Chapter 69: Exploration

A boot stepped on the charred soil.

"Damn it - it's too well buried up ahead." Su Jing rubbed his temples and said.

It was already the afternoon of the second day after the nuclear explosion, and considering the danger of nuclear radiation, only Su Jing and Fox returned to the ruins of the underground base in Black Crow Ridge. Su Jing used the remote information transmission of the Demon Hunting Insect to explore down, and confirmed that there were still intact parts of the internal structure of the underground base, so he cleared a passage with Fawkes.

The two of them were now standing in a large crater, the helipad where the previous night had been fighting, and now the center of the nuclear explosion had become a huge crater, and the two of them were trying to find an entrance to the interior from the wall of this pit. As the two of them worked together to break open an airtight door that had melted into an iron plate, the underground base of Black Crow Ridge, which had gone through the catastrophe, was finally open to the two.

"That's right, Fawkes. Do you remember that mutant behemoth we brought in yesterday? What happened to it? Su Jing climbed in sideways.

"It seems like after the exterior turret has been removed...... Let's go north. With its constitution, it will not die in a nuclear explosion. Fawkes ripped open a piece of iron and got inside, "What else are you looking for here?" ”

"This is the base of the Enclave, there will always be something good." Su Jing kicked a curled body on the ground, and when he looked down, he saw that it was a dead death claw. He crouched down and sliced open the belly of the deathclaw with his saber, a burning smell coming from him.

"The heat, tens of thousands of degrees of heat, burned it throughout."

Fawkes turned his head to see the remains of several Enclave soldiers around him, the surface of the power armor had melted, and these soldiers were lying on their backs to the ground, their heads facing the interior of the base, and it looked like they had tried to escape before they died.

"Even if you escape the heat...... No, although the power armor has a built-in climate conditioning system, it is unlikely that it will survive this level of heat. Even if you survive the heat, you will die of exhaustion under the intense radiation. ”

There was a clanging sound behind them, and the two turned their heads to see a man in a high-grade radiation suit carrying a backpack through the torn entrance.

"Good work, two. I'm here to deliver lunch. ”

"Adam, haven't you returned to the water purification base yet?" Su Jing asked.

"With my father presiding over there, there is no more than me, no less than me, no difference." Adam's voice was a little dull in the radiation shield, "Especially since I want to see what the center of the Enclave is all about." If that President of Eden is really a smart computer, then the place where he is should have the highest level of protection, and at the bottom core of the base, there should also be a lead protective layer or something...... Even if it's a nuclear explosion...... Maybe he's not dead yet. ”

Su Jing and Fawkes glanced at each other, nodded, and said, "Then let's speed up." In a few days, I will attend the inauguration ceremony of the water purification project. ”

After a simple meal of double-headed beef with pasta, the three of them continued to explore deeper into the base. Because considering the probability that President Eden might still be alive, the three of them accelerated their exploration, and some places that might have stored high-level equipment were simply skipped.

All the way down, the lower the level, the more miserable the situation. Many unarmed people who were not armored were killed directly by the powerful shock wave. Somewhere, maybe a research institute or something, there were researchers lying everywhere bleeding from the seven orifices. The petri dish erected around it shattered to the ground, and several undeveloped deathclaws lay in the nutrient solution. Su Jing squatted down to collect genetic samples, while Adam tried to restart the computer here, but it was estimated that the energy system of the entire base had collapsed, and none of them could be opened.

Continuing down, through corridors and passages where the structure had been distorted by the explosion, the group finally reached the lowest level of the base.

At this moment, the three of them stood in front of a heavy door, Fox and Su Jing stepped forward to try to push the door open, and Adam began to take out an anti-radiation needle from his backpack and prick it into his wrist.

"One, two, ——!"

The two monsters exerted force at the same time, but this door was surprisingly heavy, and with the strength of the two of them, they could only feel a slight advance. Su Jing pulled out the oxyacetylene cutting spout from the fist glove, intending to spend some effort slowly cutting it open, but unexpectedly, the door opened by itself with a creak.

【Destroyers...... Welcome to my last place of absence......]

A hoarse man's voice came over the radio, and it seemed that the white noise on the radio was strong because of the ubiquitous radiation. The three of them walked in one after the other, Su Jing walked in the front, and saw that the room was a mountain of various inexplicable instruments, a large row of flashing lights, and in the middle was a small electronic screen, a white line was fluctuating up and down with the sound in the radio.

"You are...... President Eden? Adam took off his helmet and shoved a large handful of anti-radiation pills into his mouth, the radiation level in this room was almost zero, much cleaner than that on the wasteland, which allowed him to avoid holding himself in a heavy and dull radiation suit for a while.

