Every underground fortress that had begun construction in the prewar era and remained usable after the war
had generally employed the finest architectural concepts and technologies of its time, along with high-strength materials.
Whether facing the shockwaves of a direct nuclear warhead impact or the frequent earthquakes caused by crustal movement, they had always passed one difficult environmental trial after another.
Of course, after the war, quite a few people who had retained heavy weapons had repeatedly tried to negotiate their way inside with the idea that "the neighbor's home is my home." In the end, though, they were all kept outside by the fortresses' sturdy defensive perimeters, which held for decades.
Some people had estimated from the strength of the materials used to build the bunkers that, according to their expected service lives, these fortresses could last at least five hundred years on Blue Star. Even if accidents occurred during that time, they should have been able to last until human civilization returned to the surface.
But reality was cruel. It had taken only two hundred and seventy-two years—less than three hundred.
More and more underground fortresses had begun to withdraw from the stage of history, reaching the end of their lives.
What ended them was not the materials outside reaching their limits, but rather—
Creak.
The heavy shelter doors opened, pulling Liu Lu back from his thoughts. He stepped inside.
The entrance was a room of roughly fifty square meters. Two Exoskeleton Guards sat in the corner.
From above, a faint current of air carrying water vapor blasted downward, providing the most basic disinfection.
After the disinfection was complete, Liu Lu nodded to the two guards and walked farther inside.
Behind the second door was a long defensive passageway, approximately forty meters in length.
On ordinary days, the