Although the journey had been bumpy and they had encountered plenty of mechanical monsters blocking their way, resulting in more than a dozen battles of various sizes, they had still made it in the end. With Annie, a melee "AD" with incredibly high damage output, and an expert who knew the way leading them, the group of more than a dozen finally reached the outskirts of the vast city ruins. As far as the eye could see, the place was desolate, filled with shattered walls and crumbling eaves, with not a blade of grass growing anywhere. They arrived outside a steel building that looked like it might have been part of a factory district.
"Tch!"
Holding his gun, Li Kui looked around at the desolate scene surrounding the factory. Perhaps because of the intense heat and particle-radiation impact from the disaster, not a blade of grass grew anywhere. Then he looked at the factory before them, with its many towering steel structures, which seemed to be relatively intact. He couldn't help feeling a little surprised.
"The stuff up ahead aside, this place seems to have held up pretty well!"
"How come?"
"Wasn't it hit by the blast back then?"
"Or did they have some kind of powerful protective measures in place?"
Compared to the rest of the desolate, abandoned city, the buildings here were remarkably well preserved. It was only natural for him to wonder.
"No..."
"This place was affected too. It's not what you think."
The expert—the engineer—stepped out from the group, overcome with emotion at the chance to revisit this place in his lifetime.
He gazed at the sprawling factory before him, its grounds nearly as vast as a small town, for a long while before continuing with a sigh.
"This is the steel mill in the suburbs.