Chapter 329 - 325: The Water Pool

Whether it was out of respect for Zhang Wenda’s power or for the food, Wang Shaojie became his subordinate—at least on the surface.

Although the man had only been a low-level grunt at one of the stations, his earlier reaction made it clear he still had an attachment to the Third Line.

One must take things one step at a time. Since he had committed to this path, Zhang Wenda knew that re-establishing the Third Line would also have to be a gradual process.

"What happened to your legs?" Zhang Wenda asked, pointing at the tentacles that now served as his feet. He clearly remembered the man having two perfectly good legs when he was all fired up earlier.

Hearing this, a bitter smile appeared on Wang Shaojie’s face. "Chief, would it be okay if I didn’t say? Compared to those who are already dead, I’m still one of the lucky ones, aren’t I?"

Seeing the look on the man’s face, Zhang Wenda knew there was more to the story, so he didn’t press the issue.

"Can you still walk? Do you know where any other people are in this place? Take me to them." ’Information from just one person isn’t reliable enough,’ he thought. ’I need to verify it with others.’

"Yeah! Okay!" Wang Shaojie nodded. He glanced at the water’s surface, then led Zhang Wenda across the white porcelain tiles toward a waterslide. "In this Threshold Realm, you just have to follow the direction of the current to get from the Shallow Water Area to the deep water area."

"Forget this ’Threshold Realm’ nonsense. From now on, we’re calling this place the Area 2 Pool! The Third Line will be the one defining things from here on out!"

Hearing this, Wang Shaojie wisely held his tongue. He realized the kid who once came to him with ten yuan had changed so drastically it was like he was a completely different person.

After they had walked for a while, Wang Shaojie looked back worriedly. "Um, Chief, when we make contact with other people, it’s best not to reveal our past identities as members of the Third Line. It could easily attract trouble."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" Zhang Wenda immediately thought of a possibility. "If we reveal we’re from the Third Line, the Big Circle will come after us?"

"It’s them, yes, but there are also others who think people from the Third Line have valuable things. More than that, some of the groups that have formed don’t want a New Third Line to emerge and threaten their dominance. This world is completely different from how it was before."

Hearing this, the blue rabbit walked over, reached out, and plucked the pin from his chest.

"Can you tell me about the Big Circle’s current situation?" Zhang Wenda continued. "Qianxi is dead. Who’s leading them overall now?"

"No, no, no, it’s not like it was before. The Big Circle has been... cut into many pieces by the Thresh—by the Areas. Most of them are just small groups sticking together for warmth. In Area 2 alone, there are three different Big Circle Organizations, and they sometimes fight among themselves."

"So you’re saying the entire Big Circle has been completely shattered?" This was finally a piece of good news for Zhang Wenda. At least, on top of this bizarre new environment, he wouldn’t have to face being hunted by a single, powerful, and hostile organization.

"Are there a lot of people in Area 2?" Zhang Wenda asked Wang Shaojie again.

"I’m not too sure, but there should be at least a few thousand."

"A few thousand? Then what do you all eat? There’s nothing but water in this place."

Wang Shaojie answered honestly, "We eat Line 2."

"What?"

"No, I don’t mean the subway. It’s a giant, elongated, fleshy creature that looks like a subway train. If we can catch one, it provides a massive amount of food."

Zhang Wenda thought for a moment, then took a memory fragment from Hippocampus. It showed the living subway from Thought Wave Six. "Take a look. Is this it?"

"Yes, yes, exactly! That’s the thing," Wang Shaojie said, nodding repeatedly.

Hearing this, understanding dawned on Zhang Wenda. It was clear now: it wasn’t just people; other creatures from the Thought Waves had also been thrown into different areas.

"But they usually live in the dangerous deep water area. And Line 2 isn’t the only thing in the deep water... there are... other things." As he said this, Wang Shaojie seemed to recall something, and a flicker of fear appeared in his eyes.

Glancing at the pool beside them, Zhang Wenda asked again, "How do you tell which parts are the Shallow Water Area and which are the deep water areas?"

"By the color. Shallow water like this, that’s sky-blue, is completely safe. You can drink it, too. But as the color gets progressively darker, the water underneath gets deeper."

"By the time you get to the deep water areas, the water is almost black-blue. You can’t drink it, the visibility is very low, and it’s thousands of meters deep. No one’s ever reached the bottom to find out how deep it really is."

Hippocampus’s pen scribbled furiously, recording every piece of information about Area 2.

Following Wang Shaojie’s lead, Zhang Wenda walked along the ceramic corridor beside the pool, following the direction of the current. They occasionally had to pass through various slide-like tunnels, and the water in the pools gradually grew deeper.

It wasn’t just the color of the water that deepened; even the once-bright light gradually began to dim.

SPLASH! A sudden spray of water made Zhang Wenda’s nerves instantly tense. His body instantly shifted into its red monster form. He had clearly seen it—a fishtail with a malformed, hand-like appendage.

The three-meter-tall monster startled Wang Shaojie, and he no longer dared to underestimate the kid he once knew. But a moment later, he grew excited. ’With him by my side,’ he thought, ’who would dare try to steal from me?’

"It’s okay, Chief. The things in the water don’t dare to come onto the bank. As long as we stay out of the water, we’re safe."

Hearing this, Zhang Wenda finally let out a sigh of relief. "If that’s true, then the danger level of this place is manageable. Much lower than Area 1."

"Exactly. Why else would there be so many people here? Most everyone flocks to the safer areas. You basically won’t see a soul in the extremely dangerous ones."

After hearing all this, Zhang Wenda thought for a moment. "If there’s an area that’s extremely safe, with plenty of water and food, could a new Thought Wave Two be re-established there?"

"Uh... I wouldn’t know about that. At least, I haven’t seen anyplace like that so far."

Just as Wang Shaojie finished speaking, Zhang Wenda suddenly stopped. He saw a dark figure squatting by a distant pool, using something in its hand to repeatedly scoop at the water.

When Zhang Wenda started to walk over, the figure vanished like a startled mouse, leaving behind nothing but a puddle on the ground.

Wang Shaojie quickly explained, "Chief, most of the areas now operate under the law of the jungle—the weak are prey for the strong. That’s why most people are extremely wary of making contact with others."

This gave Zhang Wenda a headache. He desperately needed more information about this strange world. "Isn’t there any place in Area 2 where people can just interact normally? They can’t all be lone wolves, can they?"

Wang Shaojie thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "There is. I’ll take you."

Upon reaching the deep water area, Wang Shaojie began to navigate quickly between the various pools, guided by a series of scratches on the walls.

Clearly, these scratches were a secret code used to differentiate between the various areas. It was obvious that the people living here had begun to adapt to this new environment, and were even starting to modify it in limited ways.