RHWHEG – Chapter 19 The Waterborne Train

They traveled through the heavy rain. Outside, the water had risen to the height of three stories, far above the exterior walls, barely held back by the transparent game-protective barrier. Meanwhile, the flooding inside the residential complex continued to rise, and Yu Qunqing had to work hard to keep the water level around his thighs.

The view outside the complex was much more open than before. Many buildings were either submerged or had sunk entirely. Their small boat drifted swiftly along with the current.

On the first night, they rested atop a financial building, listening to the sound of rain.

The next day, the rain stopped. The sky was still hazy, and the sudden quiet was striking—yet it felt as if the lingering roar of rain was still in their ears. Sun Min and the Fishman were both excited, instinctively shouting at the top of their lungs, then startling at their own loud voices. But if they stayed silent, everything felt unnaturally quiet. The world seemed pure and tranquil, like after a mythical flood.

More things began to emerge. calamities, long suppressed by the heavy rain, hatched all at once, frantically claiming territory. Yu Qunqing shot a bolt of electric light into the water, scattering chunks of disaster like white fragments. The Fishman collected the spoils, while Sun Min continuously helped by crafting weapons by hand.

Occasionally landing to “blast fish,” they slowly moved forward.

On the third day, there was no rain, but the temperature had risen significantly. Bacteria and toxic gases were evaporating with the mist. The Fishman felt cool only when swimming deeper, while Yu Qunqing and Sun Min felt like steamed buns in a steamer—though on land, it felt as if they were about to dissolve. They still needed to move forward wearing oxygen masks.

By the afternoon of the third day, they finally reached their destination: Xiangcunwei Subway Station.

The above-ground part of Xiangcunwei Station resembled a Western-style building from the previous century, its age as evident as its exterior. During the millennium, it served as the ground-level platform for Jiangbei City’s first subway line. Later, with changes in urban planning, the above-ground platform was abandoned, replaced by three new underground subway lines. After numerous repairs, it became a fusion of high-tech and old Western architecture—a “metal barrel” connecting above and below, with seven extremely long main escalators. People often joked that reaching the bottom was like descending into hell.

Its most famous feature was the massive ventilation shaft in the center, twenty meters in diameter and over a hundred meters deep. The long-defunct fan blades were often used by adults to scare children, warning them they would be shredded if they reached inside.

“I’m a bit dizzy,” Sun Min said. Their small boat floated above the massive shaft, with the polluted water below forming an abyss. “I might have a deep-sea phobia.”

“Same here,” said the Fishman. “I guess I’m a shallow-water fish.”

Yu Qunqing pondered: “Are you saying the Foundation and the Shelter used to transfer patients for the Reversal Plan here?” He surveyed the surroundings. “After heavy rain, the only place suitable for normal people to meet is the second floor above ground.”

Sun Min: “Maybe they met underwater? Like Big Brother Fishman.”

Yu Qunqing: “Not that many ability users can go underwater. And this heavy rain lasted only a week. The time they need from headquarters would be much longer. Once they set off, they would avoid rain, not send another batch here.”

Fishman: “Could they have finished the transfer already?”

Yu Qunqing shook his head: “The density of disasters here hasn’t noticeably decreased; it doesn’t look like anyone cleared them.”

“Then we came early, which is a good thing,” Fishman said.

Yu Qunqing, however, didn’t relax: “Let’s check for any unusual spots… casually trading on the second floor doesn’t match their style.” The second floor was badly damaged, making it easy to enter but difficult to escape. Yu Qunqing didn’t believe the researchers would leave no contingency. If he wanted to play black-on-black, he had to block all exits.

Out of their sight, a man in a black wetsuit carried a waterproof box and dove into a secret operation room on the third underground level. He was a professional diver with some mechanical training, sent by the Foundation headquarters to handle unpredictable weather. He had already mapped out the required pipelines; now he only needed to connect the last interface.

Threads twisted into the gap, a lever was pressed, and a massive machine started up, like a demon awakening from the abyss.

“I think the water flow is shifting a bit,” the Fishman swam near the boat. “I hear some noise—maybe I should dive down and check?”

“No! Get up here quickly!” Yu Qunqing hauled the fish-man onto the small boat, eyes alert to the surroundings. He could indeed hear a faint buzzing sound, but the echoes in this place made it impossible to tell the direction.

Suddenly, the entire boat jolted. Clear ripples radiated outward from the center of the water, lifting the boat lightly into the air.

Buzz—

Buzz—

“It’s the fan blades! They’ve activated!” Sun Min finally noticed something was wrong.

“Climb up! Grab the rope!” Yu Qunqing had earlier tied a nylon rope from the boat to the second-floor railing.

