Chapter 384.2: Shelter 79!

"Just call me the administrator."

Sesame Paste couldn’t help but complain, "But we already have an administrator; we need to distinguish you somehow."

The voice pondered for a moment before speaking again. "Sorry, I've been alone too long, my name hasn't been used in a while. You can call me Mr. Yong."

Sisi was slightly surprised but didn't say much more. She simply nodded in acknowledgment.

The names of most NPCs in the game were quite strange, including their own administrator, who always used the codename, Dawn. He only occasionally used his actual name, Chu Guang.

But from what this guy said, he seemed to be an old monster who had lived from before the war to the present.

This task was getting more interesting.

Walking beside her, Sesame Paste, completely unable to understand their conversation, asked somewhat anxiously, "How much longer until we get there?"

Sisi translated her question, and the radio quickly responded, "We're almost there but before that, I hope you're mentally prepared. As I've said, this place has never sheltered any survivors."

"We’re ready.” Sisi replied.

As the guide NPC for this mission, he sure talked a lot.

As Sisi was thinking to herself, a giant gear-shaped alloy door finally appeared at the end of the tunnel.

The number ‘79’, emblazoned right in the center of the gear, hadn't faded at all despite 200 years.

Excitement flashed in their eyes.

Mission complete!

We found the entrance to Shelter 79!

"Too bad Tail isn't here... Should we call her over?" Sesame Paste mumbled suddenly.

"Going back and forth will waste too much time. We finally made it here, let's see what it looks like inside first..." Controlling her tone, Sisi looked at the radio in Sesame Paste’s hands and asked, "How do we get in?"

Just as she finished speaking, the pebbles on the ground started to tremble slightly.

The floor shook as if from an earthquake, and the massive gear door began to roll slowly to the side.

Gazing at the corridor behind the door and the spacious, playground-like buffer room, Sisi's eyes widened in surprise.

The area before her was easily 10 times the size of Shelter 404, but what surprised her even more was yet to come.

As she and Sesame Paste crossed the wide airlock room and approached the door at the end of the corridor, a row of floor-to-ceiling windows quickly came into view.

And beyond those windows, what they saw completely overturned their understanding of what a shelter could be.

Rows of blocky high-rise buildings, like sharp rulers, spread out in an unusually wide area, stretching into an unfathomably deep space in the ground.

Sharp pathways connected those block-like buildings.

They resembled interconnected blocks, stacking and connecting in a way that maximized space utilization in rather aesthetic manner.

Now... They stood at the highest point of the ‘underground city’.

Sisi's eyes widened and her fingers instinctively touching the earpiece. Her fingertips stuck to the shutter.

Standing beside her, Sesame Paste was completely dumbfounded. Her eyes were wide open and her jaws dropped so far it was easy to shove an egg into it.

"Is this really a shelter?"

"Welcome to Lucky Valley Municipality 2.0." The cheerful voice from the radio rang in their ears. "It's been a very long time since we've had new guests."

As the voice fell, Sesame Paste’s eyes flashed with wariness.

She quickly drew the 12mm caliber revolver from her waist, thumb pressing down the hammer proficiently.

It was a gun she had bought from the administrator a long time ago, mainly for dealing with large mutants.

She aimed at the door behind which a tiger, much larger than usual, stared through the glass, growling dangerously at them.

Its teeth protruded from its lips like sharp daggers.

Its claws scratched at the door, and its teeth grated against the frame, its eyes full of impatience as if it had been hungry for a long time.

The moment their eyes met, an instinctive sense of danger made the hair on her body stand upright.

Sisi, sensing the same dangerous aura, swallowed hard. She clicked her assault rifle into place, aimed at the door, and asked, "What exactly is going on here?"

Why are there mutants in a shelter?!

A deep sigh came from the radio.

"So I told you to be prepared. As you can see, this city has fallen."

"Fallen...?"

"Yes." Cradled in Sesame Paste's arms, the old radio seemed to recount a past event in a very light voice.

"The people here once had a brief but prosperous time, but that giant door could block war and radiation, but not the people's longing for the outside world and freedom. I tried to convince them to wait just a bit longer, wait for the radioactive dust to fall from the sky, wait for the glaciers freezing the earth to melt, wait until everything is over and we can walk out into the outside world together, but..."

"But?"

"... They couldn't wait any longer, clamoring to leave. No matter how hard I tried to persuade them, it was useless." The voice in the radio carried a hint of sarcasm, but soon switched to one of resignation. "Let's not talk about those old stories, I believe you're not interested. Anyway, because that giant door was frequently opened and closed, there's no difference between here and the outside world now. It's even worse than outside."

"Our original intention was to help the mutated creatures outside return to normal. Who could have thought that some fools weren't satisfied with just leaving, they also took creatures carrying unfinished genomic prototypes with them, leading to the current situation where mutants run around rampant outside."

Sisi frowned. "Do you mean... Do all the mutants outside come from this place?!”

A succinct answer came from the radio. "Probably at least half of them. As for the rest, you'd have to ask the other shelters. Who knows what they're up to?"

Pausing, the voice seemed to carry a deep sense of guilt.

"Of course, we did try to remedy the situation. Before the last crisis, we were always looking for ways to control the spread of the genomic prototypes. In fact, this great work was almost completed, but unfortunately, the only research area that hadn't fallen was ultimately lost."

Sisi’s pupils constricted instantly when she heard what the voice said. "We are willing to continue your unfinished business! Restoring the ecology of this planet is also a part of our mission to revive the Federation!"

Any significant research findings discovered on the wasteland, whether encrypted data or sample entities, could be exchanged for substantial rewards at the scientific exploration team's leader, Yin Fang.

