Chapter 221: Special Creature

In front of the shabby bungalow.

"Colonel Chu, don't tell me this dilapidated building is the equipment experimental facility."

Zhang Tie spoke in a deep, muffled voice, arms crossed over his chest, staring fixedly at the cement-built shack.

Some members of the team weren't used to calling Chu An by his name.

After all, his name sounds too much like Lin An's.

So they simply treated Colonel Chu as Chu An's nickname.

"That's right, wait while I verify my identity..."

"Boom—crack"

Before Chu An could finish speaking, the ground inside the house before him slowly cracked open, revealing a heavy alloy door.

At a glance, the metal stairs leading down inside the door set into the floor were a pitch-black void.

The interior was dark, emitting a faint metallic smell.

"Holy shit, it really is!"

Zhang Tie darted forward in a single step to the entrance of the passage, curiously poking his head out to take a few looks.

"How did they make a place like this into such a mess? I thought..."

He hadn't finished speaking when Chu An directly cut him off:

"A Hua Guo specialty."

"Just get used to it."

"Huh?"

"We're going down..."

Lin An patted Xiong Hanzi's shoulder, signaling him to keep up.

Chu An and Lin An exchanged a glance, understanding each other's thoughts.

The door opened by itself.

This proved there were still survivors inside, and likely some trouble as well.

In a place like this, entering personnel need identity verification.

By Lin An's experience, three identity checks are considered few.

They had just arrived, and without even an inquiry they opened the door directly, which already indicates some problems.

Footsteps echoed.

Lin An and Colonel Chu led the way, with Zhang Tie and the others guarding the rear.

The way was clear all the way.

After walking down about a hundred steps of the metal staircase, they arrived at the underground level's hall.

The hall was spacious, the floor reflecting a faint silver sheen.

"Holy shit!"

"This damned thing down here is huge!"

Somewhat surprised, Zhang Tie stared wide-eyed at the surroundings, his gaze vacant.

"This damn place must be over ten thousand square meters, right?!"

He couldn't help but stomp his foot, testing the hardness of the ground.

"Holy shit, it's all alloy?"

"This damn place isn't the same as our base, is it?"

Xiong Hanzi turned his head to look at Lin An, his tone full of astonishment.

All around were alloy walls, and the hall's interior was unexpectedly clean and tidy.

Only, many documents were scattered on the ground, and hundreds of gun models hung on the walls.

Lin An curiously surveyed the surroundings, noticing in his peripheral vision the cameras distributed at various corners.

"Stay alert, someone is observing us."

He casually pointed at the silently rotating infrared probe, indicating someone was watching them.

Upon hearing this, the entire group instantly became alert.

Lin An, lost in thought, noticed bloodstains in some corners.

A faint rotten smell lingered, impossible to dispel.

It seems.

There had been a zombie outbreak here before, but the corpses had been cleaned up...

So, what about the survivors?

"Hum--"

Before he could think, the center of the wall directly opposite suddenly slid open to both sides.

Inside the metallic-feeling wall, an elevator was revealed.

Inside the elevator, the down indicator lit up.

A sudden abnormal sound drew his vigilance, and the Judgment Eye instantly activated.

Mental power spread, suddenly penetrating the thick alloy floor to probe downward.

"Beep, detected Awakened One: 1"

"Beep, detected players: 77"

"Beep, detected Special Creature:???"

Indeed there were people, but unexpectedly there were no zombies; instead, there was a special existence.

Chu An glanced sideways at the thoughtful Lin An, then calmly lifted his glasses frame:

"Let's go into the elevator; it looks like someone is welcoming us..."

In the monitoring room, Deng Xiang stared anxiously at the monitor, not turning his head as he asked Fang Yan:

"How long until the outsiders come into contact with the monsters?!"

"Roughly."

Fang Yan stood up from beside the tied-up Zhang Hai and quickly began calculating.

"Brother Deng, at their pace, they have about six minutes..."

"Should we tell them the monsters' characteristics?"

"After all, they look like military personnel..."

Behind them, the crowd that had been summoned earlier looked at their former section chief, their leader, with complex expressions:

"Yeah, Little Deng."

