This time I chose Paladin

Interpretation conditions: Possessing [Earth Homo sapiens] bloodline, Spirit 30+

Information memory condition: Spirit 30+]

The map of Vault 4701 looked like two elegant long sticks stretched parallel to form a key. When the two sticks were pulled apart, a fuzzy map would gradually be pulled out from the middle. It felt like some kind of resilient and silky paper or cloth. Nie Weiyang was certain it wasn't human skin; his judgment on this point couldn't be wrong.

The classification of 'Heart Phase' matches the type of item Sam obtained, and Sam quickly entered this shelter in his previous life, proving that its location is most likely in Zhongzhou, or even near Langcheng.

"Interpret the map." Nie Weiyang said softly.

A light flashed in his eyes, and an idea suddenly appeared in his mind. The fog on the map quickly dissipated, and a clear image came into view and was recorded deep in his brain.

Nie Weiyang closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then compared the map of Zhongzhou in his mind with this map and suddenly opened his eyes.

——Sure enough, it’s in the mountains of the next city!

Shelters, this is something that already exists in the New World...

Nie Weiyang decided to take a gamble.

He needs to explore Shelter 4701 before the blood moon rises!

Chapter 29 Difficulty Traveling

Nie Weiyang's decision was not made without reason, nor was it self-righteous.

Although the shelter's overall system wouldn't activate until after the Blood Moon ascended, its existence in the new world meant it had its own origins and functions, and naturally, its own emergency response mechanisms. In the previous life, people frequently attempted to enter the shelter without meeting various requirements. Ultimately, they concluded that, with the exception of the 'Chaos' type, all other types of shelters could be entered, regardless of the circumstances, as long as a permanent payment of the corresponding attributes was made.

——The refuge is part of an extremely large [Crisis Resistance, Survival Guarantee and Safety Management System], which is aimed at humans who are threatened by various public events and monsters roaming around.

This system, abbreviated as 'CSSS', is spread all over the world, weaving a huge survival network for the entire planet. According to its original design intention, it should have played the role of preserving the fire of civilization and providing a safe early birthplace for humans in a world full of disasters and darkness.

But as expected, it went wrong, and the reason behind it is currently unknown.

Today's shelters have transformed from safe havens into high-risk secret dungeons. Their alienated spaces, completely independent of the outside world, prevent players who explore the shelters from receiving subsequent support, and even make it almost impossible to recover corpses.

In the previous life, humans were unable to determine how many shelters there were on this planet until twenty years later, but Nie Weiyang was very sure that the copies of each shelter were not the original ones, and these copies had sent 10,000 physical keys with maps to the outside world. They drifted around over a long period of time and hid in various places on the planet, especially the conventional world that humans can perceive.

Nie Weiyang sat in the tent, constantly calculating the most efficient route in his mind, but he took out a notebook in his hand and skillfully prepared to leave a suicide note.

Although he had once been able to enter and exit the shelter ten times a month, his current level attributes were not what they were before. The situation in the shelter was changing rapidly. 4701 was still the most variable and difficult "Mind Phase". This thing became stronger when it encountered stronger opponents, and the rewards would be better...

Even when he was at his strongest in his previous life, every time he entered the shelter, he would strictly follow the regulations of Zhongzhou and leave a suicide note.

but……

"What should I write?" Nie Weiyang murmured.

He stared at the blank paper for a while, and in the end did not write anything. Instead, he put the paper away and began to organize the things he needed in his backpack.

If he is not dead, the suicide note is useless. If he is dead... then let people think he is still alive.

Nie Weiyang pushed his wet hair back, straightened his clothes, put on a cloak-like raincoat, got on his motorcycle, and sped off into the depths of the rainy night.

……

The rain is getting heavier.

The dampness and mud of the rainy season made the wilderness increasingly difficult to navigate day by day, but it couldn't stop Zhusheng Runxi Jiaji's advance. Nie Weiyang left his jacket unzipped this time, his raincoat and collar fluttering in the wind and rain as he quickly bypassed a mountain pass.

"Tsk... the road hasn't been cleared yet."

He shook his head at a rocky slope covered with lush vegetation, turned around, lifted the front of the car, and jumped down the hillside in a sideways cross-over position, onto an alluvial rock beach, and went upstream along the river.

