About a minute later, the merman returned, holding another living breath in his arms.
"Could you do me a favor and kill it, and cut open its belly?" I asked. I didn't have a knife, so I couldn't kill a fish. Besides, this fish looked quite large, over a meter long. I might not be able to defeat it in a one-on-one fight in the water!
"Ah, yes, yes, yes!"
The merman dismembered the fish and handed it to me. I reached into its belly. It was indeed very fatty. I scooped out a large handful of fish oil and smeared it around the screw, rubbing it continuously to generate heat. The fish oil melted and seeped in. At the same time, I moved the wrench up and down. Before long, the screw began to loosen. I widened the range of motion of the wrench and moved it quickly more than ten times. Finally, the wrench was pushed down by the force, showing a noticeable displacement.
But I was in the water and had no leverage.
"Um... can you hold me from behind and lift me up?" I requested.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes!" The merman lifted me from behind. I climbed onto the wrench and used my own weight to push it down. After turning it forty-five degrees, I returned to the water. Then, I asked the merman to push me from behind again, helping me to turn the wrench all the way to the ninety-degree position.
Once it was in place, I could clearly feel that the sound of water flow outside the "boiler" had reduced significantly.
The merman led me back the way we came. After leaving the boiler, I found that the river's flow had stopped. I didn't need to hold onto the mermen one by one anymore; I could swim back to the ladder and climb up. When I emerged from the gap, I noticed that the water level had risen considerably compared to before. It had even submerged the belt I had tied to the ladder as a marker. However, the merman untied it for me and climbed the ladder to hand it to me.
So, the upstream flow was that fast, and the water storage capacity was that strong!
I thanked the merman and asked them not to go too far, as I would have to go down again later to turn that wrench back.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes!" The merman nodded, leaped into the water, and disappeared.
"Wow, mermaids are so beautiful!" Bingbing exclaimed. "It's a pity though..."
"A pity what?" I asked.
"Hehe, it seems... you can't do that naughty stuff," Bingbing whispered.
They must have their own special ways.
The water level was rising rapidly. There were markings on the wall of the pump room. The topmost was a red line, roughly level with the ceiling of the pump room, which should be the maximum. I estimated that it would take at least an hour for the water to reach the maximum.
The four of us returned to the dam first. I walked to the edge of the dam and observed the downstream situation.
The dam wasn't completely sealed off. Instead, five of the original seven drainage outlets were blocked, leaving only two operating at full capacity. The resulting rapids were immense, so the downstream water level hadn't dropped particularly significantly. The "wet" areas on the riverbanks, the marks left after the water receded, were only about ten meters wide. Compared to the vast river, this was negligible.
This was good; it prevented the water level from dropping too suddenly, which might alert the enemy.
The giant catfish was still lurking in the water, gazing upwards. I motioned for it to come closer. The catfish swam to the now-diverted water surface. I shouted to it, "Wait here. When we open the floodgates later, we'll descend with the floodwaters and attack the enemy outside Wusan City directly."
The giant catfish indicated that it understood. It found a rocky den in the water, coiled up inside, and conserved its energy.
The old man was responsible for observing the water level. It turned out that the dam's water storage capacity far exceeded my estimation. In just over half an hour, the old man said, "It's almost time. If we store more water, we might breach the dam, and we'll need it in the future!"
I thought the same thing. I was also worried that if the flood was too strong, it might destroy Wusan City, which would be more loss than gain. So, I hurried down to the pump room, summoned the merman, had them take me into the "boiler," and pushed the wrench back. When I emerged again and stood on the dam, I witnessed an astonishing sight. The head of the floodwaters, like a ferocious beast, had already advanced about a kilometer. Wherever it passed, sand and stones flew, uprooting trees on both banks. The crest of the tide looked to be at least five meters high!
"Old man, wait until the flood subsides a bit, and then slowly make your way back along the riverbank. We have to go back to fight!" I told the old man. The current was too swift, and I was afraid the catfish might shake him off.
"Alright, everyone, be careful. May your victory be swift!"