Chapter 622 "Trees" and "Tree People"

  Go to the gate of Vault 100.

  I found a terminal for communication on the wall next to the door, pulled out a data cable from the VM worn on the left arm, and inserted it into the interface under the terminal.

  Looking at the flashing green light of the signal light, expressions of joy and surprise floated on the faces of all the players.

   Unimaginable.

  After so many years of soaking in sewage with garbage, this electronic device produced two centuries ago can still start!

   I have to say that there is still something about the black technology of Renlian.

   Just when I opened the "small program" of the scientific expedition team at my darkest point, imported the electronic key into the terminal and waited for the reading, Chu Guang, who was at Camp No. 101, was also paying attention to the situation of No. 100 Refuge.

   Sitting on Chu Guang's shoulder, Xiao Qi suddenly opened her eyes and looked at him.

   "The terminal has traces of use."

   Chu Guang looked at it and asked.

   "Hasn't the door never been opened?"

   A series of data streams flashed in the light blue eyes, Xiao Qi rubbed his chin and muttered.

   "Hmm... the power system of the gate was indeed closed for two centuries, but there are access records in 2190."

  2190 years.

   That is, the 61st year of the Wasteland Era?

   Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

   It’s actually not difficult to understand.

  According to Dr. Method, Camp 101 had tried to explore Vault 100 before, but it was finally abandoned because conditions did not allow it.

  Vault No. 101 was activated after the disintegration of the post-war reconstruction committee, and the time point should be 2174—that is, the 45th year of the Wasteland Era.

During the period from 45 to 61 of the Wasteland Era, Camp 101 may have appeared. After all, according to Dr. Method, although Vault 101 is isolated from the outside world, it has not completely cut off the connection with the outside world. There has been enlightenment to some wandering wastelanders, and through them to conduct indirect scientific investigations of the outside world.

  At that time, there were not so many extreme mutant creatures flooding the wasteland. It is entirely possible for the residents of Camp 101 to reach the entrance of Vault 100 through diving equipment.

   Just during the one-person-AI communication, my darkest VM has obtained the permission to activate the shelter door.

   And at this moment, a silver metal ball appeared on the display screen of the terminal.

"Welcome! Future friends! You finally found us. We thought you forgot about us. By the way, how many years is it? How many colonized planets do we have? As I said a long time ago, only One Aurora will definitely go wrong! If we had a hundred Aurora, nothing bad would happen."

  I am the darkest and I can't understand what he said, so I can only answer from the part I can understand.

   "In the year 2342 of the Renlian calendar, in the year 213 of the wasteland era, it's a pity that we are still on the home planet... By the way, don't you even have a timer?"

  The metal ball seemed to be stunned, and the frequency of shaking seemed a little anxious.

   "Wait, are you still on the parent star? You mean there is none? How is this possible! Where is the Reach star? The Zhiyuan ship going to the Reach star should have arrived at its destination!"

   Reach?

  I thought about it for a long time before I remembered, that seems to be the place where the colony ship of the enterprise originally planned to go, and said with a subtle expression.

"No... If you're talking about the Zhiyuan, they didn't leave the solar system at all, but voluntarily stranded in the province among the clouds, and rebuilt a city there according to the standards of the colony. I heard that they took in many survivors .”

  The silver metal ball seemed to be stunned for a while, sipping its mouth like a tumble bucket, and it took a long time to utter a word.

   "What a waste..."

  I can't understand what it means to waste, but he cares more about what this guy is than this.

   "I call me the darkest, what about you? What do you call me?"

"Bells...that's what they call me because I always jingle when I walk and talk, like a rusty bell. My designer designed me before 55845 duty cycles, and he felt like waiting for the gate to start again When it opens, there should be a new world outside, and someone will take me to work in a museum or something, but now it seems that his wish has come true."

  As if it had lost its original vitality, the silver metal ball drooped its soft antenna, and muttered to itself.

  The clueless words seem to be answering the interviewer's inquiry, and also seem to be complaining about one's own fate.

  I’m the darkest and counted with my fingers. If the working cycle refers to the number of days, wouldn’t more than 55,000 working cycles correspond to... more than 150 years? !

