Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Land of an Old Friend

The intake ports of the two farm robots opened and closed like gaping maws. Just as they were about to enter the building, the alloy door slammed shut, locking them outside.

One farm robot crashed into the alloy door with a BANG. Its red and green lights flickered nonstop, as if it had been knocked stupid.

"Mi-brand Farm Robot, the rancher’s best helper."

The advertising slogan came from a damaged loudspeaker. Their treads began to turn again, and the Nocturne soundtrack started playing once more. The two farm robots turned and headed for the jungle, off to find new targets.

The two heavy machine guns on the roof of the building swiveled back along their rusty tracks, returning to their original positions.

Inside, Shen Feng and Firefly stood panting, surveying the room’s furnishings.

Living room, dining table, bedroom, bathroom.

It seemed to be an ordinary farm building that had been converted into a Shelter.

The building’s control system was of excellent quality. The Solar power supply system was still able to maintain forty percent of its capacity.

Moreover, a few lights inside were still undamaged, keeping the building’s interior reasonably bright.

Thick lead plates were fixed to the windows and walls to prevent outside radiation from getting in.

However, the floor and surrounding furniture were all covered in a thick layer of dust. It was clear no one had lived here for a long time.

Some grass had even started to grow from the floor.

Shen Feng glanced around, looked at Firefly, and took an oversized T-shirt from his backpack, handing it to her.

"Put this on first."

Firefly obediently pulled the T-shirt on, then asked Shen Feng with a curious look on her face:

"Shen Feng, where are we? Is this Peach Blossom Spring? Why aren’t there any Peach Blossom People?"

Shen Feng’s semi-silicon brain was still connected to the building’s damaged control system. He examined it for a moment and found that the system’s database was severely corrupted, with basically no usable information left.

After much practice, he could now skillfully control the operation of his semi-silicon brain, even using his own will to override the broken control system’s programming.

He took a few steps forward to a section of the floor, stomped on it, and said:

"The Peach Blossom People... perhaps they’re in here."

As soon as he finished speaking, a CREAK echoed as the floor suddenly opened, revealing an entrance to a basement.

A musty smell wafted out. Shen Feng waved his hand, casually ripped a piece of wood from a nearby object, lit it, and tossed it inside.

After a moment, the wood was still burning. Realizing there wasn’t much toxic gas inside, the two put on their masks again and descended the iron ladder.

Shen Feng sent a command to the lighting system. The only two remaining bulbs below suddenly lit up. One of them immediately shattered, but thankfully, one was left.

The dim light revealed the basement’s interior to them.

This seemed to be the Shelter’s real living area.

The basement was quite large, over a hundred square meters. Besides some daily necessities, it was filled with various workbenches and tools.

Posters and prints hung on the surrounding walls.

There was even a tea set.

After using his system access to confirm there were no defense mechanisms, Shen Feng walked over to a workbench cluttered with a vise, screwdrivers, motors, and other items.

A quick look around revealed that this seemed to be a place for modifying farm robots.

There was even a farm robot’s core component on the workbench.

So, the farm robots outside weren’t hunting humans and Barbarians because of a programming malfunction. They had been modified to act as defense bots.

Or perhaps to hunt for food.

He had to admit, the person who modified these farm robots was a master of mechanics.

There were also a few blueprints on the table, but they were too old. The basement was damp, and they turned to mush at the slightest touch.

This was Firefly’s first time seeing a real pre-war settlement, and her eyes were full of excitement. She looked around at everything, carefully picking up tools and then putting them back down.

Her gaze was filled with longing. This was the first time in her life she had ever been to one of the legendary settlements, the Peach Blossom Spring that all wastelanders dreamed of!

Even if it was just an abandoned settlement, an empty Peach Blossom Spring, she was still mesmerized.

’Everything from the old world, even a piece of trash, is so wonderful!’

’Oh, and those pictures on the wall with the divine script!’

’Those beautiful men and women... The clothes they’re wearing are so gorgeous, and their smiles are so confident and bright.’

’Compared to wastelanders, their eyes are as pure as a lake!’

Firefly moved closer to a few posters to examine them, wanting to touch them but afraid she might cause damage.

The poster in front of her depicted a powerful, short-haired man holding a rifle. His face was resolute, and behind him were several tanks. He looked like an old-world hero.

Another poster showed a group of people of all kinds in strange and varied costumes. In the front was a man in red armor, his eyes, chest, and hands all glowing.

The content of the other pictures was just as perplexing and spectacular.

Shen Feng, however, looked rather unsettled.

He stood before the posters, his mind reeling.

These posters were all somehow familiar, yet strange.

The first was a poster for *Wolf Warrior 3*, the second, for *Avengers: Endgame*.

There were others, too, even *Three-Body 3*, *Wandering Earth 3*, *Spider-Man 6*, and more.

’What is this place?’

’Could this world be the same as the one I came from?’

’Only... its timeline is in the future?’

Firefly, however, had no idea what Shen Feng was thinking and continued walking deeper into the room.

Just then, she suddenly let out a cry of alarm.

Shen Feng quickly rushed to her side. Following her gaze, he immediately saw a worn-out sofa.

On the sofa was a skeleton, dressed in black pajamas and covered in cobwebs.

The skeleton was still holding a book in its hand.

Shen Feng instantly understood. This must have been the last master of this Shelter.

He just didn’t know how long ago the person had died.

Judging by the skeleton’s appearance, he seemed to have been a middle-aged man when he died, not of natural old age.

The book might contain a record of what he had experienced.

It was ironic. After humanity entered the great information age, the vast majority of data was etched onto media like optical discs and hard drives.

But after the cataclysm, data on those media could only be preserved for twenty to thirty years at most.

In contrast, paper, which had been slowly abandoned, could last for hundreds or even thousands of years. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Of course, stone carvings lasted even longer...

Shen Feng carefully slid the hardcover book from the skeleton’s grasp and gently opened it. He found that although the paper had yellowed and become brittle, it hadn’t completely disintegrated thanks to the cover’s protection.

He couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. He flipped through the book and, as expected, it was a journal.

Just then, a faded, yellowed photograph fell out from between the pages.

Shen Feng picked up the photo and glanced at it. He felt as if his brain had been struck by lightning.

In the photo, two bright-faced boys in school uniforms stood together. It was him and Ji Xin!