Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe each took a room card. Their rooms were located on the third floor, right next to each other.

Fu Tianhe didn't even look at his own door, but followed Chen Ci into his room.

Alpha activated the terminal's infrared detection function and carefully checked every corner of the room to make sure there were no cameras or recorders.

The bathroom mirror, the toilet tank cover, the buckle of the bathroom curtain, the TV switch, the gap in the window frame, and under the lampshade.

Scan them all in detail.

Chen Ci put down his backpack and quickly explored the room with his mental power, completing the work that Fu Tianhe had to climb up and down to explore. No matter how small or hidden the electronic products were, they could not escape the perception of mental power.

Fu Tianhe even checked the vents of the central air conditioner on the top floor. After more than ten minutes, he finally confirmed that it was safe and said to Chen Ci, "This house is quite clean."

Chen Ci nodded, Fu Tianhe jumped off the chair, moved it back to its original place, and was about to go back to his room: "Call me anytime if you need anything."

"good."

The door was closed by Alpha. Chen Ci heard the sound of Fu Tianhe opening the door of the next room, then closing the door, footsteps, and the sound of him falling heavily on the bed.

The soundproofing of the hotel was not very good, and Fu Tianhe did not check his room.

Chen Ci went to wash his hands, then squatted by the door and packed his package.

He first took out an empty bag, then repacked the light luggage he would need for the trip, a bottle of food, some small tools, and other things he might need for camping, and that was about it.

The terminal vibrated, and Chen Ci took a look and saw that Shafley had transferred money to him again.

It is estimated that Shafley heard from Chen Nian that he was going on a trip.

But Shafley didn't know that his money would be used by Chen Ci to support another Alpha.

Since he had the money, Chen Ci took it. He was about to continue packing his things when he suddenly remembered something. He opened his social media app and sent a message to Jiang Dai:

[Already arrived at the CPU East Room]

Jiang Dai had probably been waiting, and quickly replied: [OK, be careful]

Chen Ci saw the concise message and vaguely understood something.

Jiang Dai replied so quickly, he must have been staring at the terminal, worrying and unable to do other things. Now that he is relieved, he can do other things.

Fu Tianhe asked him to keep in touch with more people. It should be for a similar reason, right?

Their whereabouts report is different from that of the White Tower.

Chen Ci quickly packed up his backpack. He tried shaking it and found the weight was just right.

He took two more sips of water, took the room card, went out, turned left, and knocked on Fu Tianhe's door.

Chen Ci heard the sound of someone scrambling to get up from inside, and Fu Tianhe rushed over and opened the door for him.

"I'm done packing." Chen Ci stood at the door and said, "I want to go out for a while."

"I'll get ready." Fu Tianhe immediately squatted down to pack his backpack. Chen Ci looked inside and saw that the bed was already full of wrinkles due to being rolled by the Alpha.

Fu Tianhe moved quickly, picked up his bag in a few minutes, and said, "Let's go."

The two took the room card, left the hotel, and headed towards the first stop of this trip, the "Abandoned Suburbs".

The first thing was to take a bus to the nearest station to the destination. There were only a few passengers on this bus, and it almost became a special bus for Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe.

As the name suggests, the suburbs is a place that has been abandoned long ago and has lost its last value for use. Of course, no one would go there on purpose, and only explorers would take this route.

The bus stopped at the station, leaving Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe in a desolate place. The beacon was in the shape of a tower, with a wider base. There was no overhead cover at the edge, so they were truly in the wilderness.

The wind blew in, carrying with it an unknown fishy smell; the sunlight fell on every corner, coating the gray world with a layer of golden light.

Fu Tianhe raised his hand to cover his forehead and looked up at the dazzling sun in the distant sky.

How long has it been since you last saw the sun? Maybe several months.

It should be rare to see the sky and real sunshine in September, right?

Fu Tianhe looked towards Chen Ci. The young man beside him was also looking into the distance, but his line of sight extended smoothly, as if he was more concerned about the ruins and was not surprised by the sunlight.

The Omega's face was shrouded in the shadow cast by the brim of his hat, causing his pupils to appear a darker brown, but his expression was still calm and peaceful.

For some reason, Fu Tianhe sensed an unspeakable longing in this posture.

The boy was accustomed to hiding his feelings.

"The weather is really nice." Fu Tianhe said, and he also took out his hat and put it on.

If the water level before the sea flood disaster is taken as the zero scale, then the cinnabar bottom layer on the Pamir Plateau is 2,750 meters high. Unlike the top layer, it is not protected by an invisible gel layer, and the strong ultraviolet rays here are enough to burn people.

If you spend a day in the sun without protection, your face will feel hot and painful.

Chen Ci hummed and took a step forward.

The two travelers from Information Processing Area 13 stepped over the curb and onto the suburban land.

It is not quite appropriate to call it land. Perhaps someone created soil here many years ago, but after it was abandoned, the soil layer has almost disappeared due to wind and sun, not to mention the large amount of gravel left after the weathering of the ruins.

As the two people walked deeper, the remains of buildings gradually increased. Many years ago, this place was attacked by primitive creatures. The fierce battle destroyed the buildings and streets, leaving only large areas of broken walls.

The suburbs were too close to the sea and could be attacked again at any time. To be on the safe side, no reconstruction was carried out in the area, and it was allowed to slowly wither and become the abandoned place it is today.

They walked between the collapsed buildings. Many plants had grown from the bomb craters that were barren in the past, climbing along the concrete, covering the gray with a layer of vibrant green.

The huge billboard is inserted diagonally into the ground, forming a natural shelter. Birds build nests in it, which just blocks the head of the person wearing the mental adapter, making it look like a bird's nest growing on its neck from a distance.