Bzzzz—

The ripples grew denser from the center, instantly forming a vacuum-like whirlpool, sucking massive amounts of water inward. The enormous fan spun faster and faster, sending towering waves into the air. The boat was tossed like a tiny leaf, then slammed back down heavily.

“Sun Min, hold on to me.” Yu Qunqing had to remind his companion.

“You’ll crush me!” Sun Min screamed. He didn’t dare grab the rope, fearing he’d destroy their only chance of escape.

Yu Qunqing grabbed the rope with one hand and clutched the dizzy fish-man with the other. Despite the danger, his voice remained calm: “I trust you can control your abilities, and you must trust that I can get you out.”

Amid the turbulence, Sun Min surprisingly absorbed these words and grabbed the rope alongside Yu Qunqing.

The boat was swept away by the waves. They crashed into the water, only a few meters from the rapidly spinning fan. Yu Qunqing held the rope tightly, bracing his waist to lift the combined weight of three people. He felt like his arm and back muscles were about to tear.

The terrifying suction was draining the building’s water! Whoever came up with this plan was a remarkable lunatic—repairing a millennium-old oversized fan to act as a water pump. The building had many underground channels, allowing thousands of tons of water to be discharged outside. And years of sturdy construction ensured it wouldn’t collapse from sudden pressure differences.

Outside the subway station, the water also surged. The shelter’s boat rocked along with the waves. Unlike Yu Qunqing’s small boat, this was a proper motorized yacht with cabins.

“Our partners are very reliable,” the shelter leader said, smiling ingratiatingly at She Lulang.

She Lulang remained unmoved. “What deal are you making with the Foundation?”

“I’m afraid I’m not authorized to answer, Mr. She,” the leader said humbly. “After completing our deal with the Foundation, the remaining personnel will accompany you to eliminate the traitors.” He hinted, “When you return victorious, perhaps the shelter will grant you new privileges. We’ll have more opportunities to work together—I truly look forward to it.”

If Yu Qunqing were here… he would have called it empty promises.

No, he couldn’t think about that now.

She Lulang pressed a hand to his chest and took a deep breath to calm his emotions.

After a moment, he stepped forward onto the yacht’s edge. “I’ll go first.” He would handle understanding the details of their deal himself.

Suddenly, black scars fractured across his face, and feather-like textures spread across his skin, blooming like a rapidly unfurling flower. Before the leader could react, She Lulang’s body transformed into dozens of black birds, scattering into the sky, slipping into the subway station like shadows.

“Complete bodily transformation… that’s the power of an LV2,” the leader said, laughing rather than angry, a hint of obsession in his eyes.

The leader’s assistant panicked. “Let him go just like that? What if he knows our deal?” He couldn’t be sure the LV2 would fully tolerate their experiments. Despite the LV2 usually being a difficult person.

The leader said, “We cannot treat an LV2 as a given possession—that would be arrogant… We must subtly earn his trust. Rest assured, our deal counterpart is cautious and won’t make mistakes.”

“Even if they slip up…” The leader snorted coldly. “Then it only exposes the Foundation’s evil ambitions. What does that have to do with the shelter?”

The assistant nodded in realization.

Inside the subway station, Yu Qunqing carried two people on his back along with a bow case, all clinging to the wall. Water dripped from his hair as the terrifying fan finally stopped. Their small boat had long been shredded by the fan.

Yu Qunqing heard the sound of breaking glass.

Something had entered.

In such a defenseless state, they could not afford to encounter an enemy.

Gritting his teeth, Yu Qunqing let go and dropped deeper into the vent. He glimpsed a protruding mechanical joint, grabbed it, and nearly had his arm ripped off by the massive inertia. Using it as a buffer, he released and wedged his foot into a gap in a central support pillar, gripping a protruding spiral tightly. The mechanical surface was wet, nearly causing him to lose his hold.

“Wuwuwu,” the fish-man whispered from his back, “I don’t dare open my eyes.”

Yu Qunqing looked up at the only source of light. Through the fan gaps, a black bird flew by. Yu Qunqing froze, instinctively trying to stay hidden.

“We’ll climb down to level B1,” he said calmly. “It’s not safe here.”

On the second-floor ground, the black birds reformed into a human shape—pale-faced She Lulang walking through the cluttered hall. There was nowhere to hide here. He scanned the area and looked out the window.

A strange water train floated in—cylindrical rolling units connected into carriages, packed with frozen containers visible through inflated outer shells.

It resembled a train from the last century, entering the subway station’s first floor on abandoned tracks. As the gates opened, water poured in, and the rolling train surged forward.

Meanwhile, Yu Qunqing, climbing the stairs and just splashed with water again, thought:…