Chapter 119: Infiltration

Su Li asked, “In that case, besides Tao Bingjun and the other three, we also need to be mindful of these loyalists. Do you know how many of them there are, and what their strength is?”

Xu Haishui replied, “There are about six of them. As for their strength, they were all Level 4 yesterday, but I don’t know about today. Anyway, apart from Yan Fang, everyone living on the 35th floor and above deserves to die.”

“Good, I understand.” Su Li nodded slightly.

The raft arrived at the 32-story building where they had been staying. Su Li went inside, changed into a clean set of clothes, drank some water, and after a brief ten-minute stop, they departed again.

Their target this time was the Purple Wind Building, three kilometers away.

Because the journey was long, Ding Longyun needed to conserve his stamina. He merely held onto the back of the raft and did not push it.

The sky was growing dark.

The atmosphere on the raft was subdued, broken only by the sound of Xu Xuehui cracking sunflower seeds.

“Damn it, I’m embarrassed to say it, but I’m actually a little nervous,” Ding Longyun, submerged behind the raft, suddenly spoke.

Su Li glanced at him. “Don’t just say you are; I’m nervous too. After all, this trip… we’re going to kill people. How can we not be nervous with such an exciting task ahead?”

Hearing this, Ding Longyun laughed heartily. “You’re right. I feel much better knowing you’re nervous too.”

Gong Xiao looked at Xu Xuehui and said, “I actually envy Xuehui. Among the five of us, she’s probably the least nervous.”

Su Li countered, “I think the most nervous one is Brother Xu Haishui.”

Gong Xiao looked up and saw that Xu Haishui, who was paddling, had a flushed face and faint cold sweat on his forehead. He was clearly very tense, though he might also be excited.

“I… I am a little nervous,” Xu Haishui admitted, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He felt the palms of his hands were sweating.

Su Li understood his feelings. He was about to face the leaders who had once filled him with fear and attempt to rescue the woman he admired. Knowing the circumstances Zhang Ying was in, it was impossible for him not to be nervous and emotional.

“We are about halfway there. We’re almost there.”

Ding Longyun looked into the distance and then up at the sky. The sky was growing darker. The water around them was silent. With the sun gone, a wind picked up, and everyone felt a chill.

Gong Xiao suddenly said, “Looking at the sky, I’m reminded of a poem that perfectly suits the mood right now.”

“Oh? What poem? Share it with us,” Su Li looked at Gong Xiao. He thought that such an excellent woman would surely recall a line with great artistic merit, though he wondered which famous verse it might be.

Gong Xiao cleared her throat and softly recited:

“The night is black for murder, the wind is high for arson.” (月黑杀人夜,风高放火天)

The others were speechless. Su Li smiled wryly, while Ding Longyun laid on the praise thick: “A great poem, a great poem! Gong Xiao, your reciting is truly like an immortal’s fart—extraordinary!”

Gong Xiao gave him a look. This guy didn’t even know how to flatter correctly. What was “an immortal’s fart”? It sounded terrible.

Xu Haishui, who was paddling, stopped. In the gathering darkness, the Purple Wind Building in the distance became clearly visible.

Scattered buildings surfaced in the distance, but none were as tall as the Purple Wind Building. It stood tall and erect among the sparse buildings, truly standing out from the crowd.

“We can’t get any closer, or we’ll be too obvious and might be spotted by the lookouts,” Xu Haishui set the paddle down. He retrieved the rope from the raft, which had a handle-less axe tied to the end, serving as the raft’s anchor.

He tossed the rope-bound axe into the water. The axe failed to sink to the bottom or hook onto anything, unable to completely stabilize the raft in the water, but it was better than nothing.

“We’ll get into the water here and sneak in submerged,” Xu Haishui looked at Su Li, asking for his approval.

Su Li nodded in agreement. The group then retrieved their weapons and entered the water. Xu Xuehui hadn’t enhanced her lungs, but after advancing to Level 5, holding her breath for four minutes was no problem.

“This time is right as the lookouts are about to switch shifts. They’ve been watching all day and are probably not looking carefully. Only obvious targets will be spotted.”

Xu Haishui himself had taken shifts as a lookout. He knew that after staring at the water all day, their eyes would be strained. They were likely resting and just going through the motions. Only a distinctly visible target like a raft would be noticed. Submerging would ensure they weren’t spotted, even if they occasionally surfaced to take a breath.

The five entered the water. Gong Xiao, whose aquatic skills were excellent, took Xu Xuehui. After taking a breath, they submerged. Xu Xuehui barely needed to swim; Gong Xiao dragged her through the water.

They were about one kilometer from the Purple Wind Building. The five people were now quickly closing the distance underwater.

In the gloom, the Purple Wind Building, a 38-story structure, stood as the landmark of the area. Even submerged by the flood, eight floors remained above the water.

About 400 meters from the Purple Wind Building stood a 30-story building, with only its top floor visible above the water.

Corpses floated in the water surrounding the building.

There were the bodies of Corpse Beasts, Arrow Serpents, Sea Spiders, and other unidentified monsters.

On the roof, blood stained the area red. A pile of monster corpses was heaped on the roof. The most eye-catching was the body of a colossal brown centipede.

The giant centipede was nearly ten meters long and as thick as a water barrel. Such a massive body indicated it was no ordinary monster, nor an Elite Beast. It was at least a Leader-class or even a stronger monster.

The giant centipede’s body was covered in blood and numerous wounds. These were not cuts from blades or swords but irregular wounds, suggesting it had been violently torn apart. Its head had been severed, which was the true fatal injury.

A man was sitting on the corpse of the giant centipede.

The man was around 30 years old, with curly, disheveled hair that clung to his pale face. He wore tight clothing and a black leather overcoat.

Next to him, resting on the centipede’s corpse, was a white baseball cap with two military daggers tucked into it.

The two military daggers were finely crafted, made from titanium alloy steel. Their hardness and sharpness were considered world-class. In the world before the flood, these two daggers alone would have been very expensive and not something an ordinary person could own.

At this moment, the man slowly retrieved a stainless steel hip flask he carried with him and pinched a handful of spiced peanuts in his left hand.

(End of Chapter)