This direction led to the city, he could vaguely remember. So, it seemed like Shelter 4701 was somewhere around the city, or maybe even inside it...

If you are on Earth with convenient transportation, it takes about 40 minutes to drive from the city center to Langcheng. For safety reasons, the motorcycle will be slower.

But in the new world, there are almost no traces of man-made paths in the wild wilderness, and Nie Weiyang has to follow the river to determine the direction - after leaving Langcheng as a reference point, as long as he enters the mountains and forests, most people can't even determine the direction - most of the time he even has to get out of the car and walk, and when walking he has to use something to cut grass, otherwise some mutant snakes and insects will come up from time to time and try to bite through his leg armor.

Nie Weiyang swung his sword.

'Crack'.

A snake with strange colors was broken into two pieces. Nie Weiyang picked up the snake's head with a sword and threw it away. The broken body twisted in the weeds, and tiny parasites crawled out from under the snake's skin.

Experience value +3.

A row of such experience value growth records have been displayed in the pop-up window, which shows how dangerous it is in the wild nowadays.

To this day, a month and a half after the opening of "New World," Lang City still hasn't established contact with the outside world, precisely because of the complexity of the wild environment. Currently, only snakes and insects are a problem, but on days without rain, creatures like mutant tigers and wolves emerge to greet humans, making it practically impossible for non-combat professionals to move in the wild.

The transportation conditions are even more difficult than those for scholars going to Beijing for imperial examinations in ancient times. After all, there were official roads and small paths at that time, but now there are only animal paths and no human paths.

Rain clouds rolled across the sky, pressing down on the plains like lead blocks. The rain grew heavier and heavier, and gradually the whole area became obscured.

The not-so-steep mountains were obscured by thunderstorms. Nie Weiyang passed by a deserted village with a hint of green light, several corpses, messy vegetation that had obviously been the result of a fight, and a huge lake. In the center of the lake was an unformed dark area, with only a hint of blue light flowing.

The inexplicable colorful lights are a sign of the formation of a dark area, but according to his experience, it will take some time for them to take shape.

Nie Weiyang placed the body in his backpack, noted the location, and continued on his way. He crossed mountains and rivers, and where he passed, a path was broken open. This journey, which used to take him only 50 minutes at most, took him a full day and he was not even halfway there. This was because he was strong and experienced. If it were anyone else, they might have died on this road...

"……Um?"

A slight movement made Nie Weiyang pause. He pricked up his ears, quickly distinguishing the surrounding sounds and eliminating any distracting factors such as ambient noise...

He heard a voice: "Help...

"Help……"

It sounded like a child who had not yet gone through the voice change period. However, Nie Weiyang did not rush to save the person. Instead, he listened more carefully to the voice and found some stiffness and rigidity in it. After every few sentences, the voice would become exactly the same as the original one, like a weird phonograph playing someone's last cry over and over again.

Nie Weiyang sighed.

Sure enough, as long as you "migrate" outward, you will encounter these things.

"Is anyone there?" he suddenly shouted. "Who's calling for help?"

The strange voice seemed to be attracted by him. It was silent for a moment, and then a long and sharp alarm sounded in the distance. Amid the alarm sound that tore through the sky, something was approaching quickly. It pushed trees and split rocks, whistling through the mountains and forests. In just a few breaths, a darkness that covered the sky and the sun came!

——The Dark Zone is coming!

If you see extra words, missing words, or suspected content that wasn't deleted completely, don't doubt it, it's Win11 backstabbing my input method...

Chapter 30 'Cordon'

CSSS Warning Line:

A roving automatic security agency, subordinate to the CSSS system.

Prowl the battlefields of any form of boundary warfare, always ready to sound the alarm.

When a Homo sapiens is detected nearby, [Inducement Audio] will be played, and the unit will enter combat mode after locking onto the Homo sapiens individual.

· If a Homo sapiens is detected making sounds above 45 decibels, the system will enter combat mode.

·In combat, [area seals] will be left on the paths you have walked.

·Each time [Whistle Alert] is activated, the area damage skill [Restricted Area] is released once around [Area Seal].

·Each time [Broadcast Announcement] is activated, a [Forbidden Zone] is released into the space surrounding the [Regional Seal]. The [Regional Seal] is destroyed after the skill effect ends.

