Mobile City Farming Guide

Chapter 211 The Horrifying Truth Behind the Shelter Disappearance (4.8K)

After the meeting, Martha leaned quietly against the corridor wall, seemingly lost in thought.

When she saw someone walking towards her, she was first taken aback, and then a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.

"I never expected you to be on my side this time," she said softly. "You used to be the most vehement opponent of me."

The visitor was none other than Hyde.

Hyde slowly walked to Martha's side and leaned against the wall beside her.

He took out a cigarette case and lighter from his pocket and lit a cigarette for himself.

“You’re right,” he said softly. “More important than communication and ground exploration, the regulator’s primary responsibility is to ensure the continuation of the shelter.”

Regulators and parliament have always maintained an adversarial stance.

The former represents conservatism, while the latter represents openness.

From a certain generation onwards, regulators have consistently maintained a conservative stance, and when selecting successors, they have primarily favored conservatives.

Martha waved to Hyde, who understood and lit a cigarette for her.

At this moment, the two, who had been at odds for many years, reached a brief reconciliation.

After taking a drag of her cigarette, Martha spoke slowly.

"When I was a little girl, I also longed for the world on the ground."

"But my father told me that weakness and humility are never the cause of one's own demise; it is curiosity without strength that is."

"It's already quite remarkable that Vault B9 has survived this long. We must remain extremely cautious about anything unknown."

Hyde shrugged.

Martha's father was the previous regulator, a conservative far more stubborn than she was.

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard the shelter's broadcast.

The message stated that the subway to Vault L8 would arrive in 15 minutes, and residents were asked to prepare to receive it.

Upon hearing this news, the shelter was immediately filled with jubilation.

Martha and Hyde couldn't help but exchange a glance.

"Let's go and see what's going on with this subway train."

Inside the room, Wendy and her best friend, who were talking, couldn't help but exchange a glance.

"Huh? The subway to Vault-8?" Her best friend's eyes lit up. "They might be here to exchange ideas, but also to arrange a marriage! Wendy, you can finally get married!"

Wendy nodded hesitantly—she didn't actually have much expectation for marriage.

For some reason, she suddenly felt a sense of unease.

Martha and Hyde arrived at the underground station located at the bottom of the shelter.

Because it has been closed for many years, the station is in a terrible state of disrepair.

Several rows of fluorescent tubes, flickering on and off, hung from the arched ceiling, casting a cold, bluish-gray light in the damp air. The yellow warning tape along the platform edge had long since faded, and moss, growing from the cracks, spread like veins across the concrete floor.

Rusty ventilation ducts coiled in the corner, emitting intermittent humming as they continuously circulated air mixed with the smells of engine oil and mildew.

The railway tracks stretched into the depths of the dark tunnel, where occasionally a cold wind would sweep past carrying small pebbles, creating hollow echoes in the silence.

At this moment, the station is already full of people.

The members of parliament who voted in favor, along with more than half of the residents of the shelter, came.

Everyone seemed extremely excited.

Hyde and Martha exchanged a glance and silently stood at the edge of the platform.

As time passed, the subway was about to arrive at the station.

A deep rumble came from deep within the tunnel, initially just a faint vibration, then gradually turning into a rhythmic metallic clanging sound that echoed in the damp air.

The emergency lights on the walls began to flicker, casting swaying shadows under the tracks. A gust of wind, carrying the smell of engine oil and electricity, rushed out from the dark tunnel, scattering the dust that had accumulated on the platform.

Suddenly, two blinding headlights pierced the darkness, and with a sharp screech of brakes, the massive steel carriage slowly pulled into the platform.

This subway train is also incredibly old, with scratches and rust covering its surface, and numerous welding repairs that gleam with a rough, cold light under the lamps.

Everyone was already bursting with excitement and rushed straight to the subway entrance.

However, after seeing the scene inside the subway, everyone was stunned.

The subway was indeed packed with people, densely packed and extremely crowded.

But none of them had any facial features.

They stood quietly in the carriage.

Judging from their uniforms and insignia, they are indeed residents of Vault L8.

The residents who rushed to the subway doors first slowly retreated, their faces showing fear.

"This"

The crowd even stopped their excitement, and the councilors not far away were all stunned.

Hyde and Martha exchanged a glance, their faces showing surprise.

Under everyone's horrified gaze, the indicator light above the car door turned from red to green and emitted a long "beep".

The air pressure valve hissed as it released air, and the heavy car door trembled as it slid open to the sides.

The crowd snapped out of their daze and retreated in terror, some even starting to run away.

The faceless people surged out of the subway like a tide, rushing towards the residents and reaching out their hands towards their faces.

Hyde clearly saw that when a faceless man touched a resident's eyes, the resident's eyes were magically removed by him.

Immediately afterwards, the faceless man casually attached eyes to his own face.

