The dormitory was in utter disarray; it seemed the deceased on the bed lived a decadent life before death.
Lu Xi'an couldn't find any notebooks or similar items in this room, unable to confirm what exactly happened before death.
There was indeed a mobile phone, but the screen was completely shattered and bent, seemingly deliberately destroyed.
All the food in the dormitory was gone; chocolate wrappers and other food packaging were thrown in heaps on the table, with empty instant noodle bowls scattered everywhere on the table and the floor.
This person must have eaten all the food before committing suicide.
Lu Xi'an could only hope there were more supplies in other rooms.
Upon exiting this bedroom and continuing on, they finally found something different.
—— Ahead was another metal door, with Gou's eyes reflecting off it.
The door was open, and upon entering, the rooms divided inside were no longer dormitories, and were considerably larger.
The first thing the two saw was a kitchen, complete with stovetops, sinks, tables, and a full array of pots, pans, and bowls.
But it too seemed to have experienced damage; pots and pans littered the ground, and the tables were skewed, obviously moved.
Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei had to watch their steps, tiptoeing over the broken ceramic pieces on the floor.
The kitchen was devoid of any food, but at the very back, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei found something unusual.
There was another skeleton, leaning against a metal door.
However, this skeleton was different from the previous one; it was still clothed, almost covering the bones.
Judging by the style, it seemed to be a chef. A chef's hat, long deflated, hung from the chest area of the skeleton.
This metal door was closed, with a mechanical password lock firmly securing it, separating the room behind it.
Gou's eyes reflected off the dried and blackened blood on the door, appearing like raised lines stretched from the door to the floor.
Lu Xi'an examined the tracks left by the red and black blood lines on the door, asking, "How do you think he died?"
Yao Wei shook her head.
The dragging marks suggested a collision death. Yet the door was smooth and flat, without any protrusions; how could it easily tear someone open, causing them to bleed to death?
Nonetheless, Lu Xi'an quickly made a new discovery——
He found some broken porcelain pieces on the ground, with shapes different from broken dishware, reconstructing it in his mind, it looked like a blade.
"Is this... a porcelain knife?"
He looked at the ground and asked.
Yao Wei nodded, "Yes."
Lu Xi'an exhaled gently, "He also committed suicide. I wonder who between these two committed suicide first?"
While pondering this, he glanced again at the skeleton.
A nameplate was still attached to the skeleton's clothing. Lu Xi'an had Gou specially focus on it, seeing written on it:
Chef: Li Xun
Permission Level: Three
Yao Wei said nothing. She didn't know anyway and was too lazy to guess.
Lu Xi'an moved the dead skeleton aside, then had Gou scan the password lock.
There wasn't anything valuable in the kitchen; if there were resources, could they be behind the metal door?
Lu Xi'an's mind wandered with guesses—could the death of these two people be due to being trapped here, exhausting all visible resources, falling into despair, and thus committing suicide?
The deceased, Li Xun, was a chef in the kitchen but didn't have the permission to open the metal door before them, perhaps indicating resources stored behind that required a higher level of permission within this shelter for access.
Could these two deceased in the shelter have come in advance to prepare and arrange, then got trapped here?
They couldn't access resources with their permissions and could only exhaust everything usable and edible on hand, then commit suicide in despair...
Lu Xi'an didn't share these speculations with Yao Wei since these guesses didn't matter anyway.
After all these years, it was just an empty shelter; what use was there in exploring the past?
Better to quickly seek out resources.
"Five, eight, seven, nine, four, one, seven, nine."
Gou cracked the password, its eyes starting to flash in a pattern.
Lu Xi'an read out the numbers from the flashing pattern, then twisted the mechanical password lock. With a "click," it unlocked, and as Lu Xi'an pushed open the heavy metal door, a strong musty odor rushed out from behind.
He and Yao Wei both had to cover their noses and retreat, stopping only after backing away a considerable distance.
"Gou, is it safe to go in?"
Lu Xi'an instructed.
Gou, fearless, directed its gaze inside.
Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei saw that behind the door were stacks of plastic boxes and shelves filled with vegetables and meats, all decayed and hardened over time.
"Sigh...it's useless too,"
Lu Xi'an sighed.
He guessed it should be a cold room inside.
If the cold room had remained powered, maintaining refrigeration, perhaps the contents could have been preserved.
But now, with the cold room incapable of refrigeration, the contents had already perished.
Yao Wei, also disappointed, said nothing.
Lu Xi'an quickly rallied, saying, "Let's go, keep looking. There are places we haven't checked yet; maybe we'll find something?"
But just then, the mechanical dog that had entered the area behind the metal door suddenly emitted a light from its eyes, reflecting from behind the door.
Lu Xi'an's heart skipped, quickly focusing his attention, revealing a look of surprise.
"Wait!"
He grabbed Yao Wei's arm.
Yao Wei, having turned around to leave, froze when Lu Xi'an pulled her.
Noticing Yao Wei's unease, Lu Xi'an released her grip, saying, "Sorry."
Yao Wei shook her head, "I should apologize. I almost attacked you just now."
Lu Xi'an: "..."
This brutal woman...
Luckily, it was just 'almost'...
Yao Wei followed Lu Xi'an's gaze to where the light shone beyond the metal door, seeing numerous bags stacked against the wall.
The bags were flat and solid, bulging from the contents, forming a square shape, stacked layer upon layer.
"What is it?"
Having never encountered such items before, curiosity and hope rose within her.
It didn't matter if she didn't understand, as Lu Xi'an seemed to know, as usual.
This guy seemed to understand everything, though how he knew was a mystery...
"Rice bags, or flour bags...should be rice bags,"
said Lu Xi'an with speed due to excitement, "Flour can't be vacuum-packed, but these bags are clearly vacuum-packed, so they should contain rice."
"Are they contaminated?"
Yao Wei asked.
Amidst all the rotting items, with the air fouled, based on her experience, things in such an environment were usually inedible.
Then she heard Lu Xi'an say, "Maybe not... In a vacuum environment, food can store for a very long time, and vacuum packaging means the contents are tightly sealed.
"Plus, we have Gou; if it's contaminated or spoiled, we'll have Gou check."