Chapter 289: The First Peak

A few of them took a short break; they called it a break, but actually they re‑examined the spot where Jiang Tang was born, fearing that Jiang Tang might have missed some important information.

The ones here found nothing, while Moyu Miji brought a piece of news from over there: "Boss…"

When he spoke, everyone's gaze turned toward him.

Under several sharp, probing gazes, the seasoned Moyu Miji trembled, almost biting his tongue, hurriedly raised his hand to show he meant no harm, his voice cracking: "N‑no… I mean, in the Fengyun Tianxia group… there's… new information!"

Cheng Shuili signaled with her eyes for him to continue.

Moyu Miji quickly lowered his head to the panel and rattled off at breakneck speed: "This Instance lasts eight hours in total; every two hours a peak of acid‑rain intensity will occur. At that moment all protective gear and structures will become ineffective, so head to the underground shelter for safety."

That's indeed new information.

So, aside from the underground shelter, there's nowhere else to take cover?

Cheng Shuili paused, a cold sweat breaking out from the thought.

This Instance is simple yet riddled with traps everywhere.

They discovered the timing of the first acid‑rain peak here, while Fengyun Tianxia over there uncovered the frequency and the concrete avoidance method.

These two pieces of information… are absolutely both indispensable.

Fengyun Tianxia doesn't know the exact time of the first peak, so they might mistakenly assume it occurs at the two‑hour mark because of the frequency. Meanwhile, Cheng Shuili's side, lacking the specific avoidance method, would naturally want to mark the red‑exclamation‑point locations to investigate.

It really is… dead ends on both sides!

Cheng Shuili shook her head, then leaned over the map to examine it closely.

A realistic map, one they could deduce direction from the surrounding buildings, could not possibly omit the underground shelter's location.

"It must be on the map."

Cheng Shuili murmured softly, her voice tinged with a barely perceptible urgency.

Qi Wan Yi likewise grasped the seriousness, immediately leaning over the map, her fingertips nearly pressing into the yellowed paper.

"A fully functional industrial park must have its underground pipelines and emergency facilities marked! It's just that we haven't used the right method… or looked in the right place."

Cheng Shuili's eyes, like a hawk's, swept the map repeatedly, skimming every symbol and line—warehouses, pipelines, reaction vats, cooling towers…

Finally her finger rested on a grid‑like area that looked like decoration or shadow, a region that spanned the entire industrial zone's underground, linking several main structures, including the red warehouse and the central research‑site ruins.

"So that's it," Cheng Shuili snapped her head up.

The others instantly fixed their gaze on the spot she indicated.

"This is the underground schematic! These intersecting lines… are the tunnels and shelter locations!"

Everyone gathered around at once.

Sure enough, on closer inspection, those pale‑gray grid lines weren't random scribbles but neatly connected the various zones, forming an underground network.

At several key nodes were extremely fine, almost faded symbols, one resembling a shield, right beneath their feet!

Cheng Shuili glanced at the clock; with only ten minutes left before the hour, the rendezvous had cost them too much time, and now the most urgent task was to locate the entrance to the underground shelter!

Without further words from Cheng Shuili, the group scattered like a hive, immediately beginning the search.

Life‑or‑death speed! No one dared to delay a second!

Only Moyu Miji wore a bewildered expression, standing still, looking here and there, feeling that staying put wasn't ideal, taking two steps to follow Cheng Shuili, then instantly realizing it was better to stay quiet and not get in the way.

Qi Wan Yi carefully pounded the wall, while Ailin swung an iron hammer, smashing the sturdy structure beside the suspected area, trying to probe or force open the mechanism by brute force.

Jiang Tang and Chu Xue lay on the floor, fingers flicking rapidly over dust‑filled floor cracks, searching for any possible pull‑ring, button, or gap.

"Here!"

Almost simultaneously, Qi Wan Yi's and Jiang Tang's voices rang out!

Qi Wan Yi's hand paused before a seemingly intact metal wall, the knock sounding dull.

Meanwhile, Jiang Tang felt out from a pile of discarded cables and debris a cold, round metal pull‑ring embedded in the floor!

"The wall is hollow!"

"There's something on the floor!"

Cheng Shuili made an instant decision: "Check the floor first! Ailin!"

Ailin didn't hesitate, hammering the area around the pull‑ring Jiang Tang had cleared!

Clang!

A muffled thud, dust cascading down. A metal floor tile about a square meter in size sank an inch, revealing a gap at its edge!

It was a hidden trapdoor!

"It's open!" Jiang Tang and Xinxue grabbed the cold ring and pulled upward with force!

Squeak!

A grating metallic screech rang out, the heavy trapdoor being forced open, revealing a black passage below, exhaling stale, rotten air, with a cold metal staircase descending into darkness.

What more could be said?

The group immediately descended the stairs; just in case, Cheng Shuili held the Night Hunt at the lead, the others followed closely, Ailin clutching her hammer behind her.

The team was so in sync that Moyu Miji spent ages searching for a spot but found none, so he simply trailed behind Ailin, slipping down gloomily.

Ailin glanced at him, took a few more steps up the stairs, reached for the inner pull‑ring, inhaled deeply, then yanked the heavy trapdoor shut!

Bang!

A heavy thud, and the last sliver of light and the apocalyptic rain outside were completely cut off.

The whole world instantly fell into absolute darkness and deathly silence, only the breathing of a few echoing in the narrow passage.

Wan Yi opened her carried backpack, pulling out a flashlight; Cheng Shuili also retrieved hers that she had tucked into the Abyssal Ring.

The two lights switched on, instantly restoring illumination.

They stood on a narrow metal stair platform, the stairs descending deeper into darkness.

Cheng Shuili glanced at the time; an hour had passed, they had no idea what was happening outside, the air inside was damp, icy, heavy with iron rust and dust, but at least the surface's sulfuric stench was gone.

"Is it safe?" Jiang Tang's voice trembled with post‑disaster relief; she carefully moved her wrist that had brushed against something, a small reddened patch under the flashlight, but it seemed not serious.

"It should be safe." Qi Wan Yi replied, her gaze once again falling on the Moyu Miji. She finally asked, "Lao Da... who is this?"