Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 203 Welcome, New Humans
After confirming it was safe, Luo Ping went to call Lao Shu and Chai Xin. He was incredibly excited, thinking Lao Shu and Chai Xin must also be very interested in what was inside, so he went to call them.

He also called Tang Er and Liu Hua, but the two refused to come in, so he had to give up.

There are so many places to explore in the long-forgotten 923 Institute; everything here is well preserved and has not suffered any damage.

The people who left back then don't know why, but before they left, they were able to seal this place up so well that everything inside remained intact.

Lu Xi'an had originally thought that there might still be people inside, and that those people might have already been trapped and died, leaving only skeletons, but now it seems that there are obviously no such people.

He and the others followed the mechanical dog deeper into the corridor. Everything in sight was clean and tidy, as if the place was simply prepared for use but had never been put into operation.

"I wonder if there's a switch inside that controls the outside door? If there is, that would be great..."

As Luo Ping walked alongside Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, he couldn't help but say, "But it's probably impossible. That door has been stuck in the ground for so long, it should be broken by now. Even if there's a switch, it won't work."

Lu Xi'an said, "After we finish looking at the place where we study energy and the dog, I'll ask the dog some questions."

He's now so eager to know the dog's secret that everything else has to take a backseat.

"Okay, then I'll trouble you, brother. Thanks!"

Luo Ping grinned, and although he had no hope for it, he still thanked him.

Even if you have no hope, you should still give it a try. In this world, if you don't have any hope and don't try, you might as well just lock yourself up here and wait to die. Why bother going out to look for people again and again?
"Pap, tap, tap..."

The dog's metal hooves echoed as they trod the ground. Lu Xi'an thought to herself that it would be better if the dog had wheels instead of hooves to walk in this kind of place; outside, hooves were more practical than wheels.

However, the wheels of the toy motorcycles were always unsuitable; they were of poor quality and wore out too easily.

The mechanical dog led everyone to the end of the corridor, where a circular area extended out. The edge of the circular area was a metal railing. Looking down from the railing, they saw a circular open space inside the circular area.

This circular open space made Lu Xi'an feel as if he had reached the top of the outer area, but it wasn't as deep as the outside. From here, the edge walls looked to be about the height of a three-story building.

On that circular open space, two unexpected things were placed—

It was the same car, a rather large one, all black, with sharp angles and a high chassis, a whole size larger than Yao Wei's SUV.

The vehicle is clearly divided into front and rear sections; the front is the driver's cab, and the rear is a huge cargo box, yet they are all tightly connected, making it look like a…

A motorhome?!
Or rather... is it a motorhome covered in armor?!

The other thing was much smaller, also entirely black, with four propellers on top and an extended gun barrel.

—This should be a drone, the kind with firepower.

Everyone exchanged glances, surprised that such a thing was kept here.

If these two things work, this place will be an incredible surprise for them!

"You came from here too?"

Lu Xi'an asked the mechanical dog.

The dog's eyes lit up, indicating its confirmation.

If the dog that came out of here is so amazing, will this car and the unmanned combat aircraft also be full of unimaginable wonders, just like the dog?

Lu Xi'an felt her heart racing and hurriedly asked the mechanical dog, "Where do we get off?"

"Crack, snap."

The mechanical dog walked to the side.

Outside this corridor that encircles the circular area is a huge research room built around the circular area.

It is estimated that curved glass windows are too expensive, too difficult to manufacture, or too difficult to guarantee in terms of strength, so there is only one glass window every so often in the wall.

At the far left and right edges of the corridor, there were metal doors right next to the glass windows, tightly closed.

The dog led Lu Xi'an and the others to the metal door on the left and stopped.

The gate was tightly shut and appeared very sturdy, not easily opened. Lu Xi'an and the others didn't rashly try to force it open, but patiently waited to see what Gouzi would do.

"drop--"

"Highest privileges granted, verification successful."

When the dog's eyes shone on it, the metal door made a metallic, emotionless sound, and then clicked open.

Once opened, the lights inside turned on.

Lu Xi'an and the others followed Gouzi inside and saw a row of equipment placed against the glass window, like workbenches, with a long row of tables in the middle, which were empty.

The silver-white safes were arranged in a row against the inner wall, all of them tightly closed.

The dog looked at the workbench next to the door with its dog eyes. Yao Wei understood, picked up the dog, and put it on the workbench.

There was no display screen on the workbench, only rows of buttons and a keyboard embedded in it.

As if he knew the place well, the dog pressed the button on the very edge, and Lu Xi'an and the others immediately saw the glass window light up.

