The Lost Base

Rakien nodded silently.

Ever since they had discovered Oren's death record in the shelter, everything seemed to have spiraled out of control. The names and memories that Rakien had been dreaming of for years were all confirmed by Kahn's words and the computer records. They had actually existed!

At night, the cold wind outside the shelter swept across the land like a knife, the icy howling against the walls seemed to tell a history unknown to all.

"This shelter is not safe, as you said, we don't know when we'll be in trouble, we have to escape as soon as possible! Only by escaping do we have a chance to survive," Kahn's voice broke the silence, his eyes revealing a certain determination.

Rakien nodded in agreement, then frowned, "Yes, but where do we go?"

Kahn smiled slightly, "This is not the only shelter nearby. Based on my speculation, there is a military base at the foot of the mountains to the north, which is probably abandoned by now. That was where Oren served, he used to write to me from there. If we can find it, maybe we can take refuge temporarily."

A complex emotion welled up in Rakien's heart, a mix of fear of the unknown and a strong desire for the truth.

"Let's go," Rakien said firmly, "Let's escape from here. Can we... can we take more people? I want to save those people."

"No way! The bigger the target, the more likely we are to be exposed, and none of us will get out!" Kahn said seriously.

With Kahn's solid skills, he actually managed to lead Rakien through layers of surveillance and guards, and the two successfully and quietly escaped the shelter, moving forward under the gloomy sky of the nuclear winter.

The further north they went, the colder it became, as if it wanted to freeze the marrow in one's bones. The biting cold wind scraped across their faces like knives, bringing stinging pain. As far as the eye could see, the desolate land was covered with thick snow, stretching endlessly, like a world of silver white.

The once dazzling relics of civilization had now become silent ruins, with broken walls standing alone, telling of the vicissitudes and glory of bygone years. The once bustling city streets were now buried under the snow, leaving only some vague outlines.

However, to their surprise, Kahn seemed unusually familiar with this area. Despite the drastic changes in the terrain due to the long passage of time and the ravages of war, he could still rely on his deep-seated memories to find the way forward accurately. He would stop to observe from time to time, then think with his head down, and then stride forward resolutely in a certain direction, leading Rakien through the vast snowfield, constantly advancing towards an unknown destination.

"This area used to be a military禁区 (no-go zone), before the war broke out, many secret studies and experiments were carried out here," Kahn said in a low voice as they walked, "As for these experiments, I only know the tip of the iceberg, much of the content was deeply hidden by the military. However, there are rumors that they conducted research related to aliens here."

"Aliens?" Rakien asked in surprise, he had never heard of such a thing.

Kahn nodded, his expression more serious. "Yes. Although most people don't believe it, there are some inexplicable things and witnesses circulating in the army. It is said that before the nuclear war broke out, someone successfully cracked alien technology and reverse-engineered a prototype spaceship."

After a long and arduous journey, after two days and nights of walking, they finally arrived at the mysterious place - the military base described by Kahn. This base was like a secret existence hidden in the world, hidden in a vast and undulating mountain range.

When they stood at the foot of the mountain and looked into the distance, they saw that the surroundings had been covered with snow, as if the whole world had been wrapped in a silver coat. In this pure white snow scene, only a few remaining watchtowers stood out, like lonely sentries on duty, silently watching everything around.

In addition to these lonely watchtowers, there are also some collapsed buildings scattered around the base. The broken walls and dilapidated scenes faintly reveal the dignity and solemnity that once existed here as a strict military stronghold. Although it has lost its former glory, from those barely recognizable traces, one can still imagine the spectacular scene of strict defense and neat military appearance in the past.

Kahn led Rakien through a broken gate, they stepped over the rusty floor, and the surroundings were deadly silent. The air was filled with the smell of decay, as if this place had been forgotten for years.

They searched carefully around the base. They looked back and forth between the dilapidated buildings, walking cautiously, not daring to make too much noise.

"Let's look around, be careful," Kahn said.

After searching for a while, they still found nothing. Just as Rakien felt a bit disappointed, Kahn's eyes suddenly focused on a patch of floor in the middle of the room. This large area of the floor seemed to be a bit different from the surrounding ground. Kahn squatted down, touched it carefully, and felt that the floor was a bit strange.

"There seems to be a problem here," he said.

Rakien walked up and slowly pried up the floor with a tool. Sure enough, after the floor was loosened, a gap was revealed. The two pushed away a large piece of the floor and found a rusty hidden door. The two struggled to open the hidden door and found a cement staircase leading underground.

"What's down here?" Kahn showed a bit of excitement.

They carefully went down the stairs to the depths of the underground facility. After passing a corridor, the scene in front of them was shocking: a huge underground experimental base appeared in front of them, with several passages leading in all directions, surrounded by old instruments and broken file racks, it seemed that this place had been abandoned for many years. There were many rooms and broken instruments, as well as debris and glass shards all over the floor, and many windows and doors were damaged.

The two explored carefully for a long time, and in the corner of a room, they actually found several cans of metal canned food. From the worn labels, although it has been expired for many years, due to the vacuum packaging of the metal cans, according to experience, it is edible. In this wasteland world, this is a precious delicacy, and the two could not wait to sit on the ground and eat ravenously. After eating, they also stuffed the remaining two cans into their backpacks.

Suddenly, Rakien looked up at the scene in front of him a little surprised. The channel in front of him seemed a bit familiar. Where exactly was it familiar, he couldn't say. He said to Kahn, "This place seems a bit familiar, I seem to... have been here before?!"

"Really?!" Kahn said in astonishment.

Rakien, relying on his vague memory, led Kahn through corridors and rooms, and stopped in front of a thick, huge metal door.

The door was printed with the blurred word "Confidential," and the traces of time almost made these characters unrecognizable.

They stood in front of the thick metal door, and Rakien's fingers were trembling slightly. He felt an indescribable sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it many times in his dreams before, as if this was the place he had wandered in his dreams countless times. Kahn approached the door and pushed hard, but the door didn't budge. The two exchanged a puzzled look, and Kahn whispered, "This door can't be opened, it's so thick, it can't be pried open."

"Maybe... I know how to open it," Rakien suddenly blurted out, his mind flashing with some images, fragmented, but seemingly related to what was behind the door.

Kahn looked skeptical, but he didn't say anything, just watched Rakien silently. He walked slowly to the side of the door, his fingers slowly sliding along the edge of the door, as if looking for a hidden switch.

They looked up and noticed that the walls around were carved with some very strange symbols, which reminded Rakien of some patterns in his dreams, vague but impressively remembered. Kahn also realized that this place might hide a much more astonishing secret than they had imagined.

Rakien suddenly stopped at a corner of the wall with strange symbols.