CHAPTER 20

If it weren't for Li Haohao, facing some of the D-level mutant beasts at most would probably take me over half an hour to clear. When I still had my comrades at the outpost, that time could be slightly longer, as we would try to collect as many samples as possible.

But with Li Haohao stepping in, I didn't dwell on those assumptions. After all, even if they were D-level, it would be reasonable for me to die here considering my current level of weaponry. I just wanted to do things normally.

I anxiously tugged at the collar of my sweater, feeling my breathing becoming difficult for no apparent reason. Ignoring the strange sensation in my hands on the control lever, I drove the car to the edge of the lake.

This place used to be a park. As I drove past, I saw the words "public park," and most of the plants were easily recognizable. The flowers were blooming beautifully, but I didn't dare touch them.

When encountering fallen and broken railings, I turned the car around and searched for another spot. Luckily, I still remembered the directions: north, south, east, and west. After a few twists and turns, I parked on a large cemented area with cracks, where scattered plants grew here and there.

The tilted park benches were even askew, with screws and metal frames out of alignment. I didn't have the strength to straighten them. I found a relatively intact stone table lying on the ground and propped it up, barely stabilizing it.

I detached the plastic bucket from the back of the car. However, although I didn't get caught up by those damned earthworms on the way, they kicked up stones that hit and damaged one of my plastic bucket. It caved in a bit, with a crack at the bottom.

Li Haohao suggested wrapping it with the protective suit, so that even if it leaked, it would leak inside the suit.

I looked at her and said w'll deal with it when we get back.

I carried two buckets and a steel cable, while Li Haohao carried the damaged one and a thermos. We had to walk down about two sets of steps from this platform to reach the water's edge. I walked in the front, occasionally setting down the buckets to push aside the vegetation. Li Haohao walked barefoot behind me, her breathing becoming heavier.

I made her promise not to jump into the water before we even started. She agreed.

There was a protective railing at the lake's edge, but it was broken in several places. Rusty iron signs could vaguely be made out, with the words "No fishing" and "No swimming."

Li Haohao looked at these words, and I read them out to her.

She recognized the sound of "fishing" and immediately asked, "Can we fish?"

"What does 'No' means?" I asked her, but she didn't have the energy to pretend or play dumb. She went straight to the "giving up" step, unscrewed the plastic bucket, spread open the protective suit, and used her pants and arms to tie it up—after all, the bucket was much thicker than the waist of the suit.

For such a large bucket, the protective suit's wrapping was definitely not enough, but I didn't stop her.

The water's surface was about a person's height below the railing, reflecting green lake water with our two twisted shadows.

I used the steel cable to lower one of the plastic buckets into the water, while Li Haohao stared intently. This thing weighed dozens of kilograms without water, and even for me, it was a bit of a struggle.

The plastic bucket floated on the water's surface. I swayed the rope and finally managed to flip it over, allowing the first rush of water to mix with the algae on the surface, pouring in. As my hands became heavier, it slowly sank.

Li Haohao put down her bucket to hug my waist, and we were like playing tug-of-war with the water.

But as she hugged me, I found it difficult to exert force. The two of us combined were not as strong as me alone carrying the buckets.

The steel cable rubbed against the railing, leaving behind black marks. The plastic bucket slowly climbed up.

I untied the rope, and the heat became more intense. The sun made me dizzy, and it was inconvenient to move around in my sweater. I took off the sweater and placed it aside. Li Haohao looked at me, wearing a utility vest inside the sweater. It seemed to be of much better quality than her worn-out T-shirt with holes.

I pretended not to notice her gaze and proceeded to secure the other bucket. Li Haohao turned to touch the water along the edge of the first bucket, pressing her face against it, feeling the gills on her cheek pulsating.

Finally, the second bucket of water was lifted. Li Haohao lifted the tattered bucket with the protective suit, attempting to tie it as I had done. I opened the bucket lid and secured the steel cable she tied.

"Come in." I said.

"Huh?"

I wrapped my arms around Li Haohao's waist, lifted her up, and planted her into the bucket.

It reminded me of how I threw Lin Buxiu and Zhao Xinyan into the trash bin when I was moving the bodies. Li Haohao's skin felt abnormally sticky, emitting a strange and chilling sensation.

She placed her hands on the edge of the bucket, realizing what I was about to do, and expressed concern, "I'm heavy."

"It's fine."

While she hesitated, reluctantly looking at the water, she also showed a responsible side, saying, "It's dangerous underwater."

"If you notice anything strange, just call out, and I'll pull you up."

"Okay."

Li Haohao was about to enter the water, very excited. I stepped on the railing to keep her stable above the water surface.

Li Haohao reached out and splashed the water, spreading her arms and patting the water, pushing the floating algae away.

I slowly lowered her down, the bottom of the bucket touching the water surface.

I secured the bucket in place, which was more difficult than lifting it up. While exerting force, I failed to look down in time. Li Haohao kept reporting:

"Water is seeping in from the bottom of the bucket, but the water that seeps in is very clean."

"My toes feel so cold, but it's comfortable."

"I'm so happy."

"He Ran, you're amazing!"

I gently lowered her a bit more, and Li Haohao didn't move much, obediently staying in the bucket and not causing me too much trouble.

Before the war, people used to put watermelons in buckets and immerse them in cool wells until they became chilled, then take them out and cut them open to eat.

