I'd like to thank our new Patreon Diamond member, "melonpan," for recommending this novel for translation. I've read up to chapter 50, and it's a truly engaging read. It boasts a 4.4 rating on NovelUpdates. So you know it's going to be good.
Thank you again, Melonpan, for the sponsorship
--------
Fu Shiwu drove the off-road vehicle out of the parking lot. Wen Zhaoming anxiously looked ahead. The sky had completely darkened. If they didn't reach the warehouse in the eastern suburbs before the canopy moved over the city of clouds, they might be surrounded by more alien creatures.
"Go faster," Wen Zhaoming couldn't help but feel agitated.
"I'm doing my best!" Fu Shiwu stared fixedly ahead, pressing the accelerator to the floor.
There were hardly any people on the road now. The traffic that used to cause jams had decreased significantly. Traffic police were nowhere to be seen, but the intersection cameras dutifully clicked away. At this point, nobody cared about fines.
Perhaps stimulated by Tang Xuhai's driving skills earlier, Fu Shiwu was hyper-focused. The speed of the off-road vehicle surged as he skillfully maneuvered past other vehicles.
Fu Shiwu felt a sense of redemption, a victorious feeling.
He glanced with a hint of pride at Tang Xuhai, sitting stiffly in the passenger seat. How about that? His skills weren't so bad, right?
Tang Xuhai frowned, his expression turning grim. "Stop."
"What?" Wen Zhaoming straightened up upon hearing those words.
"I can't move forward." Fu Shiwu also noticed; the cars ahead were slowing down, some drivers impatiently honking.
Only when they couldn't advance further did Fu Shiwu hit the brakes.
Tang Xuhai hesitated, then turned to Fu Shiwu. "Go check what's happening ahead. Can it be resolved quickly?"
Without hesitation, Fu Shiwu got out, opening the door and sprinting along the traffic flow.
Tang Xuhai had a lot he wanted to say but swallowed his words, letting out a breath.
Fu Shiwu might seem inflexible at times, but in critical moments, he displayed remarkable decisiveness.
Now, there were even more people here, increasing the likelihood of an attack.
However, sometimes Fu Shiwu wouldn't even consider the possibility of injuries or encountering aliens. When there were things that had to be done, he'd let go of the entanglement of those issues.
In a short while, Fu Shiwu returned. Despite the dark sky, the heat hadn't dissipated much.
"There's a chain of car accidents ahead," Fu Shiwu wiped sweat with a tissue from his pocket. "Many cars are stuck there, and nobody seems to be handling the situation. Even if someone does, it won't be in time."
Tang Xuhai glanced at his tissue decisively. "Turn around immediately."
Fu Shiwu tossed the tissue into the waste bin and without a word, began to turn around.
He directly crossed onto the opposite lane, and seeing this, other cars began to turn around as well.
"We won't make it to the eastern suburbs. Where should we go?" Fu Shiwu asked anxiously.
"Follow my directions." Tang Xuhai took a deep breath, gripping his right knee tightly.
Fu Shiwu caught sight of his movement and couldn't help but ask, "Is your leg hurting?"
Tang Xuhai sighed. "No, it's fine. Right turn at the intersection ahead."
Following his instructions, Fu Shiwu drove into an old street.
"And then?" Fu Shiwu hesitated. He rarely came to this street and had no idea where to seek refuge.
"Go straight. There's a Dongtian Cinema. Go there," Tang Xuhai instructed.
Dongtian Cinema?
Fu Shiwu knew this place. Once, during high school, there was a school performance held there.
Dongtian Cinema was an extremely old movie theater, reportedly built in the early days of the country, around the 1950s, and had undergone several renovations. His impression of the theater was limited to the descending stairs; it wasn't large, with only one main hall divided into upper and lower seating areas.
In the last twenty years, with advancements in modern technology, the outdated equipment at Dongtian Cinema couldn't provide optimal audiovisual experiences. The theater had gradually become desolate, with peeling walls visible on several occasions, revealing the bleakness of the inner cement walls.
Wen Zhaoming clearly had no idea what kind of place Dongtian Cinema was and asked, "What's special about this cinema that can keep us safe?"
"Dongtian Cinema was originally an air-raid shelter built during the early years of the country," Tang Xuhai said calmly.
"Air-raid shelter?!" Fu Shiwu and Wen Zhaoming exclaimed in surprise.
"No wonder! Why hasn't that place been demolished!" Fu Shiwu suddenly realized.
Amidst the surrounding modern buildings, only Dongtian Cinema stood tall!
"You're amazing, knowing about even this." Fu Shiwu exclaimed in admiration.