—Only then did he realize that the glass window was also a monitor.

A semi-transparent display.

Lu Xi'an had never seen such a technological product before. The glass window looked incredibly strong, and when the light was on, the displayed image was so clear that it still allowed the eye to pass through and see what was happening outside. The screen was blue, but when it lit up, a small red glow appeared in the center; otherwise, it displayed nothing.

However, a speaker hidden somewhere in the room started playing, displaying the message: "Permission denied."

Then the dog suddenly opened its side, and the data cable came out and was plugged into the interface on the workbench.

Lu Xi'an thought the dog was trying to use its own privileges to open the machine, but she didn't expect the following words to come from the speaker:

"Backup administrator privileges have been enabled. We will now begin entering new permissions. Please keep your eyes open and watch the red dot on the screen."

Lu Xi'an was slightly surprised, but immediately realized what was happening and widened his eyes, staring at the red dot on the glowing glass.

Everyone else reacted in the same way, instinctively widening their eyes.

However, they were still somewhat confused, looking at each other for a while, and then at the red dot again.

After a long while, the speaker in the room said again: "Recording complete, calibrating in progress, please continue to watch the red dot."

Lu Xi'an had no choice but to continue staring at the red dot.

"Calibration passed, currently verifying."

"First verification passed, now undergoing second verification."

"Second verification passed. Welcome, new user."

"Analyzing calibration time to determine base activation plan, please wait..."

The mechanical dog retracted the data cable, and the glowing "glass" screen fell into a long silence. Everyone was at a loss and could only wait.

After a long while, the screen finally began to change, and the speakers in the room started to play sound:

"The calibration time has been analyzed and is currently in 2197. Due to the long system shutdown time, the calibration time may be inaccurate. If there is an error, please issue a voice command to correct it."

2197...

It really has been several decades...

Lu Xi'an didn't know if the time was calibrated correctly or if there was any deviation, but she could only assume it was correct for now.

"No changes will be made."

He said something.

Then, as if receiving a voiceprint signal, the screen in front of me said again:
"The time has been determined. The interval from the system shutdown time is seventy-seven years. Start using backup administrator privileges."

"Based on the above conditions, the third alternative display scheme will be adopted."

"Welcome, new humans."

Everyone was slightly taken aback. Did the system determine that they were new humans, or did the people from back then guess that the person who would come here and open the system would be a new human?

Lu Xi'an's mind raced, her thoughts wandering.

He felt that the people who were in Institute 923 back then had guessed the changes in the world and predicted that the survivors decades later would only be a new kind of human.

The people at the time set up different plans based on various pre-set conditions in order to show everything in this research institute to future generations.

After realizing that they were new humans, the speakers in the room gave them a welcome message.

—This new human should not be limited to the four types of new humans: A, B, C, and D. According to what we learned in Mengxin City, all the survivors are now new humans.

This system should welcome all the survivors of this new world.

—Anyone who can get in here.

The "glass" screen began to display various scenes from the past of Institute 923, including corridors, research rooms, living areas, and plants in the courtyard.

In the video footage, the gate at the entrance to the passageway was not yet sunk into the ground; it stood tall, blocking the passageway, making it impregnable.

The roof of the courtyard seemed to have some kind of optical camouflage. For a moment, the image flickered. When looking down at the base from the outside, all that could be seen were the snow and wind in the mountains, and it was difficult to see what was inside.

—It turns out that from the top, it was impossible to see what was below. If any person or animal had wandered over here and accidentally stepped into a hole, it would have been really unlucky.

Lu Xi'an guessed that Qinshan might have been in a closed state back then, prohibiting people from entering at will, so that the optical camouflage on the top could really play its role.

However, all of this is now impossible to verify, and Lu Xi'an is too lazy to think about such things anymore.

He just wanted to know things related to energy, dogs, and what was left of this secret base and what it could do now.

Like everyone else, he watched the dazzling images on the screen while listening to the introduction through the speakers, his eyes wide with amazement.

"Institute 923 was established urgently after the failure of the new energy project. Its main task is to study and determine whether the project debris still has the conditions and value for utilization after the failure of the new energy project."

"Researchers from all over the country secretly gathered here and made every effort to achieve a series of results."

"Due to the war, the research was forced to stop. It has now been confirmed that you are a new human being whose genetic type matches that of our nation. The research results are stored here and will soon be available for you."

"Prior to this, based on the three alternative presentation options, we need to sample and assess your knowledge comprehension ability. Please be prepared."

(End of this chapter)