The unique sound of hydraulic machinery echoed in the deep cave, and then huge clouds of steam gushed out from the exhaust duct hidden behind the rock. The gear-shaped gate with a diameter of three meters and shining blue light of high-strength alloy steel slowly sank into the mountain, retreated for a full meter, then rolled sideways, and moved back into the mountain wall, revealing a deep passage.
Although the light was dim, Lee still saw several weapon terminals hidden in the mountain walls and hanging from the ceiling at the inner end of the passage through the heavy steam.
The main attack system visible on the terminals was several miniature automatic machine guns. The angles of the black barrels were very particular. If one calculated the contact points, one would find that the firepower net had tightly sealed the entire passage.
There were two different lenses on the top, which should be visible light and infrared.
In the old days, this kind of defense was excellent, but now powerful species that could withstand the strafing of miniature machine guns were constantly appearing, and the old-style weapon terminals were obviously out-of-date.
"Hi, Turner! It's good to see you back intact!"
As soon as the group walked out of the passage, a big black man with a height of two meters came up and gave Turner a strong hug.
Turner returned an equally forceful hug, saying, "If it wasn't for Lee, it wouldn't be a question of coming back whole. You'd just have to rummage our dregs, if any, from the carrion wolves' shit."
Following Turner's gaze, the black man saw Lee who was standing at the end of the queue. He strode over, stretched out his hand, showing his white teeth, and said with a smile, "I'm Tony, the logistics director of Base N11. You saved Turner, then you are my friend. Welcome to Base N11!" "
After a simple scan and quarantine, the soldiers who had been out on missions for more than half a month disbanded on the spot and returned to their respective residences to recuperate.
Because of Lee's achievements in saving the entire Turner team and the hunter and mercenary license issued by Penn Corporation, Lee received high-standard treatment. He not only had a separate room, but also could purchase materials at the base's internal price.
Base N11 was not very large, with only over 400 residents inside. Due to the lack of extra space, in recent years, not only has the review of residency qualifications been strict to the point of almost harshness, but also specific and cumbersome regulations have been made for the number and standards of acceptance of foreign guests.
In the old days, Base N11 was one of the many nuclear, biological, and chemical defense shelters, and the area number was N11. In terms of scale, it was a micro-shelter, but internal drinking water, food, defense, medical care, and air self-purification systems were all available.
In any country, a shelter that could defend against nuclear war and had complete self-survival capabilities would not be prepared for civilians. The equipment inside was of course advanced and would be replaced regularly.
When the war broke out without any warning, the N11 shelter was not even put into use, and none of the wealthy and powerful individuals with shelter privileges were able to arrive at the shelter in time. When the automatic defense mechanism was activated and the N11 shelter closed itself, there were only sixteen staff members in charge of daily maintenance inside.
After fifteen long years, the refuge was reopened according to the set procedures.
At this time, the old era had been buried under endless ruins, and the turbulent new era had just awakened.
Base N11 replaced Shelter N11, just as a new age replaced an old one.
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Lee closed his eyes, while letting the powerful current wash over his body, he replayed the brief history of Base N11 in his mind. The base had complete functions and was divided into four parts: living area, logistics area, military area, and central control area.
There was an emergency exit at the rear of the base, and outside was a natural cavern that was said to lead to the abandoned subway network a few kilometers away. And those underground passages had already become a paradise for countless dangerous creatures.
Therefore, on the identification map of Base N11, that area was marked with "DANGER" in eye-catching red.
The brief shower lasted only two minutes, and Lee had already used up fifty dallers, which was still the internal price of the base. The currency of the new era was not equivalent to that of the old days, and only various types of silver and gold coins could circulate and were difficult to forge.
So fifty dallers was an unbearable figure for ordinary people, even for residents of the base. Even if money was not an issue, the time for showering should not be too long. Although the water used for showering had been treated and the radiation level had been greatly reduced, it was still far from the level of drinking water. It could cause irreversible damage to the body if one took a shower for a long time.
Despite all the restrictions and high costs, being able to take a bath was still the proudest benefit for base residents.
The water flow from the sprinklers quickly diminished and eventually stopped. The last drop of water fell with some reluctance, popping up a small spray on the smooth and jade-like skin of his shoulder, and then flowed down along the smooth curve of the skin.
However, it only reached the waist, the drop of water had completely disappeared and was absorbed by the skin.
So when the shower was over, Lee's body was barely stained with water.
He simply wiped his body, and wrapped bandages around his body. He had checked the room carefully to make sure there were no detection devices, and presumably, no one would have noticed that the shower water was missing a few gallons.
After all, this was just recycled water that could not be drunk.
The physical condition had been self-checked in the shower. The next step was to check the firearms, ammunition stock, and money, then draw up the action plan for the next stage and supplement the supplies needed for the action.
This was what Lee did every time he visited a new habitat.
There were still many ordinary heavy machine gun cartridges used in the modified rifle, but there were only three handmade special cartridges left. It must be replenished to over 20 rounds.
The modified revolver used the old-fashioned 5.56mm rifle ammunition. It was not difficult to find. The base should have ample supply and the price was fair.
"Only 110 dallers?" Lee counted the coins one by one, his pretty eyebrows slightly frowned. This little money might only be enough to replenish water and ammunition, and it was far from his goal: the RF series rifle produced by the Carterovan Company.
As an entry-level product of firearms in the new era, the basic model of the RF series rifles cost 3,000 dallers, and various additional subsystems were even more expensive than the rifle itself.
Produced by a large company, a primary tube of genetic modification potion that could provide a complete evolutionary point cost 10,000 dallers a tube, which was still a general-purpose potion.
And those formulated potions with stable effects, mature dosage forms, and the ability to directly produce specific abilities, even the lowest price was at least several times that of general-purpose potions.
Agility was one of the most important qualities for survival in the wild. No one wants to carry tens of thousands of coins across the wilderness. Various companies and organizations were also developing their own credit bureaus and even issuing banknotes and credit cards.
Yet they had been facing the same problems: no competitors would like to acknowledge each other's credit.
Gradually, in this era without banks, barter had become the main means of exchange. Firearms, weapons, and ammunition could all become semi-universal currencies, while genetic modification potions had actually become some kind of currency with a large face value.
However, this kind of currency was very fragile and could not last long.
Lee's luggage was very simple: a standard military water bottle, a bullet bag, and a sundry bag that was only ten centimeters long and five centimeters wide, used to hold money, medicines, and other sundries.
These could be easily hung on the belt without affecting mobility.
Whether it was a hunter or a mercenary, less weight often meant more chances of survival.
Lee grabbed a piece of paper, drew a pattern with a few strokes, marked the corresponding data, and went out.