Chapter 384 The Root of Chaos
Chapter 384 The Root of Chaos
The deserted streets are littered with garbage that no one has cleaned up, scrapped vehicles lie across the weed-covered streets, and the mottled metal lampposts make it hard to tell whether they are rust or blood.
Broken windows can be seen everywhere here, and the paralyzed bionic mannequins are still wearing the most fashionable pieces of cloth from two hundred years ago, but there is no one to be seen.
This place has never been bombed by heavy weapons, and the main structures of most buildings are intact.
But it was eventually abandoned.
”…It should be in front.” Zhimahu held a map in his hand, compared it with the surrounding buildings, and took the lead in walking in front of the team.
According to the information of the scientific expedition team, the gate of Shelter No. 79 is located at No. 79 Xiangling Street, East District, Ruigu City, where there is a municipal library.
As for the specific entrance, there is no specific explanation in the information, only in the limited text, please follow the arrangements of the administrator when you arrive at the evacuation area, and enter the shelter under the instructions of the security personnel.
I think this is also for safety considerations.
Walking beside Zhima Paste, Rourou, who had a broad physique, looked around and muttered quietly.
”What a pity…”
”What a pity?” Tail, who was riding on her shoulder, tilted his head.
”I always feel that this city is still good, but there are no people.”
”Yes,” Tail rubbed his chin with his index finger, thinking, “Why don’t people go back to live after the war?”
Sisi thought about it.
”Emmm… Maybe it’s because there are no people?”
Rourou: “…”
Zhima Paste: “Ah… Haha.”
Although he just repeated Rourou’s words, Sisi didn’t think it was nonsense.
As she saw after entering the city, it was not the war itself that destroyed the city, but the chaos caused by the war.
The lack of a series of resources including food, water, electricity, fuel, etc., turned this place into a steel jungle that is more cruel than the primeval forest.
Especially in the third year of the war, the planet entered a small ice age that lasted for half a century.
When most people withdrew from the city, the aliens quickly occupied it, built nests in the buildings, walked through the ruins, and hunted in the dark.
The wastelander walking here will never know that when he opens a door, the first thing that jumps out is a cockroach longer than his legs, or a group of rats grinding their teeth and sucking blood.
Or –
something more terrifying.
”Shh…”
The cat ears on the top of his head moved slightly, and Zhimahu made a silent gesture, signaling his companions to be quiet. She
walked to the intersection at the end of the street with her steps down, and she lay down beside the door of a scrap car and looked at the street corner on the left.
For a moment, she held her breath because of the giant creature that came into her sight.
Death Claw!
Dark green scales covered the whole body, and the nearly six-meter-tall body lay across the street, with its tail curled in front of it.
Just looking at the size, this guy is much larger than the “Nico” at the door of Shelter No. 404, and his claws are sharper. It should be a different species.
The heavy breath blew the bushes on the side to the left and right, and the dull snoring seemed to be asleep.
Looking at the two bloody corpses lying next to the claw, Zhimahu’s expression was slightly stiff.
She was not sure whether an RPG could really cause effective damage to this guy.
If the sneak attack failed, they might be wiped out in an instant.
She tiptoed out and returned to her companions, saying nervously.
”It’s the Death Claw… It’s blocking the entrance to the library.”
Sisi touched his chin and said solemnly.
”No wonder there are no other alien species around.”
Rourou asked nervously.
”Then… what should we do?”
”It’s okay, there is more than one way anyway,” Sisi took out a paper map, stared at it and thought for a while, “The risk of a frontal breakthrough is too high… Let’s go around to the garage behind the library and climb over the wall from there.”
Death Claw’s intuition for crisis is not ordinary.
She once saw with her own eyes that the Death Claw, who was still sleeping the previous second, jumped up and slapped the RPG rocket away the next second.
Well, that rocket was still fired by her.
After that, she and Tail were killed instantly by the Death Claws that rushed up. This happened several versions ago.
Such unreasonable creatures cannot be measured by common sense.
If they were near Dawn City, they would have called for an airstrike. Unfortunately, this was Ruigu City, far away from the save point and resurrection point.
They had to avoid even the slightest risk.
The group changed their direction and went along the street next door to the parking lot behind the city library.
However, what Sisi didn’t expect was that this place was not as uninhabited as it looked from the outside. There was actually a settlement of survivors hidden here!
There were two or three hundred households living here, which was like a village of considerable size.
Right under the eyes of the Death Claws!
”Stop!”
