Chapter 505.1: Ruh Roh

Representing the Enterprise were Yunyi and Su Ming. For the Army, it was Commander Wally and Pangolin. From the Academy, the representative was Jiang Xuezhou, a student of a B-class Researcher who had never shown their face.

As for the New Alliance, the representatives were Night Ten and an NPC from a Scientific Expedition Team.

The NPC was named Meng Liang, a former resident of Shelter 401. After being rescued from marauders by the New Alliance, he joined an archaeological expedition focused on recovering relics of pre-war civilization. Under Yin Fang’s guidance, he studied archaeology and now served as a prospector aboard the airship.

The exploration of Shelter 0 was primarily a scientific investigation.

One couldn’t rely entirely on the Enterprise for surveys. Even among allies, there was no obligation to share all discovered intel with the New Alliance.

Chu Guang was cautious in selecting personnel. In addition to a professional NPC expert, he also needed a reliable player capable of carrying news from within the shelter to the outside world in extreme scenarios.

The information-sharing function of the Wasteland Online forum was his strongest trump card besides the players’ undying nature.

After confirming that the passage was secure, the delegation pressed forward and soon reached the shelter’s entrance.

The elevator mentioned by Yi Hai was located at the center of level B2 in the building.

Its shape resembled an inverted funnel embedded in the ground, with four corridors leading toward the central elevator, almost like a ring-shaped amphitheater without seats.

Due to long neglect and the extremely uneven water distribution typical of the Great Desert’s climate, the walls were covered with mold and dried vines.

As Night Ten scanned every corner of the spacious room with a flashlight, he muttered to himself, “Did the Pioneer’s crew really run into this place?”

Walking beside him, Meng Liang responded nervously, “That’s what the intel says...”

That was his first field mission. And it just so happened to be an incredibly important one.

Just the night before, he had read through the action log sent by the administrator several times, especially the ‘known intel’ section, until he had practically memorized the punctuation.

“But why are there no signs of a battle? Not even a single bullet hole in the wall...” Night Ten still wore a look of suspicion as he mumbled softly.

It wasn’t that he was overly cautious by nature. It was because the administrator hadn’t assigned this critical task to Old White, the strongest in combat, but to him, who had the highest perception stat.

Especially after the discussions on the forums the day before, he instinctively felt that the mission wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

On the other side, Su Ming shrugged and grinned. “Maybe by the time they got here, there were no more pursuers... Didn’t the Wislanders fail to locate the actual entrance to Shelter 0?”

“I see,” Night Ten nodded thoughtfully, though shortly after, he frowned again. “

Hiss...

still feels like something’s off.”

Where were the people of the Enlightenment Society?

Weren’t they the ones who knew the entrance to Shelter 0?

Since Yi Hai knew those people tried to stop the Enterprise from finding the shelter, then both sides should’ve already fallen out before he was cryogenically frozen.

Night Ten couldn't figure what was going on. He felt as though he was missing a crucial clue.

Too bad their old reliable Ample Time wasn’t there. Right, that annoying spy bastard probably wouldn’t dare talk to him either.

“What do you mean?” Jiang Xuezhou, who had remained silent, finally spoke up.

She didn’t like interacting with people outside the Academy, especially someone who had apparently fought against her old team and killed her best friend.

However, that guy just kept muttering non-stop, which had her on edge since they entered the building...

They hadn’t even seen so much as a mutated hyena, but he was already shooting his mouth off like a machine gun.

Night Ten, however, didn’t think much of it. He didn’t even notice the annoyance in her tone and instead mistook her interest as curiosity toward him, responding with a smile he thought was mysterious and charming. “Nothing... It’s just my instinct.”

Instinct...

Jiang Xuezhou’s mouth twitched and she couldn’t keep a straight face.

What kind of answer is this?!

But Su Ming, clearly more understanding, chuckled and clapped Night Ten on the shoulder. “Bro, I get that feeling. Sometimes nothing’s actually happened, but it just feels wrong... My captain says I might be awakening. I hope he’s wrong though... I’m still single. Anyway, stay alert. This place gives me the creeps too.”

Battlefield Cheerleader wanted to walk over and ask what exactly Night Ten had sensed. After all, that dirty fellow was no weakling. He truly had the highest perception stats in the New Alliance.

Unfortunately, with Commander Wally staring at him, he could only think about it in silence.

Looking at Wally’s confident smile, Battlefield Cheerleader figured he might as well gather some intelligence, so he asked in a hushed tone, “Sir, do we have a plan?”

Wally replied bluntly. “Nope.”

“... No?” Battlefield Cheerleader froze for a moment, thinking he had misheard.

Wally laughed aloud and said disdainfully, “Only the weak cling to the hope of a single shelter solving everything. Our Marshal never pinned his hopes on such vague rumors.”

Battlefield Cheerleader didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Then why are we even here...”

