Chapter 37: The Water Plant

“I thought you wanted to bring them along,” Lin Bu Wan teased Wei Qu as they left the hotel.

“I’m not that much of a good Samaritan,” Wei Qu shrugged, not telling Lin Bu Wan that he had indeed considered it. But after recalling the trouble that had followed their previous encounters, he abandoned the idea.

Four people and two dogs walked two streets before they finally found a hardware store at noon. Seeing the doors shut, they relaxed a little.

If the doors were closed, the water tower likely hadn’t been washed away. But when they pried open the door, the emptiness inside felt as though the sky had collapsed.

It turned out the hardware store had a back door—wider than the front, probably for deliveries. The back door stood wide open, and all but the heaviest items had been swept away by the flood.

Helpless, they searched for another shop.

Fortunately, there were several hardware stores nearby. In the last one, they found three water towers untouched by the flood.

Lin Bu Wan wiped the mud off the towers and tucked them into her space.

By now, the four people and two dogs were drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted.

Feeling the burning heat on their exposed skin, Lin Bu Wan took out water and herbal cooling remedies, handing them out.

“Drink some water, and take these—just in case you get heatstroke,” she said, crouching to pour water into a bowl for Daodao, adding two vials of herbal medicine.

Daodao, dazed by the heat, buried his head in the bowl and lapped wildly.

Looking back, she saw Black Bean doing the same, the water level dropping rapidly.

After drinking, everyone felt somewhat revived.

Lin Bu Wan and Wei Qu discussed their next steps, eager to reach the water plant as soon as possible, before anything else could go wrong.

But the dogs were in bad shape, so they decided to return them to the hotel, leaving Hua Xiao and Yu Su to look after them.

“Can the two of you handle the water plant alone?” Hua Xiao asked, worried about Lin Bu Wan.

If they ran into trouble, escape wasn’t guaranteed—and if there was no chance to run, the odds of disaster were high.

“If we aren’t back by eight tonight, leave the hotel,” Lin Bu Wan said after some thought.

“Where would we go?” Hua Xiao grew more anxious.

“To the stadium,” Wei Qu interjected before Lin Bu Wan could answer.

“Huh?” Everyone looked at him, puzzled.

“Right now, few people would think to go to the stadium. You wait there. If you don’t see us in three days, you’ll have to decide what to do next.”

“No, if we die, we die together. How can we just split up?” Hua Xiao immediately objected, her voice firm, clutching Lin Bu Wan’s hand tightly.

“You’re insane!” Lin Bu Wan rolled her eyes. “Stop talking about dying. Can’t you think positively?”

She didn’t wait for Hua Xiao’s reply, pulling her toward the hotel.

As soon as they stepped under the sun, Hua Xiao, who had been ready to argue, wilted instantly.

In silence, they reached the hotel room, where Lin Bu Wan took out two large backpacks and stuffed them with supplies until they couldn’t fit any more.

“We don’t know what might happen, but if it does, what I just told you—and these supplies—are your safety net. Understand?”

Tears shimmered in Hua Xiao’s eyes. She looked at Lin Bu Wan, unable to speak, only nodding repeatedly.

“Take care of yourselves.” Lin Bu Wan patted her shoulder, left her with those words, and walked out.

With nothing holding her back, she and Wei Qu made for the water plant at a much faster pace.

When they arrived, the place was eerily quiet. The smooth silt at the entrance told them no one had been here.

They exchanged a glance, entered the plant, and searched for clean water.

They checked several sections without success. Time dragged on; heat and exhaustion made them want to give up.

“We’ve searched this side. There’s still the other section—let’s keep going. Once we find water, it’ll all be worth it.” Wei Qu’s face was flushed, sweat pouring down like rain, his shirt soaked front and back—he looked utterly bedraggled.

Lin Bu Wan was no better. She swallowed and nodded.

Though she longed to sit and rest, they’d already wasted too much time. If they wasted any more, who knew if the reward would be worth it.

She gritted her teeth and followed Wei Qu, crossing the broad factory road to the opposite section.

In the first workshop, they finally spotted a number of bottled water containers. Perseverance had paid off.

“This water plant sells bottled water too?” Lin Bu Wan was delighted, though puzzled, and couldn’t help asking.

“It’s probably a merged facility,” Wei Qu speculated.

Lin Bu Wan didn’t care if it was merged or not. She checked the sealed bottles; they were filthy outside, but the water inside was uncontaminated.

“Check for intact bottles and bring them over. I’ll store them in my space,” she instructed, rummaging through the bottles without looking up.

Wei Qu wasn’t one to dawdle—he got to work, searching along the way, when suddenly he spotted a large iron door.

He paused, inexplicably drawn to it, walked over, and pulled it open—discovering a whole stash of bottled water inside.

“Lin Bu Wan, come quick!” he called out, excitement in his voice.

Lin Bu Wan, thinking he’d run into trouble, rushed over. When she saw the warehouse full of bottled water, her words of inquiry died on her lips.

“Wow, brother, your luck is… beyond words,” Lin Bu Wan said, unable to find a proper compliment.

Her remark made Wei Qu think of An Zicong and his four unlucky companions, and he could only smile helplessly.

“Let’s hurry and pack these up. Then see if we can find a switch nearby—once we fill the water towers, we’ll get out of here,” he said, turning to stand guard while Lin Bu Wan busied herself inside.

Now with a moment to spare, he examined the workshop’s layout, spotting a huge tank in the corner that resembled a water tower.

He glanced around, saw some tools nearby, picked out a couple, and headed for the giant tank.

Lin Bu Wan was frantically packing bottled water into her space when a loud crash startled her.

She looked back—Wei Qu had vanished.

Checking her space, she saw it was nearly full. Without bothering about the remaining bottles, she dashed outside.

A second and third crash rang out as she ran through the iron door, following the sound to find Wei Qu swinging an axe at the massive water tower.

Then came the rush of water, and Lin Bu Wan’s eyes widened in astonishment.