[That's right, U.S. citizens.] My energy system is independent of the base master energy system, so I'm still alive. I am President Eden, the wartime leader of the United States. I exist for the revival of all mankind! I know you're working on a water purification plan, and we can use this water plan to clean up all the wasteland mutant creatures! And you, a citizen of the United States, why did you choose not to cooperate?! 】

"Your target was wrong." Adam whispered, "You're going to kill not only mutated creatures, but also real American citizens." The citizens of the United States are not 'purebred humans' who are not contaminated by radiation, but all those who struggle to survive on a desolate land. Beginning with the Mayflower, the true American spirit is pioneering, inclusive, and striving...... Compared to those of you who huddle in the base and don't dare to take a step, for fear that you will be contaminated by radiation...... We are the real citizens of the United States! ”

[This is a judgment written in my lowest data, so I am right!] 】

"Logical error." Adam stopped talking nonsense and began to link his beep-boy to the "President of Eden", "This smart computer is still useful, I'll try to modify its main program." It may take a long time, but if I succeed, then we ...... If the power of justice in the wilderness is strong, there will be one more outstanding wise man. And it also controls the satellite system in the sky, and if we can master its satellite system, then in the foreseeable future, we can establish a new order in the wilderness...... A peaceful and strong order! ”

Just as he was engrossed in hacking into the underlying program of the computer, a figure crawling in the corner slowly raised his head, and then the figure clenched the laser pistol in his hand and quietly aimed at Adam's exposed head.

Suddenly, a dark shadow stood in front of him, and Su Jing was holding his hands and looking at him.

"Who are you...... Ah, Colonel Oldem, is he? ”

Su Jing knocked away the laser pistol in his hand with a knife, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up, Autumn's whole face was deformed, and pieces of swollen lumps appeared on the surface of his skin, Su Jing patted the ash on his body for him, and asked with a pleasant face:

"Interview. How are you feeling now? Colonel Oldem? Experiencing the power of a nuclear bomb explosion gives you a deeper understanding of your fate? Have you ever felt a sense of awe for this world? Have you realized your mistakes and sincerely repented of them? ”

"I ...... I ......" Autumn's face was intertwined, one moment cowardly, as if he wanted to beg for mercy, and the other he was resolute, as if he wanted to preserve his dignity with death. At this moment, he inadvertently turned his head and saw the smooth steel surface, and his face was reflected. Shocked by his own ugliness at the moment, Autumn even forgot to struggle, he reached out to touch the skin of his face, and screamed in pain as soon as he touched it.

"Radiation sickness, mutated skin...... Yes, Mr. Ultem, you're no longer a 'purebred human' either. Congratulations, go and welcome a better tomorrow. Every day is a new beginning, every time is a new sun...... Don't worry too much about it. Su Jing showed a gentle smile and threw the colonel on the ground with a flick of his hand, no longer looking at him.

Half a minute later, the sound of laser pistol firing rang out, and then there was silence.

"He killed himself?" Adam asked without looking back.

"That's right." Fox replied.

"Poor man." Adam commented.

Two hours later, Adam finally let out a long sigh. And at this moment, a prompt sounded in Su Jing's mind:

[Congratulations, adventurer, you have completed the optional mission "Destroy the Enclave"]

[You get a reward, a blank three-star prop card, 3,000 universal points]

[Because of the death of Colonel Autumn, you get a hidden reward, a three-star item: Experimental Hellfire Power Armor]

[Because of President Eden's transformation, you get a hidden reward, knowledge card: Vault bobblehead - energy weapon]

Su Jing couldn't help but whistle, he opened his card interface and checked his newly obtained reward.

[3-Star Item: Experimental Hellfire Power Armor]

[The latest generation of power armor developed by the Enclave Army after the war strengthens the motion servo system on the basis of the original power armor, and uses the Hellfire armor used on the EDE flying robot in the selection of the outer armor, which not only greatly improves the protection of kinetic weapons and energy weapons, but also enhances the fire resistance. Because it is an experimental model that explores the limits of performance, the materials used are better than ordinary Hellfire armor. 】

[Knowledge Card: Vault Shakehead Doll - Energy Weapon]

[A one-time item that can only be obtained as a reward in story missions.] It can allow the user to learn the structure and principle of energy weapons in the radiation world.

Knowledge cards? This is the first time Su Jing has encountered this kind of prop. The bobblehead figure is the rarest item in the original game, similar to a hidden easter egg that permanently strengthens a certain aspect of the player's skills or attributes. Su Jing originally thought that there was no easter egg design like a bobblehead puppet in this world, but he didn't expect it to appear as a reward in such an ingenious way. According to the literal understanding, this thing sounds like a prop for forcibly burning learning and memories, which is very suitable for Su Jing's current situation, he quietly clicked on learning, and then his eyes suddenly darkened.

A large number of drawings, data, formulas, and theories rushed through his brain like a raging rush, like the sensation of drinking a large glass of ice water, and his forehead began to tingle, then tearing. The subbrain vibrated slightly, absorbed the information and consultation, and then began to classify, summarize, and organize this knowledge coldly and rationally...... It also eliminates the sharp pain in the brain.

When Su Jing opened his eyes again, Fawkes and Adam seemed to be unaware. He felt like hours had passed in his head, his mind frantically absorbing knowledge, but the reality of time seemed to be only a few seconds......

Su Jing subconsciously looked at the Hellfire armor in the card slot, he was now confident that he would come to a perfect modification.