Chapter 87: The Clinic in the Office Building

After sweeping through all the jewelry and watch stores of various sizes in the central district, Jiang Yan slowly swam toward the surface.

But she didn’t immediately break the surface. Instead, she took a periscope out of her space, extended it above the water, and looked around in all directions. Only after confirming it was safe did she poke her head out.

Her current location was probably near the city’s second ring road, somewhere on the western side.

Not far away stood a glass office building, more than ten stories of which still rose above the water.

Surrounding the office building were old residential neighborhoods with low buildings, a large construction site, and a sizable sports park—all of which were now thoroughly submerged.

This made the building look utterly isolated, like a lone island in the sea.

Jiang Yan considered her options. Heading back to Shallow Water Bay and coming out again wasn’t realistic.

She and Sun Jingtao had reacted quickly this morning and managed to get out smoothly.

If they’d been any later, the exit would probably have been swamped by survivors from Building A.

Besides, going back and forth was exhausting. The time wasted on the road would be better spent resting.

After all, she still had a full day of work ahead tomorrow.

This building was in the middle of nowhere.

Though it was a “lone island,” it was actually perfect for her to take a break.

It meant her chances of running into strangers were basically zero.

And with her portable space as a mobile home, it didn’t really matter anyway.

With that in mind, Jiang Yan slowly swam toward this conspicuous “island.”

All the windows were tightly shut and covered with sun-blocking film, making the interior pitch black.

Jiang Yan pressed her flashlight to the glass and peered inside for a while before making out that she was roughly at the center of a floor-to-ceiling window.

Inside was likely the office area of some big company—rows upon rows of cubicles as far as the eye could see.

Because the building was well-sealed, the water inside had only reached the seat cushions of the office chairs.

After surveying the situation, she decided not to break in violently.

If the floor inside was lower than the water outside, the moment the water rushed in, the force and pressure could sweep her inside in an instant.

That could easily kill or cripple her.

Jiang Yan thought for a moment and decided not to use her powerful fire axe. Instead, she took out a small hammer and gently tapped a tiny crack into the glass.

The curtain wall glass was tough and impact-resistant, with an extra layer of sun film inside, so it wouldn’t shatter instantly like ordinary glass.

But under the pressure of the water, it wouldn’t last long.

Without further hesitation, Jiang Yan put away the hammer and quickly swam away.

In just three or four seconds, the crack in the glass widened under the water pressure.

She even heard the creaking sound of it breaking. Not daring to linger, Jiang Yan immediately willed herself into her portable space.

About seven or eight minutes later, she emerged from her space.

The water pressure had forced all the glass in that section open.

Now, the water level inside and outside the building was the same.

Jiang Yan carefully swam inside.

Floating everywhere were documents, books, seat cushions, and a few shards of glass that hadn’t yet settled.

She quickly found the entrance to the office area and opened the door using the same method.

This seemed to be the 13th floor. The hallway was pitch black, filled with a damp, moldy smell.

She quickly located the fire escape, listened carefully for a while, then swept her flashlight around before sitting on the stairs to stow away her heavy scuba gear and oxygen tank.

After removing her mask, fins, and various diving accessories, Jiang Yan felt instantly lighter, as if she’d come back to life.

After so long in the water, her face was marked by the mask.

She didn’t linger, but got up and headed for the 14th floor.

The stairwell was dark, with cigarette butts scattered on the ground.

Buildings like this were usually non-smoking, but that never stopped people from sneaking a smoke after lunch—maybe while scrolling videos or tipping streamers on their phones.

She soon reached the 14th floor. Jiang Yan shone her flashlight at the door and couldn’t help but smile.

“Jingbai Dental”—the elegant characters stood out clearly.

Talk about luck—she’d found a pillow just when she needed a nap!

This was a nationally renowned private dental clinic, large in both scale and area.

They were almost always located in 5A office buildings.

Some even rented two or three floors.

She’d originally planned to look for a hospital or clinic to “zero-cost shop” for some medicine, but hadn’t expected to find one here.

Of course, a dental clinic wouldn’t have a full range of medicines, but basic antibiotics, disinfectants, emergency allergy meds, and some cardiovascular drugs were always kept in stock.

Jiang Yan took out a fire axe from her space and smashed open the glass door at the reception desk in a few quick swings, then strode inside.

The two money trees and a pot of butterfly orchids in the reception area were long dead.

Up ahead, behind the sleek, high-end marble reception counter, sat a white, ostentatious “fruit brand” computer.

On the desk were a pink USB fan, a mini humidifier, all sorts of mini figurines, a stack of Pop Mart blind boxes from a special series, and a full set of mint-green keyboard accessories.

Clearly, this was the desk of a young woman who loved life.

Employees who put this much care into their workspace were usually dedicated and unlikely to quit easily.

Jiang Yan didn’t hesitate to pocket a cute little cat figurine before moving on.

She skipped the pantry and common areas where food was stored, and quickly found the clinic’s medical storeroom.

Hospitals and clinics have strict requirements for storing medicine, so it wasn’t hard to find.

As usual, she broke in with brute force.

Amoxicillin, metronidazole, extended-release ibuprofen, dexamethasone, nitroglycerin, and a bunch of other medicines she didn’t recognize—all were touched and stored away in her space.

However, since these medicines had been exposed to high temperatures, she wasn’t sure if their efficacy had been affected, so she marked and stored them separately.

They were just for emergencies under extreme conditions.

There were also several refrigerators in the storeroom, probably for medicines requiring constant temperature.

But with the power out and the heat, those medicines were clearly spoiled, so Jiang Yan didn’t bother taking them.

She suddenly realized that when she’d stocked up on medicine abroad, she should have bought some vaccines.

Now, even if she could “zero-cost shop” for vaccines, they’d almost certainly be inactive.

After collecting the medicines, Jiang Yan left the luxuriously decorated dental clinic.

There were also break rooms and a director’s office inside.

But the scattered dentures and X-ray skull photos in the dim light were a bit unsettling.

And since this was only the 14th floor, if anyone came in later, she’d be easily discovered.

So she decided to head up two more floors.

Half of the 16th floor was rented by an e-commerce company with pretty decent decor.

She broke in easily.

No sooner had she stepped into the open-plan office than she saw, out of the corner of her eye, a red-and-black striped assault boat cutting through the water’s surface, heading straight toward her.

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