The air hung thick with a putrid stench, the suffocating presence of death clinging to the winding river. What had once been calm water now stretched before them, a blinding white expanse, as if buried under a heavy snowfall.
The Windwing pressed onward, but the rotting fish and shrimp piled along the riverbanks only multiplied. The dense mass of lifeless bodies extended as far as the eye could see, some mangled beyond recognition by the ship’s propellers, further fouling the water with a murky, sickening filth.
For over ten minutes, the four stood at the window, staring in complete silence at the eerie, stomach-churning scene.
No one spoke. Inside the bridge, the air was heavy with tension, an oppressive weight pressing down on them.
Despite the glaring sun overhead, a cold chill crept down Zheng Yijie’s back. He tried to suppress his unease, but finally, his lips trembled as he broke the suffocating silence. “What the hell is going on? This is insane! Why are there so many?”
Even Grandpa Meng, with decades of seafaring experience, had never witnessed anything like this. After a moment of stunned silence, he tapped his knuckles against the glass, his brow furrowed. “Could it be oxygen depletion from the heat? The sheer numbers are disturbing.”
Liang Zhao’s brows drew together as he stared out at the river, his voice steady but firm. “That doesn’t seem right. The high temperatures have been ongoing for a while—it didn’t suddenly get hot in the past day or two. If oxygen levels were plummeting, we would’ve noticed changes earlier. It wouldn’t have happened so abruptly.”
“Then… what’s causing it?” Zheng Yijie’s nerves were fraying.
Meng Gaoyang shook his head. “No idea. As long as we stay out of the water, we should be fine… right?”
As the three continued their tense discussion, throwing out theories, Gu Mengran remained silent, his gaze fixed on the river. His lips were a thin, tight line, his brows drawn so close they could crush a mosquito.
They had veered from the path of his past life. The people they met, the events unfolding—all of it was different this time.
The unknown was terrifying, especially when it spiraled out of control, exceeding even his expectations.
Logically, a massive fish die-off pointed to two possibilities: oxygen depletion or water contamination. Given Liang Zhao’s analysis, contamination seemed far more likely—the Huang River was polluted.
But by what? Gu Mengran had no idea.
Water flowed downstream, but what had occurred upstream? If it was mere pollution, it wouldn’t be overly concerning. With his spatial ability, the Windwing didn’t require river water. However, he was most troubled by the possibility of—a virus.
In his previous life, he had followed Gu Decheng’s family, staying in Xinjing until rising water levels nearly submerged the city, forcing their departure. During that time, he had heard disturbing rumors: reports of outsiders carrying a strange virus, suffering from relentless high fevers and rapid bodily decay.
These were dismissed as baseless gossip, quickly debunked by the military before they could incite panic. Since the virus never materialized, Gu Mengran had paid it little attention.
But considering the current situation, perhaps there was some truth to those whispers. Just because Xinjing remained safe under military control didn’t guarantee the rest of the country was as fortunate.
After all, as the old saying went—great disasters were always followed by great plagues.
They had recently endured a catastrophic earthquake, leaving countless dead buried beneath the rubble. With the intense heat accelerating decomposition, a widespread epidemic was more than possible—it was inevitable.
While the others continued their heated debate, Gu Mengran was shaken by his own thoughts. Whether it was a virus or a disease outbreak, one thing was clear: the mass fish deaths in the Huang River signaled something significant happening upstream.
He needed to prepare. Now.
His sense of urgency intensified. Without another word, he moved to the open space behind the control panel and began retrieving large items from his spatial storage.
Zheng Yijie, busy steering the ship while chatting casually with Grandpa Meng and Liang Zhao, initially didn’t notice Gu Mengran’s actions. But when a coil of what looked like barbed wire piled up at his feet, he turned around—only to find the floor behind them completely covered in supplies.
His curiosity was piqued instantly. Picking at the wire with two fingers, he asked, “What’s this?”
Grandpa Meng explained casually, “It’s a high-voltage pulse electric fence, you know, an electronic perimeter fence. Haven’t you seen one before? Some residential areas have them on their walls.”
Hearing that, Zheng Yijie remembered seeing similar fences. But… wait. He frowned and asked, “Why are you guys bringing this out? Are we installing it on the ship?”
“Exactly.” Grandpa Meng nodded. “Riverboats don’t usually have electric fences, but sea vessels? They’re practically standard. Keeps pirates away.”
“Ohhh, so if bad guys try to climb aboard, they get zapped?”
“Haha! That’s the idea.”
As he spoke, Zheng Yijie spread out the coiled fence, then picked up something else from the pile—a water gun? He turned it over, examining it from all angles. “Wait… this looks like a high-pressure water cannon. What’s this for? Washing the deck?”
“It is a high-pressure water cannon,” Grandpa Meng chuckled. “Same purpose as the electric fence—mounts on the railing to deter pirates.” Then, catching Zheng Yijie’s phrasing, he grinned, “If any intruders try to board, just blast ‘em off.”
Zheng Yijie, fascinated, nodded eagerly, his curiosity still running wild. “Okay, but why are we setting all this up now? Weren’t we just talking about the fish?”
That question even stumped Grandpa Meng. He turned to Gu Mengran for answers.
Feeling two intense gazes on him, Gu Mengran finally looked up, his expression serious. “Something might have happened upstream. I’m worried about a potential epidemic or viral outbreak, so I want to prepare in advance.”
“E-Epidemic?!” Zheng Yijie’s voice jumped several octaves, clearly shaken. His face paled instantly. “No way, right? I mean… can diseases even infect fish? If that’s the case, what about us?”
