The Most Powerful Brain in the Interstellar Space

Chapter 196 Pathfinding
Although he appeared to be afraid of water, when Huan Xianzhen floated with the help of the simulated bra and the buoyancy of the water, his balance was no worse than that of Zhou Xiuwen, who had been practicing for quite some time.

Jiang Hui even felt that the other party could actually swim. If not a true swimmer, then at least had a basic understanding of the properties of water and would be able to float without any problem.

But how did the other person manage to control their fear of water? Did they really have a breakthrough? And what's the principle behind achieving this effect by seemingly covering their ears and eyes?

Jiang Hui had many questions in her mind, but seeing the man's body as stiff as a brick, she felt that now was not the right time to talk about them.

Seeing that the other person had adapted, Jiang Hui fastened the seatbelt behind him and pulled him back to the shelf. The three of them then returned to the shelf on the wall and sat in a row.

Sigh, it's been so long, and the water level hasn't dropped even half an inch.

Jiang Hui glanced at the locations they had marked earlier and was quite certain that the water level hadn't dropped an inch despite all the commotion. In the end, he had no choice but to abandon his plan to lie there and wait, and seriously consider setting off to find a way to survive.

Jiang Hui herself was fine. She was the most independent one here, could swim, and had enough energy left from the simulated bra to last for a long time. The pool water wasn't a problem for her; she could leave whenever she wanted. But taking the other two people with her was impossible.

The problem arose with the other two people; one couldn't swim and the other was afraid of water.

The problem seems to have been solved. Although they can't swim, as long as they can float, it's fine. Jiang Hui will try to carry them along for a while. Anyway, it's better than being unable to move at all.

Therefore, this rest stop was specifically reserved for Zhou Xiuwen and Huan Xian, giving them ample time to consider whether they should continue. After all, their remaining energy was dwindling, and if they didn't consider their own capabilities and forced themselves to embark on this quest with her, it was hard to guarantee how long they could last.

Of course, they felt they couldn't give up and wanted to give it another shot, and as a teammate, Jiang Hui was naturally willing to help. After all, they were all on the same path, always heading towards the same goal.

"So what are your thoughts?" Jiang Hui asked again.

This was the last time. The three rested while consuming the last remaining restorative nutrient solution they had, making one final check.

Zhou Xiuwen naturally nodded in agreement, even seeming somewhat indifferent. He hadn't held high expectations for himself anyway, and having come this far, he hadn't considered it a complete loss. His father, watching from outside, was probably pleased with his performance.

“Okay.” Huan Xian’s expression was very unpleasant, even more so than after the water incident. But under the gazes of Jiang Hui and Zhou Xiuwen, he finally nodded firmly, indicating that he would follow.

“Okay. Shall we… go?” No sooner said than done, Jiang Hui had been waiting impatiently and felt she couldn’t wait any longer. Leaning forward, she let go of the water and plunged in, then skillfully surfaced, smiling and gesturing an invitation to the two of them.

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Although they appeared to be light and well-prepared, none of them were truly confident. Even when the tunnel wasn't flooded, they couldn't find any solutions, let alone now that it was submerged like this.
Jiang Hui not only had to expend twice the effort to swim, but also twice the effort to carry people. With all that combined, how could it possibly be easier to move?

Yes. Jiang Hui is currently in charge of leading the gravity, while the other two... well, let's just say they're like corpses floating around, each "doing their own job," figuring out how to get through this strange situation in this way.

Honestly, this was the best solution available—given that she was taking two teammates with her. It was a last resort. Even though the two were barely able to float in the water thanks to the buoyancy of the simulated bras, mastering swimming in such a short time was simply a pipe dream, even for a genius.

Huan Xian, in particular, seems to have a great psychological aversion to water. He had to constantly force himself to ignore his surroundings to float along the way. If you really asked him to swim, wouldn't that be the death of him?

Therefore, Jiang Hui didn't dare let them actually paddle or swim, otherwise she would have to fish them out if they sank.

Without any assistance, Jiang Hui had no choice but to grit his teeth and swim forward little by little with the two of them, while carefully observing the surrounding situation.

Of course, she wasn't foolish enough to carry people entirely by hand. Along the way, she used nails to the walls for support and then used retractable ropes to pull people in sections. Her own effort was mainly in clearing the path and making connections.

After maintaining this pace for over a hundred meters, Jiang Hui began to feel her energy being severely depleted. Her arms trembled, and the parts of her legs that were exerting force were faintly "groaning" as she struggled to keep up.

It wasn't that she was useless; this short journey had been nothing short of "torture" for Jiang Hui, both physically and mentally. In her previous life, she was just an ordinary person who couldn't even run a 1,000-meter race. The original owner of this body was also born without strong physical abilities, and her body was weaker than that of other ordinary people. Even though she had improved considerably after these days of military training, she was still far from being as good as many people in military-related majors.

Her base physical attributes weren't high to begin with, and if she continued to exhaust herself like this, even with all her resilience, she would feel like everything was going dark and the road ahead was endless.

It seems I overestimated myself. I thought swimming several hundred meters would be no problem, but now I can't even last a little over a hundred meters.

Helpless, Jiang Hui had no choice but to reinstall the frame at the nearest fixed support point on the wall, pull up the two teammates who were still floating, and plan to rest and recuperate for a while.

Jiang Hui and Zhou Xiuwen immediately and skillfully began wringing out their sleeves, trouser legs, and belts—areas prone to water accumulation and hindering their agility. After cleaning, they didn't waste any time, each quickly shoving several vials of nutrient solution into their mouths to sustain their lives.

As for Huan Xian, Jiang Hui only glanced at him after catching her breath... She actually couldn't bear to look anymore, because his complexion was visibly getting worse each time, and now his lips were bluish-purple and his eyes were red. Even from such a distance, she could hear him panting heavily.

Jiang Hui had tried to talk to him to distract him, but seeing his behavior, she didn't dare to say anything and just gave him some space to catch his breath.

Once everyone had calmed down a bit, Jiang Hui vaguely recalled the route they had taken, which seemed rather strange. "...We turned four cave entrances in just over a hundred meters." Not only that, it felt like the cave passages got longer and the current got faster as we went further. So, was there something different about the earlier part?

(End of this chapter)