novelraw Chapter 21: Dungeons from Pre-War Technology
Chapter 21: Dungeons from Pre-War Technology
The instant Chen Huai's fingertip touched the number 57—
【Ding! 】
[Main Quest: Finding the Lost City - Completed!]
[Task rewards are being calculated...]
Level 1 management access to Dungeon Sequence 57 has been obtained.
At the same time, Chen Huai suddenly felt an invisible flow of information rushing into his mind.
He possessed a portion of the key to this lost city.
Chen Huai took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement.
Based on the information he had just received, he placed his palm on an inconspicuous groove in the center of the hatch.
hum...
A deep, mechanical sound came from the depths of the ground, awakening the colossal beast that had slumbered for hundreds of years.
The vines and moss covering the hatch rustled and trembled.
Snap! Sizzle—!
Accompanied by a piercing metallic scraping sound and a sharp hissing sound from the pressure relief valve, a ring of eerie blue indicator lights illuminated around the edge of the massive circular hatch.
The heavy metal door slid open slowly to one side, revealing a square elevator car that was quietly parked inside.
Without hesitation, Chen Huai checked that there was nothing unusual around him and stepped into the elevator.
As the metal elevator doors slowly closed behind Chen Huai, isolating him from the outside world, a slight feeling of weightlessness carried him into the heart of this human settlement that had been forgotten for two hundred years.
Unlike the buildings outside, the underground city has the floors numbered in reverse order, with the lowest level closest to the surface being the first floor.
"laugh……"
The elevator doors opened again.
A wave of dry air swept over me, carrying a faint scent of grass and wood, quite different from the musty smell of the forest outside.
As soon as Chen Huai stepped out of the elevator, the sight behind the door made him hold his breath.
To be honest, he had already imagined what this place would be like before he came.
The best outcome, of course, would be a group of pre-war humans living self-sufficiently in the dungeon, generation after generation, only unable to contact the outside world due to some system problems.
It is also possible that something happened here, resources were insufficient, and only a very few lucky ones survived for centuries like hibernating animals by relying on closed ecosystems and hibernation techniques.
The worst-case scenario would be some internal disaster: system failure, oxygen depletion, virus leak... resulting in the extinction of everyone, leaving only a huge and exquisite tomb.
However, he did not expect that this place was completely different from what he had imagined.
This is an extremely vast space. Although there is no one there, the whole world seems so vibrant and full of life.
He was standing on a suspended metal walkway.
Beneath the covered bridge lay a vast underground space of immeasurable size, far exceeding any stadium he had ever seen.
What impressed him even more was the countless huge transparent cube structures arranged beneath the covered bridge, each like an independent little world.
"This...is this the dungeon? A product of pre-war technological advancement!"
Chen Huai said incredulously.
If he were an ordinary player, it would be fine if he were born directly in the dungeon at the start of the game, but he arrived in the wasteland first, and even experienced the lives of the lowest-level people in the wasteland for a few days before coming here.
He didn't know what Li Hongzhang felt when he first arrived in New York, but he figured it probably wasn't any more dramatic than his feelings now.
He now knows what it means to be one step into heaven and one step into hell.
The wasteland outside is still barren, and people have even regressed to a primitive stage of hunting and farming, while here...
This is not a product of the same era, or even the same dimension!
The interior of the cube closest to the covered bridge is clearly visible.
Its interior is filled with soft, simulated natural light, bright yet not glaring.
Under the light, what Chen Huai had imagined was not soil or traditional crops, but a... strange "lawn"?
No, that's not grass.
Those were countless fungi with bizarre shapes.
They covered the entire bottom of the cube, like a thick carpet.
The cap is a bluish-green color of varying shades, with a smooth surface and some slightly bulging, forming a small hemispherical or fan shape.
The hyphae, resembling extremely fine white down, spread and intertwine along the edge and underside of the cap, forming a complex network.
The air was filled with a very fresh scent, carrying a hint of post-rain earth and a faint sweetness.
The temperature in the entire space was just right, and the humidity was also controlled perfectly.
"Ecological Agriculture Technology Unit - A1: Photosynthetic Symbiotic Colony Cultivation Area".
