Leaning against the wall of the elevator, Jiang Chen quietly waited to descend to the bottom.
The backup power system was still in operation, and that elevator might be the only electrical system in the resort that was still operational. The "black shadow" he previously saw in the basement still lingered in his mind.
He didn't call Lin Lin to come up the mountain, but he chose to enter the nuclear power plant to first explore the area. The black shadow's attack was simply impossible to counter. Even the life detection device could not find its trace of it. Jiang Chen really didn't have the confidence to take care of a person who had no fighting power while protecting himself.
Since it could be wounded by laser bullets, he could already rule out ghosts and other things. However, Jiang Chen ultimately still didn't believe that ghosts and demons existed in the world, but he still couldn't understand what he saw.
"Ding—"
His thoughts were interrupted by the bell of the elevator. Jiang Chen stood still and raised the rifle in his hand.
The elevator slowly opened.
However, to his surprise, this nuclear power plant wasn't empty.
"This is the Clearwater Nuclear Power Plant. Put down your weapon, buddy."
After the elevator opened, six riflemen stood in the doorway and their muzzles pointed straight at him. Jiang Chen responded immediately and aimed his rifle. Although a gun looked laughable compared to six guns, there were ten Hummingbird drones behind him.
"Give me a reason to put down my weapon." Jiang Chen didn't have any intentions of putting his weapon down.
The signal underground was poor, and the drone terminal deployed on the ground couldn't get in touch with the underground drone. However, there were drone backpacks that could be used as a temporary terminal for drones.
Looking at the ten squeaky drones, Zhao Tianyu, who stood in front of Jiang Chen, felt a chill down his spine. Disregarding how many bullets the kinetic skeleton would be able to resist, he didn't know how to deal with the drones.
"Okay... You can hold your weapon, but if you're not looking for trouble, please state your intentions."
After weighing the pros and cons, Zhao Tianyu made a compromise. After all, being able to come here alive meant he wasn't a simple character.
Jiang Chen's eyes focused on their hands for a moment.
They were all PK2000s, although they looked old. Since they were using this type of PAC automatic rifle, commonly found in fallout shelters or pre-war military facilities, Jiang Chen immediately knew their identities. It seemed that what Mole said wasn't necessarily completely true; the one hundred plus people who entered the resort to explore five years ago hadn't all died.
At least, the six people standing in front of him hadn't died.
"I'm a mercenary and I'm employed by the director of Fallout Shelter 079 and came to investigate your... cause of death. I just didn't expect that you are all still alive." To gain their trust, Jiang Chen made up a lie.
The six people looked at each other before a bitter smile formed on their faces.
"Still alive? About twenty are left."
Zhao Tianyu lowered his rifle and the five subordinates who stood next to him also followed suit. Since their visitor was friendly, there was no point in aiming their guns at each other. Jiang Chen also did the same, however, he didn't retract the drones he was with.
"So...may I come in?" Jiang Chen pointed to the outside of the elevator.
"Of course, we can go to our station. Please come with me." Zhao Tianyu welcomed him.
After the elevator was a hall with the characters "Clearwater Nuclear Power Plant." After passing through the hall, in front of an arch, Zhao Tianyu pressed his fingerprint on a scanner and opened the nuclear power plant buried under several hundred meters.
Finally, as he entered the interior of the Clearwater Nuclear Power Plant, Jiang Chen shockingly discovered something.
It wasn't a nuclear power plant; it was a small fallout shelter!
Large and small tents were set up inside in the empty halls, and in the back were the living quarters of the workers. Although Clearwater Nuclear Power Plant was designed to operate on its own for at least 50 years without maintenance, it was designed with a living space for 500 people.
There were more than 500 people crowded there - at least a thousand people.
"These are the aboriginals of the nuclear power plant... There should be no problems referring to them by this name." Zhao Tianyu walked forward with Jiang Chen and introduced him.
From Zhao Tianyu, Jiang Chen immediately understood why he didn't see any corpses at the resort and the owners of the luxury cars in the garage didn't show any signs of leaving. Originally, those people didn't flee to fallout shelters several kilometers away when the nuclear war broke out. Instead, they directly hid in the nuclear power plant.
When the nuclear war broke out, people with a conscience didn't keep the strategic reserve secret; they hid inside with a large group of despairing survivors.
"Originally, these workers' dormitories were occupied by Mud Crabs. We cleared the area after we came."
"Even the most optimistic will become depressed after living underground for a long time. These people aren't the easiest to get along with, but they also need us to maintain order, and they share their extra food with us."
"Food? Where do they get food from?" Jiang Chen confused.
"Mushrooms, algae, and seaweed are all suitable for growth here." Zhao Tianyu grinned. "The nuclear power plant's deuterium refinery has a pipeline that connects with the sea. Not only can it obtain seaweed, but there are a few small fish occasionally."
Planting mushrooms at a nuclear power plant was certainly a different taste of life.
However, Jiang Chen didn't mock their food and remained silent along the way. Avoiding speaking was the best way to disguise himself.
At the end of the workers' dormitories, two guards stood at the entrance in the corner. This place was Fallout Shelter 079 Exploration Team's station. After entering the so-called command room, Zhao Tianyu moved a chair over for Jiang Chen.
"Let's sit."
Jiang Chen sat in the chair and leaned on the rifle next to him.
Zhao Tianyu sat across from him, fingers crossed on the table, and asked Jiang Chen seriously:
"Does the Fog Demon still exist?"
"If you're referring to that shadow with an axe, I think he's still here," Jiang Chen said.
A bitter smile appeared on Zhao Tianyu's face.
"Sure enough... can you tell me how you escaped it?"
"He sneaked from behind. I noticed then I shot him."
Although Jiang Chen said that in an understatement, Zhao Tianyu still felt the danger in his words.
"Good lord, you certainly have a few moves. We had 117 brothers at one time, but only twenty of them made it in here. If I'm not mistaken, those brothers running down the hill must've all died."
"How are you so certain?" Jiang Chen asked.
"It's easy to guess. If they returned to the town alive, the director wouldn't have waited for so many years to collect our bodies," Zhao Tianyu said, "What's your plan now?"
After a moment of silence, Jiang Chen said.
"Take you back and bring these people along the way."
It was inconvenient for him to transfer these nuclear fusion generators and nuclear fuel, and those who depended on nuclear energy would certainly not allow him to move those generators. However, if he could bring them to the outside, he believe they would be happy to give up this nuclear power plant.
"We can't get there." Zhao Tianyu shook his head. "With the Fog Demon guarding outside, people are going to die. The thick fog is his territory. In his territory, we'll die."
"What's this so-called Fog Demon?" Jiang Chen frowned.
When he heard Jiang Chen asking this question, Zhao Tianyu let out a long sigh.
"It's said that he used to be a person who belonged to Clearwater Nuclear Power Plant."
After a short pause, he then continued.
"And he was the one who opened the door and brought these poor people into the nuclear power plant..."