Even Grandpa Meng was slightly surprised, though not as dramatically as Zheng Yijie. He frowned, stroking his chin. “Something doesn’t add up. If we’re dealing with a plague or virus, shouldn’t we be focused on protection? Why are we pulling out electric fences and water cannons?”
One question after another. Gu Mengran had to stop what he was doing and clarify. “I can’t say for sure if it’s an epidemic, but one thing is certain: the water is contaminated. Something’s wrong upstream.”
“You noticed it too, Grandpa, right?” he continued. “The flood zone should have been between Shangcheng and Xinjing. We’ve already passed that section by land, and now the Huang River is unnaturally calm.”
“Isn’t calm a good thing?” Zheng Yijie asked.
Gu Mengran shook his head. “Calm is good. Too calm is a problem. At this rate, we’ll reach Lingjiang Port the day after tomorrow. If that area wasn’t hit by the flood and the water remains this undisturbed, what are the chances we’ll encounter other boats there?”
Zheng Yijie froze, his expression faltering. “Pretty damn high.”
Where there are boats, there are people—probably a lot of people. And if this entire section of the river was acting strangely, chances were, Lingjiang Port was at the center of it.
“No one knows exactly what’s happening, so we need to handle both containment and defense.” Gu Mengran braced himself and stood, pointing at the two piles of supplies on the ground. “Tonight, send half of this to Xu Xinghe’s group. Give them a heads-up while we’re at it.”
The supplies were neatly divided: one pile with high-voltage fences, high-pressure water cannons, and hoses; the other stocked with alcohol, disinfectant, disposable medical masks, N95 masks, and hand sanitizer.
Gu Mengran felt incredibly grateful for his thorough pre-disaster preparations.
His head throbbed with exhaustion. Right now, all he wanted was a break. Whatever needed handling tonight could wait until then. After ensuring everything was set, he rubbed his temples and turned to leave.
But before he could exit the cockpit, Grandpa Meng—who had sworn yesterday that Gu Mengran shouldn’t worry about certain things—suddenly called after him, sounding uncertain. “Uh… about tonight’s trade… are we still going through with it?”
Gu Mengran paused, then chuckled. “Yeah, we’ll go ahead with it. The Juqing 5 is already riding too low in the water. Might as well help lighten their load a little—I’d hate for their deck to start floating with dead fish.” He stopped mid-step and added, “Oh, right. Zheng Yijie, radio them on high frequency and tell them to shut off their sprinkler system ASAP.”
“Okay, no problem.”
At 1 a.m., the Windwing and the Juqing 5 successfully docked side by side in a relatively wide section of the channel.
Hearing the sounds from the deck outside his window, Gu Mengran slipped on his slippers, put on a mask, and stepped out. Moving at a leisurely pace, he descended the stairs to the first deck and walked onto the stern.
Though it was late, the deck was bustling with activity, lit by bright lights. Grandpa Meng and Liang Zhao were stationed at different points—one near the anchor chain, coordinating the anchor drop with the bridge, the other securing the mooring line thrown from the Juqing 5.
The two vessels were docked alongside each other, but the Juqing 5, heavily laden, sat significantly lower in the water than the Windwing. From his position by the railing, Gu Mengran had a clear view of their deck, watching Xu Xingran and a young girl named Xu Yue busily filling empty barrels with fuel.
Estimating the number of barrels on deck, Gu Mengran figured they’d be at it until morning. He stretched lazily, about to step forward and offer help, when Xu Xingran—as if sensing his movement—suddenly looked up.
“Xiao Gu, thank you guys!” she called.
She was already wearing the same kind of mask as him, making the meaning of her gratitude clear. Gu Mengran paused, then smiled. “No need to thank us, Sister Xu. Compared to the fuel you’re providing, this little bit of gear is nothing.”
“That’s different. The supplies you brought over could save lives.” Xu Xingran exchanged a few pleasantries before getting straight to the point, not wanting to waste time. After a brief hesitation, she asked directly, “Grandpa Meng said something might have happened upstream… Is it really some kind of epidemic?”
Gu Mengran shook his head. “It’s just a suspicion for now—no need to panic. We’re just making sure we’re prepared. It’s always better to be safe.”
Xu Xingran visibly relaxed, nodding in agreement. “You’re right. It’s best to prepare in advance. Once we finish transferring the fuel, we’ll start installing the electric fence and high-pressure water cannons.”
Talking to someone who actually listened always made things easier. Gu Mengran waved at her before heading towards the crane.
Just as he was rolling up his sleeves, ready to work, Grandpa Meng appeared behind him and gave him a solid slap on the shoulder.
“What do you think you’re doing? You’re still sick—why are you getting involved?”
Caught off guard, Gu Mengran flinched from the unexpected smack. When he saw it was Grandpa Meng, he sighed and gave him an exasperated look.
“You scared me popping up like that! What do you think? I’m here to help.”
“Help, my ass! Get back inside and rest—we don’t need you here.” Grandpa Meng gripped his shoulder and tugged him back.
Gu Mengran stumbled back a few steps, then clung to his grandpa’s arm, trying to plead his case. “But Grandpa, I’m feeling much better! I can help, or you two will be stuck doing this until morning.”
“Stop complaining and go back,” Grandpa Meng said, shoving him again, his tone firm.
Gu Mengran pouted in defeat. He was about to argue more when, out of nowhere, Grandpa Meng cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled—
“Liang Zhao! Come get your Gu—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa—no need for that, Grandpa! I just remembered I have something to do—I’m heading back now!”
Gu Mengran turned and bolted, practically fleeing the scene.
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