Global Shelter Game
Chapter 77: Small Shelter
Hawkins used a stick to point at various areas on the floor plan, beginning his briefing on the shelter’s interior.
"This isn’t a large-scale shelter. According to the intel we’ve gathered, it can hold a maximum of 200 people."
"The shelter has two entrances in total: the main one on the east side and an emergency exit on the west."
"We’ll be going in through the west-side emergency exit, then following this route directly to the data room."
"The records show this is a temporary shelter. It isn’t fully self-sustaining and has an operational lifespan of 50 years."
"This means that if it’s been sealed for more than 50 years, the supplies inside will be running low."
"I’ve just connected to their terminal network. This shelter hasn’t been opened once since it was sealed."
"Therefore, there can’t be any living people inside, nor any mutated beasts."
"Right now, the only potential danger in the shelter is its defense robots."
"Since we’re forcing entry through an emergency exit and don’t have identification codes, any functional defense robots inside will most likely attack us."
"So, you need to be extra careful of that once you’re inside."
As he spoke, he raised his stick and pointedly tapped two spots on the floor plan marked with red stars.
"These two locations are the records room and the administrator’s office."
"Once inside, your primary objective is to retrieve the computer hard drive from the records room and the hard drive from the administrator’s office."
"Once we have those two items, the mission is a success."
"After you’ve brought out the hard drives, the rest of the time is yours."
"Anything you find inside the shelter is yours to keep."
"However, to prevent any conflicts, all salvaged materials will be pooled and then divided equally among everyone."
"One more thing: the shelter is rigged with a self-destruct sequence. Once it’s opened from the outside, it will self-destruct in 24 hours."
"That means you only have 24 hours. The faster you find the two hard drives, the more time you’ll have to scavenge, and the bigger your haul will be."
"Any questions?"
Hawkins scanned the crowd. No one spoke.
"Good. If there are no questions, then just wait for Deng Yu and Li Wei to suit up in their exoskeletons. Then you can all head in."
Xisuo listened quietly from the crowd as Hawkins laid out the requirements, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind.
’It wasn’t that he was doubtful because the mission seemed too hard. On the contrary, it seemed too easy. So easy it didn’t make sense.’
’You could tell from the floor plan that the shelter wasn’t large.’
’The total area of both floors was probably only 4,000 square meters.’
’They had detailed internal blueprints and had even marked the target rooms.’
’Forget the 40 people here; even a team of four could definitely retrieve those two hard drives.’
’So the question was, if the mission was this simple...’
’...why go through all the trouble of recruiting so many people?’
Xisuo looked up at Deng Yu in the distance. At some point, he had shed his power armor and was now wearing a black, full-coverage exoskeleton.
Seeing the exoskeleton, Xisuo immediately dismissed the possibility that they needed outside help because their power armor was too bulky to enter the shelter.
While the exoskeleton Deng Yu was wearing was a far cry from his previous power armor, it was still highly durable.
Since he hadn’t fought him personally, he couldn’t gauge his true strength.
’However, if it’s really like he said—that there isn’t much danger inside and they aren’t interested in anything else—then the four of them could just wear these exoskeletons, go in, grab the hard drives, and leave.’
Xisuo was filled with suspicion. He didn’t understand why Hawkins and his team would go to all this trouble to recruit outsiders.
The mission didn’t seem complex; in fact, it was incredibly simple.
If it was just about retrieving two hard drives, Hawkins and his team were more than capable of doing it themselves.
Xisuo was filled with suspicion. He didn’t understand why Hawkins and his team would go to all this trouble to recruit outsiders.
The mission didn’t seem complex; in fact, it was incredibly simple.
Simon sidled up to his older brother, his voice a low whisper only the two of them could hear:
"Something feels off about this."
Simon’s voice was laced with clear concern.
Xisuo turned to his younger brother, gesturing for him to continue.
"This mission is too easy. So easy that I feel like we’re just hired movers."
Simon whispered his analysis, his brow furrowed.
"If all they need are two hard drives, Hawkins and his crew could handle it themselves. Why bring us into it?"
Xisuo nodded. He felt the same way, but he was more concerned with what Hawkins’s true objective was.
"Unless..." Xisuo mused, then lowered his voice even further.
"Unless they have another objective, or there’s some other danger inside the shelter."
Simon froze for a second, then his brother’s meaning dawned on him.
"You mean... they might need us as... cannon fodder?"
Xisuo didn’t answer directly, his gaze shifting to Hawkins instead.
"Either way, we need to be careful. Don’t make any rash moves."
"We’re not touching the hard drives. I’ve got a bad feeling about them."
"And stuff like that exoskeleton? Let someone else have it."
Simon nodded:
"Got it, bro."
Just then, Hawkins’s voice rang out again:
"Alright, Deng Yu and Li Wei are ready. Let’s move out."
The group began to move toward the shelter’s emergency exit.
Xisuo and Simon exchanged a look, then silently fell in at the rear of the group.
By the time they reached the emergency exit, Deng Yu and Li Wei were already suited up in their full-coverage exoskeletons. The suits were perfectly form-fitting, making them look as if they were wearing black metal armor.
"Open the emergency exit. We’re going in."
Hawkins commanded.
The metal door was hidden inside an abandoned tunnel, its entrance overgrown with all kinds of plants. Without the exact coordinates, it would have been impossible to find.
Li Wei walked up to the metal door, which had been cleared of debris beforehand. In his hand was an electronic decoder slightly larger than his palm.
He placed the decoder over the electronic lock and pressed the activation button.
The next moment, hundreds of red indicator lights on the decoder lit up, accompanied by a rapid BEEP-BEEP-BEEP.
One by one, the red lights began to rapidly turn green.
Everyone held their breath. The decoding process took a good ten-plus minutes before the final red light finally switched to green.
The decoder let out a final BEEP.