Three days after the first door closed.
Shen stood at the edge of the river. The water was black. Thick. He wore his dive suit. The helmet was on his head. He checked his hook. Still sharp.
He stepped into the water.
The cold went through the suit. He didn't mind. He had done this a hundred times. The bottom was mud and broken bricks. He felt with his feet. Moved slowly.
His palm glowed. Faint. The triangle mark.
The passive skill kicked in. Blue lines appeared in his vision. They showed him where the currents were strongest, where the mud was soft, where something metal lay under a rock.
He dug it out. A small box. Rusted. He put it in his bag.
Work was work. People paid for old things. Watches. Coins. Sometimes weapons. He didn't ask where they came from. He just pulled them out.
He stayed under for an hour. Found three more items. A knife. A flask. A child's shoe.
He surfaced. Took off the helmet. Breathed.
The sun was low. He climbed out. Dried his hands on his pants.
His palm was still warm.
---
The next morning, Shen went to the trading post.
It was a big tent at the edge of town. Tables inside. People are selling and buying. Noise. Smells of old food and sweat.
He carried his bag. The small box. The knife. The flask. The shoe.
Old Xu sat behind his table. He had known Shen for years. Shen's father used to sell to him too. Xu was thin, bald, with yellow teeth. He never smiled.
Shen put the items on the table.
Xu picked up the box. Felt the weight. Opened it. Inside was a small brass gear. Old. But not broken.
"Where did you find this?" Xu asked.
Shen said nothing.
Xu looked at his face. Didn't ask again. He held the gear up to the light. "Machine part. Pre-flood. Might be worth something to the right buyer."
"How much?"
"Ten coins."
Shen shook his head. "Fifteen."
"Twelve."
"Done."
Xu put the gear back in the box. Set it aside.
Then he picked up the knife. Looked at the blade. "Old. Chipped. Two coins."
"Five."
"Three."
"Four."
Xu grunted. "Four." He put the knife down.
The flask. Xu shook it. Empty. "One coin."
"Two. It's silver."
"Silver-plated. One coin."
Shen took the flask back. "Then I keep it."
Xu shrugged. "Suit yourself."
The child's shoe. Xu didn't even pick it up. "No."
Shen put the shoe back in his bag. "Twelve for the box. Four for the knife. Sixteen total."
Xu counted out sixteen small metal coins. Shen took them.
He left the tent. Went to a food stall. Bought dried meat. Two bags. Cost him three coins. He had thirteen left.
He put the meat in his bag—the thirteen coins in his pocket.
---
He got home. Put the meat on the shelf. Sat down.
He pulled out his father's notebook from under the mattress.
He had read it a hundred times. But he kept looking. Hoping to find something new.
Tonight, he found it.
A page he had missed. Stuck to another page. He pulled it apart.
A map. Hand-drawn. Rough. But clear. It showed the eastern part of the floating market. A small X marked a spot.
No words. Just the X.
Shen stared at it. Then he put the notebook away.
He thought about Jiang. She had the compass. She could help find whoever was at that X.
He decided to see her tomorrow.
---
The central ruin was dark. Broken buildings. Rusted metal. The wind whistled through empty windows.
Shen walked to Jiang's bunker. Knocked three times. Paused. Knocked twice.
The door opened.
Jiang stood there. She looked better than before. More energy. Her eyes were sharper.
"Come in," she said.
Her bunker was small. A bed. A table. A stove. Weapons on the wall. The Spirit Iron Dagger hung on a hook.
"I've been testing the mark," she said. She held up her palm. The key-shaped mark was dark. "It heals faster now. And I can feel danger before it comes. Sometimes."
She pointed at a cup on the table. It moved. Just a little. "That's new. I can push small things. Not strong. But it's there."
Shen nodded. "Mine showed me weak points in the water today. Helped me find things faster."
"Useful."
He took out the map. Showed her the X.
"My father's notebook. I don't know what's there."
Jiang took out the Seeker's Compass. "We can go look. But first, we need to find Wang Long's daughter. The compass has been pointing east for days. She's out there."
"One trip. Find the girl. Then check the X."
Jiang agreed. "Let's go."
---
They walked east.