It wasn't as regular as a human face; instead, it was crookedly placed, with one eye at the mouth's position and the other at the forehead's position.

After it was put in place, its two eyes became like those of the faceless person, and could even blink flexibly.

"This..." Hyde was suddenly startled.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the faceless people were plundering the residents' facial features, some by snatching ears, some by snatching noses, and some by snatching mouths.

The stolen facial features were then distorted and placed onto their originally bare faces.

After facial features were added, the faceless people gradually regained their vitality.

Hyde immediately had a very bad feeling.

This is clearly a game of scapegoating.

The faceless people steal facial features and become normal people again, while the residents whose features are stolen become faceless people, and their identities are swapped.

But he soon realized something was wrong.

Because the faceless people have stolen many eyes and many mouths.

These things were haphazardly placed on their faces, making one's scalp tingle.

"What are you still standing there for?" A loud shout came from beside him.

That was Martha's voice.

The regulator is currently working hard to close the station gates.

Hyde snapped out of his daze, quickly stood beside Martha, and reached out to call for the surviving councilors and residents to come to him.

The faceless people noticed this and surged toward the gate like a tide.

Many of the faceless people already have facial features.

But none of them were placed correctly.

The station doors were very heavy and took several tens of seconds to close completely, but the faceless people had already rushed over.

Before Hyde could react, several people rushed forward and held off the faceless men at the forefront.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that they were indeed members of parliament.

This included the elderly female member of parliament and the young member of parliament.

“We made a mistake! Now we have to take responsibility for our actions!” the young congressman shouted, turning his head.

As soon as he finished speaking, several faceless hands pressed down on his face.

The young senator's facial features were instantly removed.

Not only the councilors, but also more than a dozen residents spontaneously formed a human wall and stood directly in front of them.

Thanks to their sacrifice, the gate finally closed slowly.

The survivors were immediately paralyzed and collapsed to the ground.

I have to say, what just happened was truly terrifying.

"What exactly happened to Vault L8?" Hyde blurted out instinctively. "Could it be that all seven vaults have lost contact like this?"

“I don’t know,” Martha shook her head.

At this moment, the regulator's forehead was covered in sweat.

"We need to tally the number of residents who died in this attack," she said slowly.

As he nodded, Hyde also realized something.

With all the members of parliament dead, no one would vote against Martha at the meeting anymore.

This is truly a dark humor.

After resting for a while, everyone slowly got up and turned back.

Hyde and Martha will stand together.

“Judging from the actions of the faceless people, they at most possess the ability to remove other people's facial features,” Hyde said slowly. “Breaking through the station gates is basically impossible.”

Martha, on the other hand, seemed much more cautious.

“Even so, the station gates still need to be reinforced,” she replied. “This will be the highest priority.”

The two fell silent at the thought of the fallen train station.

Whether they liked it or not, their means of communication with other shelters have now been completely cut off.

The two people and several residents took the elevator and slowly returned to their previous floor.

Many residents survived and had to wait in line in front of the elevator.

Some people, however, were unwilling to wait and chose to take the stairs in the shelter.

Hyde witnessed this scene just as the elevator doors closed.

He had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The elevator slowly ascended, and soft music played, which calmed everyone down considerably.

At that moment, Hyde's pupils suddenly widened.

"It's over, it's over," he muttered absentmindedly.

Looking at his expression, Martha seemed to realize something, and her heart skipped a beat.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

“Emergency staircases!” Hyde exclaimed. “The station has emergency staircases! They’re connected to the shelter.”

The elevator fell silent instantly upon hearing this.

Everyone's face turned extremely pale.

Martha was the first to come to her senses.

"Summon security personnel immediately! We must defend the shelter!"

She immediately chose the nearest floor, and rushed out as soon as the elevator doors opened.

Hyde and the residents followed closely behind.

"What should I do? What should I do now?"

He ran while thinking anxiously.

As he ran, he suddenly realized something.

"Wendy!"

Inside the room, Wendy and her best friend, who were talking, suddenly heard terrified screams coming from outside.

When they opened the door in bewilderment, they saw a horrifying scene.

A group of faceless people, who appeared out of nowhere, were reaching out to hunt down the facial features of the shelter's inhabitants.

Some of them have faces covered in ears, some have faces covered in mouths, and some have faces covered in eyes.

Her best friend immediately let out a terrified scream.

"what!"

Wendy tried to grab her hand and run away, but the other woman's legs went weak and she knelt down. The Faceless Men rushed up.

Wendy had no choice but to turn and run away quickly, while her best friend's face was held down by countless hands.

The entire shelter has fallen.

Security personnel fired their guns, only to find that the faceless people were impossible to kill.

Martha stood in the monitoring room watching the scenes unfold in the shelter, her forehead covered in sweat.

