Doggy and Doggy's Legs

Perhaps because of the obstruction of the courtyard walls, the weeds in this small building grew much more vigorously than outside.

The weeds, green with a hint of yellow, were half a person's height, forming a barrier between the courtyard gate and the small building.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei pushed through the weeds and walked up the steps in front of the building's entrance. When they looked back, the parted weeds had already returned to their original position, completely unaffected.

"Do you think there are any insects or snakes inside?"

Lu Xi'an asked.

Yao Wei shook her head. "I don't know." She wasn't like those frail young girls from her past life. Fierce as she was, she wouldn't show even a hint of fear because of the possibility of insects or snakes in the weeds.

On the contrary, after Lu Xi'an added, "It would be great if there were insects, they're rich in protein and very nutritious," the woman became even more spirited, peering intently into the weeds, seemingly intending to find some insects to eat from the dense growth.

Lu Xi'an couldn't help but laugh. "Stop looking. When we're completely out of options, it'll be time enough to look for insects to eat. Right now, we have rice, vegetables, bread, and compressed biscuits. There's no need to eat insects."

Yao Wei seemed a bit confused. "Shouldn't we store as much food as possible when we find it?"

Lu Xi'an replied, "Insects don't count as stored food."

"Oh."

Yao Wei felt a bit regretful. She had finally learned of another food source, but couldn't collect and store it. Looking at the weeds covering the ground, and thinking of the many potential food sources within them, she felt quite disheartened.

But as she watched, she suddenly froze.

"What's wrong?"

Lu Xi'an asked.

"Look over there."

Yao Wei pointed to an area by the west wall where the weeds were much shorter than elsewhere. However, the weeds from the east, south, and north directions clustered around it, obscuring it. If one didn't look closely, it would be impossible to notice.

Lu Xi'an hadn't noticed any difference at first, but after Yao Wei pointed it out, he paid attention.

He and Yao Wei exchanged a glance, understanding each other's thoughts. They pushed aside the grass and walked towards the west wall of the small building.

At the base of the west wall, they looked closely. There was indeed a rectangular area where the weeds were slightly shorter and more orderly than in other places.

This was something that could only be seen up close; from a distance, without paying attention, it would be completely missed.

"Doggy."

Lu Xi'an called out, motioning for the Mechanical Dog to come over.

In this field of weeds, Doggy's wheels were useless. It could only waddle through the grass, which was much taller than itself.

Lu Xi'an simply walked over, picked up Doggy, and instructed, "Check this area. Is there anything wrong with it?"

Doggy then scanned the slightly unusual spot with its dog eyes. Immediately, its eyes lit up. It lifted its wheeled paw and then lowered it.

Held in Lu Xi'an's hand, its paw's phantom lifts and drops looked somewhat comical.

However comical it looked, its function had already been fulfilled.

Lu Xi'an saw the light from its dog eyes sweep over a corner. With a sudden realization, he pushed aside the weeds and lowered his head to inspect. Indeed, he found the problem—

The ground was covered in square bricks, with weeds growing from the gaps between them. Due to years of wild growth, many of the bricks had been pushed up, creating an uneven, undulating surface like continuous mountain ranges.

But at the spot indicated by Doggy's light, the "mountains" suddenly became much more even.

The texture and color of the bricks seemed the same as the others, but the gaps between them were much smaller, and fewer had been broken by the growth of weeds.

"Yao Wei, give me a knife."

Lu Xi'an squatted on the ground without getting up, only raising his hand.

Yao Wei immediately took out a knife she carried with her and handed it to Lu Xi'an.

After receiving the knife, Lu Xi'an inserted it into the gap between the bricks indicated by Doggy and easily pried one of them up.

The brick brought up a large clump of soil, still attached to the grass.

Lu Xi'an pulled out the grass, and another large clod of dirt came with it. He poked the knife down, and the dirt buried more than half of it. Then, with a "ding," the tip of the knife hit something hard.

As expected...

Lu Xi'an's heart stirred. He twisted and maneuvered the knife back and forth several times, clearing away the entire clump of dirt. The object underneath was finally revealed—

A rusty iron plate, which looked quite thick.

"There should be a basement here."

Lu Xi'an said, looking at Yao Wei and smiling, "You're amazing. You actually discovered this place."

Yao Wei, however, said, "You're the amazing one. If you hadn't mentioned insects, this place would only have been discovered by Doggy."

She implicitly acknowledged that this place would definitely be discovered by them, because of Doggy.

Lu Xi'an didn't waste any more words. He dug away some more dirt to facilitate horizontal prying, then pushed the knife along a line parallel to the west wall.

The iron plate was so thick; it must have a handle, otherwise, how could it be lifted?

Even if it were electric, there should be a backup handle in case the electric control system malfunctioned.

He continued to cut and dig, and soon encountered resistance.

It seemed the iron plate's handle wasn't recessed or part of a mechanical device.

Lu Xi'an dug around the obstruction again, clearing away the dirt and pulling up the grass. He then spotted a square handle, slightly curved at the corner, welded onto a metal plate.

He returned the knife to Yao Wei and first pulled up all the grass on the metal plate, dislodging many bricks, which he then tossed aside one by one.

After that, he gripped the handle on the metal plate with his hands and pulled with all his might, feeling some resistance.

With more effort, the edge of the metal plate finally loosened. The soil on top shifted, and Lu Xi'an managed to lift a corner.

This caused the cracks around the edge of the metal plate to open up instantly. The entire shape became visible: a rectangular iron door, at least two meters long, over a meter wide, and at least three centimeters thick.

The remaining bricks on the iron door loosened, and the dirt and weeds tumbled haphazardly.

Lu Xi'an cleared them away. Another handle was revealed. He handed Doggy back to Yao Wei, grabbed the handle with both hands, and pulled hard.

The power of the New Humans manifested once more. Great Strength Creates Miracles; the door was pulled open by him.

"Screeeech—"

An ear-grating sound followed.

Once the entire iron door was lifted, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei could see clearly that the iron door was indeed supported by controllable metal rods underneath, though they couldn't tell if they were hydraulic or pneumatic.

But whatever they were, they had lost their function by this point. Instead, due to the connection of the metal rods on both sides, Lu Xi'an had to expend a lot of extra effort.

If it weren't for these rods on the sides, Lu Xi'an would have lifted the iron door with ease long ago.

Beneath the iron door was another wooden door.

Lu Xi'an opened it, and a damp, musty smell wafted out.

"Doggy."

Lu Xi'an's command was only two words, but Doggy understood. It first sent the drone down to scout, then went down itself. After confirming there were no issues, it signaled Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

This Doggy was quite clever, sending the drone ahead for the most dangerous tasks instead of going first.