Chapter 416: The Three Major Areas of the Central Base

Chapter 416: Chapter 416: The Three Major Areas of the Central Base

Upon hearing Crystal Lynn’s words, Dexter Luther simply grinned.

Instead of letting go, he tightened his arm gently around her waist and whispered in her ear.

"We’re a couple now, what’s there to be shy about? I want everyone to see what an incredible Beast Master I, Dexter Luther, have for a girlfriend!"

Crystal Lynn’s face instantly turned as red as a ripe apple. She gave him a gentle swat but didn’t try to pull away again.

In the apocalypse, finding someone to rely on, someone who would treat you with genuine sincerity, was an immense stroke of luck.

Crystal Lynn might have initially been looking for protection.

But along the way, Dexter Luther’s attentiveness, his sense of responsibility, and the care he showed for her and her sister had long since led her to accept him with all her heart.

And Crystal Lynn’s own abilities as a Player and Beast Master had also earned Dexter Luther’s respect.

Their relationship, born of practicality, had slowly blossomed into something genuine through shared hardship.

Elsewhere, Matthew Dawson, still a bachelor, rolled his eyes helplessly at the couple’s flagrant public display of affection.

He muttered, "The well-fed never know the hungry man’s plight... *Sigh*. When will my own spring ever come?"

His muttering drew quiet chuckles from a few of their friends nearby.

Forrest Sterling was among them.

Seraphina Sullivan watched the scene with a smile.

When it came to matters of the heart, she was inexperienced and didn’t have much to say.

It felt natural that Dexter Luther and Crystal Lynn had ended up together, as if it were meant to be.

It was also a matter of seeking mutual comfort and support, a process catalyzed by the apocalyptic environment.

She was happy for them and wished them the best from the bottom of her heart.

After all, more stable bonds and warmth within the team would only strengthen their overall cohesion.

Seraphina’s gaze soon shifted from the heartwarming little interlude.

She looked toward the front where the column had halted, and beyond it, to the solemn and massive shadow in the distance.

The Central Base.

Flora Sullivan, riding on the back of her majestic Four Seasons Deer Alpha, tilted her small face up toward the sky.

She pointed and said nervously to Seraphina.

"Boss, look! In the sky! There are so many... so many things flying around that look like eyes!"

At her words, Seraphina immediately looked up.

There, under the lead-gray canopy of the sky, in the airspace near the Central Base, countless metallic constructs were indeed hovering and flying about.

They varied in size and were not uniform in shape; some resembled flat multi-rotor drones, others looked like agile, shuttle-shaped probes, and still others were of complex, indescribable structures.

Their bodies all had a cold, metallic sheen, and a faint light seemed to flow across their surfaces. Their flight paths were orderly, like a massive Bee Swarm, yet they possessed a precision and sci-fi feel that far surpassed current civilian technology.

Silently, they wove a three-dimensional network of surveillance and security.

’These aren’t ordinary drones...’ Seraphina narrowed her eyes, using her Analysis Glasses’ Item Identification.

They were all reconnaissance drones, but she could feel the Energy fluctuations and potential threat they contained.

’Looks like the Central Base is full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. The waters here run deep.’

To be able to mass-produce and control reconnaissance and security units on this scale and at this technological level meant the Central Base not only possessed powerful industrial and technological recovery capabilities, but had also likely integrated, absorbed, and even surpassed some of the advanced tech from the Disaster Game.

The survivor organization here was likely a far cry from the loose structure of the Vorlag Safe Zone.

Just as the migrating column stopped to observe, and the "Bee Swarm" in the sky seemed to focus more of its "attention" on them, a new development occurred up ahead.

The Central Base’s massive, heavy gate—cast from a mixture of new composite materials and steel—slowly slid open with a low, mechanical rumble, revealing a gap.

A squad of well-equipped soldiers in uniform protective suits marched out in perfect formation, followed by several off-road vehicles bearing the Central Base’s insignia and a number of people who appeared to be administrative or technical staff.

The intake process had evidently begun.

The survivors from the Vorlag Safe Zone, filled with apprehension, hope, and a barely perceptible sense of awe, waited to enter what was the last and largest fortress in this apocalypse.

The scale of the Central Base was completely different from the "turtle shell" type of stronghold like the Vorlag Safe Zone, which was merely a reinforced complex of existing buildings.

It was more like a comprehensive survival fortress in the truest sense, tailor-made for the apocalyptic era.

It was breathtakingly vast.

The first thing that came into view was a gigantic composite Wall, over fifty meters high, that snaked and soared like the spine of the earth, glinting with the cold light of metal and composite materials.

On top of the Wall, dense clusters of automated defense weapon platforms and watchtowers were visible.

But this was only the beginning of the ground-level section.

What truly stunned Seraphina and the other newcomers was the base’s clearly demarcated, three-dimensional structure, divided into three major zones: subterranean, surface, and aerial.

Yes, in the sky!

Above the base’s core area, at an altitude of several hundred meters, floated a number of aerial platforms or cities of varying sizes and shapes, seemingly defying the laws of gravity.

Some were disc-shaped, with ring-like thrusters on their edges emitting a faint blue glow.

Others resembled inverted mountains, their undersides covered with complex pipes and observation windows.

The largest one even looked like a miniature city of steel, with layered structures, faint outlines of buildings visible within, and small vehicles zipping back and forth.

These Sky Fortresses were connected to the main ground base by thick columns of energy or physical high-strength composite cables, forming a three-dimensional defense and living space straight out of science fiction.

"Holy cow... A base in the sky?!"

Dexter Luther craned his neck, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg, completely stunned by the unimaginable sight.

"This Central Base is too... too sci-fi!

It’s like something out of a movie!

Hey, Crystal Lynn, look! Life here has got to be countless times better than back in Vorlag!"

Crystal Lynn was also too stunned to speak.

She just gripped Dexter Luther’s arm tightly and nodded emphatically, her eyes filled with hope for the future.

"Definitely... From now on, here, we’ll absolutely... we’ll have a better, safer life."

Seraphina’s gaze swept over the three distinct zones as she quickly made a mental assessment.

’The subterranean zone is undoubtedly the safest. It’s the "bomb shelter," likely housing the bulk of the population and the core industrial areas.’

’The surface zone is the main hub for activity, production, defense, and transportation.’

’And the city in the sky... That’s obviously where the elite, key institutions, or special forces are located. It’s a symbol of status and advanced power.’

It was currently a brief lull in the apocalypse, and migratory groups from safe zones across the land were converging and arriving one after another.

The reception area on the outskirts of the Central Base was bustling with a cacophony of voices. People with different accents and in varied attire gathered together, a mix of relief at having reached their destination and uncertainty about the unknown future.

A clear, authoritative voice broadcast instructions on a loop from giant loudspeakers:

"...Attention all survivors newly arrived at the Central Base!

Please follow the signs and proceed in an orderly fashion into the designated channels to undergo preliminary quarantine and registration!"

"...I repeat, the primary settlement area is the Super-Dungeon sector!

Do not linger on the surface for extended periods or attempt to proceed to the fortified Sky City without authorization!"

"...Please maintain order and cooperate with the staff’s arrangements.

The Central Base will guarantee the basic survival rights of every law-abiding citizen..."

The voice was loud and left no room for doubt.