Apocalypse: After Being Reborn, I Stocked Up on All Supplies
Chapter 440 - 436: Nuclear Pollution

Chapter 440: Chapter 436: Nuclear Pollution

Jiang Yan steered the amphibious boat, traveling for a while longer.

As she approached the Nanpan River channel, her field of vision began to fill with giant ice blocks that hadn’t yet melted.

Nature’s craftsmanship was uncanny, creating jagged ice structures that lent the illusion of being in the Southern Pole region.

Soon, Jiang Yan spotted through her telescope a massive, mutated human corpse floating on the water.

The temperature was too low for the corpse to decay, but prolonged exposure to the water had turned it pale and bloated, with a grotesque, nauseating appearance.

Oddly, besides the dense clusters of tiny insects on the corpse, it was entwined with ropes as thick as a wrist, resembling intestines.

Just as Jiang Yan was about to examine the strange ropes more closely, one of the ropes, estimated to be over ten meters long, began moving slowly.

It was alive!

Only then did Jiang Yan realize that the intestine-like creature was actually devouring the rotten flesh of the floating corpse!

If not for her hand tightly gripping the steering wheel, she might have stumbled backward in fright.

Hua Bao noticed it too and searched its memory for a moment, "Mom, this shape resembles the South Pole Worm. But although the length matches, it’s definitely much larger in size."

"Those black bugs on the corpse look like water lice, but their size is far too large as well."

"The oversized dimensions are likely due to mutations."

"As for the South Pole Worm—" Jiang Yan suddenly gasped, "It seems like organisms worldwide have probably merged together."

Not just terrestrial ones, like the snow geese and snow hares Ye Qing hunted earlier.

There are also those from the ocean.

Who knows if larger creatures such as whales and sharks managed to survive this natural disaster.

If they survived, did their size increase too? Or perhaps their mutations adapted to make them smaller—it’s hard to say.

Regardless, Jiang Yan speculated that these creatures have not only adjusted to differences between freshwater and saltwater but have also likely adapted to acidified seawater.

Considering the current water depth, it’s highly probable that the acidic snow previously settled within the ice during the extreme cold has now completely melted.

The base ice layer that hadn’t yet melted early on, along with surrounding mountains, acted as a giant container, mixing the melted ice and acidic snow together.

In other words, the acidity of the water hasn’t been fully diluted yet, and its concentration is likely quite high.

Speaking of acidic snow concentration, Jiang Yan leaned over to inspect the ship’s hull.

Sure enough, the surface of the boat, originally coated with waterproof and anti-corrosion materials, was already showing signs of deterioration alongside accumulating ice.

An alarm went off in Jiang Yan’s mind.

"Hua Bao, let’s take a detour. Can you locate the place we passed earlier?"

"If the diameter doesn’t exceed the length of my Vine, there should be no problem." Hua Bao replied as its Vine extended in a 360-degree arc.

Jiang Yan lowered the telescope and swiftly steered the wheel to bypass the dense ice block zone and the corpse.

Hua Bao’s Vine-wrapped special metal detector emitted a series of buzzing noises.

It handed the device to Jiang Yan, "Mom, it’s ahead on the right."

"Got it." Jiang Yan glanced ahead and pushed the boat to maximum speed, heading quickly toward the right.

As they approached, the buzzing noise grew piercingly loud.

"Mom, we’re directly above the AS Zone we left before!"

"Good." Jiang Yan slowed the boat and navigated toward what seemed to be the edge of the AS Zone. She turned off the engine and retrieved a bundle of barbed rope from the cabin, handing it to Hua Bao,

"Check if the AS Zone is still frozen in the ice layers."

Hua Bao didn’t take it, "Mom, let me go down and check. My Vine might be enough to reach the AS Zone!"

"Hmm, alright."

With a splash, Hua Bao dove into the water, its body descending as its Vine extended rapidly.

Jiang Yan stared at the water surface, silently praying the ice blocks encasing the AS Zone had completely melted.

Hua Bao quickly finished its exploration and surfaced, "Mom, the surrounding ice has melted; only a small area on the side remains stuck to the ice. I can handle this myself—no need for the rope."

Luckily, the entire AS Zone was suspended between structures built on the two banks of the Nanpan River.

There weren’t many sections below directly touching the ice.

Hua Bao gave a tug, and the structure moved slightly.

Jiang Yan let out a breath of relief and grasped the exposed Vine of Hua Bao. "Hua Bao, make contact with the AS Zone." With that, she focused her thoughts, and the entire AS Zone instantly disappeared from the water, reappearing within the Space Inventory Area through Hua Bao as the conduit.

Before she had time to celebrate, the disappearance of the large AS Zone structure underneath caused the water to form a downward vortex, pulling the boat sharply downward into its spiraling flow.

Startled, Jiang Yan quickly restarted the engine, while Hua Bao, submerged in water, instantly sensed the crushing currents around him. It surged upward, propelling the amphibious boat out of the vortex’s center.

The vessel seemed to lift into the air momentarily before landing on calmer waters beside the vortex.

"Bang!" Upon impact, Jiang Yan steered the boat against the vortex’s direction at full throttle.

The once-calm water surface now churned with massive waves surging from the enormous vortex.

Unknown creatures tossed and tumbled amid the crashing waves.

Jiang Yan didn’t dare dwell on it, maneuvering the boat quickly around the vortex’s perimeter, heading back toward the location Hua Bao had pointed out.

As the water settled again and danger subsided, Hua Bao finally spoke, "Mom, there seem to be some living creatures inside that AS Zone."

With Hua Bao’s help, the process had been perilous but manageable, and Jiang Yan exhaled deeply, slowing the boat down.

"Did you get a good look at those creatures?"

"No, I only saw shadows. They seem strange; why would they burrow inside?"

Jiang Yan smiled, "Sometimes, sunken ships become habitats for marine life at the ocean floor. Most likely, this AS Zone has become one too."

Hua Bao chirped excitedly, "Then we might not just have retrieved the AS Zone; maybe we also brought along some food!"

"Perhaps." Jiang Yan nodded, her thoughts drifting elsewhere.

The apocalypse began with Japan releasing nuclear-polluted water.

Later, people essentially forgot about it.

But in truth, the radioactive substances in nuclear-polluted water don’t just spread through water currents.

It’s quite possible that they dispersed through rain, snowflakes, and other means—a secondary diffusion.

However, given sufficient geographical distance, the amount transmitted wouldn’t be significant.

But if the oceans globally fused together, wouldn’t that mean—

Along with the previous explosions at Xiangcheng and others unknown to them yet occurring on different parts of the planet—

The thought gave Jiang Yan chills.

"Zzz-zzaa~" Suddenly, a crackling sound came from the radio.

Jiang Yan picked it up, and Li Haoyang’s voice emerged,

"Miss Jiang, have you arrived at your destination? Did you find it?"

Jiang Yan, aware there were others near Li Haoyang, replied vaguely, "Yes, we’ve arrived and retrieved it. We are on our way back now."

"So quickly?!" Li Haoyang sounded both shocked and delighted. "Are you all alright?"

"Yes, I’m fine."

"Good to hear! Take care on your way back."

"Alright."

"By the way, the area we sent you to earlier has collapsed due to melting ice and snow. We’re waiting for you roughly 100 meters behind that spot."

"Got it." Jiang Yan replied. She picked up her telescope to survey the distance, preparing to increase her speed, but abruptly heard the boat emit a loud "Kurt" sound and grind to a halt.

At the same time, icy water began seeping into the cabin from the drainage valve in one corner.