A line of information is projected directly onto the transparent outer wall of the cube, making it clearly visible.
Chen Huai approached and focused his mind on one of the plants. A semi-transparent information panel immediately floated in front of him:
[Species Name: Photopolymer Bacteria]
[Growth Cycle: Maturity]
[Energy source: Full-spectrum artificial light]
[Growth substrate: Inert mineral base]
[Key characteristics: Highly efficient photosynthesis, nutrient synthesis, environmental adaptation, and nutrient density]
The internal structure of the second cube is completely different; it is a tank through which a crystalline liquid flows.
In the clear nutrient solution, countless tubes extend like the roots of a plant.
One by one, leafy green vegetables resembling lettuce or spinach were growing vigorously with visible vitality. Their leaves were lush and green with clear veins, just like the premium vegetables in the supermarket's refrigerated display cases he remembered, and even looked more perfect.
"Water...clean water!"
You should know that he hasn't been able to drink a drop of clean water in the camp for the past few days.
And this huge, pristine body of water is only used for growing vegetables?
He looked at the lush green leaves, comparing them to the withered, rotten plant remains in the wild grass camp he remembered, smelling of fish and riddled with insects, and his stomach churned.
"Soilless cultivation...light-based formula...factory-style production completely detached from natural conditions..." He checked the growth rate and yield data on the information panel again, feeling a wave of dizziness. "This is simply...the work of the Creator."
The third cube: more three-dimensional.
Inside are layers upon layers of metal frames, each covered with a dense green that resembles moss or miniature herbs, like floating green rivers.
Fine water mist is sprayed down from the top of the shelf at regular intervals, forming tiny rainbows when illuminated by a specific light source.
The entire cube is lush and vibrant with greenery.
【Three-dimensional agricultural unit - C1: High-oxygen environment microalgae/moss cultivation area】
Information indicates that it mainly produces high concentrations of oxygen, as well as some edible moss and biomass raw materials.
Chen Huai subconsciously took another deep breath. The air here was several times fresher than in the forest outside. So that's where it came from!
"Oxygen production...maximizing the use of three-dimensional space...microalgae..."
He imagined the purifying effect of this green forest on the air of the entire underground city, and once again felt his understanding was overturned.
Chen Huai walked slowly along the covered bridge.
Each illuminated cube showcases the astonishing achievements of pre-war agricultural technology: some simulate natural environments and precisely control temperature and humidity to cultivate rare medicinal plants; others use bioreactors to directly synthesize high-protein nutrient pastes; and still others utilize specific spectra and magnetic fields to accelerate the maturation of grain crops…
Each unit is an independent and efficient micro-ecosystem, completely free from dependence on natural conditions such as sunlight, rain, and fertile soil.
"Two hundred years... a full two hundred years! Humans outside struggled in the ruins, killing each other for a bite to eat..."
"And here... technology has stagnated at its peak, quietly awaiting the day it will be restarted."
He gazed at the planting unit composed of countless glowing cubes, stretching into the endless darkness, and for the first time truly felt the pinnacle of pre-war technology, as well as the terrifying power that the dungeon represented, enough to change the wasteland.
"No wonder they were able to build a megacity in the wasteland with just an underground city."
But... where are they?
Chen Huai became more and more puzzled as he walked. How could such a huge and complex system, which was operating on its own and maintained almost perfectly, have no signs of human activity?
He had previously imagined that some accident had occurred here, which led to the loss of contact, but now it seems that this place couldn't be better.
Judging from the abundance of resources, it could probably supply not just a few hundred people, but tens of thousands, and this is only the first level.
Chen Huai's doubts persisted until he passed through the planting area and arrived at the next square—the dormant hall.
Behind the square, there were rows and rows of rooms, stretching as far as the eye could see.
……
Meanwhile, in the real world.
The homepages of major mainstream media outlets and gaming platforms worldwide were unexpectedly covered by a huge animated poster.
Dungeon: Reboot
[First Closed Beta Test]
[Closed Beta Start Countdown: 72:00:00]
[Closed Beta Access: 100 people!]