   In other words, this guy has been around since about sixty years of the Wasteland Era until February 213 of the Wasteland Era!

  Looking at the door and counting on my fingers, I am the darkest, and Bell smacked his mouth like a bucket.

   "Am I the darkest... I have to say, you are indeed dark enough."

  Looking at the sewage and mud on my body, I patted my dirty breastplate the most blackly, rolled my eyes and said.

   "Can you open the door anyway? We've given you the code."

  Bell: "Of course, you can come in at any time, just press the door open button on your terminal... Or do you think that all doors should be opened for you?"

  Listening to this guy's nonsense, I rolled my eyes the most, and poked my index finger on the VM's screen.

  Accompanied by tremors and creaking friction sounds, the giant metal gear slowly rolled to one side, opening a hole that was as wide as two cars.

  A step leads directly to the spacious buffer zone, and directly opposite the entrance are two tightly closed airlock doors with transparent windows.

  Orange lights and warning lights were lit up one after another, and the shadows cast by the metal parts flickered and swayed on the ground, accompanied by clanking noises.

  The entire refuge is like an old gasoline engine, the fuel tank that has been deposited for an unknown number of years is ignited by a new spark plug, and the cloudy eyes are reluctantly opened.

  My darkest VM screen shows that the fusion reactor in this shelter has been re-ignited, and all facilities have been switched from backup power to regular power.

   Chu Guang, who was watching the screen in Camp No. 101, couldn't help being slightly moved.

  The fusion reactor in Shelter 100 has fuel remaining!

   Just when I was the darkest, dazed by the changes in front of me, a few ghost-faced worms suddenly rushed out, scaring him almost reflexively raised the muzzle of the gun in his hand.

   "Hey! Wait, these little guys are harmless—"

  Seeing him raise the muzzle of the gun, Bell was startled and tried to stop him, but I had already pulled the trigger the darkest.

  Amidst the sudden gunshots, several ghost-faced insects landed on the rusty corridor in an instant, bursting with juice.

  Looking at those dead little guys, the bell on the screen complained regretfully.

   "You executioner! You killed them all!"

Not daring to be careless, I carefully checked the passage behind the door, and then made a gesture with the teammates behind me, and separated five people to move forward, clearing out the alien species that might be harbored in the buffer zone, while I temporarily stayed in the the door.

  Looking at the bell who was still feeling sorry for those little lives, he lowered the muzzle of the gun in his hand, resisting the urge to roll his eyes and said.

   "The reason they're not interested in you is because you're a robot, and we've seen a lot of them on the way in just now... They'll jump on us as soon as they see us."

   Bell was stunned for a moment.

   "Wait, you just said... you also encountered this thing outside?"

  I am the darkest: "That's right, what's wrong?"

"Unbelievable..." Bell muttered in a low voice, his tone full of surprise, "It is logically impossible, the gate has never been opened after it was closed, not even once, it is impossible for them to go out...Could it be leaked somewhere? ?Strange."

  Looking at the chattering robot, I glanced at Ten Fist Superman and Broken Leg Kevin who were behind me the darkest, and exchanged a few words in a low voice.

   "Why do I have a feeling of déjà vu."

   "+1"

  Looking at the surprised bell, I frowned slightly.

   "You know them?"

  Ling Dang cleared his throat, and spoke in an eloquent tone.

"Of course, they are called 'Crackling', which can provide rich chitin, natural polymers, and high-quality industrial raw materials. In addition, the protein and nutrients it provides are also rare good things, and All they need to feed them is a little household waste. It's not an exaggeration to say that this is one of the greatest achievements of this museum-oh no, the sanctuary."

  My darkest brow twitched, and I couldn't feel how such an aggressive gadget could be called great.

   "We call it the Ghostface."

  Hearing this interesting name, Bell let out a toothsome laugh, which echoed strangely in the dark subway tunnel.

   "Ghostfaced Beetle? This name sounds good too... Just call it what you call it, anyway, this place already belongs to you."

   "Can you show us around here?"

  I made the darkest attempt to make a request. The silver metal ball on the screen did not hesitate, and simply nodded its round head.

   "No problem, originally this is my job, come with me."

   Saying that, Bell turned around.

   Just when I was most hesitant about how to keep up with him, the iron door of the buffer zone right in front of him opened with a bang.

