"What can you do?"
"Hehe, just wait and see—summoning Meituan food delivery guy!"
...
Ten minutes later, the two got out at Binjiang Park.
"Here we are. I've delivered countless times, but this is my first time delivering actual people." The delivery guy only sighed that youngsters really knew how to play, though unfortunately, he had long been battered by society and lost his imagination.
"Haha, thanks for your hard work, buddy. Take this money." Yujie placed a large stack of bills into the guy's hands.
Seeing Yujie pull out so much money, the delivery guy's initial displeasure dissipated somewhat—only to discover they were all one-yuan bills. *Emmm, even stingier than me.*
"Meituan Express, mission guaranteed." The delivery guy took the money and vanished like lightning.
"Ha, he must be in a rush."
"Are you sure it's here? There's not a single person around."
Binjiang Park was normally open 24 hours a day, and no matter when you came, you could always see people. Yet right now, there wasn't a soul—at least from the outside. The place had been cordoned off, and no entry was allowed.
"Doesn't that prove there's something fishy? Come on, let's go inside and take a look." Yujie felt along the outer wall and motioned for Lin Xi to step on his shoulder and climb over.
"Don't you dare look up, or I'll skin you alive..." Lin Xi made a melon-slicing gesture with one hand, though unfortunately, paired with her baby face, it carried zero threat.
"Alright, alright, I swear..."
With some effort, the two successfully made it inside. Cautiously creeping deeper into the park, Yujie and Lin Xi spotted a "construction site"?!
The river-facing railing of the park had been dismantled, a marine piling boat was moored on the river, and dozens of temporary tents were pitched in the distance. An extraordinary-looking man was discussing something with the construction crew.
"What is this about? I haven't heard anything about the park being renovated," Yujie wondered aloud.
"Maybe they're up to something shady," Lin Xi ventured, much bolder.
While the two were talking, they failed to notice someone quietly approaching from behind.
"You two..."
A hand suddenly rested on Yujie's shoulder, scaring him into yelping loudly.
"Such a grown man, yet still so timid."
Hearing this voice, Yujie suddenly snapped back to reality.
"Captain Wan, what are you doing here?" Yujie asked incredulously, while Lin Xi quietly patted her chest.
"I should be asking what you two are doing here." Wanyan's expression was somewhat serious. Yet in Yujie's eyes, he looked no different than usual.
"We..."
"Old Wan, what's going on? I thought I heard someone else's voice."
Seeing the extraordinary-looking man walking toward them, the two couldn't help their hearts skipping a beat.
"It's nothing, just my students," Wanyan said without changing his expression.
"Since they're your students, there's no problem then..." The man smiled sinisterly. "Hello, I am Wu Chenglong."
"Haha, I'm Yujie, Captain Wan's proudest student." Yujie reached out his hand, but the other party walked past as if he hadn't seen it at all.
Yujie sheepishly retracted his hand, and Wanyan followed the man away.
"I certainly don't recall ever saying anything like that. Stick close to me and don't wander off."
Yujie and Lin Xi followed behind. Suddenly, Lin Xi lowered her voice and said, "I think I've seen him on TV. He's the vice mayor."
*Be careful, we must figure out what they're up to.* Yujie exchanged a flurry of frantic winks and glances with Lin Xi, practically popping his eyeballs out. Lin Xi was speechless and quickened her pace.
When they reached the crowd, they could hear several people "arguing" from afar. Their arrival failed to cause any stir; the people there didn't even spare them a glance.
To his surprise, Yujie spotted the head of the department among the crowd—how on earth did this old guy get here? Oh, right... he seemed to be some sort of expert or another.
"What's going on? What are you arguing about?"
"Vice Mayor, you're here. Listen to how ridiculous this sounds!" The team leader spoke as if he had finally found a backing. "They actually said we can go straight into the water without taking measurements..."
"The situation at the bottom of the Three Gorges Reservoir is still unclear, and now with this recent event, all previous data is obsolete. How can they be so reckless?"
"Fine, I agree to go straight into the water."
"Exactly... What? You—you agree?" The team leader stared at the vice mayor in disbelief.
"Yes," Wu Chenglong said with finality. "In fact, I invited an expert here long ago, and he will complete this dive."
"Sigh, since you say so, there's no use in me objecting." The team leader turned away to make preparations.
"Captain Wan, I've compiled the data from the day before yesterday..."
Wanyan interrupted Yujie. "You want to talk about the flood."
"Ah? You knew?"
"The hydrological station sent out warnings days ago, but the situation is far beyond what we can control."
"You mean, they know full well the flood could hit at any moment, yet they still insist on doing something?" Lin Xi said.
"Yes." Wanyan looked at the girl with some surprise; she was much smarter than his student. "Still, no need to worry too much. The vice mayor has already made preparations in advance."
*We certainly can't trust this vice mayor...* Lin Xi thought to herself silently.
Before long, the preparations were complete. Yujie and Lin Xi watched as the piling boat slowly lowered a "bell" into the water. They intended to use a diving bell to explore the unknown.
Inside the diving bell, a young man was bustling busily in front of the operation panel, while another completely ordinary-looking person sat in the back, sleeping soundly.
*As expected of an expert... to remain so calm in a situation like this. What's more, he even handed the operation duties over to me; this must be a sign of his trust and a test of my abilities.* The more the young man thought about it, the more excited he became.
Before departure, the team leader repeatedly requested that at least one member of their own team be brought along to guard against unexpected situations.
The vice mayor glanced imperceptibly toward a certain spot, and only nodded after receiving a silent approval from someone. And that was how the current scene came to be.