to bully the weak and fear the strong. Realizing this group was not to be trifled with, they no longer dared to approach recklessly.

This gave Jiang Si a moment to slip inside the lifeboat and stealthily reach into the case where Lu Zhifeng kept his weapons.

She hid the weapons in her dimensional space, just in case they were stopped and searched later.

’If they don’t search us, I’ll just put the guns and ammo back.’

Soon, they rode the current past Longquan Village’s drainage point. The lifeboat shot forward several dozen meters before gradually coming to a stop.

Ren Jishan approached with his special forces soldiers. "We need the lifeboat to save more people," he said to Jiang Si.

Jiang Si had expected this. Without any resistance, she led everyone off the lifeboat.

Their luggage consisted of suitcases and woven bags. Shen Baoying had threaded two thick hemp ropes through the woven bags so they could be carried on their backs.

Ren Jishan’s gaze fell on Lu Zhifeng’s weapon case. His intuition told him something was off. Just as he was about to ask Jiang Si to open it for inspection—CRASH!

A torrential downpour began, hammering down so hard that no one could open their eyes.

The rate at which Longquan Village was draining was clearly no match for the speed of the rainfall.

Ren Jishan frowned. He had no time for them now. He immediately ordered his subordinates to resume the rescue effort and continue widening the drainage channel.

The moment Ren Jishan’s eyes had landed on the case, the color had drained from Lu Zhifeng’s face.

Thankfully, Ren Jishan didn’t end up inspecting the case.

He moved to hoist the case, but Jiang Si said, "The rain’s too heavy. Uncle Lu, you should carry Niu Niu. My dad can get the case."

Lu Zhifeng trusted Jiang Si’s group. Besides, when he had first brought the case out, he had already planned to give them half of the weapons inside. He nodded at once. "Thank you for the trouble."

Jiang Linhai, already instructed by Jiang Si, pretended the case was extremely heavy as he heaved it onto his shoulder. His breathless performance was worthy of an Oscar.

The path was nothing but mud and incredibly slippery.

It was difficult to walk even without carrying luggage, let alone with it.

The group struggled forward through the downpour, caked in mud. By the time they reached the foot of the mountain at dawn, it was already a vast expanse of water.

Everyone turned to Jiang Si in unison. "Sisi, where do we go now?"

Jiang Si already had a plan. "First, we get off the mountain. Then we’ll wade through the water and find a safe house to rest in."

Everyone agreed. They walked for another two hours, by which point the water was already up to Jiang Si’s calves.

During that time, they were attacked by Weasel Crocodiles several times. Fortunately, they had guns, and with the agile skills of Jiang Si and Qin Shen, no one was injured.

They followed the road for a long while.

Suddenly, an earth-shattering rumble echoed from behind them. Everyone turned to see a massive mudslide tearing down the mountainside where Longquan Village was located.

The road they had just descended was completely severed in two. The surging floodwaters instantly formed a spectacular waterfall, looking as if it were cascading from the heavens.

It was a magnificent and brutal sight that left a lingering fear in their hearts.

If they had been just a little later, they would have been buried alive on that mountainside.

Everyone was once again reminded of the mercilessness of natural disasters. Zhang Qingzhi sighed, hoping the collapse of Longquan Village wouldn’t be so complete as to deny any survivors a chance at life.

With the torrential rain and the floodwaters unable to drain, the water only grew deeper the farther they went.

Fortunately, Jiang Si spotted a patch of slightly higher ground with a house still standing firm in the water.

They rushed into the house. In the water on the first floor were several bloated corpses. On the second floor lay a few human skeletons that had been gnawed on by rats.

Niu Niu had spent the past few days watching the Weasel Crocodiles tear apart their prey from the window, so she had grown numb to the sight of corpses.

She lay silently on Lu Zhifeng’s shoulder. When Lu Zhifeng tried to comfort her, she managed a smile to comfort him instead. "Dad, I’m okay. They’re not scary."

Such an innocent sentence, and yet, such a cruel one.

The group fell silent for a moment before quickly getting out dry clothes from their bags to change into. They gathered whatever flammable wood they could find in the house, boiled some water, and ate their flatbreads.

Steaming hot water paired with dry, hard flatbreads was the most wonderful meal one could ask for in this hell on earth.

After eating their fill and regaining some energy, Lu Zhifeng noticed the water level outside was rising. Worried that staying here wasn’t a long-term solution, he looked around the room and said to Jiang Si and the others, "What if we tear down all the door panels and build a wooden boat, just in case?"

Jiang Si had been planning to find an opportunity to take out her luxury yacht from her dimensional space, which would give everyone a safe place to stay.

But she couldn’t just veto Lu Zhifeng’s suggestion now. She nodded in agreement. "That’s a great idea. I know a way to quickly lash together a raft that’s also very stable. We can do it like this..."

Having survived for years in the apocalypse, she had long since become an expert in wilderness survival. Building a boat was well within her abilities.

Jiang Si’s description was simple and easy to understand. The group quickly divided the labor and began searching the house for materials.

With everyone busy, Jiang Si could look for a chance to bring out the luxury yacht from her space.

As for the raft, if they built it and didn’t end up using it, they could always burn it for firewood on the boat.

Many hands make light work. Before long, the basic form of the raft was complete.

By evening, everyone was exhausted from their efforts. Jiang Si suggested that she and Jiang Linhai take the first watch, allowing the others to rest in shifts.

Lu Zhifeng felt it was improper and insisted on taking the watch himself, but Jiang Si shook her head. "Uncle Lu, you rest first. You and Qin Shen can take over for us in three hours."

Since Jiang Si had put it that way, Lu Zhifeng followed her arrangement.

Once things quieted down, everyone quickly closed their eyes.

Even Big Black and Little Black had crawled into their mom’s sleeping bag.

Jiang Si scanned her surroundings, her eyes lingering on Qin Shen for several minutes. Once she was certain he wouldn’t wake up suddenly, she materialized the luxury yacht from her dimensional space and shouted, "Everyone, look!"