Tang Xuhai grunted but fell silent.
He could claim it was a professional hazard, but was he ever free enough to be bored?! During his last mission, his right leg suffered a comminuted fracture, pinned with a steel plate. He had to focus on recovery, which might not restore his previous bone strength, and avoid vigorous exercise for years.
He could only retire with a heavy heart.
In the first year, he was extremely gloomy and irritable. He could only alleviate it by incessantly exercising his upper body. Once his legs were capable of walking like an average person's, he pushed himself even harder, beyond what the doctors recommended.
After moving to Tianjing Garden, where no one cared, he started torturing himself, using his legs relentlessly. Unable to endure intense exercise, he pushed his legs to the limit, even foregoing elevators and relying solely on walking up and down stairs.
In this past year, his right leg had finally improved to the point where the steel plate could be removed. Yet now, he faced this unprecedented crisis.
Previously, apart from exercise, he'd spend idle time with a city map and collected items, simulating warfare scenarios, envisioning various guerrilla ambush points, playing out these scenarios on his own. Never had he imagined that these things would actually come in handy one day.
How unpredictable life could be.
Tang Xuhai frowned, pondering over several strategic points in Cloud City.
He silently prayed that the situation wouldn't worsen.
Fu Shiwu drove the car to Dongtian Cinema. Following Tang Xuhai's instructions, he forcibly opened the dilapidated iron gate, driving the car to the cinema's side entrance.
"You can enter from the front, but it leads directly to the theater. It's good for air defense, but not against aliens. The entrance at the back is a smaller air-raid shelter, likely meant for storing wartime supplies, though it's uncertain what's inside," Tang Xuhai explained, slowly making his way to the side entrance.
"It's locked," Fu Shiwu observed the side door guarded by iron chains.
Glancing at the chained door, Tang Xuhai said, "Bring me my pack."
Fu Shiwu retrieved Tang Xuhai's backpack from the car. Sitting in the back, Wen Zhaoming asked, "What's happening?"
"The door's locked. We need to figure out how to open it," Fu Shiwu explained.
Approaching Tang Xuhai with the backpack, he retrieved what seemed like a folding spade from it.
The handle and spade were in a folded state. Between them, Fu Shiwu noticed a particularly intricate structure.
Tang Xuhai grasped the spade-like tool, clamping the iron chain with the pliers in the middle of it, instantly snapping the chain.
Fu Shiwu was astonished.
Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Tang Xuhai finally felt better after a long while. He raised his hand triumphantly. "It's a military-grade multifunctional shovel."
The door opened. With Tang Xuhai's seemingly unstable leg, Fu Shiwu forbade him from carrying heavy objects. He made several trips to fetch water and brought down Wen Zhaoming's electric wheelchair.
Fu Shiwu positioned the off-road vehicle as a barricade in front of the side door, and then the three entered, securing the door from the inside.
From his backpack, Tang Xuhai retrieved a flashlight to illuminate and search for a power source. Finally reining in his feelings of inferiority, Fu Shiwu glanced at what others had prepared compared to what he had brought along.
As the light flickered on, the illumination here consisted of lone light bulbs, starkly contrasting with the contemporary indoor lighting, appearing exceptionally monotonous.
The air-raid shelter comprised two downward sloping passages leading to a small room at the end. Despite its limited area, it covered about eighty to ninety square meters.
But here was the catch. This place, which should have stored wartime supplies, had been neglected due to prolonged peace. There were hardly any reserves left. Cloud City had long constructed more scientifically designed new air-defense facilities, abandoning and leaving this air-raid shelter idle instead of demolishing it.
"The air's quite good," Fu Shiwu felt the chilling air of the air-raid shelter, taking a deep breath. Though it felt a bit damp, the air was surprisingly fresh.
"Of course, ventilation in the air-raid shelter is a necessary design," Tang Xuhai leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
Fu Shiwu sensed something amiss as he approached. He realized that Tang Xuhai was drenched in sweat.
"Tang Xuhai! What's wrong with you?" Fu Shiwu rushed to support him, noticing his body temperature was high. "Are you running a fever?!"
Controlling the electric wheelchair, Wen Zhaoming slid to their side. He bent down and pulled up Tang Xuhai's pants, stunned to see a high, swollen bulge between his right calf and ankle.
"Isn't this just a sprain?!" Fu Shiwu couldn't help but angrily remark.
"It's nothing." Tang Xuhai felt his exhaled breath turn scorching, weakly raising his hand. "My bones haven't fully healed. The steel plate only serves as a support. Overexertion causes swelling and inflammation. It's normal."