"Glow?"
Upon hearing Morgan's words, Shawn's heart pounded twice for some unknown reason.
"Could it be fireflies?"
"After the apocalypse, we often saw them in the woods. The ruins of the Centers for Disease Control are not far from the jungle."
Daryl tried to guess.
"No." Morgan said decisively, "That kind of light is very familiar; it's not the faint glow of fireflies. Instead, it's like the light from an industrial creation."
Industrial creation?
Shawn was a bit puzzled.
Mentions of the Centers for Disease Control ruins were scarce in the later parts of the storyline.
Could it be that survivors had once stayed in that pile of broken stones?
Otherwise, it could only be…
Thinking of this, Shawn couldn't help but quicken his steps, heading towards the convoy.
"What's wrong with him?"
Morgan looked back at Daryl, who shook his head and followed directly.
"Honestly, you won't regret joining us."
Merle dropped these words as he brushed past him.
Morgan shook his head; he seemed not yet ready to accept all of this, merely following silently behind the others.
…
Shawn returned to where the convoy was located.
He waved to Bray, who was not far away. Bray quickly ran to Shawn, standing at attention, his posture even more standard than an American soldier.
"Take some people and search through these ruins."
"Remember, bring out anything valuable you find, and if you discover anything special, you can call me."
Bray nodded repeatedly upon hearing this and, in a hurry, gathered three to five hundred Zealots to search the Centers for Disease Control ruins.
"What happened?"
Diana came over with her people.
"Nothing major, just some of my guesses."
Shawn shook his head, still not speaking directly.
There was no need to rush; with hundreds of Zealots searching, results would come soon enough.
"What are you thinking?"
Morgan, who had followed, suddenly spoke.
"Just wait a moment. We'll know soon enough."
Shawn still did not say it directly.
It wasn't until time passed, minute by minute, nearly an hour later, that the shouts of the Zealots came from afar.
Shawn quickly led his people to the center of the ruins.
Looking around, besides the Zealot who had called him, Bray and the others were all lying on the ground where a stone crack had opened.
Using the daylight, they were bent over, trying hard to look down.
Seeing this, Shawn turned to Morgan.
"Perhaps that light you saw a week ago really wasn't fireflies."
"What exactly is it?"
Columbus couldn't help but ask.
Shawn came to the edge of the crack, glanced at it, and spoke without turning his head.
"Daryl, do you remember the experience Rick and the others talked about when they met us at the Farm?"
"Wait, are you saying… that doctor actually survived the explosion?!"
Merle exclaimed in surprise.
Shawn gave him a helpless glare, saying testily, "You try surviving one for me."
Merle couldn't help but rub the back of his head, chuckling dryly.
"What is it, just tell us."
Daryl, like everyone else, was itching with curiosity due to Shawn's mysteriousness.
Shawn composed himself, looking down solemnly.
Because it was underground, most of the area was shrouded in darkness, and Shawn could only vaguely see some piled-up rubble.
"I suspect… the Centers for Disease Control's artificial intelligence was not completely destroyed."
"At least when Morgan saw it, the artificial intelligence was still operating normally."
Artificial intelligence?
Everyone looked at each other.
"But now the Centers for Disease Control is already destroyed, what use could artificial intelligence still have?"
Tarah took off his hat, scratched the top of his head twice, a bit confused.
"If it hasn't been completely damaged, its purpose could be even beyond your imagination."
Shawn answered him meaningfully.
As long as the artificial intelligence wasn't completely destroyed, Shawn would definitely be able to fix it.
Don't forget that Shawn has now also unlocked the Intelligence Sequence; perhaps the combination of the two will produce some wonderful reaction.
Originally, Shawn had planned to have Diana, who was once a senator, take on a role similar to a 'Prison Warden.'
After all, her practical work ability was unquestionable; as long as she wasn't involved in decision-making and was only responsible for execution, Diana was definitely the best choice.
But if the artificial intelligence could still be used, then the situation would be a bit different.
If Shawn had a way to make the artificial intelligence obey him, then the future Prison…
At this moment, Shawn seemed to see a shining, broad path!
"Move, move!"
Shawn was somewhat impatient and quickly told the Zealots to step back.
"I'll dig. All of you retreat beyond 20 meters, in case the ground collapses."
After driving everyone away, Shawn took out a pickaxe.
The pickaxe was one of the powerful tools for manual excavation in the mid-game, effective against metal, minerals, stone, and even the ground.
He stood at the side of the ground crack and raised the pickaxe high in his hand!
Whoosh—!
The pickaxe struck the ground, emitting a distinct crisp sound.
A progress bar immediately appeared before Shawn's eyes, clearly stating: 109/200.
This already damaged ground could hardly withstand the pickaxe.
It only took 5 minutes for Shawn to open a large hole in the ground along the crack.
With the system, the excavated stones appeared directly as resources in the system's inventory, so they wouldn't just fall down and shatter.
Using the daylight that filtered in, Shawn took a quick look.
Sure enough!
Between the piled-up rubble, he saw a shiny, silvery-white casing.
It was just that some of the casing was obscured by dust, so at first glance, it didn't seem unusual; the casing almost blended with the color of the stones.
Clinging to the edge of the hole, his gaze swept around the layer below.
It turned out that the Centers for Disease Control had two underground levels.
The first basement floor looked like a place for power generation and energy replenishment; some machinery that was inconvenient to place in interactive areas was also here.
But now, these sections were ruined beyond recognition, with charred remnants and the smell of murky air everywhere.
Taking all of this in, Shawn couldn't help but get excited.
"So there's another layer beneath the first basement floor. If the first basement floor blocked some of the blast's power during the explosion, doesn't that mean the artificial intelligence is really still there?"
Both underground levels were built deep; from the ground to the second basement floor, it was estimated to be about a dozen meters deep.
Shawn called for some ropes, but their length was somewhat insufficient.
There was no other way but to have someone bring the fire truck closer and park it nearby.
He connected a rope to the hose by the fire truck's water tank and let it drop straight down through the hole in the ground.
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