Game: Civilization Paradise

Outside the underground shelter.

Beams of light cut through the distance, followed by the approach of one snowmobile after another.

"Stop."

A man with a fierce gaze, wearing a thick padded coat, his face fleshy and his neck tattooed with a black three-tailed scorpion, brought his snowmobile to a halt and roared at the underlings behind him.

Instantly, all his subordinates stopped.

"Boss, are we here?"

A shrewd-looking man with curly gray hair and acne scars stepped forward to ask.

"Finally. Fucking hell. If it weren’t for those damn freeloaders making trouble for me, we would’ve been here ages ago. And we wouldn’t be in such a sorry state, with only thirty-five people left."

Akaban said angrily to Bito. To think they had over 150 people when they entered!

"Boss, calm down. Don’t ruin your health over this. We’ll take care of that useless bunch of shrimp later," Bito quickly consoled him.

"Hmph."

Akaban let out a cold, displeased snort.

Just then, a subordinate cried out in astonishment.

"Boss, there are footprints here."

Akaban turned his head to look.

Sure enough, footprints dotted the snow.

Akaban’s face immediately darkened as he said,

"Damn it, someone got here before us. Follow the tracks."

"Yes, sir."

Bito and the others quickly responded.

Akaban led Bito and his men, following the footprints and trudging with difficulty through the snow.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance to the underground shelter.

"Boss, they’ve gone inside the shelter!" Bito said, looking at the open entrance.

"Damn it! Someone beat us to it."

Akaban was seething, his face a mask of fury.

’Ever since we entered this instance, not a single thing has gone right.’

"Boss, what do we do now? The group that went in... you don’t think it’s the Star Wish Guild, do you?"

"So what if it is? You think I’m afraid of them?"

"That’s not it, Boss. We’re only down to about thirty people, and half of them are from the Rat Group. If the Star Wish Guild is at full strength, how are we supposed to fight them?"

Bito looked at Akaban with concern.

Akaban was momentarily caught in a dilemma. If he backed down now, this instance would be a huge loss, but Bito had a point.

In the end, however, a vicious glint flashed across Akaban’s face. He spoke ruthlessly to Bito and the others.

"Fuck it! We’re screwed either way, so let’s risk it all!"

"Yes, sir!"

Seeing that Akaban had made his decision, Bito and the others all nodded in agreement.

"Follow me inside!"

Akaban led his underlings inside.

...

「Shelter - Level B12」

Luoxue and Long Ming descended the main staircase, guns raised.

"Looks like we’ve reached the bottom?"

Long Ming scanned their surroundings. The main staircase ended here. They were in a circular hall, and at the far end stood a sealed, seven-meter-high door made of black metal.

"Yeah. Let’s go take a look."

Luoxue led Long Ming toward the sealed door ahead.

Soon, the two of them were standing before the tightly shut door.

"Try that red card. See if it can open this?" Luoxue said to Long Ming.

"Alright!"

Long Ming took out the red card and swiped it on the door’s electronic lock.

Meanwhile, Luoxue kept her gun raised, staying alert for any surprises.

BEEP BEEP~

The indicator light on it turned from red to green.

CLANK~

With a heavy sound, the entire metal door slowly slid open to the right.

Long Ming immediately stepped back, raised his gun, and aimed inside.

After it was fully open, no danger emerged.

So, with guns raised, they entered one after the other.

Once inside the door, their view opened up. They had arrived in a massive central control room.

Long Ming lifted his head and gazed forward.

The room was filled with all sorts of equipment, its ceiling a network of cables and pipes.

From the lit indicator lights on the equipment, it was clear that despite the lack of maintenance, the devices were still operational.

Luoxue saw this, her cool eyes flickering slightly, and she immediately led Long Ming deeper inside.

Watching her, Long Ming felt a little confused. ’It feels like Luoxue is looking for something specific.’

They soon reached the central area, where a massive, ten-meter-long control console was situated.

The screens on the console displayed the status of various areas throughout the underground shelter.

Red alert boxes littered the screens.

"T3 Elevator Malfunction!"

"SW-01 Air Circulation System, Maintenance Overdue."

...

Luoxue merely glanced at it before continuing deeper into the room.

Long Ming quietly followed behind her.

Before long, the two reached the far end, where two corridors appeared before them.

"Which way?" Long Ming asked, looking at Luoxue.

"Left, for now."

Luoxue didn’t hesitate, heading down the left corridor.

They walked some distance down the corridor and came upon another sealed metal door.

Long Ming swiped the card.

KLANG!

The door swung open!

A blast of cold air instantly billowed out.

Long Ming immediately shivered.

Luoxue turned to glance at him and spoke calmly.

"Are you alright?"

"I’m fine. Just a little cold," Long Ming said, composing himself.

"Okay. Let’s go in."

Luoxue led Long Ming inside, and they found themselves in a huge laboratory.

The room was filled with rows of precision biological equipment like blood extraction canisters and centrifuges.

However, the surfaces of all the equipment and instruments were coated in frost, and a white mist covered the floor, making it look like a fairytale land.

"This looks like a lab," Long Ming said, gripping his firearm and looking around.

"Be careful."

Luoxue’s nerves were also on edge. ’There’s a high chance a monster is hiding in here.’

"Got it."

Long Ming advanced slowly.

Soon, they saw a research office partitioned off by glass.

Long Ming and Luoxue exchanged a glance, walked over, and pushed open the glass door to enter.

The research office was a complete mess. Desk drawers were pulled out, and cabinets were toppled over.

Various documents were scattered on the floor.

Long Ming and Luoxue began to search the office.

They ended up finding a pile of complex research materials, but since they couldn’t determine their value, they ignored them.

Soon, when they reached the back of the room, they came face to face with a specially made safe.

Long Ming walked up to the safe, examined it, and said,

"It’s got an electronic keypad, plus a biometric scanner and a mechanical key lock. There’s no way to open this!"

"Let me," Luoxue said to Long Ming.

"Okay."

Seeing this, Long Ming took a step back.

Luoxue took a bottle of silver metallic liquid from her backpack, uncorked it, and poured it onto the surface of the safe.

The safe’s surface was instantly corroded, melting a square hole in the blink of an eye.

Long Ming’s eyes lit up when he saw this, and he asked curiously,

"What is that stuff? It looks amazing."