Chapter 388.2: Slits Throat Gesture*

Despite the sarcasm being directed at the Enterprise and not Luo Hua, the latter still felt embarrassed. "We're not discussing the Army's problem here, are we? Or do you have a better idea?"

Yin Fang snorted. "No, but do you know where to find that kind of research facility?"

"Of course! There's one in the southern part of River Valley Province, I remember the coordinates!" Luo Hua looked at Chu Guang and said in earnest, "It's a research institute about 70 kilometers from Clearspring City. The data there should be useful to you; could you please send someone there?"

Chu Guang nodded. "No problem."

Sending people to do things wasn’t a difficult task. Moreover, 70 kilometers was less than an hour's flight for the Dragonfly transport aircraft. With a few parachutes, they should be able to do the job easily. As for crashing a satellite...

Well, it wasn't his satellite. Getting the data from the research institute was enough.

The current priority was to get the Enterprise to send more reinforcements, and of course, more weapons if possible.

The airport in the northern part of Dawn City was spacious enough to accommodate any large transport aircraft.

Luo Hua's eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you."

Chu Guang smiled nonchalantly. "Don't mention it, the Army is our common enemy."

"Just rest and heal; leave the rest to us. Speaking of which, I've got some good wine here; let's celebrate once you're better."

Luo Hua smiled weakly. "Ha... that might take a while."

His shoulders, which had been tense, finally relaxed. Leaning back on the bed, his face finally showed a sense of relief.

Though his friends in the Great Desert were still in crisis, Chu Guang's strong support gave him hope.

Standing by the door, Hyrja suddenly spoke up. "Now that the surgery is done, can he be transferred to another facility? This place isn't really suitable for recovery."

Though called a medical room, it had long been used by her as a laboratory, and the New Alliance’s only scanner was an indispensable research tool.

Luo Hua revealed an embarrassed look. "Sorry for the disturbance."

Chu Guang smiled. "Nonsense. Anyway this place really isn't suitable for recovery. I'll arrange for someone to transfer you to a better ward in a bit."

After he spoke, he called the medical staff waiting at the door and instructed them to transfer Luo Hua to the ground-based Alliance First Hospital.

The wards there were spacious enough, and a few of the Enterprise’s expedition team members who had been injured were also staying there.

As for the cost of medical care... Hehe, there was no need to mention money between them

Standing by, Yin Fang crossed his arms, muttering under his breath until the medical staff moved the patient out of the medical room.

"I knew it..."

"These East Coast guys definitely have a treasure map!"

...

That evening.

A transport aircraft took off from the northern part of Dawn City, carrying 25 members of the Burning Corps, flying east towards the research facility 70 kilometers away. At the same time, 150 kilometers to the west of Dawn City, in Lucky Valley Municipality, the Order of the White Bear and the Death Corps were entering the final stages of their siege on Shelter 79.

The main road to the central research area had been cleared.

Although mutants and barbarians continued to rush from other areas, their onslaught was noticeably weaker than in the first few days.

In the end, the mutants active in the shelter were not controlled by a Hive like the mutant Slime Molds.

Their attacks on the players were more motivated by territorial protection and hunting instincts, lacking coordinated action between different species. They didn’t form a proper Tide.

If they had been in the center of Clearspring City, a gunshot would have brought all the mutants in the street rushing over, and even if they had twice the number of men, they wouldn’t have been able to clear the monsters.

"Damn, this guy's pretty strong!" Shaking the blood off his combat shovel, Construction Boy looked at the mess in the room. Clicking his tongue, he reloaded the magazine of the rifle hanging on his chest.

The spacious hall was littered with 40 or 50 bodies, the ground scattered with primitive weapons like spears and bows. Smoke rose into the air from all the spent casings.

It was clear a skirmish had just erupted.

The opponents were a group of barbarians who seemed to have been lying in ambush nearby, suddenly attacking as the players entered the room.

Those people had pathologically pale skin but unexpectedly robust limbs, with strength attributes probably between 13 and 15, equivalent to the level of a first awakener.

Not only that, but they were also extremely fast, extraordinarily resilient, and their use of muscular control was as agile as wild beasts.

Or more accurately, they were wild beasts. Their internal organs almost entirely different from humans. They only resembled humans by sheer coincidence.

Fortunately, those barbarians only used bows and spears. Otherwise, they really would have been difficult to deal with.

"We're just one checkpoint away from the research area, and ahead is suspected to be the lair of the Deathclaws. We're running low on ammunition,"

Carrying the rifle on his shoulder, Sideline Slacking walked up to the members of the Order of the White Bear and continued, "I suggest we continue the siege tomorrow."

"Tail agrees! Phew, I'm almost dead!" Tail, leaning against the wall, gasped for air. She raised her arm to wipe her forehead, but instead of wiping off her perspiration, she smeared blood all across her face.

