Chapter 68 Rescue, Asking for Directions

Chapter 68: Chapter 67: Rescue, Asking for Directions

Xu Ming immediately decelerated, steering the sailboat to a stop in a relatively open area of water.

"The straight-line distance to the Agricultural and Forestry University should be less than three hundred meters now," Xu Ming said, estimating their position. "But the water ahead is too shallow. The boat can’t pass."

"Old Xu, you, Yu Na, and Snow Cake stay on the boat. I’ll go by myself," Han Ning said. Leaving Snow Cake here was ideal; they shared a Spiritual Link, so he would know immediately if anything happened on this side.

"Then how long until you come back?" Yu Na furrowed her brows upon hearing that Han Ning was temporarily leaving.

"Within an hour if I’m fast. If things don’t go smoothly, I’ll still return as soon as possible," Han Ning replied, glancing at the gloomy sky.

"Boss, go ahead. I’ll keep an eye on things here." Xu Ming nodded at Han Ning, leaning against the railing as he spoke rather weakly.

"ROAR!" Snow Cake also chimed in, signaling that it would protect them well.

"Yeah, see you."

Han Ning took off his jacket, wearing only a close-fitting tank top, long pants, and a waterproof backpack containing empty sacks. A faint cyan halo emerged around him. The skin on both sides of his cheeks wriggled, and a pair of gill slits covered by a transparent membrane quietly appeared.

SPLASH!

He leaped into the murky floodwaters.

For this trip to the Agricultural and Forestry University, obtaining seeds was his top priority. If things went smoothly, he also wanted to find a professional proficient in agriculture. Although he was a Druid, he had very little knowledge about cultivating various crops. How to improve soil fertility, how to plant crops scientifically, how to increase yields... he knew none of it. Having an agricultural assistant would absolutely maximize his harvest. A teacher or professor from the school would be ideal, but a student would suffice.

Secondly, aside from an agricultural assistant, he also wanted to find a shipbuilder. The reason for seeking such a profession was the consideration that they might need to expand the ship’s space in the future. As laymen, they were completely in the dark about how to expand the ship; it simply couldn’t be done without a professional. In the future, Xu Ming and the shipbuilder would be responsible for navigating, maintaining, and expanding the vessel. It would be best for him and his assistant to focus on planting crops and providing food.

"Sigh, being a worker in the internet industry seems completely useless after transmigrating to the apocalypse..."

Carrying a small sense of gloom, Han Ning swam rapidly toward the Agricultural University.

"Hah... hah... Jun... I... I really can’t run anymore..."

The murky sewage reached her chest, biting cold. The girl’s face was deathly pale, and her lips were a dark purple. Every time she lifted a leg, it felt as if she were dragging a thousand-pound weight. Debris floating in the sewage constantly slammed into her body. Her wet, long hair clung to her face, and every breath seemed to drain all her remaining stamina. Her hands clung desperately to a streetlight pole sticking out of the water, her body trembling like a leaf.

A few steps ahead, two other people were bobbing in the water. One of them had a large gash on his right arm, hastily bandaged with a torn T-shirt that continuously oozed dark red blood. He used his functional left arm to tightly grip a companion who had nearly lost consciousness.

"Don’t... say stupid things!" Jun panted heavily, scanning their surroundings in a panic. "We’ve... we’ve made it this far... hold... on!"

He whipped his head around. Beneath the murky surface, several twisted Shadows were parting the water at astonishing speed, closing in on them. The Shadows were humanoid in shape, their bodies covered in slimy, dark green scales. They had webbed fingers, flat heads, and gaping mouths filled with dense, sharp teeth. Their bulging eyes glinted with ferocity.

"Hurry! Run!" Jun yelled nervously, using all his strength to push both the girl and his companion toward the streetlight pole. But the girl had long since exhausted her strength, her arms too sore and limp to lift. His companion was completely dead weight, slumped softly in his embrace like a puddle of mud.

SPLASH!

Several bursts of water erupted less than two meters away from them. Two hideous Fishmen burst out of the water, leaping in front of the trio and blocking their path. They didn’t attack immediately. Instead, like cats playing with mice, they let out eerie cackles, their bulging fish eyes scanning the three preys waiting to be slaughtered.

Meanwhile, a third Fishman silently dived into the sewage beneath the girl. A scaly, withered claw with sharp nails reached out from the dirty water and firmly clamped onto her slender ankle.

"Ah!" the girl let out a shrill scream as a massive pulling force ripped her away from the light pole. She was dragged backward, crashing heavily into the water as the filthy, foul-smelling sewage flooded her nose and mouth.

"Lin Wei!" Jun’s eyes nearly split open in rage. He wanted to lunge over to save her, but his path was blocked by the two sneering Fishmen. He could only watch helplessly as Lin Wei was dragged into deeper waters by that withered claw.

Another Fishman set its sights on Jun’s defenseless companion. It stretched open its toothy maw and reached a withered claw toward the unconscious man’s neck, drool mixing with the falling rain.

"It’s over..." Jun’s heart sank into the abyss.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Suddenly, three dark green afterimages pierced through the dense curtain of rain without warning, descending from the sky.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

The muffled sounds of blunt objects piercing flesh rang out in rapid succession. Several dark green Blood Arrows spurted out simultaneously.

The Fishman clutching Lin Wei’s ankle suddenly froze. Its bulging fish eyes protruded even further as it looked down at its own throat in disbelief. A thick, long vine had somehow pierced straight through its neck.

"Urgh... gah..."

The Fishmen’s bodies twitched violently a few times before the vicious light in their eyes swiftly dimmed.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment. Having narrowly escaped death, Lin Wei struggled to poke her head out of the water. She coughed violently, spitting out the foul sewage she had swallowed, a dazed expression lingering on her face.

Jun was still frozen in a lunge, his shocked gaze fixed tightly on the sinking Fishmen.

"Fishman monsters? The monster types have changed again..."

At that moment, a calm voice rang out through the sound of the rain, reaching their ears clearly.

They subconsciously looked up. Crouching atop a crooked streetlight not far away was a figure shrouded in the torrential downpour. He wore a simple tank top and long pants, his body stained with water. Astonishingly, fine cyan scales grew on both sides of his cheeks, extending all the way down to his neck. His pupils were covered by a transparent membrane, making him look somewhat eerie in the dim light. Yet, his gaze was as placid as still water, as if he hadn’t been the one to casually and instantly kill three Fishmen just moments ago.

"Who... who are you?" Jun was startled by Han Ning’s appearance and instinctively tried to pull his companion up to run.

"Are you students from the Agricultural University? Do you know the way to the seed storage warehouse?" Han Ning asked flatly, ignoring the terrified looks of the youths below.

"He’s... human." Seeing that Han Ning could communicate normally and wasn’t attacking them, Jun’s tense nerves slightly settled. Surviving the ordeal, he pinched the bridge of his nose and quickly said, "Thank you! Thank you for saving our lives, benefactor!

"The seed warehouse... you must be referring to the experimental center for low-temperature crop seed storage, right? It’s in the school’s West District, while we are currently in the South District."

"Do you know the way? Take me there," Han Ning said.

"I know it, but..." Jun said with great apprehension, "that place has already been overrun by these monsters. I’m afraid it’s very dangerous."