Watermelons... It's been a long time since I had one.

I got distracted for a moment, and the steel rope slipped down. Li Haohao exclaimed, and I quickly tightened my grip, causing the steel rope to scrape off a layer of skin from the palm of my hand.

My palms are already a bit rough with calluses, but having them rubbed raw still isn't very comfortable.

Thinking I was deliberately teasing her, Li Haohao shouted, "You did that on purpose!"

I tightened the steel cable without saying a word.

Li Haohao's webbed feet must have immersed in the icy water, and the scales on her back would be wet with water. Her long tail would be coiled inside the bucket, submerged and probably very comfortable.

It was the hottest time of day, and I didn't know when sweat started flowing down my cheeks. Once you become aware of the heat, you can't ignore it. It enveloped me, with sweat under my armpits, on the back of my neck, forehead, and chest, soaking through my undershirt.

Just jump into the water. A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Jump in, without having to hold onto Li Haohao's heavy steel cable, and enjoy the refreshing lake water.

Jump in. Jump in. Jump in.

That thought kept recurring in my mind. I bit my tongue, realizing something was wrong. There might be strange creatures or pollutants in the water! They could take advantage of my weakened state and their level of threat should be high.

Immediately, I lifted my foot and stepped on the railing for leverage, pulling the steel cable to lift Li Haohao up.

However, perhaps the railing was weathered due to years of disrepair, or it was under the influence of the strange creatures. When I stepped on it, the stone railing cracked into several pieces.

Losing my balance from stepping on nothing, I was immediately pulled down by Li Haohao's plastic bucket, and everything went blurry with a splash.

As soon as I fell into the water, I closed my eyes, drew out my weapon, and as the water passed before my eyes, it wasn't a strange creature that attacked me, but Li Haohao.

I felt the scales on her back.

As I fell, I eased up and maintained balance in the water, resurfacing.

Wiping the water from my eyes and pushing my hair back behind my ears, I saw Li Haohao with only her head sticking out of the water, her hands supporting my waist.

"I won't sink, let go."

Li Haohao murmured something, but I couldn't hear a word. I slapped the water to grab the drifting plastic bucket. In all the commotion, the protective suit and the plastic bucket separated. The protective suit floated away like a person, while the plastic bucket was half-sinking in my hand.

Still holding onto my waist, her height being shorter, she sank even lower in the water. She held onto my waist and looked up at me from below, her wet head floating on the water's surface, her chin buried in the water. Her lips were a deep red, like blood, with a soft and glossy texture underwater.

She just stared at me like that, and I suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Let go."

"This water, it's dangerous."

She had a suitable excuse. I looked up, and the railing I fell from looked like a broken tooth. After observing my surroundings, I pointed to the other side where we could climb ashore.

Li Haohao pushed me, and I climbed ashore. The tight pants against my skin made me uncomfortable, but it wasn't the time to change clothes. I had to go back and get the bucket.

"It's time to come up." I reminded.

Li Haohao suddenly said softly, "I grew something, like after eating a full meal and burping with a taste."

"Hmm?"

"I ate fish, so I turned into a fish."

For a while, we both fell silent. Li Haohao went back into the water and came out again, saying, "It didn't digest, so I burped, and that's why I have this smell... I ate too much."

The water surface shimmered, and my mind was filled with images of Li Haohao eating.

Suddenly, she dived back into the water, and from the water's surface, I could only see her faint shadow.

"Li Haohao—"

After a while, she resurfaced from the water and said, "There are many dead people at the bottom of the water."

"Come up, we should go back."

"I'm hungry." She climbed ashore and pressed against my back.

I walked with a stooped posture, Li Haohao hanging onto me. Suddenly, she extended her tongue and licked my neck.

I immediately grabbed her arm, and Li Haohao cried out, "Ouch!"

She took a few deep breaths and then touched her own neck, explaining, "There's water."

Meaning that she licked my neck because there was water on it, and she was thirsty.

But I didn't actually ask her why she did it.

"Do you want to eat it?" I deliberately used a casual tone while walking and touching my own neck.

Li Haohao lowered her head and said, "It's your fault."

"Okay."

"You fell down by accident, and I didn't have enough fun." She was good at shifting blame and turning the tables.

"I'm sorry."

She quickened her place and grabbed my arm.

It took some effort to go back the way we came. I handed the steel cable and empty bucket to Li Haohao and carried the first bucket of water back. Since it was full, I couldn't use the loose binding method. I climbed onto the car to secure it first.

Li Haohao helped out, and in no time, the clothes were dry, and I had secured the first bucket.

I went to get the second bucket with ease, and she carefully leaned her head against the edge of the bucket to wet it.

I handed her the steel cable and said, "Go play."

She just shook her head, licked the water inside the bucket, and then took off her shirt, soaked it in the water, and put it on all wet.

We hurried back, and surprisingly, the car made it safely.

In theory, I should have gotten lost in this polluted area.

But no disaster was a good thing. Li Haohao rubbed her tired stomach and was too hungry to even say she was hungry.

On the way back, it was again a road paved with human flesh. I suppressed the abnormal trembling of my arms brought on by the state of exhaustion. Finally, I managed to drive the car onto the road, breathed a sigh of relief, but not long after, a huge hill rose in front of us.

It was the giant earthworm. It opened its mouth and swung its head towards our rickety car.

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