Standing on the wall reinforced with steel bars and wooden boards, the man in a studded jacket whispered to the people outside the wall.
He held a shotgun in his hand, his eyes fixed on the thick-haired white bear, the ammunition belt and light machine gun on its back, and his expression was filled with tension and uneasiness.
Although there were only three women standing outside the wall.
But he was not naive enough to think that a woman who could tame such a strong beast and walk alone in the wasteland would be a good person.
”Don’t be nervous, we have no hostility.” Sisi glanced at the shotgun in the man’s hand, and then glanced at the iron pipes in the hands of the survivors behind him, not taking it seriously.
After resupplying, she had changed into a new bulletproof vest.
The iron barrel rifle with Brownian motion bullets had no deterrent effect on her.
”Who are you? Legion? Or enterprise?” The man standing on the wall looked at her and asked nervously.
”None of them, we are wastelanders from the neighboring Qingquan City.”
The survivors standing behind the man exchanged surprised glances with each other.
”Qingquan City?”
”I’ve been there when I was young… There is a Boulder City there, and they use plastic sheets as money to buy mint-scented soap.”
”Is it true?”
”Really! I heard that you can get three meals a day working there!”
”Is there such a good thing!?”
Hearing the whispers of the people behind him, the man stared at Sisi suspiciously, but finally put away his gun and hostility.
”It seems that there are really no women in the legion… No matter who you are, at least you are not those guys.”
After a pause, the man made a simple self-introduction.
”My name is Wu Tao, the hunter of Xiangling Town… and the mayor here.”
”What happened here?” Sisi looked at the man and asked.
”A lot of things happened. You really shouldn’t come at this time… Did you see the airship in the northwest?”
Sisi nodded.
Don’t say you saw it.
They had a fight with the people who came down from it a few days ago.
”Has the Legion been
here?” “More than that,” Wu Tao curled his lips. “The day before yesterday, that group of bandits, more than a hundred of them, came and said that the Enterprise’s army was burning, killing and looting nearby, and asked us to move to their camp to receive their protection… No one would believe their nonsense.”
”We have lived here for more than a century. Let alone the Enterprise, even if the mutants came, we would not go anywhere! Then those villains started setting fires…”
the man cursed.
Sisi frowned and continued to ask.
”What happened next?”
”Later, that guy showed up…”
As he spoke, Wu Tao glanced behind him with lingering fear, but his sight was not at the library behind him, but over the eaves of the building.
Sisi knew what he was referring to and said with a little surprise.
”That Death Claw?”
Wu Tao nodded with a complicated expression.
”Yes, although we don’t know where it came from, thanks to that guy, the Legion left behind several corpses, and the rest of the people ran away.”
Sisi: “Aren’t you afraid of that Death Claw…”
”Of course I am afraid, but the airship is still there, and we are worried that the Legion’s people will come back.”
Wu Tao sighed and said helplessly, “We watched it chew up those corpses, so we threw some mutant hyenas and rats to it. That guy is not picky about food, and he lived at the door of the library… We don’t know how long it will stay, but we can live in peace for a few days. None of the people we sent to the Legion to inquire about the news came back, and it’s hard not to think that they have encountered some trouble.”
Sisi estimated that the Legion was probably reluctant to use the 400mm cannon on the beast. Otherwise, even the Death Claw would not be able to withstand the attack of the “anti-military weapon”.
”We have finished our story, it’s your turn.”
Wu Tao stared at Sisi and continued to ask, “Since you are not a legion, nor a company, and even less like a businessman… So what do you want to do here?”
”We are looking for Shelter No. 79.” Sisi did not hide anything and directly stated her purpose.
She thought the man in front of her would know something, but she didn’t expect that after hearing the word shelter, there was only a blank expression on his face.
That expression was obviously not pretended, but a subconscious reaction.
Not only him, but also several young survivors behind him, their faces looked like they had never heard of it.
”Shelter… There is no shelter nearby.” Wu Tao looked at Sisi with a strange face, “This is Xiangling Town, and this building is the municipal library. Who would build a shelter in a library? Did you find the wrong place?”
”Huh?! Isn’t it here?” Wei took out the map in surprise and unfolded it, repeatedly confirming that there was no problem with the coordinates and street number.
Sisi frowned slightly.
”It’s impossible… We came here only after receiving reliable information.”
”Then I don’t know. Anyway, I have lived here since I was a child, and it has been almost 30 years,” Wu Tao shook his head and said, “It’s a pity that our mayor packed up his belongings a few days ago and followed the caravan heading west. Otherwise, you might know something if you asked him.”
