Chapter 101 Torrential rain poured down, turning the entire city into a vast expanse of water.
The heavy rain had been falling for a week.
There was no sign of it stopping; instead, it grew heavier.
The whole world felt as if it had been thrown into a giant washing machine, churning crazily day and night.
"Whoosh—"
The icy rain cascaded like a waterfall against the bulletproof glass of the Star Fortress.
In the Central Control Room, Lin Xingwan wore a soft cashmere sweater, holding a steaming cup of ginger milk curd.
On the large screen, surveillance footage from every corner of the city was displayed in a split-screen view.
It was a shocking sight.
The former concrete jungle had now completely turned into a watery realm.
Murky floodwaters submerged all the city streets.
The first and second floors were no longer visible.
Only those buildings over a dozen stories high stood stubbornly in the ocean like isolated islands.
All sorts of debris floated on the water's surface: the wreckage of washed-away cars, broken tree trunks, and all kinds of household waste.
There were even some human corpses, bloated and pale from being soaked for too long.
"Boss, the frequency we intercepted earlier from that official shelter has completely lost signal."
Qian Duoduo swiped across the screen, his chubby face expressionless.
He had long since become numb.
"That place was built underground. No matter how impressive their drainage system was, it couldn't withstand backflow of this intensity."
Huo Yuan leaned against the side, wiping the Tang sword in his hand.
"It's probably become a massive underwater tomb by now."
"Serves them right."
Lin Xingwan let out a soft snort and finished the ginger milk curd in her cup.
"Trying to pull a 'get something for nothing' scheme to seize our supplies; they didn't even stop to consider their own standing."
On the screen, a high-altitude drone transmitted a broader view.
The survivors' situation was even more miserable than imagined.
The flood came too fast and too violently.
Most people were trapped in high-rise buildings.
Without food or clean water, they could only watch helplessly as the water level rose bit by bit.
In order to survive, some people began dismantling the wooden doors and bed boards in their homes to make makeshift rafts.
But in the raging flood, such small rafts were no different from a leaf; they fell apart at the first wave that hit them.
More people were forced to relocate to the rooftops.
"Look over there."
Huo Yuan pointed to a luxury apartment building in the upper right corner of the screen.
The rooftop was packed with dozens of people.
They had no rain gear and were shivering in the icy rain just like that.
Some were so hungry they couldn't stand it and began gnawing on the bark of trees from the rooftop landscaping.
A woman wearing designer pajamas was clutching a dirty Teddy dog, crying her heart out.
The man beside her, blinded by hunger, snatched the pet dog and snapped its neck alive right then and there.
The woman lunged at him, biting and clawing like a madwoman, but was quickly kicked away by the man.
To survive, the ugliest side of human nature was exposed without reservation.
And standing at the city's highest peak was the Star Fortress.
In this ocean of The Apocalypse, it resembled an unshakeable black ark, looking down proudly at the humble ants beneath its feet.
"Boss, the first batch of hydroponic vegetables in our Underground City farm is ripe!"
Grandma Sun's voice, trembling with excitement, came over the intercom.
"They're green and lush, growing even better than before The Apocalypse!"
"Understood."
Lin Xingwan turned off the intercom, in a good mood.
"Tell Chef Li we're having hotpot tonight with the fresh vegetables."
"You got it!"
Qian Duoduo's eyes lit up at the mention of hotpot.
He scurried off to pass on the message.
Huo Yuan looked at the hellish scene outside the window, then back at the woman beside him who looked as relaxed as if she were on vacation.
He couldn't help but chuckle.
"What is it?" Lin Xingwan raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing." Huo Yuan shook his head and reached out to ruffle her hair.
"I just think that in this shitty Apocalypse, with you around, it doesn't seem so hard to endure."
Lin Xingwan snorted and dodged his hand.
"Stop with the mushy talk. Go check on Zhao An and see how the expansion of the Underground City is coming along."
Just then, "Thump, thump, thump!" A burst of hurried footsteps came from the corridor.
Zhao An ran in, drenched in sweat, with dark circles under his eyes and a stack of soggy blueprints in his hand.
He didn't even have time to take a sip of water before rushing to the console.
"Boss! It's bad!"
Lin Xingwan frowned slightly.
"What are you panicking about? Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up."
"It's not the sky falling; it's the water! It's about to flood our doorstep!"
Zhao An spread the blueprints on the table and pointed to a flashing red dot.
"This is the tenth day of the heavy rain."
He swallowed hard, his voice trembling.
"The water level outside has already surpassed the height of twenty stories and is approaching the waist of our Half-Mountain Villa!"
Qian Duoduo quickly pulled up the external surveillance footage.
Sure enough.
The three-meter-high electric fence around the perimeter of The Fortress had been completely submerged by the murky floodwaters.
The murky waves slapped against the mountainside, leaving less than twenty meters of vertical distance to the outermost explosion-proof door of The Fortress!
"Although our Underground City is deep, the drainage system on the lowest level has been running at full capacity the whole time."
Zhao An wiped the sweat from his face, his tone filled with deep anxiety.
"If it keeps raining like this for another ten days or half a month, and one of the drainage pumps fails..."
He didn't dare to continue.
But everyone understood.
Once the drainage system collapsed and the floodwaters backflowed, this impregnable fortress would turn into a giant iron coffin!
Huo Yuan's expression also darkened.
"I'm going to check the seventh underground level. Lu Ting, take your people and come with me!"
"Wait."
Lin Xingwan was unusually calm.
Looking at the raging flood on the screen, not only was she not panicked, but a glimmer of excitement flashed in her eyes.
"Zhao An, you just said the water level has surpassed twenty stories?"
"Yes, Boss! It's an emergency—is there a problem with that?" Zhao An stamped his feet in anxiety.
Lin Xingwan didn't answer him.
She walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the ocean beneath her feet.
Her red lips curled into a playful arc.
"No problem at all."
She turned her head to look at Huo Yuan.
"It saves us the trouble of climbing the stairs."
Huo Yuan was stunned, then immediately realized what she meant, a smile of understanding flashing in his eyes.
"Qian Duoduo."
Lin Xingwan picked up the intercom.
"Drag those luxury yachts we stockpiled from the warehouse and fill them with fuel."
She paused, her tone filled with an unquestionable arrogance.
"Tell the guys to stop fucking hiding underground playing cards all day."
"Put on your diving suits and grab your gear. Today, we're going out to sea 'fishing'."