Chapter 9: Visitors Outside the Shelter

Sacrificing their limited survival resources for distant relatives, even those separated by several generations, was undoubtedly an irrational decision.

The second day passed just like that.

On the third day, when Lin Cheng tried to gather information about the outside world through the internet again, he found that all signals had been cut off.

The last safe way to understand the outside world was now completely gone.

Lin Cheng closed his laptop helplessly. It wasn't that he hadn't considered installing cameras above the shelter. 

However, placing a camera suddenly in the middle of a forest would be too conspicuous. If some refugees happened to pass by and found the cameras, they would surely link it to the presence of a shelter nearby.

No one could predict what desperate people might do when faced with death. To ensure the shelter's security and secrecy, he couldn't let it be exposed, no matter what.

Though the internet was down, it didn't mean that the videos Lin Cheng had downloaded couldn't be watched. 

The night before, before going to bed, Lin Cheng had set up software to automatically download content. He had downloaded countless TV series and movies, filling up his 2-terabyte hard drive completely.

These would be the last pieces of visual entertainment.

After the Great Reckoning, humanity would lose almost all forms of entertainment, and survival would become the sole and simple goal. 

Having these shows and films would at least help relieve some of his parents' tension.

Everything was normal until the afternoon, when Lin Cheng suddenly heard strange noises coming from above. 

The sound grew closer and closer until it reached the iron door at the shelter's entrance!

The shelter's iron door opened from the inside, and unless one knew how to unlock it, it would take tremendous force to break through.

This defensive measure was enough to guard against humans, but it would be insufficient against alien creatures.

Lin Cheng held his breath, trying to catch some clues from the noises outside.

"Boss, do you think there's really a shelter nearby?"

"Of course there is! I was hired by a young man to help him dig a basement here back then."

"The basement was huge, and I was puzzled as to why it needed to be so big, especially in such a remote place."

"Looking back now, it must have been built as a shelter. If we can find that shelter, we might have a chance at survival!"

"But isn't it kind of wrong to just barge in? After all, it's someone else's shelter."

"Are you stupid? Do you really care about that at this point? We're lucky if we can even survive!"

Hearing the conversation outside, Lin Cheng suddenly understood — it was the workers he had hired to dig the basement! 

These people had apparently survived the previous day's disaster and somehow made their way here. They were indeed fortunate! 

Even though this was the outskirts, there were still quite a few alien creatures wandering around.

Late last night, he had heard strange bird calls several times. They were probably bird-like alien creatures.

Lin Cheng's parents had also heard the voices outside. His father whispered, lowering his voice, "Cheng, it's fate that you've met them. Should we let them in?"

Lin Cheng firmly shook his head, speaking resolutely, "Dad, I've explained this before. Our resources are already running low. If we rescue others, I'm afraid..."

His father sighed. He understood, but couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy.

Before his father could say anything else, they suddenly heard screams and cries for help from outside.

"Help! Help!"

"Is there anyone nearby?! Help!"

"Roar!"

*Crack!*

The cries for help, mixed with the roars of monsters, gradually weakened until they vanished completely.

Though Lin Cheng couldn't know exactly what had happened outside, he could easily imagine the scenario…

His mother covered her ears and shut her eyes tightly, while his father, though panicked, didn't react as frantically.

After about half an hour, there was no longer a sound outside. It was as if everything had fallen into dead silence.

Lin Cheng really wanted to go out and take a look because he desperately needed refined iron. He had to gather some iron materials to enhance his combat capabilities.

Even if he could just find some abandoned vehicles on the roadside, he could recover a good amount of refined iron.

Once he had enough refined iron, he could first build a few dozen unmanned reconnaissance drones, bury some sensor mines around the shelter, and create miniature explosive trucks, which were absolutely essential.

After all, drones and explosive trucks were a perfect combination. The drones could observe the number and position of nearby monsters, and the explosive trucks could clear them out.

If he used these tools wisely, clearing out the monsters around the shelter shouldn't be too difficult.

But the root of all these problems was that he didn't know when it would be safe to go out.

The outside world was completely unknown to him. For all he knew, there might be alien creatures lurking near the shelter at this very moment.

The moment he stepped out, they might pounce on him with a ferocious attack.

A single Glock 18 wouldn't be enough to fend off a large number of alien creatures.

If there was only one, Lin Cheng might be confident in killing it.

For safety's sake, Lin Cheng decided to stay in the shelter for a few more days and only go out once things had settled down.

Three days later.

It had now been five days since the Great Reckoning began, and Lin Cheng's family had also been in the shelter for five days.

Today, Lin Cheng planned to venture out and test his luck.

His parents were, of course, extremely worried and kept urging him not to do anything foolish and to stay inside.

"Cheng, the outside world is too dangerous! We still have plenty of food in the shelter. It's enough for the three of us!"

"Yeah, listen to your mother this time. I didn't stop you from doing other things before, but leaving the shelter now is just too dangerous!"

Faced with his parents' sincere and concerned pleas, Lin Cheng could only smile bitterly. If he didn't go out, they really would be eating away at their limited resources.

As long as the refined iron problem remained unsolved, he couldn't continue to develop the shelter.

As long as his luck wasn't too bad, he was confident he could return to the shelter safely.

"Dad, Mom, after I leave, no matter who comes knocking at the shelter's door, don't open it!"

Lin Cheng held the shelter's only key in his hand. It was the only one and couldn't be duplicated.