"We should still tell them the information via the monitoring broadcast."

The older staff member couldn't help but want to remind Deng Xiang:

"That monster is too terrifying; maybe with more information we could..."

"What are you saying?!"

The younger researcher let out a cry of surprise, his face full of impatience:

"Why aren't we fleeing quickly? What are we waiting for here? How could these outsiders possibly defeat the monster?"

"Four people, and they don't even have weapons or equipment!"

"Look closely! One of them is even carrying a sword!"

"We can't kill the monster with high-tech weapons, let alone that sword-bearer!"

"And that woman is even holding a rifle— isn't that just asking for death?"

The younger researcher, irritated, took off his coat and couldn't help urging Deng Xiang:

"Brother Deng, since we're already planning to defect, why bother with all this?"

"What if the monster speeds up? By then we won't even have time to escape!"

Two minutes ago, everyone was summoned here to gather.

From the initial doubts and dissatisfaction, now everyone has accepted the fact that Deng Xiang has rebelled.

If Deng Xiang hadn't taken the lead, they might not have had the courage to defy orders.

After all, everyone present is either a clerk or a researcher, lacking a ruthless streak deep down.

Even if they don't want to die, after long-term obedience, it's hard for them to act against military orders.

Deng Xiang turned his head to look at the crowd behind him, his eyes hesitant.

From the initial joy at seeing Lin An and the others enter, to now gradually calming down.

Yes, he did indeed see Chu An wearing military uniform with the rank of Colonel on his shoulders.

"But."

The appearance of Lin An and the others is too strange, and they have never been in contact with them.

And Zhang Hai is completely unaware of any outsiders.

So he has been considering whether these outsiders are rescue personnel specially sent by the military, or just ordinary search-and-rescue workers.

The Military Region had released a rescue broadcast over the channel; these people likely found this place by searching.

But they might not be aware of the internal situation.

If it's the former, these people should know the monster's characteristics.

"But if it's the latter..."

He fears that once they learn how terrifying the monster is, they will retreat outright without even trying.

Even if that sword-bearing man is an Awakened One, he probably isn't that strong.

"Sigh."

To be honest, he still hopes that these outsiders can solve the monster problem.

Not only is it difficult to actually kill Zhang Hai,

after all, he's been his superior for years; his resentment is genuine, but the feelings from years of working together are also genuine.

Moreover, he thinks very clearly.

Now it's the apocalypse, and the supplies in this equipment manufacturing facility are crucial.

Weapons, equipment, and ammunition should be fully stocked.

With these supplies, he has absolute confidence that he can instantly raise a modern force.

Furthermore, with his status as an Awakened One, establishing a safe zone probably wouldn't be a problem.

Although he isn't a combat-oriented Awakened One, he's still stronger than an ordinary person.

Therefore, it would be best if these outsiders could solve the monster problem...

If they can't, then we'll have no choice but to abandon this place, then force Zhang Hai to detonate the nuclear bomb so they can escape while they can.

Or even simpler, when the outsiders encounter the monster, we could directly set a timed detonation of the nuclear bomb and let ourselves and others escape in the chaos...

In short, he actually doesn't hold much hope.

Even without using nuclear bombs to eliminate the monster, he's also afraid...

He wavers, torn.

Deng Xiang let out a deep sigh and said to everyone:

"I'll say it, but only after they encounter the monster."

Now, what do we do if they get scared and run?

Don't rush, that group will soon run into the monster.

If they can't deal with it, we'll leave immediately.

After saying that, he turned his head to look at the furious Zhang Hai:

Director Zhang, you'd better pray that the outsider can solve the monster.

If not, you might as well detonate the nuclear bomb.

Of course, we have to wait until after we leave...

You should be very clear that our leaving only has a small chance of making the monster bow and flee.

If you want to eliminate the monster, that's your business.

Think it over carefully...

Hope is hope.

As someone who knows how terrifying the monster is, his reason tells him that this group probably can't deal with the monster.

He felt indifferent inside.

Sorry, I just want to survive.

It's you who chose to come in; if you die, don't blame me...