Chapter 488: Facing Retribution

She spoke tactfully, but Cheng Shuili understood at a hint.

Cheng Shuili waved her hand, "Don't worry about those irrelevant things; can't you notice any problems?"

Xinxue and Jiang Tang exchanged a glance, both somewhat confused.

Cheng Shuili didn't make things difficult for them, she raised her hand and pointed to the lowest spot before the three of them, asking, "Water has already appeared on the road, but our territory has none—what does that indicate?"

Jiang Tang's eyes lit up as she blurted out, "It shows our safe zone is on high ground! The water can't get in for now!"

Xinxue scratched her head, "Is this disaster still related to terrain?"

Cheng Shuili didn't know the answer to that question either, but the situation now is that water has accumulated on the road while their territory remains dry.

Cheng Shuili ignored Xinxue's confusion and directly stated her purpose:

"Notify everyone to keep their mouths shut and not reveal any details about the territory in the regional channel. Also, arrange a squad to watch the water level, and have the other members rest earlier. The servers will merge during the day, and you must rest well tonight."

Upon hearing they could go to sleep, Jiang Tang's eyes lit up, she stood up and saluted: "Yes, Boss!"

On the contrary, Xinxue lacked enthusiasm, "With tonight being so lively, is it really over already?"

Cheng Shuili curled the corner of her mouth; she certainly knew Xinxue's schedule, and precisely because she knew it so well, she had reminded her several times to take care of her health.

"Lively?" Cheng Shuili gave Xinxue a half-smile, "The real liveliness will come after the server merge, when the flood truly rises—then you'll have something to watch. If you don't seize the time to rest and recharge, you won't even have the energy to watch the excitement. And night owl, what did you promise me last time? Regular schedule—once it's set, just go to sleep."

Since the boss said so, even if Xinxue was unwilling, she could only obey the boss.

She muttered softly, "I know, I know… Boss, you should rest early too."

"I'll take a look a bit longer," Cheng Shuili waved her hand, signaling them to leave quickly.

After seeing Xinxue dragged away by Jiang Tang, Cheng Shuili finally picked a pleasant little stool, plopped down, and finally let out a sigh of relief.

The food had all been hastily harvested; although it wasn't at its peak flavor, it was sufficient to stave off hunger for the Black Feather members or to use in emergencies—there was no problem.

The defensive works were also formally completed.

She had entrusted this matter to Ailin for handling, and many of those who trained under Ailin came from Longhun.

Ailin knew exactly who was good at what.

Thus it was natural to assign this to her; Ailin did not betray Cheng Shuili's trust, leading a group to dig trenches, completely following the simple field fortifications from the Blue Star military manual.

Although materials were limited, most used locally sourced hard soil, stones, or timber, but at key positions they also reinforced with some metal plates salvaged from vehicles earlier.

The trenches weren't dug very deep, but they were winding, with firing positions and retreat routes reserved, and even traps set in several concealed corners.

In a flat territory, having a decent defensive line was already enough to put many people at ease.

Cheng Shuili didn't make excessive demands; she looked up at the sky full of stars for a moment, then stood up and stretched.

Everything was ready; she also needed to go rest.

Monday morning was no different from usual; when Cheng Shuili opened her eyes she still felt a bit dazed—was today really the day of the server merge?

Why were the private chats so quiet?

Had the water not risen yet?

Cheng Shuili sat up, stared blankly at the private message with no news, then remembered to check Black Feather's faction chat.

After jumping to the top, the first thing that came into view was: "So boring, anyone still awake? Come out and chat!"

Cheng Shuili: "???"

She focused her gaze; the speaker was exactly the night watchman arranged by Xinxue.

This person had changed his remark to "water watcher"; the other Black Feather members also knew what he did, and they expressed concern with a few lines below.

"How could it be boring? Hasn't the water risen?"

"Exactly, keep a good eye on the water level, don't let it actually flood us. All my possessions are in the vehicle; whether it stays safe entirely depends on you, friend!"

Facing the doubt, the water watcher became dissatisfied: "Watch the water level? Can't you stick your heads out the window? See what's really happening outside!"

"What do you mean?"

"【Water Watcher】: Where the hell is any water?! If it weren't for the regional channel full of wailing and howling, I'd really think this mission was just to amuse me!"

"No water?!"

Cheng Shuili's eyes widened for a moment; she hurried to the bathroom to wash up, changed clothes, and pushed open the door.

Outside the door stood Su Rui, who was about to come to work; seeing Cheng Shuili, she raised her hand to greet: "What a coincidence, Boss—I saw the territory was clean and dry, hesitated a moment, but decided to come take a look, in case we could drive today?"

Her words fell, and Cheng Shuili truly had nothing to say.

"The territory wasn't flooded?"

"Then what was all the grain they hastily harvested yesterday all day for?"

Cheng Shuili felt a bit dazed; looking up, she saw Xiong Ji in the distance happily helping Zhou Zhuxing gather the last of the crops.

She casually brushed Su Rui off, then hurried toward the person and bear working in the fields.

Hearing the footsteps, Xiong Ji's ears twitched, and he instantly turned alert.

Seeing it was Cheng Shuili, he relaxed, switched to a respectful expression, bowed, and shouted: "Your Majesty."

Cheng Shuili grabbed him and pulled him up, her tone somewhat urgent: "Has the Beast Person Town been flooded?"

This question is crucial; if Beast Person Town hasn't seen any flood, then… then didn't they harvest for nothing?!

If this disaster isn't targeting the safe zone… then Black Feather would really suffer a huge loss.

Xiong Ji was a bit confused, but since it was the king asking, he tried to recall the scene from when he came this morning, then replied: "It hasn't been flooded, only water up to my knees, though many shops are closed; now it's similar to during the plague."

Cheng Shuili's heart sank straight down.

Beast Person Town only had water up to the knees, while Black Feather's territory hadn't seen a drop……

So-called flood disaster—could it really be aimed only at moving vehicles on the road?

Or perhaps the safe zone actually received some protection, or at least the disaster's intensity was greatly weakened?

No, that's not right.

The system wouldn't be that merciful.

The advance warning emphasized joint-service competition; it couldn't possibly result in only a bit of harmless standing water.

Perhaps the real disaster hasn't truly begun yet.

At that moment, Cheng Shuili noticed that Kan Shui Ren posted another message in the group, the words clearly carrying schadenfreude.

"The regional channel blew up! The water level suddenly rose again, and many people's vehicles really took on water! Serves them right; they used to curse us so harshly, now they're getting their comeuppance."