“Lord Cohen doesn’t believe there’s something inside that can end the Wasteland Era,” Wally said, glancing at the representatives of the Enterprise and the Academy. “But it is a relic from the Prosperity Era... Who knows what could be in there. Maybe a weapon? Anyway, since the Enterprise and Academy are interested, we can’t just sit back and ignore it.”

“...”

From a Wislander’s perspective, that actually made a lot of sense. So much so that he didn’t know how to refute it.

The group soon arrived at the elevator.

Yunyi placed a hand on the elevator door and looked toward the two New Alliance representatives.

“Who has the access card?”

“I do.” Meng Liang stepped forward and pulled out the card the administrator had given him, pressing it against the reader.

A pale blue light lit up at the door, scanning everyone present before the floor trembled slightly and the door slowly slid open on both sides.

The elevator cabin was surprisingly small. Surprisingly so, given that it was the entrance to Shelter 0.

Or perhaps... Could there be another hidden entrance elsewhere?

“Incredible...” Night Ten muttered. “It’s been two centuries, and this place still works.”

Not to mention the fact that no maintenance had been done the entire time.

“It’s an unactivated access card.” Yunyi frowned at the pattern after the card was scanned.

“What does that mean?” Meng Liang asked nervously.

“It means that once activated, the system binds our identity to both the security system and the card’s code. We can use this elevator even without the card. But anyone else won’t be able to, unless we rewrite the system or give them another unactivated card.”

She paused before she continue, “This setup effectively prevents unauthorized personnel from entering... But it’s usually only seen in unfinished shelters. Mature ones with assigned administrators rarely use this system unless specifically required.”

Night Ten muttered again, “So that means I can’t just swipe the card and call in backup?”

Yunyi looked at him, not understanding his slang.

But Meng Liang, standing beside him, was shocked by something else in her explanation and asked in disbelief, “You’re saying... this shelter was never completed?”

Yunyi shrugged. “Who knows? I didn’t build the place. I just happened to work in a related department and heard some rumors.”

Before Meng Liang could fully process what she just said, she glanced at the elevator door, said nothing more, and walked in.

Su Ming immediately followed.

Putting away the now-useless access card, Meng Liang looked nervously at Night Ten. “Let’s go too.”

“Yeah, let’s go.” Night Ten nodded, took one last look at the spacious room behind them, then stepped through the open elevator door. The moment he crossed it, a familiar musty odor hit his nose, instantly putting him on alert.

That ominous feeling in his heart only grew stronger...

...

Back at their camp.

Although the planned walls and barracks were already built, the five engineering vehicles parked at the center were still running as they emitted loud blasts and hums from time to time.

Aside from players assigned to the industrial building mission, the rest didn’t get to remain idle. They scoured the surroundings for scrap, melted and processed it using the engineering vehicles’ stored blueprints into various parts.

Demand was high enough that queues had formed at each vehicle.

Several small players stood nearby, eagerly waiting with bundled metal scraps, afraid the machines might stop feeding.

An Enterprise employee passed by, noticed the crowd, and curiously asked, “Didn’t you guys already finish the camp? What are you doing now?”

Hearing an NPC speak, Darkest grinned and answered in broken Federation language. “The old well was too shallow. There’s a groundwater aquifer below. We’re digging a deeper one.”

Construction Boy chimed in as he held a sack in his hands. “Yeah! This time we’re using an extended threaded pipe from the blueprint!”

The employee blinked in confusion, and before he could respond, several other players began chirping in a language he didn’t understand.

“There’s quite a bit of groundwater here.”

“Of course. Why else would we set up camp here?”

“Digging wells is boring. I say we build a greenhouse and plant vegetables.”

“Great idea!”

“I brought seeds!”

As the players chatted, more blueprints were added to the production queue, and the list of required materials grew longer. Polyethylene for the greenhouse, aluminum for plant trays and irrigation pipes, and so on.

With the greenhouse in place, they would have a source of carbs and vitamins. Now they needed animal protein and fat too.

A balanced diet was essential for combat effectiveness.

Raising cows or sheep wasn’t realistic as there wasn’t enough forage. However, there were always solutions.

Darkest soon remembered that the Burning Corps had brought back some fat, pale worms from the Mutant Human Tribe’s camp.

They were disgusting to eat raw as only Irene could stomach them. Thankfully, they would be fine once they were turned into nutrient paste.

Anyway, the newbies getting stationed there wouldn’t know the difference...

As for the NPCs...

Aside from the administrator, none of them seemed picky about food.

Not far away, a few Wislander officers looked at the busy New Alliance members and muttered to each other.

“What are they messing around with?”

“No idea...”

“Isn’t this a temporary camp? Why build so many sheds?”

“Don’t tell me they plan to stay...”

The thought made the Wislander officers instantly alert.

The New Alliance had extended its reach deep into their backyards.

It wasn’t a good sign.