Next to it were written in large letters with explosion effects: Welcome to the Metaverse Era!

Chen Ci stopped beside the billboard, and Fu Tianhe thought the scene was wonderful, so he raised his phone and took a photo.

The emergence of neural adapters has indeed opened a new era. For most people, the virtual world is much better than the real world. They work hard and save money in reality, and use the money they save to buy houses and decorations simulated by data information, so that they can live a better life in the virtual world.

People like Chen Ci and Fu Tianhe who never touch adapters are absolute outliers.

The black and white bird flapped its wings and flew towards the nest, bringing food to feed the hungry chicks. Chen Ci watched for a while and then started walking again.

The further we went out, the closer we got to the coast. There were more ruins, bomb craters and dense vegetation everywhere, and the pace of progress became slower.

"Let's take a break." Fu Tianhe looked at the time. It was already twelve o'clock noon. "It will be very sunny from now on. It won't be better until around three o'clock. Let's find a place to sit for a while and then set off."

Chen Ci: "Okay."

There happened to be a building next to it, which was bombed to the point where only two stories were left. The missing corner of the interior was enough to block out the sunlight.

Chen Ci was the first to walk in through the gap in the weeds. There were some office supplies inside. The legs of the table had been submerged by vegetation and white flowers had bloomed.

The potted plants on the windowsill have withered; years of wind and rain have broken a corner of the pot.

The railings of the stairs leading to the second floor were heavily corroded, but still retained their overall shape. Chen Ci tried to walk up a few steps and looked out.

There are some breaks around the corners, but if you want to get up, you should be able to.

"September." Fu Tianhe called him, Chen Ci turned around and saw Alpha standing in front of the table.

He walked to the side. The lock of the desk had long been rusted off. Fu Tianhe opened the drawer casually and found a gun inside.

Fu Tianhe looked at Chen Ci, wanting to ask for his opinion, but saw that the Omega had a calm expression and simply reached out his hand and picked up the gun.

This time the person who was surprised became Fu Tianhe.

Chen Ci skillfully disassembled the gun, made sure all the parts were in working order, and then reassembled it.

He raised his hand, pointed the muzzle of the gun at the window with the glass missing, and pulled the trigger.

Click.

The sound of an empty switch echoed clearly in the empty room.

Chen Ci handed the gun to Fu Tianhe, with the muzzle of the gun pointed sideways as usual to prevent accidental discharge, and said to Alpha, "Let's play."

Fu Tianhe was so shocked that he was speechless.

He originally wanted to find something new for September. After all, guns were not something that could be touched casually, especially since September was an Omega.

But how come in the end September checked it and left the gun for him to play with? !

Fu Tianhe took the gun with mixed feelings. He lowered his head to study it, so he didn't see Chen Ci put his clenched left hand into his pocket, and two bullets slipped from his palm.

Chen Ci returned to the stairs, holding the rusty railing with one hand, and walked up gradually.

Fu Tianhe noticed his movements, put the gun on the table, and quickly approached the stairs: "Be careful, it will collapse!"

Chen Ci still raised his head, a wider area reflected in his amber pupils. The sunlight slanted in from the second-floor windows, and the dust danced silently in the bright light beams.

The entire staircase was broken in front, and the narrow distance became a natural chasm. The twisted steel bars were exposed, but no one dared to underestimate its sharpness.

"September?" Fu Tianhe called him again.

Chen Ci stood at the last break in the stairs and glanced down at Fu Tianhe.

Then he raised his hands, jumped straight up, and grabbed the second floor floor with both hands accurately.

"September?!" Fu Tianhe's voice changed in tone with shock. He quickly stepped onto the stairs, but in just a moment, the young man had already pulled up his body with his arm strength and climbed up.

Fu Tianhe could only watch Chen Ci retract his foot.

Chen Ci was not in a hurry. He first tried to expand the contact area of ​​his body as much as possible, reduce the pressure, and lie on the floor.

The floor at the edges was already very brittle, with cracks spreading with creaking sounds and gravel falling continuously.

Fu Tianhe's heart was in his throat. At this moment, he had no time to care that the fabric of Chen Ci's pants was tightly tied, showing the lines of his hips and legs clearly.

He didn't even dare to breathe, for fear that the sound waves would cause a collapse.

Half a minute later, everything quieted down.

Chen Ci crawled forward two steps using all four limbs and slowly stood up.

"I'm fine." His voice was still calm, coming from above.

Fu Tianhe was sweating all over. He stood where Chen Ci had just been, ready to catch the boy if he was in danger.

Just because Chen Ci could go up doesn't mean he can go up too. Judging from the cracks, the second floor may not be able to bear the weight of another person.

"Be careful." Fu Tianhe reminded.

Chen Ci nodded and walked slowly, exploring the entire second floor.

Chen Ci came up despite the danger of collapse, not just out of curiosity. His mental power had already scanned the entire area before the two of them stepped into the building.

He walked around the crooked partition and slowly pushed open the broken wheelchair. There were large patches of black on the ground, which were traces of coagulated blood that had formed over the years.

Maybe there are some other substances mixed in.

The load-bearing wall in the middle had collapsed. Chen Ci walked along the wall and found a gap where the door should be.

He leaned in carefully, raised his head, and finally saw what he was looking for.

The corpse of a giant, long-dead jellyfish.

In other words, it is the mechanical body it left behind.

A 20-meter-long jellyfish lay horizontally on the ground, with the umbrella on its head touching the inner wall and its long tentacles spread out in the limited space.

As a creature whose body is 97% water, the jellyfish's flesh has long disappeared, but the mechanical parts formed by countless metals on its surface will not disappear with time. Like ancient armor, they outline the appearance of this huge primitive creature.