After hearing Nolan's words, Hao Ren did not know what to say. "The world is burning?"
Nolan was silent for a short while, as if she was organizing her words. In the background of the communication channel, there was a faint noise and explosion in the distance. After a few seconds, Nolan spoke again. "I don't know how to describe it … Everything is suddenly spontaneously burning, including water and stones. Just now, I saw a building suddenly burn like cotton. Now the streets outside are full of refugees … Humans are the only things that will not spontaneously combust. "
"Spontaneously? Water and stones? " Hao Ren's heart skipped a beat. At the same time, the rock formation around him began to shake again. A gust of scorching underground steam blew through the passage. Despite the barrier, he could still feel that the heat was hot enough to melt gold and iron. Connecting what happened in the virtual world with what happened in front of him, the answer was obvious. "Maybe the disaster in the real world has affected the virtual space …"
Another loud sound of rock collapse came from nearby. Lily immediately grabbed Hao Ren's arm and dragged him forward. "Mr. Landlord, let's go! It's not safe here!"
While being dragged by Lily, Hao Ren quickly asked Nolan about the situation. "How are you now? Has the fire spread to your surroundings? "
"The spontaneous combustion seems to have stopped temporarily. I'm some distance away from the fire. It should not be a problem for a while." Nolan's tone was very anxious. "But I saw that the fire that started earlier can't be extinguished … You are in the real world, right? Now I believe you, very much. What is going on out there?! "
To be honest, Nolan did not know how to prove that Hao Ren really came from the real world. But the current situation made these details seem insignificant. The world in front of her was experiencing an earth-shattering phenomenon, which had not happened in countless previous reincarnations. No matter how crazy the script of the previous world was, at least it remained 'reasonable'. But the sea of spontaneous combustion in front of her was like a nightmare that ignored the laws of nature. Thinking of Hao Ren's sudden disappearance and the words he said before he left, Nolan could only rely on the "real world" as her last hope.
"The outside world is also burning … In fact, the entire planet is slowly falling into the sun. I'm afraid this is what's affecting the virtual world." Hao Ren tried his best to describe the situation in the real world. Then, he suddenly remembered that the communicator had a projection function. "Open the cover under the communicator. There's a blue button there. Press it, and I'll send you some pictures."
A moment later, Hao Ren transmitted the scene of Zorm gradually sinking into the sun and the underground bunker in front of him to Nolan.
"As you can see, the real world outside is like this … It was destroyed about a few thousand years ago or even longer, and the planet's temperature should be about two to three thousand years ago. We haven't found any relics of human civilization on the surface of the planet, but there's a huge fallout shelter underground. We're lucky to find the entrance of the fallout shelter, and now we're trying to get into the core of the fallout shelter. "
Nolan looked at the horrifying image of the sea of fire in front of her, and for a moment, she seemed to forget how to speak. The knowledge and experience she had accumulated in countless reincarnations suddenly became a joke. Those things were useless in the face of the truth of the world.
The reality of the world stunned Nolan for a long time. Under normal circumstances, no matter who it was, no matter who it was, it would take a lot of effort to accept this shocking fact. But now, time waited for no one. She could only force herself to accept the reality immediately and find a way to do something. Fortunately, the calmness of her long experience in the battlefield still played a little role. She patted her cheeks to calm herself down. "What can I do here?"
"Report the situation in the virtual world at any time and keep in touch. Maybe my PDA here … Patty can analyze the location of the server based on these signals. Other than that, protect yourself. I'm afraid this is really the last reincarnation. If you die this time … then you really won't be able to come back to life. "
Nolan nodded. After a moment of silence, she could not help but ask, "What are you going to do?"
"Find the server that generates the virtual world. All humans should be stored there. I have a spacecraft here that can move the server away," Hao Ren said in a relaxed tone as he tried to explain his plan, as if everything was ready and things would really go smoothly. "Don't worry, I've done bigger relocation work than this. Moving you guys is not much more difficult than moving a large computer room."