To kill the enemy, both the [Power Source] and the [Underworld Signal Transceiver] must be destroyed.

Will not actively attack young Homo sapiens.

-

Alarm, tower communication! Alarm, tower communication! Connecting to the netherworld network... Intervening... [-]

With the teeth-grinding sound of mechanical shifting, a huge four-legged land machine rose from the forest.

It is about twenty meters tall, with a long electric whip tail dragging behind it. The whole thing looks like a huge, alert mechanical wolf, but without a head. In its place is a huge speaker with a round red searchlight embedded in it. The width of the beam is limited by the edge of the speaker.

The CSSS Cordon is a boss unit distinct from both the Seven Emotions of Sorrow and the Three-Headed Hydra. It's more numerous, all identical, and possesses the same abilities. This is because it's a mass-produced defensive military weapon, belonging to the same CSSS system as the Shelter. The main difference is that the Shelter's entrance remains stationary, while the Cordon is mobile.

In its original state, the cordon does not have such a strong desire to attack, nor does it make faint cries for help - that is not a defensive behavior at all, but a trap.

The red beam of the searchlight swept in the direction of Nie Weiyang, but did not find the target. The speed of the cordon increased, and the flashing electric light of the whip tail behind was free in the rain curtain, and the flashing hammer head at the end pulled a long bright yellow diagonal light band in the air.

[Region Seal]!

"beep----------"

The sound of the [whistle warning] was deafening, and the yellow light of the area seal instantly brightened. With a "buzz", a bright yellow energy shock was released to the area about ten meters on both sides.

The attack had no effect, but the cordon was merely a stroll. It was circling the hilltop. If it successfully sealed the area, the [Forbidden Zone] skill would automatically trigger, enveloping all creatures within a range of ten to one hundred and fifty meters. No one within that range would be able to escape.

Because this skill...is an instant death judgment!

As part of the CSSS defense system, the 'Warning Line' is extremely dangerous and is a complete extreme mechanism monster.

But Nie Weiyang was not worried... because he was not prepared to fight it now.

Long ago, the cordon was once connected to a more intelligent judgment system, allowing it to truly be called a "warning." But now, while the alienated cordon has become more terrifying, its combat judgment has been greatly reduced in intelligence. It can only determine the range of skill release by locking onto the target, but is unable to perform anticipatory judgment and more advanced combat techniques.

Although Nie Weiyang now has no means to break its two fatal points at the same time, he has rich experience in dealing with the cordon.

Simply put, he's a great dog walker.

Nie Weiyang walked silently through the mountains and forests. The huge mechanical legs of the cordon crushed three or four trees three meters away. The shattered wooden structure collapsed, wood chips scattered, and leaves flew. The sound of heavy rain made the world empty and quiet, and the horrific physical destruction was enough to make people sink into nightmares.

The cordon did not notice that Nie Weiyang was silently approaching where it came from, and it stubbornly pulled the line around the mountain.

In a narrow crevice somewhere, two pairs of terrified eyes stared intently at the malevolent presence that moved like a steel building. They were two girls, one large and one small. The older girl, about twelve or thirteen, was tightly hugging the younger girl, perhaps six or seven, with her hands covering their mouths. The younger girl was clutching a schoolbag, which seemed to contain something.

As they watched in horror and despair, the hilltop in the distance was soon surrounded by bright yellow area seals.

'Buzz——————'

[Forbidden Zone]!

It was an irregular columnar area that almost framed the entire mountain. They knew that all living things there must have been wiped out, just like...

Just like mom and dad.

Tears welled up in the little girl's eyes. She couldn't move her eyes away, staring at the yellow light in the distance, her eyes reflecting its color. It was like some kind of addiction, some kind of obsession, but the memories humans associate with these two words have never been related to health.

When they were about to continue looking, darkness suddenly blocked their sight.

The children almost screamed, but they tried hard to hold it back. The older girl pulled out a sharp knife and a flathead screwdriver. The younger girl trembled as she opened the backpack in her arms. Something inside was squirming and about to come out.

A strange man with slicked-back hair and sunglasses suddenly emerged from the darkness late at night. He put a finger in front of his lips and whispered to them, "Shh..."

The two girls didn't react at all... no, they became even more nervous, staring at him in the darkness, their bodies tense and stiff.