At this moment, Lucas couldn't be bothered with overthinking; he just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

The heavy metal gate slowly opened, and the lights inside automatically turned on, illuminating the area brightly.

Lucas asked the mute woman to stay at the door while he followed the officer inside.

What came into Lucas's view was a showroom-like place.

Several small metal pillars were neatly arranged inside.

Each of the metal pillars had a transparent glass cover on top, inside of which various items were displayed.

After taking a few steps, Lucas noticed something very familiar inside one of the glass covers.

It was another mysterious fragment, identical to the one he had in the system's possession.

Instantly, Lucas felt that his previous speculation was correct.

The task assigned by the system must be related to this fragment.

Finally, it was done!

Seeing the fragment, Lucas instantly felt relieved.

The higher-ups in the military indeed kept their word. When Lucas asked the officer to take out the fragment, they didn't ask any questions.

That was not important now.

What mattered was that even after obtaining the fragment, the system did not notify him that the task was completed.

"Could it be that the fragment is not what completes the task?"

Lucas felt a bit puzzled and started observing the items inside each glass cover.

The objects inside these glass covers were all peculiar and strange. Lucas had to rely on his intuition to determine their significance one by one.

Although the officer was generous, Lucas didn't think it was appropriate to take whatever he pleased.

Finally, in one corner, Lucas saw something with a distinct insect-like quality.

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Of course, this quality was not related to its scent but rather the instant feeling Lucas had upon seeing it, as if he had encountered a bug.

Moreover, the level of this bug was something Lucas hadn't seen in his past eleven years.

It was a dark, spine-like object, approximately twenty centimeters long and ten centimeters wide. Rows of skeletal structures lined its surface, with glimpses of red light shining through the gaps.

Lucas perceived it as resembling a bug, but it was a feeling that was difficult to describe.

Lucas asked the officer to take out this item, and he carefully observed it using a pair of tweezers.

A chill passed through the tweezers and sent shivers down Lucas's spine.

As for the red-glowing object, Lucas also saw it clearly.

It was a collection of small granules, resembling red crystals.

But no matter how Lucas looked at them, he couldn't shake the feeling that these red objects were petrified bones.

【Congratulations to the host for completing the task. Task completion evaluation in progress...】

"Finally, it's done!"

Hearing the voice of the system, Lucas felt a wave of emotions.

He obtained a box from the officer and carefully placed the spine-like object inside. Soon, Lucas returned to the bus.

The bus quickly started and left the doomsday fortress in the shortest possible time.

The bus was located in a villa community on the outskirts of the coastal city, just before reaching the town and industrial areas, avoiding unnecessary encounters.

The villa community was quite large but had a sparse population. Each villa was at least 500 meters apart, providing excellent privacy.

Lucas chose this area because of its low population and the high walls surrounding it, ensuring good security.

According to Lucas's speculation, there shouldn't be many zombies in this area, perhaps just a few more insects.

Lucas planned to use this villa community as their base in the coastal city, where they could train and level up before the nuclear explosion.

The bus was fast, and they were only ten minutes away from the coastal city.

Surprisingly, their journey back to the coastal city went smoothly. They only encountered a few zombies, and not a single insect.

However, Lucas had expected one thing.

Throughout the journey, he encountered three military units heading towards Phoenix Mountain.

Fortunately, they went unnoticed by the troops thanks to the drone and the bus's dark exterior and silent system.

By this time, Lucas finally had a chance to check the task rewards given by the system.

【Congratulations to the host for obtaining one red capsule】

【Congratulations to the host for obtaining three blank redprints】

【Congratulations to the host for obtaining one body transformation liquid】

【Congratulations to the host for obtaining bus upgrade and modification values】

These rewards didn't surprise Lucas, but they were not bad either.

It was the first time Lucas obtained a body transformation liquid, which was somewhat appealing to him.

As for the bus upgrade and modification values, it was still a vague concept that required Lucas to take a chance when using them.

Lucas didn't rush to study the bus modifications since there were still other people on the bus.

Ten minutes later, Lucas arrived in the coastal city, and the outline of the villa community could be seen in the distance.

It was truly the wealthy area of the coastal city. Before the apocalypse, half of the top ten richest businessmen in the city lived here.

The mute woman got off the bus and silently cleared the scattered zombies with her knife, making almost no sound.

The bus was also quiet as Lucas skillfully maneuvered it to the entrance of the community.

Lucas had passed by this entrance a few times before and knew that there was a lake inside the community.

The lake was a natural formation, with only a road on one side, barely showing any signs of human intervention.

The villas were hidden in the woods along the lake.

Someone unfamiliar with the situation would probably mistake it for a fenced natural reserve.

Of course, although there were some wild animals in the community, there were definitely no large beasts or dangerous animals threatening human safety.

From the drone's perspective, the security room at the community gate was empty, and there were burnt cars and scattered charred corpses outside, many of which were shriveled up from the fire.

Lucas had no idea what this place had gone through during the apocalypse.

Without stopping, the bus drove directly into the community.

Half of the gate was wide enough for a bus to pass through, indicating the grandeur of the entrance during normal times.

Using the drone's building perspective function, Lucas chose a villa and drove along the spacious road by the lakeside forest.

The entire community was surprisingly quiet, exceeding Lucas's expectations.

They drove along the road for five minutes and didn't even see a single zombie.

The eerie environment made everyone feel uneasy.