Chapter 24: Underwater Exploration

Midnight.

The relentless sound of torrential rain outside served as a constant background noise, masking every subtle sound.

The entire apartment building was engulfed in eerie silence, broken only by the occasional pale flash of lightning outside, offering brief illumination.

Han Ning opened the security door, with Snowcake following silently behind.

“Let’s go.”

The man and his lizard companion moved quietly to the entrance on the first floor.

Compared to their first venture outside, the floodwaters had risen several steps higher.

“Get in,” Han Ning crouched down, running his hand over Snowcake’s scales.

“Awooo~”

With a splash, Snowcake instinctively slid into the water.

First, it curiously sniffed the water’s surface, then plunged its entire head into the murky depths. After a few seconds, it suddenly lifted its head, shaking off droplets as a soft, excited gurgle escaped its throat.

“Dive down and swim outside.”

Han Ning pointed toward the exterior of the apartment building, issuing the command with his mind.

Simultaneously, he activated his animal companion skill, synchronizing to perceive Snowcake’s state.

In an instant, a strange kind of perception replaced his vision, flooding Han Ning’s mind like a tide.

It wasn’t a clear image but rather a radar map woven from sensations and emotions.

The slight resistance as water brushed over Snowcake’s scales, the viscous feeling of stirred sediment on the riverbed, the faint vibrations transmitted through distant ripples.

All the information Snowcake’s body collected was transmitted back to Han Ning’s brain through their mental link.

Snowcake moving through the floodwaters was like a dragon in the ocean or a tiger in the deep forest; it displayed astonishing agility beneath the murky surface.

It propelled its streamlined body forward in a serpentine motion, gliding silently.

“Keep swimming forward.”

Under Han Ning’s direction, Snowcake accelerated toward the apartment’s main entrance.

It effortlessly passed through the lobby, merging into the wider world outside.

More information poured into Han Ning’s mind.

A huge billboard half-submerged, a bus flipped on its side with hollow echoes of water flowing inside...

All the debris lay shrouded in oppressive silence, with only the rush of water and the distant muffled sound of rain as an eternal backdrop.

[Animal Companion (Beginner) proficiency +1, current 30/100]

Meanwhile, Han Ning noticed that as he perceived and directed Snowcake’s movements through their mental link, gathering information, the proficiency of his animal companion skill increased more rapidly.

“So this is how it works...”

Normally, interacting with Snowcake would boost proficiency, but very slowly.

Now, it was almost a point gained every minute.

...

After Snowcake swam about two or three hundred meters away,

“Hissss...”

Suddenly, an alert emotion was transmitted from Snowcake’s end.

Han Ning’s heart tightened.

Through the perception, three relatively large, unfamiliar creatures exuding strong life energy were rapidly swimming in a wedge formation from the murky waters nearby.

Three crocodile lizards!

“Avoid them,” Han Ning instinctively ordered Snowcake, worried about unexpected dangers.

But as the three crocodile lizards approached, nothing happened.

They simply cast a brief glance in Snowcake’s direction.

In Han Ning’s perception, it seemed more like a form of communication within their species through water vibrations or scent.

Apparently, they confirmed Snowcake as one of their own.

The three crocodile lizards swam straight through the water a few meters to Snowcake’s left side, their disturbed currents even tilting the small lizard slightly.

Their destination was clearly farther away; Snowcake posed no threat to them.

“Snowcake, remain alert if you encounter these guys again,” Han Ning cautioned.

He believed that Snowcake and those wild crocodile lizards no longer belonged to the same species.

Those crocodile lizards were filled with violent aggression, utterly incomprehensible and impossible to communicate with. By human analogy, they were like humans infected by a zombie virus.

Snowcake, however, could be compared to a normal human.

Normal humans and zombies are fundamentally different.

Moreover, even among the same species, they would turn on each other.

Han Ning had witnessed crocodile lizards devouring their dead kin, proving that in hunger, they resorted to cannibalism—so those few were simply not hungry.

“Awooo~”

Snowcake continued to follow Han Ning’s orders, exploring further.

It darted nimbly underwater, occasionally gliding along walls and transmitting the rough texture of concrete.

Sometimes it slipped through open windows into flooded homes, weaving among floating furniture.

Han Ning’s mental “radar map” expanded and refined continuously as Snowcake ventured deeper.

He heard faint noises as water flowed through narrow pipes.

Felt the cold touch of a submerged metal trash can.

Smelled the foul stench of a massive animal corpse slowly decomposing in the water nearby.

This city, swallowed by the flood, struck Han Ning’s nerves with a raw, primal sensory assault through Snowcake’s perception.

When Snowcake swam past a pointed-arch church-like building, Han Ning suddenly felt their soul connection tremble sharply.

Like a rubber band stretched to its limit, it became thin and fragile.

The once-clear perception blurred; incoming information grew intermittent, and Snowcake’s emotions seemed to be veiled in a layer of frost, flickering on and off.

“This church is about 500 meters from the community, and 600 meters from home,” Han Ning thought.

“This indicates the sensory limit of the beginner animal companion skill is around 600 meters...”

Living nearby, Han Ning knew exactly how far the church was from his home, since he often passed by it.

“At the limit...” Han Ning hurriedly issued the command, “Come back, Snowcake.”

“Hisswoo~”

From the other end of the link came a sense of reluctant excitement.

Snowcake seemed intensely interested in something in a corner underwater.

But upon Han Ning’s order, it hesitated not a moment, decisively turning back toward home.

A moment later.

Splash!

The water broke as a gray-white head, dripping with murky droplets, suddenly emerged.

Snowcake shook its head vigorously, scattering water everywhere, its yellow, vertical pupils glittering with excitement.

It reached out with its front claws, clawing at the slippery edge of the steps, and climbed up.

The little creature, once on solid ground, couldn’t help but shake its body hard again, flinging the icy, foul-smelling water all around.

A satisfied gurgle escaped its throat, then it affectionately rubbed its head against Han Ning’s calf, continuously transmitting joy.

“Snowcake can be used perfectly as an underwater drone, and with its crocodile lizard appearance, it can easily deceive other wild crocodile lizards, lowering their vigilance...”

Realizing the tactical value Snowcake displayed underwater, one plan after another surged through Han Ning’s mind.