Also breathing heavily, Sisi looked at the remaining magazines and nodded. "Yeah... let's continue tomorrow."

Shelter 79 had a day and night cycle, and it was almost evening.

Looking around, she continued, "There are still quite a few rooms here. Since the creatures have been cleared out, why don't we explore a bit more before heading back?"

This building was the last one before the research area and seemed to be some sort of administrative building. During their search of other areas, she had discovered some interesting clues. Before leaving, she planned to verify them.

Hearing Sisi's suggestion, Sideline Slacking readily agreed. "Okay, let's meet back here in an hour."

"Ok."

After reaching an agreement, the players dispersed to search around.

Tail, who had been exhausted just a second ago, sprang up from the ground and disappeared somewhere with Roshan.

Sisi, who had already decided on a target, glanced at the floor plan and then walked directly through the hall to the upstairs office area.

The area was unexpectedly unoccupied by mutants and the entire corridor was eerily quiet.

Especially surprising to Sisi was that, unlike the other areas they had passed through, the doors were completely open.

"Whoa, an unexpected find."

Choosing the nearest room, Sisi carefully checked that it was safe before cautiously entering with her rifle at the ready.

It was a futuristic-looking office.

The furniture was quite uniquely designed, and the nearly 20 square meters of space was extravagantly furnished with only two desks.

Walking up to the nearest desk, Sisi scanned the messy desktop and casually opened the right drawer.

Inside were some personal items, including a work ID and a thumb-sized storage device.

The interface on the storage device perfectly matched the VM.

"Is this... A USB drive?" Interest flickered in her eyes as she held it in her hands for a moment before inserting it into the M.

The signal light flickered slightly, and a light blue dialogue box soon appeared, automatically translated into a language she understood by the VM's built-in translation program.

[Research Log of Shelter 79]

[Experimental Log:

February 7, 2129

]

[Experimental Log:

...

]

The last entry was on July 8, 2128.

Come to think of it...

Wasn't 2129 the first year of the Wasteland Era?

Rubbing her chin lightly with her finger, Sisi's interest grew as she opened the first log on the list.

[February 7, 2129:

The cryogenic chamber was activated, and it wasn't joyful compatriots who woke us, but the shelter's program, indicating we had ultimately moved towards the worst outcome. The world outside has been destroyed, and this place is our last homeland. Damn, it sounds like a dream, but the rubidium atomic clock doesn't lie.

]

[

I will remember this day of despair and hope. We will fulfill the promise made three years ago, but can such a fantastical thing really be accomplished?

]

"... Fantastical thing?" Muttering softly, Sisi’s eyebrows lightly furrowed.

Mr. Yong did mention that Shelter 79 was conducting research on reverting mutants back to their pre-mutation state

However... Were there mutants in the first year of the Wasteland Era?

She vaguely remembered that the official website mentioned that mutants appeared en masse sometime after half a century, after a mini ice age.

"So..."

"Is this actually a different experiment?"

She wouldn't trust every word an NPC said. In fact, she had always been suspicious of Mr. Yong's identity.

Since it was a fully realistic virtual reality game, it was possible for NPCs to lie, right?

However, just as she was about to flip to the next entry, the alloy door behind her suddenly closed, cutting off the only exit.

Sisi's expression changed slightly, and she immediately rushed over, trying to push the door with her shoulder. Unfortunately she found it immovable.

Without hesitation, she stepped back a few steps, raised the assault rifle hanging in front of her, and pulled the trigger at the alloy door.

Bang, bang!

Two thunderous gunshots echoed in the room. Sparks flew towards the ceiling, yet the door's surface remained unmarked.

Taking a deep breath, she approached the door to explore for a while, then cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted at the door.

"Tail!"

"Can you hear me?"

No response.

She pressed her ear against it, but couldn't hear a sound from outside.

"Damn... The soundproofing is too effective."

Clicking her tongue, Sisi gave up on the futile attempt and moved away from the door.

In the shelter, the administrator's authority was absolute. It was then that she finally understood the meaning of what a shelter’s authority meant.

A product of the pinnacle of the Federation Era’s technology... It wasn't something her antique assault rifle could penetrate.

Even if she used up her hand grenades, it would be useless.

As long as the shelter's administrator wished, he could lock that door until the next century.

Just then, Sisi noticed that the air vent above her head had stopped working.

Understanding what that meant, she muttered softly, "Planning to silence me... That guy must have had murderous intentions all along. Otherwise, he could have locked the door before I entered."

"An average adult consumes 0.75 kilograms of oxygen per day. A 20-square-meter room with a height of about three meters has about 60 cubic meters of air."

Oxygen content below 10% would lead to carbon dioxide poisoning.

"That means I can live for about five days."

Considering the metabolism of an awakener, maybe just two or three days would be enough.

Glancing at the VM screen displaying the logs, Sisi's lips suddenly curled into a barely noticeable smile.

They've given me far too much time.