The Green World

After walking a while towards the exit, the traces of human presence gradually increased along the way.

Admittedly, given enough time, everything can be erased.

However, in such a cold and damp environment, a mere four hundred years is not enough for plastic products to completely degrade.

Lu Bai stepped through the murky, foul-smelling puddles. The various debris piled up by the roadside was unrecognizable. Some of the plastic bags that originally contained things were full of holes, and their texture had turned into strips like rags.

He slowed his breathing, intending to quickly cross the area permeated with the stench of decay.

The air along the way was filled with a thin mist, like a light veil; it wasn't thick, but it still somewhat affected visibility.

Fortunately, the lettering on the signs hasn't completely worn off, so there's no need to worry about getting lost inside.

As underground protective structures built to safeguard personnel and supplies during wartime, they were theoretically constructed to the highest standards, and their sturdiness is beyond question.

However, Lu Bai discovered that the cement-coated wall base had developed numerous cracks, raising concerns that it might collapse in the future.

"An earthquake? Or something else?"

Despite some doubts, Lu Bai quickened his pace.

He is now very curious to know what the ground has become.

Lu Bai sprinted to the exit of the civil defense project, only to be blocked by a heavy, rusty iron gate.

The iron gate is very well sealed, isolating the inside from the outside, and not even a wisp of wind can get in.

Due to years of disrepair, the lever controlling the raising and lowering of the iron gate was damaged internally. Lu Bai tried to pry it off, almost breaking the lever off completely, but the iron gate did not respond at all.

Lu Bai took a half step back and let out a long sigh of relief.

Even without his exact measurements, the weight of this iron gate is definitely over a hundred tons.

Normally, it would be completely impossible for a human to lift this thing.

Of course, he could use his abilities [Iron Fist Breaks Wind] and [Needle Woman Spirit Control] to blast the iron gate into dust.

However, considering the current unclear situation outside, which might affect the underground shelter, destroying this iron gate would obviously be inappropriate.

He then began to select from his "discard pile".

[Sky Ant Bloodline (Gold): Gains a bloodline amplification in the Path of Power. Once activated, this amplification allows the user to lift objects exceeding four hundred times their own weight. The longer the user utilizes this ability, the more irreversibly their body will begin to transform into an ant.]

The number four hundred times sounds exaggerated, but this ability is actually not as powerful as imagined.

A simple calculation shows that an average adult male with this ability can only lift a few dozen tons, which is less than a large passenger vehicle. Not to mention the negative effects, so a Gold level is not unfair.

In fact, even if Lu Bai used the [Sky Ant Bloodline] now, the extra power he gained would not be enough to support him in lifting this heavy iron door.

Fortunately, he had preemptively exploited the ability possessed by Vice President Zheng, and the temporary access slot for that ability clearly displayed another ability—

[Multiple Shadow Clone Technique (Color): Distributes stamina evenly to create clones. These clones can attack; the maximum number of clones depends on the user's own strength. Clones will immediately dissipate upon taking any damage. Upon dissipation or automatic cancellation, the memories and proficiency gained during the clone creation process will be returned to the original user.]

A series of white mists rose up, and a dozen or so Lu Bai appeared in front of the iron gate.

Lu Bai stood in the center of the iron gate, raised his hand and said, "All eyes are on me, and everyone listen to my commands."

A dozen or so Lu Bai members reached out and felt around on the iron gate, searching for a suitable point to exert force.

Once everything was ready, Lu Bai chopped down with his right hand. "Lift!"

The Lu Bai men listened to the slogans and exerted their strength simultaneously.

Rumble~

For a moment, a tremendous roar echoed through the passageway of the civil defense project.

The heavy iron gate was slowly lifted, reconnecting the civil defense project, which had been closed for four hundred years, to the outside world.

Lu Bai crouched down, and what came into view was a wild, vibrant, and green world.

The cracks in the broken road surface were overgrown with unknown weeds that were half a person tall, almost completely submerging the road.

In the distance, the gray-black steel jungle is covered with a large amount of vegetation, and the tall buildings look like giants dressed in green, standing silently in the years since humans disappeared.

Theoretically speaking, if humanity were to disappear in an instant, then within just a few decades, any bustling city would be covered by a sea of green.

As Lu Bai walked out of the air-raid shelter, a series of thuds sounded behind him, and more than a dozen shadow clones turned into white mist and dissipated.

He genuinely wanted to marvel at the breathtaking vitality of plants.

The problem is...

According to records of underground shelters, it was because of the Ice Age that humans completely moved underground from the surface, right?

He could understand that perhaps the temperature had returned to normal over the past four hundred years.

However, even though Lu Bai's geographical knowledge wasn't very good, he could clearly see that there were no traces of water erosion in the vicinity.

Did the so-called Ice Age really exist?

Lu Bai walked along the road. On both sides of the road were abandoned vehicles that were rusted and blackened. The paint left on the car bodies was like dried rice paste. If you touched it lightly, it would immediately crumble and fall off.

The rampant weeds underfoot somewhat hampered his progress, but with everything still uncertain, he didn't intend to make any conspicuous moves.

The refreshing scents emanating from the various plants made the journey less tedious.

It took Lu Bai about an hour to walk to the city.

The various modes of transportation planned for urban roads are simply unusable.

He was just about to consider which direction to go when he suddenly realized that the weeds on the city roads didn't seem as lush as those outside.

This isn't a result of the natural growth cycle of vegetation; the state of the vegetation along the highway suggests that someone is regularly cleaning it.

Lu Bai paused for a moment, then finally decided to head to the city center first.

If one wants to survive in such an overly green city, the primary issue is the source of food.

Since he left the civil defense facility, he hasn't seen a single animal that could serve as food.

Even if some people did survive, given the food shortage, their numbers wouldn't be very large.

Lu Bai walked between two office buildings covered in greenery and arrived at a ruin that resembled a plaza.

Just then,

A sharp whistling sound suddenly came from behind him.

With the ability to [Flash Time], a sneak attack would never be feasible for Lu Bai.

He even had time to turn around and take a look at what exactly was trying to attack him.