Before that, the tallest buildings Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong had ever seen were a few "chimneys" in the ruins of a steel factory, and they obviously couldn't compare to the tall buildings they saw today.
This is not to say that the "chimneys" must be much shorter, but in terms of visual effects:
Whether it is length or width, these tall buildings are obviously better than the "chimneys" of steel plants, so they can be regarded as "monster" in all aspects.
What shocked Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong the most was that there were more than one building and two such behemoths, and the number was so large that it was difficult to count them all at once.
They are neatly arranged according to certain rules, extending to the left, right, and forward, with no end in sight.
At this moment, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong seemed to have become mice. When they first came to the human kingdom, they could only observe them with a look up.
Under the setting sun, on the outer walls of the skyscrapers, thousands of glass shone like gold, or were being burned by "fire".
Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong's eyes narrowed slightly to resist the slightly dazzling reflected light.
The speed of the jeep slowed down quickly, and Jiang Baimian didn't know whether he was also shocked, or he was instinctively prepared for accidents.
As the vehicle moved forward, the sun was also setting, and the golden or orange light on the surface of the high-rise buildings gradually receded.
It didn't take long for the dazzling buildings just now to fall into darkness and gray one by one, like old photos that had faded from color.
The color of the whole city darkened again.
Long Yuehong opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but she was completely unable to express her feelings in words.
In fact, it is not that he has never been in contact with buildings that are more magnificent and miraculous than the current scene - the underground building where "Pangu Creatures" is located is more than two thousand meters high. If it was changed to the surface, it would have collapsed because the materials could not support it.
But Long Yuehong usually lives in an underground building, and it is impossible to see the whole from the outside. Naturally, he cannot feel the majesty of that building.
Therefore, the row upon row of high-rise buildings left an indelible impression on him.
"Is this the old world?" Shang Jianyao's voice was inexplicably soft, as if asking himself a question.
"Yes. Haven't you seen the corresponding pictures in textbooks?" Jiang Baimian, who was sitting in the driver's seat, replied.
The "comprehensive early warning system" of the military exoskeleton device made her hearing impaired and needed cochlear help, and she could clearly hear what Shang Jianyao was saying.
"The photo and the real scene give people a completely different feeling..." Long Yuehong glanced at Qiao Chu's profile and muttered softly.
It was only at this time that he and Shang Jianyao saw more details as his emotional state calmed down and the vehicle approached.
Some of those high-rise buildings are black, some are dark blue, some are dark yellow, and some are brightly colored, each with a certain difference.
However, the glass curtain walls and ordinary exterior walls on their surfaces are either dirty, foggy and smudged, or mottled or even damaged.
Some greenery grows from their crevices, stubbornly expanding their territory; birds of all kinds circle back to their nests somewhere on the floor in the last rays of the setting sun.
On both sides of the road, the dense leaves of the trees have mostly withered and yellowed, and when the wind blows, it falls like rain.
On the ground, fallen leaves piled up, and some even showed signs of decay.
Some street signs fell to the ground, some hung diagonally at the door, and some were missing several words.
At a glance, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong saw the remaining words such as "foot bath", "hair style", "supermarket", "small stir fry", "barbecue", "hot pot", "second sister", "pet" and "convenience", but their corresponding shops Either dilapidated or dusty and empty.
A car parked randomly on the road, seriously obstructing traffic, their shells and glass surfaces are full of traces of smudges that have been washed away by rain and then re-solidified...
Everything was so quiet, only the wind was still blowing gently.
The city is long dead.
"It's a little wrong..." Jiang Baimian looked straight ahead, and used the "comprehensive early warning system" of the exoskeleton device to collect various details around him.
Before Bai Chen had time to ask, Qiao Chu glanced at the distance and the setting sun between the skyscrapers, and said in a low voice:
"It's almost night.
"Try not to speak before entering a safe house with no problems.
"If you have to say it, be sure to control the volume."
He then suppressed his voice and pointed to the left:
"Turn through the door."
It was a gate for two cars to drive side by side, and there was a sentry in the middle, dividing it evenly, and it seemed to go in and out.
The metal fence that blocks vehicles has been lying on the ground for many years, and its surface is rusted.
Long Yuehong looked at the gate subconsciously, and saw that its shape was closer to the archway in the textbook, the archway composed of brown-yellow stones.
In the middle part of the archway, most of the golden characters have withered away, and only two characters can be discerned:
“…Yang…Yuan”
The jeep quickly passed through the arch and entered the gate.
