Chapter 75: Mutant Leeches

With that thought, Jiang Yan looked at him with interest.

“Why don’t you assume the rain will stop completely? Maybe by then, official rescue teams will have arrived. With water this deep, how are we supposed to go out and search for supplies ourselves?”

It was as if Ye Qing had expected her to ask this. Without even thinking, he replied bluntly:

“Actually, every time there’s an extreme disaster, it’s highly likely to trigger secondary disasters or even worse new ones. The previous extreme heat and drought, and now this torrential rain—never mind what new disasters might come next.

But if the rain stops and the sun comes out, or if the water soaks everything for long enough, there’ll be all kinds of human and animal corpses floating in the water. The viruses from those rotting bodies would be a catastrophe for us survivors.

Of course, I believe the authorities will come, but they can’t possibly arrive right away—they have limited manpower and resources. So rather than sitting here waiting for death and hoping for rescue, we’re better off trying to save ourselves first.

That way, if rescue comes, great; if not, at least we’re more prepared. As for going out—”

Ye Qing paused, glanced at Su Dai, and continued, “Brother Tao and Sister Dai have an inflatable kayak.”

“That’s right, Jiang Yan, and it’s all thanks to you!” Su Dai chimed in excitedly.

“?” Jiang Yan was confused.

“I watched your livestream when you went cave diving in the sea, and it really inspired me. So I went and learned to dive too, though I’m just a beginner—I can only manage some shallow underwater sightseeing, maybe three or four meters at most.

My husband had some training back when he was in the army, so he’s much better than me. After the pandemic ended, outdoor camping suddenly became popular everywhere, and on a whim, we bought wetsuits, life jackets, and even a kayak. It turned out to be a lucky coincidence.”

Su Dai finished with a laugh, then asked tentatively,

“So, Jiang Yan, if the rain really does stop like Xiao Ye says, and we go out to look for supplies, would you be willing to come with us?”

In her mind, Jiang Yan definitely had professional diving gear at home—much better than her husband’s.

With Jiang Yan’s help, their group would have a much better chance of finding supplies than those who just searched office buildings.

But Su Dai didn’t think Jiang Yan would have a kayak or anything like that.

If she did, she wouldn’t have just asked Ye Qing how to get out with the water so deep.

On their side, they still had her husband and Ye Qing—two strong, able-bodied men.

If the four of them could work as a team, combining their strengths, they’d clearly be much better off than working alone.

But she was worried Jiang Yan would refuse, so she asked very tactfully.

Jiang Yan listened quietly, then gave a polite smile. “It’s not very convenient for me.”

Then she added, “Thank you for sharing all this, but it’s getting late—I should head downstairs.”

Su Dai’s excitement faded a little at her words.

Ye Qing, as if he’d already expected this answer, didn’t show any change in expression.

Su Dai wanted to say more, but just then, the door to 3204 creaked open and Sun Jingtao came out.

He looked at Jiang Yan and said,

“Jiang Yan, if you’re heading downstairs, be careful. Things have gotten a bit complicated down there these past couple of days. How about letting Xiao Ye go with you?”

“No need, I’ll be fine on my own. Thanks for the reminder. I’ll be off now.” Jiang Yan smiled, waved goodbye to the group, and turned to head downstairs.

Ye Qing had already taken a step forward, but remembering she had a gun for self-defense—and that she didn’t seem to want anyone tagging along—he quietly stepped back.

“Honey, wouldn’t it be better if Jiang Yan went out with us? Sure, she has a gun and can deal with bad people, but hauling supplies back is hard work. She’d be at a disadvantage alone—she’d be better off with us.”

Su Dai was a bit puzzled.

She really meant well.

Sun Jingtao smiled, looked at his wife with a hint of indulgence, and said,

“Don’t worry. If she says it’s not convenient, then it’s not convenient. If you’re really worried about her, we can just share some supplies with her when we get back.”

“Oh, I suppose that makes sense.” Su Dai thought her husband had a point and let it go.

Across the hall, Ye Qing watched Jiang Yan’s figure disappear by the fire door, then bent down to pick up the gas can and went back inside.

*

Meanwhile, Jiang Yan had just reached the stairwell on the 31st floor when a strange, overpowering stench hit her—an acidic, putrid, and musky smell that made her want to gag.

It was the smell of human waste, urine, and rotting food all mixed together and fermented over several days.

Clearly, the people living in the stairwells had turned the staircases into makeshift toilets.

After all, even if you wanted to throw your waste into the floodwater, you’d need a container.

At first, everyone could find plastic bags or paper.

But now, plastic bags and paper were precious for starting fires, and not easy to come by.

She quietly took another mask out of her spatial storage, pretending to pull it from her backpack, put it on, then took out a flashlight and began picking her way carefully down the stairs.

The people living in the stairwells clearly couldn’t stand the smell either—they’d shut the fire doors tight.

The stairwell was pitch black—you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

And the lower she went, the denser these makeshift “bombs” became, in every color imaginable.

She had to step carefully to avoid them, which slowed her down considerably.

Fortunately, she didn’t run into anyone on the way.

The 16th floor came quickly.

To her surprise, when she pushed open the fire door, there was no one sleeping in the hallway.

Just piles of household trash and walls blackened by smoke, but at least no disgusting “bombs.”

Maybe, seeing the water level still rising outside, these “drifters” had already moved up to higher floors.

The door to 1604 was half open—probably the owner was still inside.

At the end of the corridor, the window was open, and a boy of about ten was standing there on tiptoe, head bent, with one hand stretched out into the rain. She couldn’t tell what he was doing.

It was actually pretty dangerous for him to be like that.

Even though there hadn’t been much lightning lately,

The rain, the metal window frame—if lightning struck, any of those could be fatal.

Jiang Yan turned off her flashlight and deliberately cleared her throat.

The boy heard her, frowned, and turned around, but quickly turned back, his face blank.

His skin was sallow and dark, looking malnourished, and his hair and clothes were greasy.

Jiang Yan walked a few steps closer, curious. “Hey, what are you doing?”

“Shh!!”

This time, the boy turned around impatiently and glared at her with wide eyes.

Jiang Yan frowned slightly, but didn’t say anything more. She moved closer to the window and looked outside.

Only then did she see that the boy was holding a homemade fishing line, as if he was fishing for something in the water.

There was a little red balloon tied to the end of the line.

Raindrops the size of beans beat down on the garbage-strewn water, making the balloon bob up and down. She had no idea what he could possibly catch.

Jiang Yan was about to look away when she noticed, on the wall below the window, just above the waterline, a dense mass of black, leg-thick, soft-bodied creatures crawling.

They moved slowly and were far away—if not for her enhanced senses, she wouldn’t have noticed them at all.

She stared more closely, and suddenly the hairs on her arms stood on end.

Those black, soft-bodied creatures were clearly leeches—leech monsters, hundreds of times larger than normal."