The weeds, over half a meter tall, and thorny brambles made it nearly impossible to walk. Vines like English ivy had spread like a spiderweb, crawling thickly over the ruined buildings.
The ecosystem around Dongning had recovered faster than he'd imagined after the nuclear blast!
Only half a year had passed.
And already, the place was teeming with life.
"Rustle, rustle..."
The grass swayed as some small animal darted away in fright, leaving a long trail through the undergrowth.
This place had become a paradise for living things.
There were all kinds of insects and small animals everywhere.
But Chen Shouyi didn't dare let his guard down. He didn't need to think twice to know that the radiation levels here were off the charts.
He hurried onward.
Before long, he had reached the entrance to the passageway.
There were still no military personnel stationed here. Compared to half a year ago, it had fallen into even greater disrepair. Moss covered the hall, mold spots speckled the walls, and the air was thick with a musty smell.
Chen Shouyi pulled the Shell Girl, still drowsy with sleep, from his chest and set her down nearby.
He reached down and gripped the gap beneath the iron door, then heaved with all his might.
The ground shuddered slightly.
His plastic soles instantly squished into soft mud, his feet sinking deep into the ground as a cloud of dust billowed up.
His face turned red, veins bulging in his neck. The iron door shrieked with a grating sound, and rust pattered down.
"Boom!"
He let go.
"I still have to rely on Giant Transformation!"
His arms could now exert more than four tons of force, a full fifty percent more than when he'd last come here. But he still couldn't lift the door.
In