This is an area surrounded by seven or eight high-rise buildings. There are lawns overgrown with weeds, a dirty pool with a lot of garbage floating in it, a pavilion for rain protection, and trees that seem to bear fruit.
"Turn right, the first building." Qiao Chu seemed to be very familiar with this place.
According to his instructions, Jiang Baimian passed through the narrow road between the two abandoned cars and stopped outside the first building with a brown exterior.
"Take some food and enter a unit." Qiao Chu got out of the car first.
Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen left the jeep without hesitation, and each carried a pile of food from the trunk.
Long Yuehong took a step slower and failed to grab this task, so she had to follow Qiao Chu and Jiang Baimian and entered the entrance on the far right.
There are brown floor tiles, and weeds occupy the gaps and seem to have been left unattended for a long time.
After Long Yuehong passed the hall, he took a step forward and went straight to the three silver-black elevators.
He instinctively pressed the up button, then turned to ask Qiao Chu to advance.
However, the button did not respond at all, and there was no light lit up at all.
Long Yuehong was stunned for a moment before realizing:
"No power..."
Jiang Baimian looked at the rather old-looking elevator and the buttons with no rust, and said again:
"That's not quite right..."
This time, without her having to explain too much, Shang Jianyao and others also saw the problem:
The state of the elevators, buttons, floor tiles and the spread of weeds do not look like they have not been maintained for decades. It is closer to being abandoned for less than a year.
"Could it be that there were wilderness wanderers living here before?" Bai Chen raised a possibility.
The next second, she denied the judgment herself:
"No, Wild Wanderers don't maintain useless things.
"And, doesn't it mean that this is a newly discovered city ruins?"
"It's not just that." Seeing that Qiao Chu did not stop him, Jiang Baimian added, "The accumulation of fallen leaves on the street and the damage to various houses all seem to indicate one thing: who has just 'maintained' not long ago the city."
She paused and said her guess:
"Maybe, someone is 'maintaining' the city on a regular basis?"
"Intelligent robots? Humans, after passing away, are intelligent robots still sticking to their responsibilities?" Long Yuehong asked immediately.
Jiang Baimian shook his head:
"Not too possible.
"As far as I know, the real intelligent robotics technology developed greatly before the destruction of the old world, and similar products are still relatively luxurious things, and it is unlikely to be used for this kind of thing, unless it is a place like 'mechanical paradise'.
"Well, it's not necessarily special here."
Qiao Chu listened to them discussing for a while, without speaking, turned around and walked into the stairs.
He didn't stop until he climbed to the sixth floor, turned into the corridor on the right, and entered the deepest room.
The crimson door to this room was ajar and unlocked. The skin of the door handle is peeling off, and the rust is obvious.
After passing through the gate, Qiao Chu, who was carrying a silver rifle and pinned "United 202", looked back to see Shang Jianyao and the others coming in in sequence.
He had a habitual smile on his face, but his eyes were very indifferent:
"Just rest here.
"When sleeping, one person stands by the floor-to-ceiling windows, monitoring the tunnel exit, and the other person patrols the room and pays attention to everyone's situation. Once there is an abnormality, everyone will be woken up immediately."
Jiang Baimian was curious when he heard it:
"You also know the problem with real nightmares
"How did this happen?"
"A special kind of aberrant creature called Nightmare Horse. As long as your dream is affected by it, dying in it is equivalent to dying in reality." Qiao Chu replied indifferently, "I was chased by it for more than a hundred years. kilometer."
"Why?" Bai Chen had never seen any monster with such patience and perseverance.
Qiao Chu didn't answer, and was about to leave the door and walk inside the room.
At this time, Shang Jianyao showed an unconcealed smile:
"I know why!
"It wants to fuck him!"
The place where Long Yuehong and others were located was quiet, and no sound came out.
Qiao Chu frowned slightly and glanced at Shang Jianyao:
"Are you using your brain or your mind-swapping ability in the Hall of Stars
"Don't think that it's not a big problem now. When you enter the 'Sea of Origin', your symptoms will get worse and worse. Forget it, you won't have a chance to enter."
"You know so much... You're amazing." After listening to Qiao Chu's words, Jiang Baimian exclaimed sincerely, "Where are you from?"
Qiao Chu thought for a few seconds, straightened his black trench coat, and bowed slightly:
"Then let me introduce myself again:
"Commissioner of the Eighth Research Institute, Qiao Chu."