Chapter Thirty-Seven: Underwater Terror

Arriving at the sewage pipe, I found that the space beneath the manhole cover was already submerged by an excess of water. I tapped the somewhat dazed Huo Bing and gestured toward her with my mouth.
“If you can’t manage, don’t force yourself. Hide in the car and wait for my signal. This path won’t be easy; you know how difficult it is to move in water. If anything happens, I might not be able to help you.”
There was no falsehood in my words. In the old era, I’d watched plenty of apocalypse films—zombies or mutated creatures often lurked beneath the water's surface. To be honest, I wouldn’t have chosen this risk if circumstances hadn’t forced my hand.
Before coming here, no one knew what condition the armory was in.
“Brother Cao, don’t underestimate me. I once won the city championship in swimming.” Huo Bing drew a deep breath, patting her chest, as if bolstering herself with courage.
I handed her a bone blade for self-defense, in case anything unexpected happened. This tool was far more effective than her dagger, though its size meant greater resistance underwater.
It certainly wouldn’t swing as nimbly as a dagger—short and sharp always wins in close quarters.
“I won’t take it; you keep it. I can’t use it properly, would only hack blindly. The dagger suits me better,” Huo Bing forced a smile.
I didn’t bother arguing. Gripping both bone blades, I jumped straight down.
“Splash!”
Next came Fourth Lord, and the dog was eager too. Seeing me dive, it hurried to follow.
The prolonged underwater exposure made my eyes ache, clouding my vision. I had no choice but to close my eyelids.
Suddenly, I remembered the forced advancement of my vision—could I see through my own eyelids?
The skin was thin; it shouldn’t sap much energy or induce dizziness.
I resolved to try. Concentrating, I attempted to pierce my eyelids with my gaze.
Within seconds, I could see everything underwater clearly, and there was no sign of dizziness yet. What an unexpectedly useful gift.
I glanced ahead. The narrow waterway was nearing its end; just ahead lay the reservoir, where the space widened and uncertainties multiplied.
Fourth Lord and Huo Bing followed close behind. I could vaguely make out Huo Bing’s expression—she seemed calm.
As a member of the Swordfish Special Forces under the Marine Corps, my underwater breath-holding time peaked at nearly twelve minutes. The world record back then stood at twenty-two, but mastery has its limits; it’s only natural I couldn’t rival those ancient masters who specialized in breath-holding techniques.
For ordinary people, twelve minutes is astonishing—most struggle to reach even one.
After two rounds of endurance enhancement, I felt my abilities had grown, perhaps allowing even longer times, so I had no qualms about the water route.
If there was anything to complain of, it was the resistance underwater, severely impeding movement and speed.
Once inside the reservoir, the water grew murkier—and most importantly, after several minutes, dizziness began to set in. If I stayed much longer, I’d lose consciousness and drown for real.
Suddenly, Fourth Lord behind me accelerated, frantically paddling forward with his paws, overtaking me. He seemed to sense something.
Unfortunately, even though my vision, smell, and hearing had been enhanced, external interference still dulled their effectiveness underwater.
All I could hear was the rush of water past my ears—anything farther was indistinct.
The dizziness intensified. I had to disperse my focus and open my eyes again, swimming onward, but the moment I did, my vision was obstructed.
The water was thick with microscopic particles, making it cloudy. My eyes stung ever more; I could only quicken my pace toward the bottom.
Faintly, I could see a weak light source—once I got out of the reservoir and crawled through the pipe, victory was within reach!
“Glug glug…”
Hmm?
What was that sound?
Surprised, I looked around, but the murkiness made it hard to see. Was I imagining things after so long underwater?
“Glug glug…”
Suddenly, I twisted in the water. Damn! The sound was right beside me, disturbingly close!
Two corpses in military uniforms lurched at me, clawing wildly. Most revolting was their bloated, soon-to-burst faces from soaking in the water—thank heaven I hadn’t eaten anything before coming!
I could even see indescribable creatures wriggling out of their rotting faces.
Now it was clear why the water was so full of particles and microorganisms: these corpses had contaminated the source. If there were any survivors left in the depot, they’d have a hard time.
Judging by the situation, there shouldn’t be anyone left alive. With uniformed corpses lurking here, if there were survivors, these things would have crawled out—or been killed.
I raised my bone blade and hacked at one corpse’s head. Thankfully, while my movements were hindered, theirs were even less agile.
Besides, moonlight couldn’t reach the depot, so these low-level corpses hadn’t been strengthened.
The bone blade was far sharper than ordinary iron—one blow split the corpse’s head clean in two.
More indescribable creatures poured out, making my skin crawl.
The other corpse seized the moment, lunging at me. Luckily, I wielded two blades—my free hand slashed at it instantly.
Looking back, I saw Huo Bing entangled by another corpse, which gripped her tightly, its jaws snapping at her.
The girl wedged her dagger between its jaws, keeping it from biting her for now, but if it went on, she’d be crushed even if she avoided the bite.
Low-level corpses are slow and stupid, but their strength far exceeds normal humans. In sheer power alone, an adult man pales in comparison—they could easily break Huo Bing’s bones with that grip.
She was only five or six meters from me, but those few meters now spelled her doom, as I couldn’t break free.
Having just killed two corpses, three more swam toward me—I simply couldn’t spare myself to rescue her.
I’d thought to throw a bone blade, but the water’s resistance was too great. Even a few meters made precise targeting difficult, and even if I hit, the water pressure would sap its force so much it might not penetrate the corpse.
“Host has slain a Level One corpse. Gene value +1.”
“…”
“Reminder: Host’s gene value has reached 1000 points. Advanced progression of a physical application ability is now possible.”
My eyes lit up. Without hesitation, I selected advanced progression for strength.
In the final moment, I saw helplessness in Huo Bing’s gaze; she gave me a wan smile, then slowly closed her beautiful eyes.