Chapter 374
Using the stairs, Jiang Chen headed up to the roof and placed the airdrop marker on a relatively flat piece of ground.
After about fifteen minutes, Yao Yao drifted down from the air with the descending jetpack in a trial of blue flames.
It was her first time parachuting. When the girl landed, her body was still tensed up. Not until Jiang Chen took off her jetpack did her pale face gain back some life.
Sun Jiao observed the zombies returning to peace on the street. “Ok, all is ready, prepare for action,” she ordered in the public channel as she took out her tactical rifle.
“Roger.”
Including Jiang Chen, the three all took out their weapons, locked and loaded.
“Don’t be afraid, follow me.” Jiang Chen comforted the girl in the private channel.
“Mhmm!”
Yao Yao’s face turned slightly red as she followed behind Jiang Chen.
The excessive protection and the happiness it brought almost made her dizzy. Although it was not the first time she was out executing a mission, it was her first time with Jiang Chen.
The space inside the Ministry of Geology was spacious, and the transparent rotating stairs headed deep into the ground. From the design of the stairs alone, Jiang Chen felt the deep ill intention of the designer. It was a statement against people who feared height. But what he didn’t know was that these stairs were made mostly for decoration purposes. In the highly digitalized 22nd century, rarely did people choose such an outdated method to move.
The building design extending down was standard in the 22nd century. To stuff in the ten billion people in PAC while retaining arable land, it was a must choice for history to expand downwards. The wealthy people lived in the skyscrapers, and the poor lived at the base of it. This was the culture before the war.
Yao Yao without combat ability stayed in the middle with Jiang Chen while a T-4 soldier in front scouted for any dangers in the dark building.
“Why are there no zombies inside this type of building?” Jiang Chen asked Sun Jiao in the private channel.
Since they were in the office area, there should be a lot of bodies here.
“Two possibilities. The people here before the war evacuated on time, or it may be a mutant nest.” Sun Jiao scanned the dark zone with her tactical flashlight.
“Which possibility do you lean towards?”
“Nobody, should be the first?” Jiang Chen was unsure.
“Why a questioning tone?”
“Because there is no absolute in the wasteland. After being peaceful for so long… I feel like my instinct is a bit dull.” Sun Jiao sighed.
Jiang Chen didn’t respond as he was even more alert than before. The mechanical crosshair moved to every corner where danger could arise.
For some reason, the underground without a bottom made him feel unsettled.
15th floor underground.
When they stepped down the last stair, the five finally came to the bottom. Jiang Chen opened the map to confirm the location of the data center before he walked to the hallway near the wall.
“Dam*it, what is this?” A soldier poked the egg on the wall with his muzzle as he cursed in a small voice.
“Don’t touch anything!”
Sun Jiao shouted in the public channel as the soldier immediately moved back.
“What is that?” Directing a flashlight towards it, Jiang Chen stopped as he looked at the watermelon-sized eggs along the wall.
Sun Jiao went up and examined it carefully.
“I don’t know… I have never seen this before. The database in the EP doesn’t show anything yet. Should we collect some for sampling?”
Jiang Chen scanned the disgusting eggs that gave him goosebumps.
“Do it when we leave.” If the eggs are connected to the mother somehow, damaging it would create unnecessary uncertainties.
Yao Yao looked around anxiously. For some reason, she had an ominous feeling.
Feeling Yao Yao’s unease, Jiang Chen comforted her in a soft voice.
“Don’t be afraid, I will protect you.”
“Mhmm… I heard a weird voice.”
“Voice?”
Jiang Chen frowned, he didn’t hear anything.
Yao Yao said in a low voice, “It’s a weird kind of noise. Perhaps it’s just my illusion, don’t worry.”
Illusion?
Jiang Chen hesitantly looked down the hall. Since they were already there, it was not his style to return empty-handed.
The five people continued to move, with Jiang Chen leading. After the discovery of the eggs of an unknown creature, no one let their guard down anymore as they used 200% of their focus and cautiously looked out for any potential threats.
Yao Yao still tightly followed behind Jiang Chen.
Although the cold armor didn’t feel like his warm temperature, the close distance made her feel more at ease.
“Fu*k, the eggs are everywhere.” A soldier cursed out as his rifle pointed at the glass down the hall. The flashlight light up the entire room as the eggs filled the space.
“Try not to alert them, finish as soon as we can,” Jiang Chen ordered.
“Yes!”
After they passed through the last door, they finally reached the data center.
Inside the circular room was four screens that pointed in each direction. On the outskirt of the room were computers that stopped functioning. Along the arc-shaped dome, light filtered through. Paper documents and broken touchscreen were scattered everywhere on the floor. Together with the dust. it made a crunching sound when stepped on.
Yao Yao walked into the room as she gently put her hand on her left chest.
The sound was getting closer.
For some reason, the faint static noise made her feel comfortable.
She wanted to say something, but she clenched her teeth and resisted the temptation. Although she enjoyed Jiang Chen’s care for her, subconsciously she didn’t want him to treat her as a child that must be protected.
Two soldiers guarded the door, Jiang Chen and Sun Jiao brought Yao Yao forward.
Sun Jiao took out the backup crystal fuel rod and inserted it into the backup power slot of the server. The faint sound of electricity flowing appeared. After many years, the servers finally flashed the light green indicator light.
“Start.” Jiang Chen encouragingly looked at Yao Yao.
Yao Yao nodded and walked to the computer.
But at that time, the screens lit up.
A familiar face appeared in the middle of the screens.
“That’s surprising, we meet again.”
Looking at the completely shocked Jiang Chen, Lin Chaoen sneered.