My Exclusive Dream World Adventures

Chapter 62: 062 Shelter

Chen Xu had not removed his exoskeleton arm while washing because the danger had not been completely eliminated; it wasn’t the time to let down his guard.

He rinsed back and forth seven or eight times until the nausea-inducing stench finally began to fade significantly.

“That’s better,” said Chen Xu as he set down the container and wiped the water off his face, signaling her to stop fetching water.

Only then did Yang Jinxia release the water container, washed her hands, and ran outside the greenhouse to take a deep breath.

“Thank you,” Chen Xu followed her out.

Yang Jinxia smiled and said, “At times like this, we should support each other. I can’t help with fighting, but at least I can pass you water.”

...

While wringing out his clothing, Chen Xu silently thought that not everyone possessed such awareness.

Often, you know what you should do for the greatest benefit, but some inner conviction prevents you from doing it, or rather, from being able to do it.

Like in the workplace where it’s known that maintaining a good relationship with your boss is essential, yet you’re reluctant to indulge in flattering words.

If he were in her shoes, he doubted he could have acted to that extent.

Reflecting on several hours ago when he first met her, the pride unintentionally emanating from her contrasted with now; she had quickly adjusted to the reality, changed her mindset, and taken action without putting on airs.

Such a tremendous change sent a chill through his heart.

In this world, mediocrity predominates. He had seen successful individuals lose their fortunes and statuses, either collapsing or becoming degenerate — none maintained a balanced mentality.

Among the people he knew, Liu Kun seemed the most formidable. Strong in capability and tactful, he could also lower himself to show a relatable side to those beneath him. Chen Xu was convinced of Liu Kun’s ability to rise in rank.

But if Liu Kun were in this situation, could he have managed to this extent?

Chen Xu suddenly felt a gaze to his side, drew himself out of his thoughts, and drew his pistol from his waist, saying, “Let’s go.”

They approached a massive door embedded in the mountainside. The door was large, over five meters tall and nearly ten meters wide, suggesting the inside was not small.

There were numerous dents and scratches on the door, with rubble scattered at its base.

Imagining two angry Apes pounding the door with stones, Chen Xu said, “It seems those two beasts tried to break this door but failed, which means there could still be survivors inside.”

“Hmm,” Yang Jinxia nodded. “But how do we open the door?”

Chen Xu was also somewhat perplexed; the door was entirely metallic, and given the two Apes’ size and strength, which clearly wasn’t diminished, a brute force approach seemed unwise, and he was reluctant to damage his exoskeleton arm by smashing the door.

“Let’s move these stones first and then look for a switch,” he said, starting to clear the rubble in front of the door.

Yang Jinxia joined in, and together they quickly cleared the stones.

There seemed originally to be a switch-like device beside the door, but sadly it was smashed open.

They stood in front of the door, somewhat at a loss.

Suddenly, a synthetic electronic voice sounded, “The door will open soon, please retreat beyond the safety line…”

Instinctively, Chen Xu pulled the woman beside him behind him, stepped back several paces, and watched the slowly rising metal door with his gun aimed inside, ready for any imminent threat.

The woman clutched his clothing tightly behind him, clearly very nervous.

“The door is opening, please retreat beyond the safety line…”

As the electronic synthesized voice continued, the metal door rose to a meter high and Chen Xu bent down to finally see inside. The lighting was bright and initially, all he could see was a cylindrical object which, at a glance, might be mistaken for a vacuum cleaner.

Beyond that, there were no other people or objects.

Chen Xu, not having a good handle on the situation and maintaining his alertness, aimed his pistol at the cylindrical object.

Once the metal door rose two meters, it stopped.

“Welcome, survivors, to Refuge G5232,” the cylindrical object suddenly spoke.

Chen Xu, startled, stared at it and asked, “What are you?”

“I am an L9 model chef robot, number 2003,” the cylindrical object spoke again.

By this time, Chen Xu’s eyes had adjusted to the brightness inside and he could see it clearly.

Atop its head were two eye-like components glowing with a pale green light, and it had a display screen on the front that showed a fluctuating green bar as it spoke.

On either side of the cylinder were short stretches of metal that looked somewhat uncoordinated, likely having been broken off.

A robot?

Chen Xu was even more surprised, but given its primitive appearance, he didn’t rush inside. First, he decided to understand the situation better and asked, “Where are the people from the control room?”

“They’re dead, everyone is dead,” the tone of the cylindrical object deepened.

Chen Xu actually felt a sense of sorrow in its words, though he knew it was probably simulated, he was still somewhat shocked by its level of intelligence.

“You mean, there’s no one left in this settlement?”

“Yes, sir.”

“How did they die?” Chen Xu continued.

“On the fifth day after the main troop withdrew, Mutated Ape Beasts broke in. Those who couldn’t hide in the refuge in time were killed. Only five managed to get in successfully.”

“And then? How did those five die?”

“There was no food left; most of it was taken by the main troop. On the day the Mutated Ape Beasts arrived, everyone was harvesting in the planting chambers. They fled without taking much food back to the refuge. Three months later, everyone starved to death.”

Chen Xu listened without much emotion, as for him, all this was just a setup. Being cautious, he didn’t fully trust the robot’s words and continued to probe, “There must have been more than one robot in the refuge, right?”

“After consuming the food supplies, the order was given for all the robots in the refuge to attack the Mutated Ape Beasts. Eventually, all the attacking robots were destroyed by the Mutated Ape Beasts.”

“And you? How did you survive?”

“My arms were destroyed in an accident, leaving me a damaged product. I was tossed into storage and never received the attack order. That’s how I survived.”

Chen Xu didn’t find obvious flaws in its story, pondered for a moment, and said, “You knew we were outside, the control room must have surveillance, right?”

“Yes, sir. I saw your fight with the Mutated Ape Beasts. You are the bravest warrior I have encountered,” it praised.

“How long can the surveillance footage be stored?”

“I don’t have access to the control center, so I am not sure.”

“Let us in,” decided Chen Xu, feeling he understood enough to risk entering. Whether true or false, he needed to get inside to unravel the truth.

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