Apocalyptic World: Surviving with my husband and my cute little babies-Chapter 119: Museum

It took them two hours to reach the museum.

As they approached the nearly submerged six-story building, they saw that the fourth floor was already under water.

Elena felt a surge of concern at the thought of the antiques being damaged.

She quickly instructed Ethan to move urgently.

Soon, they stood in front of the museum, searching for a suitable entrance.

Unfortunately, there were no accessible windows on the remaining flood-free floors, so Ethan decided to check the rooftop.

"There might be an entrance up there," Ethan said, scanning the rooftop for a pipe to secure the rope with the metal hook.

"Let me climb it, chief," Oslo offered.

"No, I’ll handle it myself. Just steady the boat," Ethan replied.

He quickly retrieved a rope with a metal hook from his [Inventory] and threw it with force.

The hook clanged against metal before catching on a pipe near the edge of the roof.

He pulled the rope tight and tested it, ensuring it could hold his weight.

After carefully assessing it and confirming it was secure, he was ready to climb.

"I’ll go ahead and climb up. You guys stay and wait here; I’ll signal if I find an entrance," he said.

"Alright, be careful," Elena replied, watching him closely.

Ethan smiled and winked at his wife to ease her worries before climbing to the rooftop.

The rope swayed with each gust of wind, so he steadied himself and moved cautiously.

Soon, he reached the top and grasped the edge of the roof. With one final push, he pulled himself up.

He quickly checked the area for an entrance and found a triple metal gate, secured and not easy to open.

Chuckling, he contacted his wife about the situation using the [Emergency] trigger. Elena then responded with her [Telepathy] skills.

"Wife, I’m on the rooftop now and found an entrance," Ethan said while inspecting the sturdy gate.

"Alright, I’ll exit at your location now."

Moments later, they appeared on the rooftop.

Without further ado, Elena stored the sturdy doors in her space, making it easy for them to enter.

Ethan urged everyone to change clothes, considering they were wet from being out in the rain for too long.

He was concerned that his wife would feel uncomfortable in a damp clothe.

After changing clothes and equipment, they began checking the floors.

Fortunately, the paintings and other easily damaged collections were stored on the fifth floor and above, but the antiques on the fourth floor were fully submerged.

They started taking items one by one, excitedly.

The sixth floor was quiet and cold, filled with shelves of old, rare books locked behind glass.

Some books appeared ancient, with faded covers and torn pages.

The floor was also scattered with various paintings—some on racks, others rolled in tubes, and a few protected under cloth.

Additionally, some great pieces were displayed on the walls, awaiting expert evaluation, while the most significant works were secured in glass cases.

Everyone exclaimed in awe as they saw the abundant collections.

"Is that the famous painting by XXXX? Such a shame if it gets damaged," Oslo remarked.

"Tsk. In the end, it will be used to maintain Paradise, so stop pitying it," Lydia replied.

"I’m not pitying it. I’m just saying that since this is a historical painting, it possesses a great deal of spiritual energy. If it gets damaged, it would be a waste."

’Haist. She always overthinks.’

Lydia rolled her eyes and focused on retrieving the paintings from the glass cases.

Elena, overhearing their bickering, couldn’t help but chuckle, finding their playful banter amusing.

"Just focus on the paintings on the wall; I’ll handle the paintings and old, rare books inside the glass," Elena instructed.

It would be inefficient to open each case one by one, as they needed to physically touch the items before adding them to their [Inventory].

This way, they could maximize their time and ensure they collected all the items.

Everyone nodded and began removing the paintings from the walls.

After nearly an hour of work, they finally finished the sixth floor and prepared to head downstairs to continue their efforts on the fifth floor.

The same scene unfolded on the fifth floor, where collections of old, rare books, paintings, and delicate antiques were stored securely.

The walls were adorned with paintings from long ago—portraits of kings, depictions of battles, and scenes of ancient cities.

Despite some water stains marring the floor, most items remained safe... for now.

"This is bad, the water is starting to flood here. Let’s get the items quickly," Elena said, looking at the painting stained by water.

