Chapter 38: The Armory

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

Just as the tension between the two sides reached a breaking point, Lou Shasha emerged from the crowd brandishing a grenade launcher, followed closely by her tall brother, Lou Ye, who was armed with a machine gun.

"We're with them. Hey, 'Qian,' if you've got the guts, go ahead and pull the trigger."

Though she was young and small in stature, Lou Shasha stood before Lin Xian and KIKI wielding the heavy weapon, looking every bit the fierce, ruthless little sister.

Qian Yu’s gaze swept over the group, his expression shifting uncertainly. After a long silence, he gritted his teeth and backed down. "Brother, no hard feelings. I just think you two are impressive; I was speaking purely out of admiration and an interest in cooperation. If I’ve offended you, please forgive me."

"Exactly, exactly..."

Tang Hai finally interjected, playing the role of the peacemaker. "Let’s not get worked up. It’s a matter of life and death now. This fog has us all trapped here, so let’s consider our current situation. As for any other grievances, we can settle those once we’re out."

Lin Xian looked at Tang Hai upon hearing this. "Is that so? You’d better hope that’s how you really feel."

The atmosphere turned strangely cold at his words.

Tang Hai’s eye twitched slightly. He looked at Lin Xian’s expression and gave a faint smile. "Of course. I know there’s no trust between us all, and that’s fine—I don’t trust you either. But we all share the same goal: survival."

He turned and gestured toward the people behind him. "We’ve been in this air-raid shelter for months. There are dozens of us here, all trying to survive. Bringing you in actually poses a huge risk to us. Doesn't that show our sincerity in cooperating?"

"An air-raid shelter?" Lin Xian glanced toward the mountain in the distance. "Can we stay inside tonight?"

"Of course you can!"

"Everyone can come into the shelter to rest tonight; it’s much safer in there," Tang Hai immediately announced to the leaders of the various convoys, seemingly proving his good faith.

His nephew, Feng Yuming, whispered, "Uncle, there are so many people—it won't fit them all, will it?"

"They can just squeeze in," Tang Hai sighed. "There’s plenty of space."

Opening the shelter to everyone was a proposal that did indeed soothe the suspicions of some. However, even though he made the offer, none of the convoy leaders responded; they all wore strange expressions.

"No need. Our convoy doesn't leave the vehicles; we’ll be on high alert all night."

Qian Yu was the first to decline. Once the immediate tension had dissipated, he shot a cold look at Lin Xian and KIKI before turning and walking away. Other convoy leaders followed suit, offering their own refusals.

"We don't need it either."

"Let's just gather tomorrow."

"Same here..."

Seeing the lack of response, Tang Hai said nothing, but Feng Yuming looked indignant. "Tch, nowhere is safer than the shelter. What idiots."

"Yuming," Tang Hai scolded. "Forget it. Everyone sticking to their own units is fine, too."

In truth, such a reaction from the convoys was perfectly normal. Putting aside whether they trusted Tang Hai or not, these people had been fleeing for so long that their entire lives were packed into their vehicles. To them, nowhere was safer than their own cars—if danger struck, they could run at any moment. Under such circumstances, who would willingly move into an underground shelter?

Tang Hai turned to Lin Xian. "I’ll have Yuming take you inside. Pick any spot you like and get some rest. We’ll need your help tomorrow..."

"We’re all in the same boat, so there’s no need for such formalities," Lin Xian replied with a polite smile, which was exactly what Tang Hai wanted to hear.

Lin Xian had intended to explore the shelter anyway. While there were some valuable items in the courtyard outside, he couldn't exactly go around "devouring" machinery in front of hundreds of people. He had used this as a pretext to gauge Tang Hai's intentions, but he hadn't expected the man to agree so readily.

Though he smiled politely, he felt a flicker of suspicion. Tang Hai’s actions were practically flawless—perhaps even a bit naive for the apocalypse—but under the banner of cooperative survival, Lin Xian couldn't tell what the man was really after. He decided to keep it to himself; since they couldn't get through the fog, he and KIKI would just have to wait and see.

As he prepared to enter, he noticed Lou Shasha nearby and paused. Seeing his look, she waved her hand and pointed toward their pickup truck. "You two go ahead. My brother and I are used to sleeping in the car."

"Be careful," Lou Ye added.

Lin Xian nodded and walked through the crowd toward the shelter at the foot of the mountain, KIKI trailing behind. "Hey, 'Bad Guy,' our motorcycles are still back at the car."

"What, you want to drive them into the air-raid shelter?" Lin Xian replied. As he walked, he felt a gaze on him. He turned to see Feng Yuming, who had been with Tang Hai, following them.

"Hey, brothers, it’s mostly just ordinary people inside."

KIKI frowned, not immediately grasping the implication. "Ordinary people... so what?"

Lin Xian took a breath and said calmly, "We’re just looking for a place to rest for the night. We won't disturb you."

Feng Yuming scanned the two of them with a wary look but said nothing more, walking ahead to lead the way.

Ascending the slope, the first thing that came into view was a freight platform, with tracks cutting through the valley from the fog. Behind the platform lay a large air-raid shelter. On the side of the mountain above the entrance, a Type 1130 close-in weapon system loomed, its silhouette majestic in the mist. Lin Xian was stunned—he had only ever seen such things on television; he never expected to see the real deal here.

It was clear this was no ordinary military outpost.

Entering through the iron gate, they found a hollowed-out mountain space, once used for storing tanks and supplies. The hangar inside was now empty, and Lin Xian figured the jeeps Tang Hai’s group used must have been scavenged from here.

Walking through the hangar, they followed Feng Yuming down a staircase into the underground facility. Survivors from Tang Hai’s group were sitting in small groups, eating. Most were ordinary civilians from Beiwang County, families scattered in corners of the basement.

From Tang Hai, they had learned that there were many more of them at the start, but as the days passed and more people died, the survivors had become silent and withdrawn, the weight of despair pressing down on them.

"There are warehouses, dorms, a command center, and an armory. Stay wherever you want," Feng Yuming said indifferently before turning to leave.

"An armory?" Lin Xian frowned.

"It's empty," Feng Yuming said, looking back with a scoff. "If there were anything good left, we would have taken it. You think we'd leave it for you?"

With that, he walked away with a dismissive wave. Lin Xian watched him go, raised an eyebrow, and without a word, led KIKI toward the armory at the end of the corridor under the watchful eyes of the survivors.

"Heh, I knew you’d come here," KIKI said, looking at Lin Xian triumphantly. "But it’s been picked clean. What a shame."

"Hey, why did that guy specifically mention that everyone here is an 'ordinary person'?" KIKI suddenly asked.

"Haven't you realized? We’ve become the biggest threat here," Lin Xian said as they walked. "He’s afraid we’ll rob them. It’s normal—a single ability-user can be the backbone of a whole convoy. The two of us, traveling solo, are bound to seem dangerous."

This wasn't just a simple shelter. Though it looked like a small outpost on the outside, it was a complete underground complex equipped with a command center, armory, storage rooms, and dorms.

"A great place to hide, truly."

It was a natural apocalypse sanctuary. With enough supplies, it could support fifty people for over half a year. However, judging by the state of the survivors, while they had military vehicles and ammunition, they were clearly struggling with food—otherwise, they wouldn't be so desperate to escape before the polar night set in.

They opened the armory door to find only rows of empty shelves. Aside from gas masks and helmets that were essentially useless, everything else had long been scavenged by Tang Hai’s group. The room reeked of filth and urine, making them dizzy.

KIKI covered her nose and stepped back. "Let's go somewhere else."