  A silver metal sphere was quietly placed on top of a flat quadruped robot about the size of a washbasin.

   "What are you waiting for at the door? Come in."

  I, the darkest, exchanged glances with the people next to me, followed the robot who called itself Bell, crossed the two airlock doors of the buffer zone, and entered the interior of the shelter.

The situation here is not as bad as imagined. Even though it has been soaked underwater for many years, no sewage seeps in from the outside. Even the bell, which has lived here for a century and a half, can't figure out how those bugs got out of.

  However, even if it is not as bad as imagined, the situation here is definitely not optimistic.

A large number of "creaks" have occupied this shelter. They have built their nests here, filling all the gaps that may hide dirt like cockroaches, and black excrement is everywhere. Not only that, but also them The sloughed-off carapace and fist-sized insect eggs.

  Looking at a few ghost-faced worms making "chi chi chi chi" sounds, ten players in my darkest row raised their guns and fired skillfully.

  After a burst of gunshots, dozens of bugs were instantly killed, and the eggs in the room were turned into a dark green slurry.

  Manipulating the four mechanical legs to avoid the wreckage on the ground sensitively, the bell sitting on the head of the quadruped robot no longer called these visitors executioners, but just reminded them softly.

   "These are good things. Those sloughed carapaces are rich in chitin, which can be used to make many polymer materials with excellent performance... Most electronic devices and machines can use them."

  I'm the darkest and I don't have time to talk to this guy right now.

  Looking at the dead bodies and metabolites of ghost-faced insects all over the ground, he replaced the empty magazines while reporting what he found in the shelter to the rear with his scalp numb.

"...This is my darkest place. I have entered Vault 100. There are ghost-faced insect metabolites and eggs everywhere. There may be tens of thousands of them, maybe hundreds of thousands! I suggest cutting off the air in the Vault The circulatory system will come back in a few days."

   Now he understood where those mutated water striders came from.

   It took me a long time to be attracted by these little guys!

  There was a rustling sound in the communication channel, followed by Brother Spring's voice.

"I have reported the situation in the shelter to the manager... His reply is that the ventilation system of No. 100 shelter is malfunctioning. According to the analysis results of the self-inspection program, something should block the filter element of the air inlet Now, maybe it's the eggs, maybe it's the shell, the ghost-faced bugs active in the shelter should flow out to the outside world from there."

   I asked with the darkest scalp numbly.

   "So... isn't there any efficient way to get rid of the bugs here?"

   How long can we kill one by one with a rifle?

   Anyway, let's get a bottle of insecticide!

Commander Spring: "At present, there is no shortcut, unless you can go to the B2 floor to repair the ventilation system, but this is too embarrassing for you, and it is also embarrassing for me. We must at least eliminate the alien species on the B1 and B2 floors, and then we can Arrange for the air-conditioning master from Camp 101 to come in... But these are all later arrangements, we will eventually recover the entire shelter, but this is not what we are going to do today."

   Clearing his throat, he continued.

"To get to the point, our task is to recover the black boxes stored in the warehouse on the B40 floor. There are about twenty of them. You won't know the details until you go there. Then there is the log of the manager's office on the B51 floor, which stores the items that the manager needs. In addition, the B100 layer detected signals suspected of human life activities... But the signals are very strange, and do not completely match the signals of normal people. The first two are the main missions, and the last one is a side mission, that's all."

   That's fine.

   And this refuge has a hundred floors!

  I am the darkest and couldn't help but rolled my eyes.

   "Can you come in and help?!"

  Commander Quanshui smiled embarrassedly.

"Sorry bro, I'm a bit tricky with bugs just like you... and I admit that I'm a dog officer, and I'm better at moving my mouth than a starter. But don't worry! I added a hundred brothers to you, you now have The strength of a company will be yours when you get back!"

  I am the darkest: "%￥#@!"

  Because there were so many slots, he didn't know where to start complaining for a while, so he hung up the communication with a bad mouth.

  I didn’t pay attention to my darkest self-talk, and couldn’t understand what he was talking about at all. Ling Dang walked ahead on his own, and at the same time spoke leisurely in the tone of a tour guide.