”No…” Zhimahu’s face showed an embarrassment.
Sisi asked without giving up.
”Can we go in and take a look?”
”Yes, but you have to leave your weapons behind,” Wu Tao stared at the assault rifle in her hand and said vigilantly, “We can’t allow you to bring this thing into our house.”
Sisi didn’t say anything and threw a bag of heavy gold coins on the wall.
”That’s unrealistic. Let’s try another way. Here are 100 dinars. We won’t use your food and water. We just need a room where people can live. We will leave at dawn tomorrow morning and will never disturb you.”
This purse was found by her from a legion soldier. Rummaging boxes and touching corpses can be said to be a fine tradition of players.
Although the Legion is annoying, as one of the two major “currencies” in the wasteland, those golden coins are not annoying.
Staring at the money bag hanging on the wall, Wu Tao swallowed his saliva and exchanged glances with the other residents behind him.
”Do you want to let them in?”
”It’s just for one day… there shouldn’t be any problem.”
”What are you afraid of? They are just three little girls… and at most a bear.”
”Oh, that bear! We can’t let that guy in.”
Wu Tao looked at the people outside the wall.
”No problem… but your pet will scare our residents, it has to stay outside.”
”She’s not a pet, she’s our companion,” Sisi corrected him and continued, “But it doesn’t matter, we didn’t plan to let everyone in.”
As she said that, she looked at her companions behind her and switched languages skillfully.
”Rou Rou, Ah Wei, can you please wait for us outside? Zhimahu and I will go in and take a look. It may take a little time, but we should be out before 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.”
”I always feel that those people don’t seem to be lying,” Zhimahu hesitated, “Could it be that there is something wrong with our intelligence? Maybe Shelter No. 79 is really not here.”
”Whether it is here or not, the last clue points to this place. According to the convention of general RPG games, the key to enter the next copy is likely to be here. Anyway, let’s go in and take a look first.”
The shelter may not have only one entrance. Shelter No. 404 has two, one connected to the subway and the other connected to the sanatorium in the park.
Maybe the door of Shelter No. 79 in the library has not been used since it was closed, and the residents may have left from other exits.
Of course, this is just her guess.
She simply thought that the planner would not design a meaningless scene.
”Oh! No problem!” Tail nodded enthusiastically, patting his chest, “Don’t worry, leave it to Tail!”
Rourou said worriedly.
”If you encounter danger, remember to shout for help.”
Sisi smiled and gently touched the furry head.
”Don’t worry, it will be fine.”
…
The reinforced wall has no door, and only a ladder lowered from the wall can be climbed in.
Entering the strange survivor settlement, Zhimahu’s expression was a little nervous, but after seeing the elderly and children in the camp, he relaxed a little.
The presence of elderly people and children at least shows that this is not a predator’s nest or a slave trader’s farm. Maybe the people here are not as open as those in Dawn City, but at least they have a basic moral bottom line.
The two followed Wu Tao’s footsteps, passed through the parking lot piled with domestic garbage and supermarket shopping carts, and entered the library from the back door.
The library is quite spacious, surrounded by concrete structures on all sides, like a castle. In the center is a 100-meter-wide patio, with steel bars interlaced on the dome, which should have been inlaid with large pieces of glass.
The U-shaped layout allows sufficient light in the center of the library, and local residents grow a lot of crops here.
In addition, clotheslines and freshly washed clothes are hung on the corridors around the patio, and rows of shacks made of iron sheds or wooden boards are distributed around.
Although privacy is a problem, the people living here don’t seem to care much.
Zhima Paste looked around curiously, and was quite interested in the lifestyle of the people here. The residents living here also looked at her curiously, especially the pair of cat ears on her head.
They have seen many weird people.
But this is the first time they have seen ears growing on the top of their heads.
Wu Tao, who was walking in front with a shotgun on his back, introduced the situation here to Sisi on the side. Including how they have lived for more than a hundred years, and what materials their settlement needs.
The woman mentioned before that she was from Qingquan City.
Although he had never been there, he heard that the survivor settlements in big cities are usually richer, and there is also a giant stone city where everything can be bought.
If they pass by there next time, they can bring more soap and fertilizer, and they can exchange them with local game or some specialty crops.
Although now is not the time to talk about business, he is now the mayor here, and he needs to consider more than just the current affairs.
He believes that the Legion will leave this poor place sooner or later, and the people here will live their lives as they want.
This is also the reason why he accepted the bag of gold coins.
