Apocalypse Cockroach

When they reached the entrance to the garage, the huge dump truck was parked outside. They then tore off the oil sheet covering the goods, revealing the neatly stacked items. This time, Zhang Xiao Qiang did not slack off, joining them in the moving. When Yang Ke’er saw Zhang Xiao Qiang doing his share honestly, she proceeded as well without complaint. They had good chemistry amongst them, as the goods on the dump truck were slowly reducing in number, as the goods by the roadside increased.

At the end, Yang Ke’er managed to move the bulky drilling machine with the help of some ropes. Seeing it, Zhang Xiao Qiang remembered about drilling a well into the secret base. He told Yuan Yi and Su Qian to use the Hummer to move the goods to the garden, while he and Yang Ke’er moved the machine underground.

With the sound of the generator roaring to life, light illuminated the underground base. Zhang Xiao Qiang placed the drill at the corner of the area and hooked it up to the generator. Soon, the machine began to drill up dark, black soil. He told Yang Ke’er to head out to help, while he stayed behind to take a puff on his cigarettes, as well as a short break.

He assessed the empty area and calculated a number of resources that could fit in. He had to consider a few beds, as well as fuel. Fuel wouldn’t be too hard, as the garage nearby was full of it. Suddenly, he felt his feet drenched.

The well had been excavated before, but it was sealed previously. Looking at the half-meter level of water, he realized he hadn’t needed the machine. He could have just used a shovel to reveal the well. However, there was no time for him to be frustrated. He walked towards the drill machine dejectedly.

“Shit shit shit..” He hopped about in the water, with a few stacks of CDs near his feet. Unfortunately, he landed on one of the stacks and lost his balance, his entire body slamming into the concrete wall.

“Tong...” With a loud thud, he felt his head on fire, and a bump soon appeared above. He hugged his head in pain and stood up to send a kick at the wall in anger. “Tong...” This time, he realized the sound was peculiar. He pulled out his military knife and used it to knock on the cement wall. “Thud thud thud...” He continued to knock at the surrounding area, the sound was normal.

An empty space? He looked at the wall, noting that there was no difference from the other walls. They were all similarly wet, with the same color, and there was no special engraving anywhere. Seeing this, he lost his interest. A natural hole in the wall would not have any special things. What heaven-defying treasure, or some peerless martial art, that would be even more ridiculous and full of bullshit. He turned around and walked out.

Like this, one man and 3 women slowly transported the goods into the base like ants. At first, Zhang Xiao Qiang didn’t pay special attention, until he saw one huge bag filled with all sorts of children’s clothing, as well as diapers and milk bottles. Zhang Xiao Qiang pulled Yang Ke’er aside to ask.

“What... you said it yourself, we’ll have plenty of babies in the future, that’s why we have to prepare more of these!”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiao Qiang almost felt like banging his head on the wall to kill himself. He had really dug the hole for himself this time. After lunch, they continued to move, until it was about 3 plus in the afternoon before everything was transported.

Seeing the empty space being filled with all sorts of resources and seeds, Zhang Xiao Qiang felt a huge sense of satisfaction. He didn’t even feel upset at the moist air in the underground place.

Zhang Xiao Qiang took a whiff of the moist air and thought of a problem. “Pa!” He gave himself a tight slap and looked at the resources on the ground. He wanted to cry although there were no tears. With such an environment, even the seeds would go bad, and there would be mold all over the goods. What do they do?

As he eyed them sitting and resting, he knew that if he were to get them to move it again, Yuan Yi and Su Qian might not say much, but Yang Ke’er would definitely flip. He would be scolded so badly, so why should he seek that torture upon himself? What for?

He became anxious and started to pace about. The sounds of his footsteps reverbed around the cave. His anxious manner was seen by Yuan Yi and she came over to him, her eyes full of concern. Zhang Xiao Qiang looked at her peaceful gaze and managed to calm down, shaking his head to show that he was fine, and he continued to rack his brains.

“Peng...Peng...Hua la...” Yang Ke’er used a huge hammer and smashed apart the stone wall. Seeing the hole, she looked at him and said: “What if there’re really treasures here?”

He was holding his phone and preparing to enter. Hearing those words, his face became feverish and mumbled: “Maybe...There should be...I think it’s possible...I guess?” After that, he ignored her and dove straight into the hole.

Seeing him enter first, she shrugged and took out her phone and followed right behind him. Yuan Yi then took up her blade and shield, following behind, while Su Qian stayed outside as a precaution.

Behind the stone wall, there was a natural corridor, and it began to slowly wind downwards. The surface was uneven, and the walls on either side were dry. As they followed the corridor, after about 200m or 300m, it began to widen into a small cave. Thick stalactite and stalagmite lined along the top of the cave extending down, reaching barely ten centimeters from the ground. As they touched the icy formations, there was a biting cold, but the place was extremely dry.

The light from their handphones flashed about, revealing the different stalactite and stalagmite, forming even denser as they proceeded deeper into the cave. The shapes and colors also differed, with white-jade like ones, yellow agate-like ones. There were some that looked like floating clouds, or birds, and some that even seem like roaring dragons.

They ventured further deeper into the cave.

As they bypassed yet another group of formations, they came across a large, flat platform, as though someone had leveled it intentionally. There was not even a trace of any small rocks lying about. As they stepped on the platform, there was a layer of dust that arose. Seeing the patterns on the ground, it seemed as though the dust had been accumulating for goodness knows how long. They walked carefully, taking care not to stir up too much dust.

On the platform, as they looked out at the huge cavern, Zhang Xiao Qiang felt like he was an actor on stage, with the stalactite and stalagmite as the audience, staring silently waiting for his performance.

Yuan Yi stood there in shock, taking in the beauty of the surroundings. She had never been on a cave exploration before and seeing the natural wonder and beauty of the place, her breath was taken away. She had never imagined there to be such a beautiful world under the ground.

Yang Ke’er, on the other hand, could not be bothered with the scenery or the stage or whatever. Her mind was full of the treasure that Zhang Xiao Qiang had mentioned in passing, and she walked further away until she arrived at a place behind a large stalactite wall.

By the time Zhang Xiao Qiang came to his senses, he realized he couldn’t find Yang Ke’er anywhere. He shook Yuan Yi from her blank state, and they began searching for the lass. Fortunately, there were traces of her footprints in the dust. They followed it to a small path where the ground seemed uneven again, and after passing the stalactite wall that Yang Ke’er had seen earlier, they saw a small corridor.

It was definitely man-made, as any stalactite had been smashed cleanly, and there was no crushed stone on the ground. The cleanup had been meticulous, and as they walked through the corridor, they came to some mysterious area. Yang Ke’er was currently using her phone to rummage through some chest. Zhang Xiao Qiang’s eyes widened at the numerous bags and chests lying about. Did she really chance upon some treasure trove?!

Yang Ke’er turned her head, holding up some black thing and said: “Look at what I’ve found!”