  “…the great Vault 100 once sheltered 30,300 residents, and their peak number even reached 81,711.”

   Ten Fist Superman couldn't help but said.

   "Eighty thousand people? Here?"

  Although Quanshui mentioned in the communication channel that this refuge has a full hundred floors, he still can't imagine that this refuge hidden in the tunnel can fill nearly the population of Dawn City.

  If it really has that population capacity, it must be at least an underground city like Vault 79, right?

   But it's clearly not that kind of place.

   There was no surprise at his reaction, the bell just giggled a few times, and stopped in front of a trap door on the side of the hall.

   "... your vision limits your imagination, let alone 80,000 people, theoretically this shelter can accommodate 200,000 people without any problem."

   Just as his voice fell, the trap door slowly opened upwards, and the world behind the door suddenly became clear.

   is completely different from occlusion outside the shelter.

  I saw a spacious circular corridor, which circled an unusually wide space in this underground world, and connected hundreds of densely packed rooms together.

  The structure of the entire refuge is like a vertically downward patio, directly above is a hemispherical dome emitting beige light.

  The light is like the sun carved in the cave, falling into the bottomless courtyard.

  The carapaces cast off by the ghost-faced insect gathered into a honeycomb-shaped tower on the inner wall of the courtyard, and under the light of that light, there were colorful sparkles.

  Like a physical rainbow!

   And the most shocking thing is not only this.

  In the circular corridor, scrapped exoskeletons and mechanical remains were randomly abandoned like garbage.

   Among them, the most classic police equipment of Renlian era, the "Five-Type" exoskeleton, also has the "Six-Type" heavy cavalry.

   In addition, there are some machines that are more like engineering tools than weapons—for example, several engineering robots that look like crabs, and also wield pincer-like claws to participate in the battle.

   Their bodies and their surroundings are covered with dense bullet holes, and traces of explosives can be seen everywhere on the walls and ground.

The alien species active in the refuge gnawed all the organic matter under the metal skeleton, and assimilated those exoskeletons and mechanical bodies into a part of the wall of the hive with pieces of carapace and mucus that shed off. The "Crypt" of Vault No.

  Watching the eye-shocking scene, the eyes of all the players stared straight at me, especially me who was the closest to the door.

   This light and shadow effect!

   This scene is modeled!

  Every frame of the picture seems to be burning money!

   It's a fortress!

   Seemed satisfied with the shock on the faces of these visitors, Bell let out a few chuckles like sharp objects rubbing after admiring it for a while.

   Riding the quadruped robot passed through the trap door leading to the circular corridor, and it stopped at the edge of the patio that went down steeply.

   "Welcome to Vault 100, you are probably the first guests to set foot here since the gates closed two centuries ago."

  Glancing at the wreckage, I asked subconsciously.

   "What the **** is going on here?"

   Bell said slowly.

"Many, many things have happened. It would be a long story to start from the beginning. My master recorded the past here on his VM. That thing should be in the manager's office. You can go there and have a look. gone."

  I am the darkest and then asked.

   "Is your master the manager here?"

"Administrator? How is that possible? Do other shelters use people as administrators?" Bell laughed out loud, "Anyway, he is just a supervisor here...but my master is still very powerful Yes, he survived till the end! Of course, it’s hard to say whether this can be considered lucky.”

  Ten Punch Man stared at him blankly.

   "Supervision?"

   Bell said concisely.

"The manager of Shelter 100 is not a human being, but an AI with powerful computing power. Its name is 'Tree', and it has the highest authority in the Shelter. Ideal decision-making. If a light bulb goes out, it will know before the person under the light bulb, and it will be reported to the specific warehouse and workshop in the first place."

"The supervision is the residents who ensure that the orders of the 'Tree' can be executed. They are not only the residents of this shelter, but also a part of the sensor module of the 'Tree', responsible for supervising the most unreliable module in the entire shelter— Vault residents."

   When it came to this, it paused for a while, and joked in a playful tone.

"However, 'Supervisor' is just what my master and his colleagues call themselves, just like you gave 'Garbung' the name Ghostfaced Beetle, those mischievous shelter residents also don't like the official name, Instead, they secretly refer to them as 'tree people'."

  (end of this chapter)