’What a waste.’

They swiftly collected everything, leaving nothing behind.

Within less than an hour, the floor was empty, and they turned their attention to the fourth floor.

"Now, the pressing matter is how to retrieve the antiques stored on the fourth floor," Oslo said, gazing at the submerged area.

"Scuba diving?" Lydia suggested.

"Possible, but it poses some risks. We should wait until the water subsides," Oslo replied, surveying the submerged floor.

"We have to take the item now; we don’t have much time," Elena insisted, retrieving and preparing the diving gear.

From her past life, she knew the water would never subside, and a snowstorm would follow, marking the beginning of a drastic temperature drop that could trigger an ice age, freezing the water and making retrieval impossible.

Lydia and Oslo were puzzled but didn’t ask further questions.

They knew Elena always had a good reason, and they trusted her that much, especially after she had given them sanctuary.

"Stay here. Oslo and I will dive and retrieve the items," Ethan said firmly, stopping his wife from taking action and exposing herself to the cold water.

Elena protested, but seeing Ethan’s firm stance, she relented. Her main task now was to retrieve the items floating above the water.

Ethan and Oslo geared up, taking precautions. They wore wetsuits for warmth, carried oxygen tanks on their backs, and wore diving masks over their faces.

Waterproof gloves protected their hands, and each carried a flashlight clipped to their suit.

"Husband, remember to enter Paradise if you feel any danger. Or once you’re done, let me know so I can summon you to my location. Do you understand? And you, too, Oslo. Safety comes first," Elena said, helping her husband gear up while Lydia assisted Oslo.

Returning to the surface would be challenging, so with her space, Elena wanted to use it wisely.

"I’ll listen to wife."

"Alright, sister-in-law."

With that, they dove into the cold depths of the fourth floor, their flashlights illuminating the darkness as they navigated through broken shelves and floating debris.

They carefully stored ancient items, including a cracked porcelain vase, ancient coins, a sword, etc., in their [Inventory].

Whenever they felt tired, they paused and entered the space for a quick breath, where Grandpa Caldwell and Grandpa Ford assisted them.

Inside the space, Little Mia was fascinated by the cool equipment her brother Ethan wore.

Her grandparents had explained how it worked, and now she was eager to try it at Eastern Lake.

She approached the resting Ethan and asked, "Bwother, where did you get this cool gadget? Little Mia wants to try it."

"Don’t stay too close to brother, or you’ll get wet. We have a smaller version in the inventory. I’ll ask Butler Aki to give it to you later so you can practice swimming in the lake."

"Yay! Bwother, you’re so good to me!" Little Mia exclaimed excitedly.

Hearing this, Little Koby looked at Oslo expectantly. Over the past few days, he had been happy with how everyone treated him so kindly.

Now, he was more proactive and no longer shy around them.

"Do you also want to learn scuba diving?" Oslo asked, noticing Little Koby’s puppy-like, innocent eyes.

’This boy is starting to look like Xander.’

"Brother Oslo, can I also learn?"

"Of course, I’ll train you all when I return."

"Thank you, Brother Oslo," Little Koby said, running to Little Mia as they chatted excitedly.

Together, they dashed toward the Southern Inventory to find Butler Aki and get the mini scuba diving gear.

"By the way, Little Lucy is already awake. Tell Elena later," Grandpa Caldwell informed.

"Noted, Grandpa," Ethan replied.

Afterwards, they returned to the museum and continued retrieving the antiques, repeating the process until they felt they had collected most of them.

Meanwhile, Elena used her kayak to gather the antiques floating on the surface. With a wave of her hand, she stored the furniture in the space.

She frowned upon seeing the damaged antiques, but nevertheless, she still stored anything she found worthy.

It took them two hours to clean the antiques on the fourth floor.

Afterward, they entered the space to freshen up and change clothes before heading to the library.

But Ethan disagreed and suggested, "It’s too far from here. Let’s check the marine institute first to see Lydia’s parents."

He planned to go directly to the institute, then head to the library before returning home.