The shelter was massive...

The things researched here can definitely be exchanged for many rewards, right?

Unaware of her thoughts at the moment, the radio's voice came again, "I'm glad to hear you say that. It seems I wasn't wrong to trust you."

After a pause, it continued, "In the city center, there's a silver-white building that stands out. You should be able to see it from here. That's where the shelter's research area is. All our research findings are stored there, including our experimental data and the completed serum samples."

"Serum?" Sisi gasped.

"The serum capable of reversing mutations. We've only completed it for Deathclaws... Well... That’s because they are the most dangerous."

Sisi was shocked after hearing what was said. “Is that even possible?”

Reversing mutations...

That sounded like a fantasy.

But the voice from the radio spoke with certainty. "Of course, it's not that hard to achieve. To get back to the point, if you really want to carry on our work, just take those things outside. Since you're from a shelter, you surely know how to use them."

"Of course, the mutants here are tough. There are many Deathclaws around. You might want to go back and prepare first, then come back when you're ready."

"I was indeed planning to do that," Sisi glanced at the tiger and gulped softly.

She definitely needed some preparations.

When entering Xiangling Town earlier, to show sincerity, she and Sesame Paste had only brought basic defensive weapons.

With just the ammunition she had, she probably couldn't handle the tiger behind the door.

In that case... She'd definitely need to bring more people!

...

During the peak logout season of the day, the forum was once again ignited by a post.

[Big News! Shelter 79 discovered! Hidden underground city in Lucky Valley Municipality!]

Quitting Smoking: Holy crap! An underground city?!

Tail: Hmm! The monsters inside are super tough! Lots and lots of trash, bro! (☆☆)

Garbage: ???

Darkest: 666! This is way cooler than that shabby map Battlefield Cheerleader opened!

Battlefield Cheerleader: Damn, that's not what you said yesterday!

Professor Yang: This scale... It wouldn't be too much to release another 100,000 activation codes, right?

Irene: Pfft, a newbie village for grinding Deathclaws, this is way more thrilling than grinding monkeys in Shelter 117. (Amused)

Elf Wang: And it's right in your face. (Amused)

Tyrannosaurus Warrior: Let me in!!! Damn developer didn't give me a helmet, I’m going to report your ass! (Crazy)

Old White: (Stunned.jpg)

Sisi: So that's basically it for Shelter 79... Since there's no network here, we'll have to wait a few days until we're back at the Storm Corp’s base to upload the photos.

- Also, we've learned that the shelter has a huge nuclear reserve. According to Mr. Yong, the administrator, it's more than enough to run for another three centuries. The serum in the central research area of that underground city seems to be able to reverse mutations?

Yaya: Wait, doesn't that mean Roro can turn into a human? (Excited)

Teng Teng: (Expectant) (Expectant)

Roshan: Wait a minute, I am a human! (╯°Д°)╯

- Although I'm not human in the game.

- No, that sounds weird too!

Roshan, who posted three times in a row, fell into confusion, but due to the players' anticipation for the new map, it was quickly overwhelmed by a flood of replies.

Scrolling through the post from start to finish, a certain ‘developer’ sitting in front of the computer also revealed a face full of shock.

"Reverse mutation?!"

What kind of OP technology is this?!

At that moment, Chu Guang was just as surprised as Sisi. Fortunately, he had an expert to consult.

Without hesitation, Chu Guang got up and went to the third floor, where he found Hyjra busy in the lab.

After hearing his question, Hyjra paused her work. A look of surprise evident in her eyes as she asked, "Are you sure? Reverse mutation?"

Chu Guang spoke carefully, "I can't guarantee the accuracy of the source, but I'm sure I didn't mishear. From the looks of it, you’re surprised too?"

"Hmm, rather than surprised, I'd say... I don't really understand the meaning of this research project." Hyjra's finger lightly rested on her chin, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"The mutated creatures on the wasteland, although not excluding human factors, are mostly the result of natural selection. Only the species with stronger survival capabilities can survive on this planet with extreme ecological conditions, and that's the real reason for the current situation."

"Without changing the environment itself, just altering the traits of a creature or two has no meaning. Those individuals who can't adapt to the current environment will quickly be eliminated, and their traits won't be passed down."

Pausing, she continued, "And evolution is a continuous process. To which previous stage does this serum intend to revert the mutations?"

"So he's lying?" Chu Guang, who also noticed the logic didn't add up, frowned slightly. "The research results stored in Shelter 79 aren't as simple as he claims..."

Hyjra nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. Your residents were probably duped. Actually, they are sometimes quite charming from how naive they are... Speaking of which, can't Yin Fang find any information about Shelter 79? Not even the administrator's name?"

Chu Guang shook his head. "No, the shelters are like black boxes; from the outside, they're all mystery boxes."

Hyjra crossed her arms and tilted her head, not quite understanding what a mystery box was.

Chu Guang didn't explain as his thoughts raced.

He couldn't assert that Mr. Yong was lying, but it was very likely that the man was hiding part of the truth, and the purpose was to get his players to take the serum stored in the shelter out.

There could be many motives for his action, and speculating without understanding what the serum was about was meaningless.

However, what puzzled Chu Guang was why Mr. Yong wouldn’t do it himself.

Just locking the shelter's main door and cutting off the power would cause the creatures inside to die of asphyxiation in a few days.

Even if some managed to survive for a day or two, it would just be a matter of waiting a few more days.

It was either that person didn’t have complete authority of the shelter... Or, for some reason, he didn’t want the mutants inside to die!