"Surprised?"
"I was taken aback when I first arrived too."
"I never expected to have the chance to play basketball in the apocalypse."
Fang Hongtao expressed his sentiments.
"Shall we give it a try now?"
Liang Liyang felt a surge of excitement and couldn't help but want to experience it immediately.
Whether isolated in the Honeycomb Cell or living in the standard dormitory of the Jingyuan Shelter, his daily activity space had been quite limited.
It had been a long time since he had felt the joy of running.
The two of them left the dormitory building.
Downstairs was a narrow street, roughly the same size as the alleys in the old city before the apocalypse.
Yet, on this small street, there were actually rows of saplings planted on both sides.
He had rushed in earlier and hadn't had time to take a closer look.
Now that he was outside, Liang Liyang couldn't help but slow his pace and observe more carefully.
These were saplings with oval green leaves, standing just over half a meter tall.
Next to them was a metal pole with a supplemental light, specifically used to provide them with extra illumination.
"These are rubber trees."
"It's said that due to a certain need for a large amount of rubber, they've planted these saplings everywhere they could."
"It's also a bit of a benefit for us ordinary people."
Noticing Liang Liyang's gaze, Fang Hongtao casually took on the role of a commentator.
The presence of these rubber trees indeed brought some benefits to ordinary people.
For instance, the standard dormitory in the Jingyuan Shelter where Liang Liyang had previously stayed.
The streets there had no rubber trees planted, making them even narrower than here.
Basically, the passage between the dormitories was not much different.
Moreover, the rubber trees themselves were a rare sight for ordinary people who spent all day in the cramped underground shelters.
The lush green leaves, infused with the breath of nature, were enough to ease the tense and oppressive spirit just by looking at them.
"Beautiful."
Liang Liyang couldn't help but sigh.
He had spent nearly half a year in the cold concrete buildings of the shelter.
This was the first time he had witnessed fresh leaves up close.
The visual impact of that vibrant green hue made it hard for him to tear his gaze away.
But then he remembered that there were still others around, and there would be plenty of time to admire them later.
Liang Liyang forced himself to continue walking.
After walking about a hundred meters, the two turned a corner.
Liang Liyang discovered a three-meter-high stone monument.
It stood alone at the boundary between the residential area and the activity area of the dormitory.
It was engraved with dense inscriptions.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was mostly names.
"What is this?"
"A memorial."
He turned his questioning gaze to Fang Hongtao.
He was not disappointed; Fang Hongtao indeed knew about it.
"The names on this are all the original residents of this shelter."
"They all died in the previous virus outbreak."
"Not a single one survived."
"This stone monument serves as a tombstone to commemorate these people."
As Fang Hongtao spoke about this, his expression couldn't help but show a hint of sorrow.
These people were just ordinary folks like him, but their luck had run out; the shelter they were in had been hit by the Rola virus a few hours earlier.
The result was that all of them perished.
Fang Hongtao, who had been infected with the Rola virus a few hours later, was fortunate enough to receive rescue from Shishi Village.
Now he could stand here as a healthy person, paying tribute to them.
"So, that means..."
"Everyone in the shelter now are outsiders who moved in later."
Liang Liyang suddenly understood, but then felt an inexplicable chill.
He felt as if he were standing in a graveyard, or more accurately, in a tomb.
"Of course."
"It's said that the first batch of people who moved in were quite scared for a while."
"After all, there were only a few dozen of them at that time, facing such a vast empty shelter."
"Even though the bodies had been cleaned up by robots beforehand, it still felt quite eerie."
Fang Hongtao shrugged and shared a bit of gossip.
"Fortunately, we didn't come too early."
Liang Liyang felt a bit relieved upon hearing this.
Not to mention knowing that people had died here beforehand.
Even if he were completely unaware, just stepping into an empty, desolate area would require a fair amount of courage.
The absence of people itself was a representation of terror.
After lingering in front of the monument for a while, they finally made their way to the basketball court, where a game was nearing its end.
After signing up through their phones, it didn't take long for Liang Liyang and Fang Hongtao to receive a notification that they had been successfully matched.
They were allowed to enter the changing room to put on their jerseys and would take the court in 15 minutes.
Following the AI's instructions, Liang Liyang changed into a white jersey with the number 12 and arrived at the waiting area at the edge of the court.
There, he met his teammates.
In addition to Fang Hongtao, there were three unfamiliar young men.
There was even a dedicated coach waiting for them, explaining the rules and assigning positions.
During the conversation, Liang Liyang glanced at the court.
He noticed that besides the two teams currently playing, there was even a professional referee present.
Even more astonishing, there were scattered spectators around the court.
"This is way too formal."
Realizing that the basketball game he was about to play was quite different from the casual fun he had imagined, Liang Liyang suddenly felt a bit nervous.
But he also felt a surge of anticipation and excitement.
It seemed that life in such a shelter wouldn't be too bad.
On the surface,
Jianghe City, eastern ruins of the city.
In a deep water area formed by the confluence of floods.
Su Wu stood in the captain's cabin of a massive cruise ship (as a flagship).
He gazed at the holographic projection before him.
The projection vividly displayed the indoor basketball court where Liang Liyang was, along with some surrounding streets.
Every expression of every person, every conversation.
As long as Su Wu wished, he could understand it all clearly.
It was as if he had opened a god's perspective.
This was a new tool Su Wu obtained by enhancing a small gadget made by Chen Yue, a wristband that integrated a projector function, using 3 survival points.
Unlike traditional projectors that could only project onto flat screens, the enhanced holographic projector could create a three-dimensional holographic scene.
It displayed all the details of the projected objects in a more detailed and intuitive manner.
This device was more convenient than a three-dimensional map on a screen.
When used for maintenance and combat command, it was truly a game-changing artifact.
To outsiders who were unaware, it looked like a representation of future technology.
And its cost?
It was merely 3 survival points.
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