Tainted Waters

I'll get some more offerings. Please... Just make it stop...

AAAHHH!!! No offense, no offense! By the old rites, begone, unseen ones!

Gah! You scared me! Thought those things were angry about the offerings again...

O-oh! You're ... asking about *the things* in the canals?

The water moves wrong. And the noises ... oh goodness the noises...

And — and the water glows green at night ... like drowned souls!

Right? Everyone's terrified. No one dares touch the water now!

They say a body fell in last month... Now it's not human anymore... *Shivers*

......

I've said too much! That Tianshi disciple over there, Li Heng ... he knows the dark waters better...

How do we use water with that filth causing chaos every day?

Readings stable, chem-levels nominal... Hm? Endministrator, you need me?

Ignore that nonsense. "Filth"? Superstition is the real pollutant.

I walk these canals twice a week. Never once seen anything "abnormal".

My bet? Someone's illegally breeding fin, caused a ruckus, and sparked wild rumors.

*Sigh* But the panic's real. People refusing to use water is a public health risk...

Perfect! You can start with the canals under Fangxing Avenue and near the Tianshi Bureau Academy.

Oh goodness it's real! There really is "filth" in the waters!

Just now...

My prototypes deployed for testing... Their signals just vanished! I went to retrieve them and... Gone.

Since when do canal sensors get "eaten"?! I signed up for tech, not predatory infrastructure!

Is this ... karma for mocking the water ghosts?! Are the drowned punishing my skepticism?!

Yeah! Where did you...

No way! These are eco-friendly silent models!

......

Oh, uh... It's damaged by water, so the motors and LEDs are malfunctioning. Seems like those lights and the sounds ... were caused by them ... ha ... haha...

Data's intact at least! Just needs a new motherboard. I'll patch it up.

Wait, no. There *is* something wrong.

Locals say the canal east of HS.Swords is the worst, but I never deployed any there...

I owe you one!

These spare scanners might identify the anomaly. Please install them in the troubled canal. I'll monitor remotely.

......

You won't believe this... The canal's packed with prototypes!

It's like the worst group project... Everyone's broken oxidizers and filters fighting underwater!

Hah! The "filth" was real. Just half tears, half solder burns from my peers!

Too many aquatic engineering majors, zero lab space. Of course they turned the canals into a backyard testing ground!

...And here I thought I was the innovative one.

Well... Since we're here, might as well fish out all the drowned items and host a lost & found.

I'm gonna apologize to the locals and explain the situation...

By the way, I just noticed the control valve is different here. It lets you move the water level up or down. We can reset the water level too.

Thanks for helping. I'll begin the scan now.

No sign of "filth" or "movement"... Hmm, maybe they're just rumors, like that Tianshi disciple said?

Though those devices are a bit concerning...

Yeah, it's too early to tell. Let's head out!

No sign of "filth" or "movement"... Hmm, maybe they're just rumors, like that Tianshi disciple said?

Though those devices are a bit concerning...

Yeah, it's too early to tell. Let's head out!