Lin Xian, fully armed, shouldered a backpack, and together with KIKI, both stepped onto the dark platform once again. Perhaps due to the nightfall, even the tunnels deep within the Underground City, hundreds of meters below, conveyed a piercing chill.
The Underground City’s mobile terminal successfully connected with Infinity’s response system, allowing Ding Junyi to use the responder to communicate directly with Lin Xian via the Underground City’s information terminals. Once they entered the elevator, they indeed found they could connect to the messages on board.
"The entire Underground City from floors 20 to 60 are the main living and working areas, floors 60 to 70 are the industrial production, scientific research and storage areas. Going further down, floors 70 to 80 are where the third-class citizens reside, which is the most populous. Meanwhile, floor 89 is the Underground City’s permanent layer for civilization storage, mainly housing various species’ fossils, plant seeds, as well as genetic archives and the storage of various art pieces. Normally very few people work there, and there aren’t any supplies of survival value, so presumably, not many people would have gone to that floor after the outbreak. However, the space there is incredibly vast, so you still need to be careful."
In the elevator, Ding Junyi introduced the layout with a calm voice.
"Wow, 40 floors for the least populous first and second-class citizens, and 10 floors for the most populous third-class citizens, this is sick..." KIKI clucked her tongue in disdain.
Lin Xian glanced at her, "If you came, you definitely wouldn’t have to live below the 60th floor."
KIKI replied with contempt, "I don’t even like it here, it’s suffocating. I’d rather be on my Carriage 2, it’s more comfortable. Anyway, we’ll burst through the Palma Prairie, the Romuda Desert, the Pacific Ocean... no matter how, dying anywhere else would be more comfortable than dying here."
"It’s just a pity, I thought we’d find lots of supplies, lots of weapons, lots of equipment..."
However, Lin Xian didn’t care: "If I could get my hands on that Gemini 11R Nuclear Power Electric Locomotive, I would be very content, not to mention the two scientific research carriages on it. Wouldn’t our planting base become a reality then? Later, I’ll just expand the air and water circulation systems in those carriages, and our vehicle will be no worse than an intercontinental one."
As the polar night approached and the Underground City of hundreds of thousands fell, with unknown underground creatures on the loose, under these conditions, Lin Xian would already be grateful for such a gain, without any unrealistic expectations of scavenging the entire Underground City. Even if he had such ambitions, he wouldn’t have enough lives to fulfill them.
What’s more, he hasn’t gotten hold of anything yet.
Except for three additional women on board, and a pot of flowers...
Cargo Elevator 3 arrived at the system-offline 89th floor with a dull sound and the music from various advertisements.
The elevator doors slowly opened, and Lin Xian and KIKI stood on each side of the door, guns in hand, on high alert.
The light from the elevator spilled onto the pitch-black ground outside as the doors opened. They swept their gaze around, discerning towering shelves amidst the vast darkness.
KIKI operated the mobile terminal and navigated the route towards the rail safety passage.
"This place is very empty, let’s be cautious."
The immense space instilled in Lin Xian an intense sense of insecurity. Beyond the light from the elevator, the space outside was dead silent.
A step forward echoed in the cavernous room, as if a pebble had dropped into a still pond, tightening one’s chest.
On the 89th floor, the two were nearly 450 meters underground, a great oppressive feeling spreading from the depths of their hearts.
Lin Xian, leading the way ahead of KIKI, switched on his tactical flashlight near his ear, surveying the surroundings.
He noted that the ceiling height of this level was much higher than that of the 52nd floor they had visited earlier, with a distance of at least 10 meters overhead. The tall shelves, arrayed in the darkness, imposed like mountains.
Neatly placed on the shelves were various insect specimens, with pathways that were long and straight, seemingly endless at a glance.
"This is Sector G, Corridor 117. We need to turn right first, then go down the passage by the genetic archives."
KIKI’s voice wasn’t loud, but in this quiet space, it was like a clap of thunder.
Lin Xian hastened his pace, then abruptly stopped.
"Do you hear any sounds?"
Upon hearing Lin Xian’s question, KIKI instantly shrank her neck and looked around cautiously, "No... I don’t, okay?"
The two stood quietly for a few seconds, and indeed, besides their breathing, no other sounds were heard.
"Don’t scare me, okay..."
Lin Xian gestured to her to remain silent, then continued into the darkness.
He quietly took out his GK03 electric knife, slinging the automatic rifle over his back. In such a tranquil space, should they encounter danger, using the Backflash or Electric Surge to handle the situation would probably be far better than firing a gun.
Otherwise, a loud noise would attract a horde of zombies, and in this place, they wouldn’t even know which way to run.
Exiting from passage G117, the two arrived at a shelving area housing fossils, where all kinds of skeletal shadows could be seen at a glance.
KIKI followed behind him, feeling more and more uneasy the longer she walked in this expansive place, so she whispered, "Lin Xian, talk to me, this place is really creepy."
"Anything is fine, like after I fainted, did you rescue me, or give me CPR or anything."
"Do you really have the mood to chat about this now?" Lin Xian was somewhat speechless.
KIKI sighed and quickly followed Lin Xian, "Also, are you planning to let a lot of people on board later? Are we going to install intelligent driving in our train? If the sea rail breaks, and we can’t fly, do we have to transform it into a sea train or a submarine?"
Lin Xian: "The more people the better, each extra person means an extra chance of survival."
"So are you planning to take those three people with you today?"
"No such plan. We’re not a relief train, and besides, those scientists don’t seem to need to flee with us. They still want to seek refuge with the new Federation Government."
"Psh, let them go then, it might not even be as safe as on the Infinity."
"What concerns me more now is the issue with the high-altitude corridor," Lin Xian said while walking, "That Director Ding mentioned that during the Underground City’s great migration, many flying devices and airships were evacuated together, but these aerial units are all gone now. This suggests that there might be even more terrifying things in the sky than the monsters on the ground. Since Apocalypse Day, various aerospace and satellite equipment have also been doomed. There might be more than just that giant jellyfish up there."
Lin Xian thought of the huge floating giant corpse he saw in KIKI’s Fallen Illusion Realm and still felt a shiver in his heart.
The sky is not necessarily safer than the ground. If it weren’t for Infinity’s solid armor, the people on board would have died countless times over their journey.
After walking a long distance, the surroundings started to turn colder. Leaving the fossil area, the two came to a larger region, with shelves displaying various numbered glass containers, containing dried and stored plant seeds.
"Lin Xian, look, so many seeds."
KIKI, holding the flashlight, looked all the way, her eyes shining with amazement: "Aren’t you planning to grow vegetables on the train? Should we take some to cultivate?"
Lin Xian glanced over and decided without hesitation, "Yes, since we’re here, let’s take some."
Excellent breeding is not easy to find. With the black rain encroaching, the natural world’s plants have met a disaster, and many vegetables and fruits have become untraceable. Lin Xian couldn’t possibly search for them on the road.
Now that they’ve come across them, he might as well help himself to some—after all, they don’t take up much space.
So, he took off his backpack and started selecting some suitable seeds to pack inside.
Just as they were collecting seeds, a strange sound rose, like the noise of a stick dragging on the ground.
Both of them immediately stopped and listened intently.
This time, Lin Xian was certain—he hadn’t misheard.