Not a lot remains of the world before the flood. The village by the windmill was all but reduced to a memory, and little evidence can be found of other intelligent life existing outside the village. Explorers have sailed and swam throughout the vast ocean in an attempt to salvage what remained of the past civilization's knowledge to little avail. The many explorers have recently compiled their scant findings together in hope of getting some tangible proof of progress. Despite not coming to any airtight conclusions, they did come up with a few theories.
It is likely that some of the richer inhabitants of the village were able to gain distance from the infighting without completely abandoning the village itself. There have been numerous power lines and pipes leading away from the village discovered buried under the ocean floor. Although attempting to follow them has proved little to nothing, it is assumed that those lines lead to the residencies of people who would've been able to afford such an endeavor.
Rumors have been circulating regarding these new findings. Some say they've had friends that've seen such buildings with their own eyes. When questioned, they assert that their friends refused to disclose the location and weren't seen again after they went to investigate. Most people assume these people to be nuts, but some people hold out hope that one day they'll be the ones to discover the remnants for themselves. Those adventurers dream of riches and technology guarded by unspeakable monsters. There seems to be something alluring about the idea.