”We have lived here since the fiftieth year of the Wasteland Era. I heard from my grandfather that this library is quite old, and can even be traced back to the early days of the Human Union… Why do you think there may be a shelter under here? There is not even a basement here.”
”It’s okay, even if there is no, it doesn’t matter, just treat it as satisfying our curiosity,” Sisi looked around, “By the way, are the books here still there?”
Wu Tao said.
”Most of them are gone, but some are well preserved. Successive mayors followed the ancestral precepts and kept the surviving books on the bookshelf on the second floor of the collection. Although the previous mayor ran away, I will probably insist.”
Sisi suddenly became interested.
”Can you take me to have a look?”
Wu Tao nodded.
”No problem, but the premise is that you can’t take them away, let alone damage them. I’m not kidding. If you do something bad to those books, bad luck will find you soon… Similar things have happened before.”
”I can swear on my life,” Sisi said with a blink, “I will cherish those books as much as I cherish my life.”
Perhaps moved by her sincerity, Wu Tao was stunned for a few seconds on the spot.
Coming back to his senses, he coughed lightly and said.
”There’s no need to be so exaggerated…”
”Since you said so, then come with me.”
…
Wu Tao took the two to the second floor and left them there.
Looking at the rows of aluminum alloy bookshelves and the dazzling collection of books, Zhimahu’s face was full of hesitation.
”Will the clues to Shelter No. 79 be hidden in these books?”
Sisi shook his head.
”I don’t know, but these books are probably the only information that has survived the disaster two centuries ago… maybe we can find something.”
Sisi took a book and flipped through it, but her expression soon froze.
Although she could communicate in unskilled human language and recognize human language, she was far from being able to read normally.
The camera did have a simultaneous translation function.
But in offline mode, the amount of text that could be translated was quite limited.
Just when she felt stumped, a strange voice suddenly floated from behind the bookshelf in front of her.
”I don’t understand why you are so persistent in looking for the No. 79 shelter? The residents here have already told you that the shelter is not here.”
”Besides, it’s a shelter, not a vault, and there are no valuable treasures hidden in it. Even if you go there, you will be disappointed.”
The voice was a little hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against the wall, which scared the two people in the room.
”Who?” Zhimahu held the gun nervously.
Sisi’s reaction was more direct. She dodged behind the bookshelf, but she didn’t see the person who made the sound. She only saw a retro-style, crudely made radio.
A hint of surprise appeared in her eyes. She quickly looked around, looking for the camera in the room, but saw nothing.
”Don’t look around. I’m not here. Besides, it doesn’t matter whether I’m here or not.” The man on the radio laughed maliciously and continued in a joking tone, “You’d better focus on my problem. What if I’m the security procedure of the gate? Your suspicious reaction just now is enough for me to lock the gate.”
”Si…” Zhimahu walked to Sisi’s side and noticed the radio on the table. He glanced at his partner next to him nervously.
She didn’t understand what the radio was saying at all.
But the voice gave her a bad feeling.
”Leave it to me…”
Sisi gave her a reassuring look, looked at the radio and continued.
”We came here on the orders of Mr. Manager.”
”Administrators…” The radio rustled and continued thoughtfully, “Are you residents of the shelter?”
”Yes.” Sisi nodded and said sincerely, “We are from Shelter No. 404 in Qingquan City… May I ask if you know the news about Shelter No. 79? This is very important to us.”
”Yeah, very important… What are you going to do with it?” The radio said slickly.
Sisi said seriously.
”If the people inside are still there, we will help them. If they are no longer there, we will continue their unfinished work… revive our civilization.”
A chuckle came from the radio, just like a nail breaking on a blackboard, making people’s teeth ache.
Zhimahu took a step back nervously, and Sisi also frowned slightly.
However, it didn’t take long.
The laughter turned into a sigh.
”If what you are thirsting for is knowledge, the collection of books beside you is enough for you to study for a lifetime. If you hold the… naive ideal of reviving civilization, then you really shouldn’t come here.”
Before Sisi could speak, it continued.
”Shelter No. 79 is not the place you imagine. It was never intended to shelter anyone from the beginning.”
Sis felt that it seemed to have some hidden meaning in its words.
She swallowed her saliva and asked seriously.
”What exactly is that place?”
”It is the root of chaos.”
The hoarse voice seemed to be immersed in long-lost memories.
But in the end, it turned into a helpless self-mockery.
”At least half of the barbarism on this land can be traced back to me.”
(End of this chapter)
