Chapter 95: A Plea for Help (9th Update, Asking for Monthly Tickets!!)

Chen Sixuan covered her mouth in surprise. “So there are people down there.”

“Let’s listen first.” Lin Xian raised his hand to signal, then pressed the transponder again to respond, “We can hear you.”

“I am Ding Junyi, the deputy director of the Biological Research Department of Underground City No. 9. A large number of zombies and night-walkers have broken out inside the underground city. Currently, several of my colleagues and I are trapped in the research level on sub-level 52. Can you provide us with assistance? If you are willing to help, we can offer something in exchange.”

The voice on the transponder sounded somewhat urgent, but the faces of the people on the Infinity changed slightly.

“You’re saying, in such a large underground city, there are only a few of you?”

Hearing the other party’s words, Lin Xian’s first reaction was suspicion. He had fallen for phishing schemes many times before; he wouldn’t believe something like this so easily.

“It is not yet certain if there are survivors in other areas. Two weeks ago, the excavation section of the underground city encountered some kind of unknown subterranean creature, causing the project to be interrupted. Core No. 1 melted down, and internal personnel underwent mutated infections, leading to the deaths of at least 376,000 citizens, over 95% of the total population. The underground city’s federal management committee was forced to initiate a migration plan, using 8 intercontinental-class and 3 eternal-class trains, as well as a large number of airships, helicopters, and flying devices to evacuate core citizens. However, almost all aerial transport equipment lost contact after entering the Great Luo Mountain range. It is initially suspected that they encountered a large aerial night-walker.”

“The mutation caused large-scale riots in the underground city. The main structure of the city was damaged, a zombie outbreak occurred internally, and a large number of night-walkers appeared. My three colleagues and I did not have time to escape and were forced to flee into a biological laboratory. There should not be many survivors in the entire Underground City No. 9 now. Our laboratory has high-level system permissions for the underground city. We saw your arrival through the surveillance of the GF2 train platform and are therefore asking for your help.”

Although it sounded like a plea for help from someone trapped, the woman’s voice and emotions seemed very calm.

As soon as she finished speaking, Kiki immediately cast her gaze out the window and, sure enough, saw several cameras aimed at their cockpit.

“Huh, so not only are there people in the underground city, but there’s also electricity…”

Lin Xian nodded, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the others. He knew that the night-walkers the other party mentioned should be the same thing as the anomalies they knew. He then spoke into the transponder, “How do you think we should rescue you?”

They had no idea about the situation inside the underground city. From the information the other party had just conveyed, there were unknown creatures underground, and the entire city was occupied by zombies and night-walkers. The other party was on the 52nd sub-level. Under these circumstances, even if Lin Xian wanted to help, he wouldn’t know where to start. So he wasn’t in a hurry to consider it. Instead, he let the other party propose a plan first, so he could distinguish truth from falsehood and then assess the risk.

After hearing Lin Xian’s words, the woman on the other side responded directly, “Currently, elevators 1, 2, and 5 of the underground city are all destroyed. Elevators 7 and 8 can only go directly to levels below 80. The rest are in fallen floors and freight areas. Only elevator 3 is currently online, and it is the closest to us. But elevator 3 is a freight elevator, used for equipment transportation, and goes directly to the level-five freight rail terminal on the 95th sub-level. Due to damage to the main structure, it can currently only reach the 89th level. I can open the protective gate for the GF2 track to enter the underground track. Because we only have one backup power source for electricity, the power is insufficient to support you using the rail train lift elevator. So your train can go directly down the direct tunnel to the level-four freight rail terminal on the 65th sub-level, and then take elevator 3 up to the 52nd level. Although there are many zombies outside, your weapons are very powerful, and you have a telekinesis-type metahuman. It shouldn’t be a big threat to you.”

Lin Xian frowned slightly as he listened. From the other party’s description, the identity of this deputy director of the biological research department named Ding Junyi was very likely to be real. An ordinary citizen of the underground city, even some of the powerful and influential, would not necessarily have such a clear understanding of the underground city’s system. Her logic was clear, her plan was well-defined, and her tone sounded like that of a researcher.

“You make it sound simple. Why don’t you ask the federal government for help?”

Kiki leaned in at this moment, getting straight to the point.

Hearing Kiki’s question, another slightly younger female voice on the transponder said anxiously, “Because the underground city’s satellite communication facilities have been moved away, and conventional communication equipment cannot transmit due to the influence of the dark night’s magnetic waves. You should be aware of this. So the only permissions we can control now are some of the underground city’s subsystems, to send you a request for help through the platform’s response system.”

Lin Xian frowned upon hearing this. “So no one came to rescue you during the evacuation?”

There was a moment of silence on the transponder. Then, the director named Ding took over again.

“When the upper levels were evacuating, they did receive our request for help. But given the situation, we should… already be considered abandoned assets.”

In a certain research area within Underground City No. 9, the isolation door was tightly locked. The corridor outside was completely shrouded in darkness, with countless zombies wandering about. Inside the room, four men and women in research uniforms had anxious expressions. They had been trapped here for over a week. Although the research area had a very high level of protection and a life support system, there wasn’t much food or supplies. If they didn’t get out soon, they would probably starve to death inside.

The leader, Deputy Director of the Biological Research Department Ding Junyi, was around thirty years old, wearing glasses with a cold gaze. Trapped with her were her former colleagues Zhao Yan, Xu Wen, and microbiology expert Han Qiming.

The oldest among them was Zhao Yan, who looked to be in the poorest health. The group had already started eating some of the green plant materials used for experiments as food to supplement their energy. Fortunately, the laboratory area still had lighting and air circulation, so they wouldn’t suffocate.

Since the great evacuation, the entire underground city had become a hellish scene, desolate everywhere. And with the roads blocked and the polar night arriving, the group’s hopes of being rescued had gradually dwindled.

Almost all useful supplies had been taken away. This apocalyptic project, less than 1/5 complete, had already become a ruin of despair.

“Director Ding, they don’t seem to believe us…”

Xu Wen was the most timid, and she was the one who had spoken out of turn just now. Seeing no reply on the transponder, she became anxious. “What should we do?”

“Don’t be anxious.” Han Qiming had a messy mop of hair. He was already thin, and after the ordeal of the past two weeks, he had become somewhat emaciated. “They came here by train, so they must have some purpose. And they can open the protective door and have high-level metahuman abilities. I think they might want to enter the underground city. In that case, perhaps we can find a point of mutual interest.”

“Right.” Zhao Yan was the oldest. She looked at Ding Junyi. “Director Ding, why don’t we just ask them directly?”

But Ding Junyi was calmly replaying the surveillance footage at this moment. Among the four, her emotions were the calmest. While everyone else was anxiously waiting for a response from the transponder, she was watching the scene of Lin Xian and the others entering the internal platform from outside, constantly taking notes on a portable screen.

“A total of five people have appeared on the screen so far. It’s temporarily uncertain if there are other people on the train. The leader should be this male who is communicating with us, aged between 25-30. His communication is purposeful, logical, and he is highly educated. He was the one who opened the gate of the GF2 platform just now. I checked the system records; there was no authorization, so he should have some kind of metahuman talent and forced it open.”