Sunlight spilled across the battered ground. Ruined walls and rubble stretched as far as the eye could see. The once towering buildings and bustling streets had all been reduced to wreckage, with broken objects scattered among the charred debris.
A faint smell of gunpowder and dust still lingered in the air. Not a single intact building could be seen anywhere.
Lu Yuan looked at the devastation. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, then relaxed.
He turned to Mother Lu and the women beside him, his voice gentle. "There's nowhere to stay on the surface. Let's head to the Underground Base first."
The women all nodded.
Ye Qingyue stepped forward to the Alloy Gate at the base entrance and raised her hand, channeling her ice-type ability into the identification device.
A pale blue light swept over it. The heavy Alloy Gate emitted a deep mechanical hum and slowly opened to either side, revealing a passage leading underground.
The passage walls were reinforced with metal, and energy-saving lights embedded along both sides cast a soft white glow as the corridor wound downward.
Supporting his mother, Lu Yuan followed the women into the passage. They occasionally passed survivors coming and going. When the survivors saw Lu Yuan, their eyes filled with awe and gratitude. They stopped and bowed to him, their faces reflecting the relief of having survived the disaster and reverence for the strong.
The Underground Base wasn't spacious, but it was laid out in an orderly fashion. The Living Area, medical area, and supply area were clearly separated, and despite being underground, everything was kept clean and tidy.
Still, every face bore traces of fatigue and grief. After all, that world-ending disaster had left wounds on all of humanity that would be difficult to erase.
The group had only just reached the