"Let's go. Lin Xue said there are no zombies nearby, so let's check inside."
Lu Heng looked at the dried bloodstains on the ground, pulled Lin Xue to his side, and walked into the tunnel.
Before leaving, he used his earth element ability to seal the hole he had just dug. He found that there was air inside, but the smell was not pleasant, emitting a faint stench.
Lu Heng and the others walked deeper into the tunnel. After turning a corner, they didn't find anything special. However, there was a convex mirror hanging on the wall at the bend, which was likely installed by the people here to see the situation around the bend.
The entire tunnel was very wide, capable of accommodating two cars driving side by side. At intervals, there were also alcoves dug out, presumably for people walking in the tunnel to take shelter from vehicles.
This kind of construction was common in pre-apocalypse subway or road tunnels, but Lu Heng had only caught glimpses of it from inside a car before.
Now, walking in the tunnel, he could see the complete tunnel structure up close.
"This tunnel is quite long. Should we drive?" Lin Yu asked, looking at the smooth road surface inside the tunnel.
"Alright, drive carefully."
Lin Yu took out an off-road vehicle from his storage ring and got into the car with Lu Heng and the others.
The road continued to slope downwards. Lin Yu kept an eye on the situation ahead while slowly letting the car glide through the tunnel.
After driving for about ten minutes, they gradually saw the end ahead, with another massive steel gate standing not far away.
However, scattered around the gate were many human skeletons. Lu Heng and Lin Yu exchanged a look, said nothing, and got out of the car, walking towards the gate.
Lin Xue had been following closely beside Lu Heng and the others. As they approached the gate, it suddenly raised its finger towards the gate and communicated with Lu Heng telepathically, "Master, there are zombies inside, but not many."
"Brother Lu, what's wrong with it?" Lin Yu, who was about to examine the skeletons, suddenly noticed Lin Xue's actions and asked, not understanding.
"It says there are zombies behind the gate, but not many," Lu Heng said, holding a branch in his hand as he poked at the bones on the ground.
After rummaging for a while, he found no un-decayed flesh. It was likely that they had died around the time the apocalypse broke out.
The temperature in the tunnel was not high, which would slow down the decay of these bodies.
"There's a bullet hole on this skull. Oh, and this arm is also broken..." Lin Yu, like Lu Heng, had found an iron rod and was poking at the skeletal remains.
"Yes, it seems they were attacked by zombies, and then killed by their own people before they could turn, or perhaps they committed suicide."
Thinking of this, Lu Heng recalled his previous life, where he had also committed suicide after being bitten by a zombie.
"Sigh~~~"
"What's wrong, Brother Lu?" Lin Yu was examining the cause of death of each person when he heard Lu Heng sigh.
"It's nothing, just remembering some unpleasant things."
Dropping the branch in his hand, Lu Heng began to examine the gate in front of him. It seemed they would have to force their way through this time.
After a check, he saw no lock mechanism for the gate. Lu Heng blew away the accumulated bones at the entrance with a gust of wind, then placed his hands against the door.
Gradually, the fire element ability within him was released, and the metal beneath his palms began to turn red.
"Ha!" he grunted, staring at the gate and channeling more energy, pushing his fire element ability to its maximum.
The metal beneath his palms began to melt, and the molten liquid flowed rapidly down the gate towards the ground.
In a short while, a hole about half a meter square appeared in the gate.
"Roar, hiss hiss hiss!"
Sharp sounds came from inside the gate, likely the zombies inside smelling human scent through the opening.
Lu Heng took a step back and said to Lin Xue beside him, "Make them all quiet and stand far away from the gate."
Lin Xue nodded, and then let out even sharper and higher pitched calls from her mouth.
The inside instantly quieted down, though some zombies still made intermittent noises subconsciously.
Lu Heng approached the metal gate again, holding a long sword, and then released a fierce burst of flames towards the gate with one hand.
After a few minutes, a doorway large enough for two people to pass through smoothly appeared in the gate.
Lu Heng withdrew his flames and then released his ice element ability, rapidly cooling the melted areas of the metal gate.
After doing this, he created a door woven from vines at the opening, blocking the gap.
"Let's go in and take a look."
Having grown accustomed to the stench, Lu Heng grabbed Lin Xue's hand and was the first to pass through the opening.
As Lu Heng and the others approached, the vines parted slightly, creating an opening for one person to pass, allowing the three of them to go through one by one.
After they passed, the vines behind them covered the opening again.
Lu Heng and the others were now stepping on a ground covered with vines. Lu Heng was worried that there might be some special circumstances inside.
When he was creating the door, vines had already begun to explore and lay the ground inside. By stepping on the vines he had created, he could prevent any abnormalities underfoot.
However, the internal circuitry might not be controlled by the same switch as the outside. Standing in the darkness, Lu Heng had to take out more searchlights and place them on the ground, with the vines positioning a searchlight every few meters.
After placing over a dozen searchlights, Lu Heng controlled the plants to turn on all the searchlight switches simultaneously. Instantly, centered on Lu Heng, the beams of the searchlights shone towards the other side.
The concentrated zombies on the opposite side were instantly exposed under the searchlights. Although they couldn't see, they felt the temperature change brought by the lights, and they began to stir restlessly.
Lin Xue, standing on this side, felt the zombies' unease and let out a few more roars at them, controlling the zombies on the other side to quiet down again.
Lin Yu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he looked at the zombie horde on the opposite side. Lu Heng had just said there weren't many zombies in here, but he saw at least several hundred.
He then turned to look at Lin Xue beside him, wanting to ask what her concept of "not many" was.
Lu Heng only glanced at the zombie horde on the opposite side before shifting his gaze to the surrounding environment.
The place they were in was an artificially excavated area, about the size of a large football field.
The lower parts of the visible walls were concrete, about ten meters high, and above that were irregular rocks, likely the natural mountain structure.
Inside, there were many man-made warehouses, resembling indoor hangars.
In some places, human dwellings could be faintly seen, presumably where the soldiers stationed here lived.
"Are all the zombies here?" Lu Heng withdrew his gaze and asked the zombies in front of him.
"Master, they are all here."
As soon as Lin Xue finished speaking, Lu Heng controlled the surrounding vines to quickly attack the zombies. Instantly, the sharp thorns at the tips of the vines pierced the zombies' heads, and their crystals were precisely extracted from the back of their skulls.
Looking at the collected zombie crystals, Lu Heng waved his hand and recalled them into his spatial dimension. Lin Xue was also recalled into the spatial dimension with them.
Since there was no longer any zombie threat here, Lin Xue had no use staying outside. It was more convenient to keep her in her own room within the spatial dimension.