Chapter 256 - 168: "Danger, Danger, Do Not Approach!

No major chaos will occur, nor will any talent be buried.

Chen Mang withdrew his gaze from the train and looked again towards the city ahead. Not a single light in this city was on; only a pale yellow glow emanated from somewhere within the entire underground space.

A vast space had been excavated deep underground.

The city sat in this space.

If a city falls into darkness, the sense of oppression it brings is very strong. Those towering skyscrapers seem like terrifying monsters ready to devour everything at any moment.

After a long time.

"Let’s go."

Chen Mang tossed the burnt-out cigarette onto the ground, then climbed back into the train cabin, preparing to start exploring the city.

No way to leave.

Clearly, if he can’t find the location of the nuclear bomb and doesn’t activate it, he will be trapped here indefinitely. Perhaps he could try... see if he can drill his way out, underneath "Zombie Basin" should be here.

Drilling upwards constantly, theoretically, should allow him to exit, just unsure if the adventure map’s boundary can block a Level 50 Drill.

Anyway, the adventure map in the Kunlun Mountain area didn’t block him.

Right now he lacks everything except iron ore, having over three million.

Worst case, upgrade the drill to Level 100, even Level 200, Level 300; at that point, he doesn’t believe the adventure map’s boundary can stop him. This is considered a backup plan; even if he can’t find the nuclear bomb, he shouldn’t be permanently trapped in this map.

The Constant Star Train slowly accelerated, continuing along the highway deeper into the city.

After approximately several hundred meters.

Chen Mang suddenly noticed a question mark floating low over the road in the distance.

A three-dimensional white question mark roughly the size of an adult man, slowly rotating.

A flash of doubt crossed Chen Mang’s eyes. Soon he thought of something, steering the train to run over the question mark. When approaching, he noticed a small "projector" beneath the question mark.

The question mark was projected into the air by this projector.

In the instant of running over the question mark.

"Whish!"

From beneath the question mark on the road, two mechanical arms suddenly extended, attaching two walkie-talkie-like devices to the sides of the train car’s exterior.

At the same time–

A line of information appeared on the control console screen.

"Train Energy Shield has received boost; for the next ten seconds, your train’s Energy Shield level will increase by one level."

"..."

Chen Mang looked slightly odd-faced at the line of information on the screen and then towards the next question mark on the highway not far away. Surely... this adventure map should have started as a kind of item race?

Gaining different boosts by collecting question marks and then being the first to cross the finish?

Although the map’s light screen was not explicit.

It’s clearly what it means.

But... isn’t the position of this first "question mark" a bit too far?

The battle’s already over, hey!

Next time, can it not be earlier?

This far, the damned are already all dead.

...

Chen Mang no longer paid attention to those question marks; they were already useless. Nonetheless, it did remind him: if there are such highways in other adventure maps, and all trains appear side by side at the starting point, chances are it’s also an item race.

Start fast to get the items first, then worry about other things.

Controlling the Constant Star Train continued speeding on the highway and arrived at the city’s edge within minutes.

"Get off!"

The train stopped again, and Biaozi and others jumped off the train, preparing to explore the office buildings on both sides of the street.

Last time in Mechanical City, he wanted to do this, but the adventure map’s process was all fixed; he had no time to explore the entire map. This map has no process or time limit, and he’s not in a hurry, so he can explore slowly.

There’s definitely something good in these office buildings.

Explore first, then talk.

He turned his head to look outside at those office buildings, mostly in ruins, visible through the gaps of those destroyed and broken buildings, inside the office buildings, countless mechanical gears stopped moving long ago.

He’s always been curious. These office buildings are full of gears; can people still live in them?

And what are the gears for?

If it’s about transmitting energy, there should be plenty of more efficient, faster, and less consumptive ways to transmit energy, given it’s a relic of an advanced civilization.

He looked at the screen.

On the screen is the first-person perspective of Biaozi and others’ exploration, along with real-time surround sound from multiple speakers within the train, giving a feeling of being there.

...

"Be careful."

Biaozi silently chanted, and this message was transmitted via Cluster Thinking to President Ai, then from President Ai to the iris chips of the team members. This message itself holds no significance; who wouldn’t know to be careful in an unknown place? It’s just to give everyone a sense of reassurance upon seeing his message.

Entering the office building lobby first.

Chaos scattered everywhere.

The ground was covered in brown-red blood traces, only extremely faint. A long time ago, a battle must have occurred here, but not a single corpse was seen, nor any bone fragments.

"..."

Biaozi tentatively knelt down, tapping the floor with his knuckles.

A muffled sound came forth.

As expected, the floor was a solid steel slab; no gaps were seen. It appeared as very deep black; all buildings in this city were deep black, both inside and outside, giving a strong oppressive sensation.