The ruins gave way to open ground. Then more ruins. Then the floating market came into view. Wooden platforms built on top of old buildings. Ropes and bridges connecting them. Smoke from cooking fires.
The compass needle pointed straight ahead.
They walked through the market. People selling fish. Metal scraps. Old clothes. No one looked at them. That was normal.
The needle stopped at a fish stall. A girl stood behind it. Fifteen. Maybe sixteen. Dark hair. Thin. Her eyes were wary.
Jiang stepped forward. "What's your name?"
The girl didn't answer.
"I'm not here to hurt you," Jiang said. "We're looking for someone."
The girl looked at Shen. Then at Jiang. "My name is A-Mei."
Shen reached into his pocket. Took out the coin. Wang Long's coin. He put it on the stall.
The girl's face changed. Her eyes went wide. She picked up the coin. Turned it over.
"This is my father's," she whispered. "Where is he?"
Shen said, "He's dead."
The girl's eyes were red. But she didn't cry. "How?"
"Poison."
She was quiet for a few seconds. Then she said, "He sent you?"
"Yes. He said to give you this coin."
She put the coin in her pocket. "My name is Wang Mei. Thank you for coming."
Shen said, "He also said if you need help, find Old Chen in the eastern market. The coin is proof."
Wang Mei nodded. "I know Old Chen."
Shen and Jiang turned to leave.
Wang Mei said, "If you need help too... You can find Old Chen as well. Tell him I sent you."
Shen nodded. They walked away.
Wang Mei stood behind her stall. The coin in her hand. Watching them go.
---
They left the market. The sun was lower now. Shadows stretched across the ruins.
"One thing done," Jiang said. "Now the X."
They walked back the way they came.
Halfway, Shen stopped.
He felt eyes on him.
Three men stepped out from behind a broken wall. Then two more. Five total. The one in front had a scar across his face. He carried a rusted machete.
"You," the scarred man said, pointing at Shen. "You're Shen Yangui. Son of Shen Duzhou."
Shen put his hand on his hook.
The scarred man smiled. "Your father owed us. Took our money. Said he'd dive for something for us. Then he ran. We've been looking for you a long time. Where's your father?"
"He's dead."
The scarred man's smile faded. "Dead? That's not good for you."
"He's dead. The debt is dead too."
The scarred man shook his head. "No. Debt doesn't die. You pay it now. Find the thing your father promised. Bring it to us."
"I don't know what he promised."
"Then you find out. Or we take it from you."
Shen didn't move. "No."
The scarred man raised his machete. "Then we take it by force."
He charged.
Shen moved left. His hook came up. Caught the man's arm. Pulled. The man stumbled. Shen's hook went into his shoulder.
The man screamed.
Jiang moved. Her dagger was out. Black blade. Red veins. She cut one of the other men across the chest. He fell.
Shen pulled his hook out. The scarred man dropped his machete. Blood ran down his arm.
Two more men ran at Shen. He ducked. Hook went into one man's leg. The man fell. Shen kicked the other in the knee. The man went down. Jiang finished him with her dagger.
The scarred man was on the ground. His two remaining men dragged him up.
"This isn't over," he said. "You'll pay. One way or another."
They ran. Disappeared into the ruins.
Shen wanted to chase. Jiang grabbed his arm. "Don't. Might be a trap."
He stopped. Watched them go.
"We should keep going," Shen said. "The X is close."
Jiang shook her head. "Not today. It'll be dark soon. Those men might come back with more. We go back, rest, and try tomorrow."
Shen looked east. The sun was low. The shadows were long.
"Tomorrow," he said.
They turned and walked back.
---
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Jiang went back to her bunker. Shen went home.
He reached his door. Checked the frame. A small triangle carved into the wood. New. He rubbed it off.
Inside, he sat on his bed. The room was cold. Quiet.
He took out his father's notebook again. Flipped through it. Nothing else new.
He put it away.
His palm was warm. The triangle mark pulsed. Slow. Like a heartbeat.
Twenty-seven days left until the second door.
He lay down. Stared at the ceiling.
The scarred man's words stayed in his head. "Find the thing your father promised."
He didn't know what that thing was.
Tomorrow, he and Jiang would go to the X. Whatever was there, he would find it.