Clearing away the nearby plants with his wood-element abilities, the original human structures were finally fully exposed.
The ground in the entire mountain hollow had been hardened with cement. After humans disappeared, cracks had appeared to varying degrees in the ground, and the wildly growing plants had found an outlet, emerging from the cracks and gradually covering the entire area.
However, apart from the steel gate that remained tightly shut, there were no other buildings in the mountain hollow.
"I'll go open that big gate. I estimate this military base is built inside the mountain."
"Mm, be careful. I suspect there are still zombies inside. Also, try not to damage the gate."
Since there were signs of human activity, and they had killed some zombies earlier, it was likely the same inside.
Lu Heng turned and walked towards the pile of recently killed zombies. Looking at the haphazardly piled corpses, he moved his mind and used his earth-element abilities to dig a deep pit in the ground, then dragged all the zombie corpses into the pit and covered them with earth.
These were soldiers from before the apocalypse. They were respected people. Even if they turned into zombies and died, they should be buried properly.
After doing this, Lu Heng turned to look at Lin Yu behind him.
Lin Yu was currently using vines to forcefully pull at the steel gate, but even with all his strength, he couldn't open it.
"These kinds of gates have mechanisms. They probably require a password or something to open. But these doors are really sturdy, you can't even open it at level thirteen."
"Yeah, why don't we just forget about the door and force it open?"
"Let me see." Lu Heng didn't want to damage the gate directly. If it could be opened normally, it would be best. This place might still be usable as a human shelter in the future.
He carefully examined the exterior of the gate. In the center of the gate, there was indeed an electronic panel with buttons resembling a password lock, and a scanning area below.
Lu Heng reached out and pressed a red button on the password lock. There were no numbers on it, but its color was different from those with numbers.
"It would be good if we brought Zhao Youcheng and the others right now. Perhaps these special forces soldiers could open this door."
"Yeah, that was a miscalculation. Hahaha." Lu Heng smiled, staring intently at the panel.
"Brother Lu, how about I go back and bring someone who knows how to pick locks?" Lin Yu turned to look at Lu Heng.
"No need. But next time we go out, it would indeed be more convenient to bring a special forces soldier."
Since the gate couldn't be opened, the wall that formed the entire underground structure should be able to be forcibly broken.
Looking at the place where the gate connected to the mountain, Lu Heng used his earth-element abilities to clear away all the soil covering that area.
Digging inwards for nearly seven or eight meters, the cement material was exposed. It shouldn't be a problem to make a hole from here.
Taking out a weapon that enhanced his strength abilities from his spatial storage, Lu Heng gripped the great axe with both hands and swung it towards the cement material.
With a loud bang, a large pit was made in the cement, and the crisscrossing steel bars buried within were also exposed.
However, even with the great axe enhanced by his strength abilities, the steel bars were not spared and were cut.
Even so, Lu Heng had to swing it three or four times before breaking through that section of the wall, revealing a dark void inside.
The moment it was breached, a foul odor wafted out from the void. However, despite the huge commotion, no zombies ran out from inside. It seemed this stench was not emanating from the zombies.
Lu Heng and Lin Yu simultaneously covered their mouths and noses, instantly moving away from the opening, but their eyes remained fixed on it.
After a while, the surroundings were still quiet.
Lu Heng put away the great axe and took out a torch used for camping. After lighting it, he threw it into the opening.
The torch fell to the ground after being thrown in. The handle that was held in the other hand made a crisp sound when it touched the ground in the silent, empty space.
These modern torches had their ignited ends made of windproof, waterproof, and combustion-assisting materials. When thrown into the tunnel, apart from the crackling sound of burning flames, they also illuminated the surroundings.
Lu Heng waited for a moment and then asked Lin Xue beside him, "Are there any zombies inside?"
"No." Lin Xue shook her head truthfully.
"Lin Yu, Lin Xue and I will go in first. You follow closely behind. Along the way, you can bring out your Netherworld Fire to illuminate the surroundings."
"Okay."
Lu Heng tightened the rope tied between himself and Lin Xue, leaving only a very short length. Then, holding Lin Xue's hand, he walked towards the opening.
The torch on the ground inside illuminated the surrounding environment. The opening was slightly elevated. Lu Heng brought Lin Xue and jumped down.
Afterward, he took out a searchlight and shone it forward.
The beam of the searchlight didn't reach very far in the enclosed space, but it was stronger than the torch thrown in earlier.
Lu Heng carefully examined the surroundings. Then, near the gate, he discovered something resembling a valve.
Walking near the gate, Lu Heng seemed to step on something and shone the light downwards. Lu Heng actually saw a section of leg bone.
That section of leg bone was only the part connected to the foot. It should have been cut off before death. He also looked around but found no other human remains.
Kicking aside the section of leg bone, Lu Heng walked to the valve and grabbed it with one hand, pushing it upwards with force.
Bang! Bang! Bang!......
A series of sounds erupted instantly, and then the entire spacious interior lit up.
Following the bright light, Lu Heng and the others were now standing in a huge tunnel. The tunnel was likely built along the mountain. The tunnel turned ahead, making it impossible to see the end directly.
At this moment, Lin Yu also jumped into the tunnel. He whistled in amazement at the bright and wide tunnel.
"Brother Lu, it seems this place is quite large. I can't even see the end of this tunnel."
The loud noise when the lights came on did not attract any zombies, and Lin Xue, who had been standing beside Lu Heng, did not give any warning of zombies.
Lu Heng turned to look at the steel gate behind him. He fumbled around inside but found no controls to open it. It seemed that to open the gate smoothly without damaging it, there was no other way besides having the password.
"Huh? Brother Lu, why is there another section of leg bone here?" Lin Yu asked in surprise, looking at a section of human leg bone by the wall.
He also looked around. There were no other human skeletons here. Was this severed leg forcibly cut off by someone?
"Look, there are drag marks here."
Lu Heng gently waved his hand towards the ground, and the dust covering the ground was blown away by the wind.
A bloodstain on the ground extended into the tunnel. It was estimated that after the person's leg was cut off, someone dragged his body inside.