Chapter 63
They had almost exhausted the reservoir of fish, with fewer and fewer surfacing. Jasper and his
crew had already hauled in almost 3000 pounds. Just then, the batteries of their fishing equipment
died.
The wind was picking up, sending the rubber rafts adrift. Ste''s intable boat, weighed down by
their massive catch was unstable but remained afloat. Those on the lighter rafts found that no
matter how hard they paddled against the wind, they were pushed further away.
Ste frowned. Something about the water flow seemed unusual. It was as if a powerful undertow
was pulling them towards the reservoir’s sluice gate. Jasper felt it too, and instinctively turned to
look at Ste. Their eyes met, both reflecting the same danger.
“Run!”
“Run!”
They yelled in unison, pulling on the cords of their boat engines.
“Lukas, hold on tight!”
Ste quickly started the engine and steered the boat in the opposite direction of the sluice gate.
Lukas and Amber, who were on the rubber raft, held onto the ropes for dear life. Jasper was no
exception, and the father and son from the Moore family clung tightly to the sacks of fish.
Their boats sped across the reservoir like race cars.
“Boss, they''re running away, let''s chase after them.”
“Quick, don''t let them escape. Come on, go after them.”
But before they could even start, a loud crash echoed from the distance. It was as if a crack had
formed in the sky, and a deluge of water was pouring out.
Ste did not look back; she raced against the flood, heading as far as possible.
Lukas couldn''t help but nce back, and what he saw was a gaping hole in the horizon, with
relentless floodwaters pouring into it, carrying a destructive force.
The water level continued to drop as they sped forward. Finally, they managed to reach a safe
distance. They kept the engine running to counteract the pull of the floodwaters.
Seizing the moment, Lukas jumped out of the boat and scrambled onto the shore. He tied the boat
to a tree.
The Moore father and son did the same, securing their boat and rafts onto the shore.
Ste went ashore and took out her binocrs to observe the distance. The dam of the reservoir
had copsed, and the floodwaters were pouring out endlessly. It was as if an invisible giant squid’s
suction cups were pulling the people on the rubber rafts towards the breach in the dam.
The tattooed men were toote to react. After some struggling, they finally managed to start their
engines, but they still could not ovee the powerful suction of the floodwaters. They were like
fish on a chopping block, helpless against the onught.
It wasn’t just them. All the humans trapped in the floodwaters seemed insignificant against the force
of nature. No matter how hard they struggled, they were swallowed up in an instant.
Amber was pale and trembling, gasping for breath as she watched the water level continue to drop.
On the water''s surface, the struggling people were growing smaller and smaller in the distance until
they disappeared. Over twenty people were gone just like that.
If it hadn''t been for the quick reaction of the Jasper and Ste, they would have all perished there.
Her heart sank with fear. Would this disaster ever end? Why was staying alive so difficult...
Without a word, Ste sat down on the grass, taking out a chocte bar to replenish her energy.
Her dog nuzzled up to her, his eyes filled with longing. ''Ste, give me some too!''
“It’s toxic for you. You can''t eat it.” Ste warned, holding the chocte under his nose, “Smell it.
You can never eat this.”
She wasn’t joking. Dogs absolutely could not eat chocte. It could kill them.
Seeing Ste eat alone, Cooper seemed unhappy and turned his head away in disappointment.
Ste took a biscuit from her bag and stuffed it into his mouth.
Lukas was scared out of his wits, but he was also thrilled to have survived. He even took out his
phone to take pictures and record videos, nning to share them with his girlfriendter.
Jasper was lost in thought, staring at the dropping water level.
Two hourster, the water surface finally calmed down, and the water level had dropped by over ten
meters. Lukas climbed a tree and took out his binocrs to observe the distance, “Damn, the
reservoir is now connected to the outside.”
Jasper climbed to the top of the hill, surveying the surroundingndscape. “The terrain is lower on
the side of the reservoir''s copse, and the water is flowing around the mountains, eventually
reaching the road outside.”
Ste thought for a moment, "Can we follow the water flow out, so we don''t have to climb over
mountains to transport the fish?"
In theory, they could. Carrying over 3000 pounds of fish over the mountains would be exhausting.
They decided to give it a try.
The terrain was gentle, and they worked together to push the intable boat into the water, slowly
moving along with the current. After about ten minutes, they saw arge gap where the reservoir
had copsed, about forty to fifty meters wide.
At this point, the sky was densely clouded, and their visibility began to wane. Ste kept a watchful
eye on their surroundings, but she saw no sign of the people from before. Perhaps they were
completely swallowed by the floodwaters, or perhaps they had survived but had already left.
Regardless of the oue, she had not witnessed it.
When the group arrived at the delivery point, it was still early. They anchored the boat in a calm spot
and tied it to a tree.
They turned off the lights and took a rest. About an hourter, they saw a faint light in the distance.
Cooper growled, “Woof!”
Ste covered the dog''s mouth and took out her night vision binocrs.
The night vision wasn’t very clear, but she could see Gordon and the same number of people as the
night before, with their cargo covered by waterproof cloth.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes, they saw no signs of anyone following. Ste turned on the
spotlight and circled it clockwise five times, signaling for them toe over for the trade.
Gordon had thought they hadn’te. He didn''t expect the other party to be so vignt.
Remembering the delicious fried fish, boiled fish, and grilled fish from the night before, their mouths
watered. They had been eating dog food for months, so they immediately headed over in their boat.
One pound of dog food for three pounds of fish was a great deal. They had swept up over 30,000
pounds of dog food and hundreds of boxes of canned cat and dog food. Many residents had asked
if they could get more fish and find a way to store it to eat alternately with the dog food.
Seeing the sacks on their boats, Gordon''s hanging heart finally settled down.
The trade went smoothly, 3000 pounds of fish for 1000 pounds of dog food. They kept the remaining
200 pounds for themselves; after all, there would be no more fish to catch in the future.
“Joey, hold off for the next two days. I’ll contact you in a few days."
Each household could get a fair share of fish, probably enough for a few days. They couldn’t just
gorge themselves all at once, could they?
They had almost risked their lives for these fish. Joey figured that even if Gordon wanted more, they
wouldn''t be able to get any.
“Sure, contact us when you need anything."
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People can be unpredictable. If they knew this was thest trade, it was unclear if they would try to
take advantage of them.
After Gordon took off, Ste and the gang began to divide up the loot.
The Moore family still got 1.5 shares of the dog food and raw fish. Ste ended up with almost 200
pounds of dog food and 8 fish.
"Phew! Stocking up on food for the dog is no simple task," Ste sighed. "It took two trips to get less
than 300 pounds, but it shouldst a while."
Returning to their 18th-floor apartment under the cover of darkness, Ste spent a long time
scrubbing with shower gel to get rid of the fishy smell on her.
Cooper, ever the self-aware golden retriever,id down in the bathtub and pushed the shower gel
towards Ste, "Come on, scrub me down."
Ste sighed. What had she gotten herself into - adopting a dog, or bringing home a demanding
king?
But what could she do? She didn''te with any dignity. In this house, the dog was king.