As Wendy was running away in a daze, a voice suddenly came from ahead.

"Wendy!"

She looked up and saw that it was her father, Hyde.

At this moment, Hyde was carrying a backpack in one hand and a gun in the other, his face full of anxiety.

The father and daughter then reunited and fled together.

"Where are we going to run to, Dad?" Wendy asked anxiously.

Hyde hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke softly.

Go wherever you want to go.

Wendy was slightly taken aback.

Go to the ground?
The father and daughter eventually escaped unharmed to the first floor of the shelter.

There are no facilities here, only a heavy gate.

Hyde immediately entered the password.

However, it takes several minutes for the door to open.

The two waited anxiously by the gate.

In the distance, terrified screams and gunshots could be heard intermittently.

Just then, footsteps suddenly came from the stairs.

The two turned their heads and saw a middle-aged man wearing an L8 shelter uniform slowly walking towards them.

Hyde's expression changed upon seeing the other person's face.

Although the other person's body had the physical characteristics of a middle-aged man, their facial features were those of a young woman.

He was clearly also a faceless man!
But compared to other faceless people, his facial features were neatly arranged—which is why Hyde and his companion didn't notice it at first.

Under his gaze, the middle-aged man slowly spoke.

"Hello sir, I am Jackson, the overseer of Vault L8."

Hyde aimed his gun at him and spoke coldly.

"What exactly is going on?"

“This is a game that Lord Miwei asked us to play,” Jackson said leisurely.

Hyde's expression changed drastically upon hearing this.

“Hasn’t Lord Mivi always protected all the shelters of the Iron Covenant? We have believed in Him with utmost devotion for many years,” he said absentmindedly. “Why would He do that?”

The one they were referring to was the wasteland god "Mivi".

Jackson shrugged, a hint of helplessness showing on her young woman-like face.

"Who knows? Perhaps from the very beginning, we were all just playthings He kept."

Seeing Hyde's initial surprise followed by a look of gritted teeth, he shrugged again.

"This isn't our fault; we had no other choice. Vault A2 plundered our senses in the same way before. And the only way to recover is to plunder others' senses."

He was shot several times before he finished speaking.

Jackson appeared unmoved by this.

“After becoming faceless, we essentially have an immortal body,” he explained. “In a sense, it’s not bad. But deep down, you’ll also have an endless craving for facial features, wishing you had as many eyes, noses, and ears as possible on your face.”

He paused as he spoke.

"Actually, I've already started to lose control."

Under the horrified gazes of the two men, Jackson rushed over.

With only one minute left before the gates opened, Hyde had no choice but to rush forward and start fighting with Jackson.

He deliberately held the other person's hands down to prevent them from touching his face.

After regaining her senses, Wendy rushed forward to help, and the father and daughter together subdued Jackson.

60 seconds, 40 seconds, 20 seconds.
As time passed, the shelter doors slowly opened, and hope gradually rekindled in the hearts of the two.

Just then, a series of footsteps came from the stairs.

Wendy turned her head and her heart sank.

Although they were a group of residents of Vault B9, their faces already looked thinner and thinner.

A resident with a single eye looked at the two of them with greedy eyes.

Unable to make a sound because his mouth had been taken away, he could only point at the two men, signaling everyone to hurry up and attack.

Hyde immediately realized what was happening, signaling Wendy to take her backpack, while he forcefully picked up Jackson and hurled him towards the stairwell, knocking over a group of residents.

"Go!" he roared hoarsely.

Wendy snapped out of her daze, grabbed her backpack, and rushed toward the door.

As she ran, tears involuntarily streamed down her face.

"father!"

The young girl finally arrived at the land she had longed for.

In the form of parting.

Sky, sun, clouds, earth, vegetation.
Everything seemed so new and exciting to her.

But Wendy didn't care about any of that; she was only focused on escaping.

She didn't know how long she ran before she finally stopped.

She was on the edge of a small town, and something was moving inside.

Upon closer inspection, they were clearly giants.

Wendy was taken aback.

Has the outside world really become like this?

She then quickly found a house and hid there.

Learning how to survive was the first lesson she learned upon arriving on Earth.

Wendy opened her backpack and found it was full of emergency food and bottled water.

That should be enough for her to get by for a while.

Meanwhile, at Vault B9.

Hyde has become a faceless man.

A burning desire for the five senses ignited in his mind.

And one sentence.

"This game is a lot of fun, and I hope you all will play it."

The phrase kept repeating in his mind, sending chills down his spine.

Moreover, Hyde realized that he was gradually losing his rationality.

He realized that he would eventually become a monster who only craved his five senses.

Before that, he closed the shelter doors, sealing all the monsters inside.

As Hyde slowly sat down against the wall, a profound sense of powerlessness welled up within him.

"Lord Mivi, have you abandoned us?"

(End of this chapter)