The journey took far longer than Chen Xuan had imagined.
In his memory, Jiangcheng was not that large. One could drive across it from east to west in an hour, let alone travel from Fenglin District to Sha River District. Half a day should have been more than enough.
Yet it took them a full two days to reach the stronghold the searchers had mentioned—Sha River Riverside Garden Subway Station.
To avoid large, high-threat Nano-Lifeforms, they carefully threaded their way through the gaps between skyscrapers and had to climb over collapsed building rubble. Many roads were damaged or completely blocked by abandoned vehicles, making the return journey agonizingly slow.
The other side had indeed not lied. Not only was this stronghold far from hidden, it was downright conspicuous: a massive LED sign stood at the ground-level entrance, repeatedly playing animated "Welcome" messages in various languages. A ring of barbed-wire fencing and steel anti-vehicle barricades surrounded it, utterly at odds with the welcoming atmosphere.
The closer they got, the stronger that sense of discord became. Armed guards stood watch at the subway entrance, while two fully automated weapon stations had been installed outside the wire fence. Their barrels, at least 30 millimeters in caliber, had already swung around to aim at the group.
"Uh... I thought your base's decor would be a little more... low-key," Wang Baihu said, choosing his words carefully. "Right now, it feels like we've arrived at..."
"An apocalypse hotel," Jiang Siqi supplied.
"Exactly, an apocalypse hotel!" He nodded repeatedly. "And the kind of shady place that devours people whole."
Xiao Jiu glared and pinched him. "If you don't know how to talk, then talk less."
"It's not wrong to call it a hotel, but we definitely aren't shady." Zhuang Yu covered her mouth and laughed. Having safely