Nolan seemed to be relieved. She took a few breaths and said, "Okay, I believe you … There's nothing else to believe anyway. All the best. "
"All the best. Stay away from the fire."
After the communication was hung up, the voice of the MDT suddenly interrupted. "You didn't tell her that this planet can only last for more than 40 hours."
"Try to be optimistic. We still have more than 40 hours to clean up this mess," Hao Ren exhaled. "As long as we find the server before it burns …"
"That's if you really have a way to move the server out. Considering the size of the refuge and the complexity of the underground, you may need a lot of construction machinery to do it, and you'll need more time …"
"Okay, we'll talk about this after we find the server," Hao Ren interrupted the MDT's analysis. "Now give me a more precise guide. The general location of the server. You've been scanning for so long, you should have made some progress, right?"
The MDT paused for a few seconds as if it was compiling the data. Then it reported, "Maintain the current direction. You're going deep into the refuge. I've scanned a large number of electric signals underground, distributed in a network around the refuge and its surroundings. That should be the server's power supply system. A major node is a few kilometers ahead of you. You should at least be able to touch the edge of the system there. "
Hao Ren and his team wanted to find a virtual world server underground on this planet that was on the verge of collapse. Such an urgent search could not just rely on luck and impulse. Everyone's route was guided by the spacecraft's radar, and the MDT was constantly analyzing the energy response of the suspected server signal deep in the ground. While the guidance was not very accurate, the general direction was guaranteed. So even though they looked like headless flies burrowing in the ground, they were actually heading deep into the refuge.
This could be seen from the widening tunnel and the increasing number of equipment rooms: they were very close to the core of the artificial bunker.
The tunnel was compressed to a certain extent, and the superalloy walls on both sides were cracked. Some dark red rocks squeezed through the cracks, looking like solidified resin seeping in through the cracks. Lily casually cut a small stone from above with her claw and put it in her pocket. She turned and asked, "How long have we been burrowing here?"
Vivian took out her mobile phone and looked at the time. "Not counting the time on the surface, we've been underground for three hours. According to the planet's rotation cycle, it's already more than half the night."
Hao Ren connected to the spacecraft's communication. "MDT, what's the situation up there?"
"The good news is that it's the calmest moment on the dark side. In the next two to three hours, the ground activity will be at its lowest. The bad news is that the sun will rise in three hours, and the sun will heat up the rock formation above your head. Everything will become active, and staying down there will be very exciting. You'd better find the server before that, or you'll have to go back early," the MDT reported. Suddenly, it raised its voice. "And there's another bad news. The probe I released a few seconds ago captured a large-scale eruption of magma on the sunny side. A piece of crust about the size of South America was blown into space. I estimate there will be an earthquake there in ten minutes."
"Earthquake … The earthquake here is like drinking water." Hao Ren looked at the soil and rocks falling from above and sighed with a bitter smile. "The real bad news is that the planet is reaching a tipping point. The crust is beginning to be peeled off by the sun. As long as one point is breached, I'm afraid it will collapse like dominoes."
"My calculations are not wrong. Before the fourth sunrise, the planet can still hold on. Of course, it's hard to say if the shelter below can hold on. "
"… Thank you for your kind words," Hao Ren said and hung up.
They continued to walk through the seemingly endless downward sloping tunnels and shafts. They sped up, and several times they almost fell into the cracks that suddenly appeared on the road. Fortunately, the route was correct. The road in front of them was getting wider and wider, and there were large caves and structures that looked like abandoned settlements. The latter may be the place where the last group of Zorm people lived in the real world. But unfortunately, the settlement was seriously abandoned, and there were no lines or equipment connecting to the virtual world.
Just as they entered another large cave, Lily, who was running around as a scout, suddenly exclaimed, "Everyone, look at this!"
They came to Lily's side, and a huge, cylindrical thing that looked like a tree root passed through the rock formation and lay in front of them.
"If I'm not mistaken …" Hao Ren gulped. "This is the tentacle of the First Born …"
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