C7 Ashes

"Shh! Be quiet!"

The two men and a cat halted at the entrance of the survivors' building. Moorer gestured to the others to stay put as he sidled up to the door, peeking inside to assess the situation.

"Nothing here?" Moorer mused, "Is this guy playing games with us?"

The ground floor was deserted. Moorer noted it was a garage with a staircase, measuring five meters wide, eight meters long, and three meters high. The staircase was mostly intact, but a heap of concrete rubble blocked his view at the base of the stairs.

Upstairs, the room to the right—the one from which the survivor had peered out—had been struck by something, leaving a massive hole through the ceiling and into the second floor. The survivor's available space was severely limited.

"Hey…" the survivor spoke up again. From the sound of it, he was just above and to the right. "Brother, keep it down... that monster... it's still here..."

Moorer had been observing the doorway for quite some time, yet he saw no sign of any "monster." He wondered if the guy was just messing with him out of boredom. Puffing out his chest, he readied himself to stride in boldly.

"Monster? Are you messing with me—mmph!"

Payson, quick as lightning, clamped a hand over Moorer's mouth and yanked him backward. Almost simultaneously, Moorer noticed the pile of rubble that had obscured his view begin to stir!

"Oh my god... I told you to keep it down... you've gone and woken it up..." The survivor's voice quivered, indicating that he and the new arrivals were in imminent danger.

The creature rose from the ruins, a behemoth stirring amidst the steel and concrete, sending up clouds of dust. As the dust settled, Moorer and the others could finally see it clearly.

Before them stood a giant field rat, comparable in size to a young calf.

The layers of dust coating the rat suggested it had been lying in wait for the survivor for quite some time. But the rat's patience had run out. Spotting fresh prey, it instantly dismissed the thought of the one upstairs.

Like a bull, the field rat charged at Moorer and his companions!

The mouse darted out of the garage door in a few swift steps.

"Damn it! Brace for battle!"

Meow Meow arched its back and raised its tail, unleashing a sharp feline screech at the field rat.

Oddly enough, the field rat froze in place upon hearing the cat's cry, as if it were caught in the same contemplation as the mouse from the fallout shelter.

"Now's the time!"

Moorer and Payson launched their attack simultaneously. With lightning speed, a water pipe hurtled towards the field mouse like a thrown dagger, piercing the field mouse's left nostril with precision. Payson took a large step forward and, wielding a wrench, delivered a heavy blow to the pipe. The 70-centimeter-long pipe was driven over 40 centimeters deep into the field mouse's brain.

Dark red blood and pinkish brain matter oozed from the mouse's nose, eyes, and ears. Its eyes dulled, and with a final thud, it collapsed to the ground, its struggles ceasing.

The unfortunate mouse likely never understood why that peculiar cry had terrified it so, even unto death.

"Eh? Is it over?" The survivor's head reappeared at the window, eyes falling upon the bloodied remains of the field mouse. Moorer was standing on the mouse's head, attempting to extricate himself from his steel pipe, but after several fruitless efforts, he resigned himself to defeat.

"Oh my! My heroes!" The survivor's voice surged with excitement, "I've been trapped by this accursed thing for three days! And you resolved it in mere moments!"

Meow Meow detected the clatter of metal from upstairs, indicating the survivor was tidying up some cookware...

After ensuring the garage was clear of danger, Moorer ascended the staircase to the second floor.

Payson followed closely behind. He noticed a massive, seemingly bottomless rodent hole on the left side of the stairs, even larger than the casing of an electric fan. Payson surmised that the mouse must have entered through this hole.

"Incredible..." Payson whispered to himself, "That's a reinforced concrete wall..."

Reaching the second floor, Moorer heard the clinking of pots and pans from a room. Pushing the door open, he finally laid eyes on the survivor.

The young man appeared to be freshly an adult, standing at roughly 170 centimeters tall, about the same height as Payson. He was clad in a grimy, grayish-white robe with dark sports pants underneath, and donned a pair of imitation leather boots. His hood was attached to the robe, and a piece of grayish-black cloth veiled his face, revealing only his bright black eyes and a wisp of dark bangs.

Just by looking at his attire, Moorer could tell he was a seasoned wastelander, but his recent actions suggested otherwise.

"Ah... Hello there! My name is Ashes, I'm 19, and I'm an assassin."

"Assassin?" Moorer chuckled. "Can an assassin really get trapped upstairs by a rat for three days?"

"I... I'm still in training... And that thing you're calling a rat..." Ashes laughed sheepishly. Moorer took note of the items Ashes had gathered: a can, a bowl, and even a tripod supporting a small stainless steel pot over a fire. This piqued Moorer's curiosity about Ashes's true background.

At that moment, Payson and Meow arrived. Ashes had finished packing and was ready to depart. He signaled for the trio to step aside, slung his pack over his shoulder, and with a light leap, he effortlessly cleared the nearly seven-meter-wide gap.

"Not bad... I didn't expect you to be so skilled..."

"Ah... Even though I'm not fully trained yet, these basic skills are quite simple for me!"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Moorer, he's Payson, and the cat's name is Meow Meow. It can speak."

Meow Meow approached Ashes's feet, meowed, and looked up to say, "Hello, brother."

Only then did Ashes take notice of their clothing. Moorer and Payson were still dressed in dark blue and gold hibernation gear. He bent down to gently pet Meow Meow's head.

"Is this a cat? Such a cute little creature... I've only heard of them from my great-grandfather's generation, but they never mentioned these animals could talk..."

"Uh... Meow Meow is... quite unique..."

"Oh... I see. You must have trained it well for it to talk, right?" Ashes's face lit up with a look of sudden understanding, as if he had figured it all out.

"What are you talking about..." Meow Meow sounded a bit annoyed. "I've been able to talk since I was born, you know..."

"Ah... Right, may I ask... Are you two, no, all three of you travelers from the Underground City?"

"Underground City?" Moorer and Payson exchanged glances and shook their heads. "We're from Shelter No. 104..." They then proceeded to explain their whole story.

"Ah... It's not an Underground City..." Ashes's expression revealed a hint of disappointment, but he quickly masked it and bent down to continue petting Meow.

"So... Ashes, could you share your story with us? How did you end up here? This place doesn't exactly look like a survivor's enclave."

Ashes stood up, exhaling deeply. "Well, it all started about two weeks ago, with the DS organization's invasion..."

The information that can be disclosed is as follows:

1. Antathira World:

Antathira World is divided into five continents: the Northern Federation, the Southern Alliance, the Eastern Holy Land, the Western Empire, and the Central Headquarters. Before unification under the Antathira Joint Government, this era was known as the Desolate Era, during which the average technological level was roughly equivalent to that of the late World War II era.

2. Meteorite Impact Site:

The meteorite struck the southwestern corner of the Southern Alliance Continent, leading to the near-total destruction of the Southern Continent. One of the seven Underground Cities, Ye Ling Underground City, was obliterated in the impact. Currently, half of the Southern Continent is overrun by an unidentified species. The SCP Foundation, the Global Supernatural Alliance, and the Horizon Initiative's main forces are stationed in the Southern Alliance Continent to defend the last bastion of hope—the Ocean Gazing Underground City.

A fragment of the meteorite disintegrated upon entering the atmosphere and fell upon a city in the southeastern part of the Eastern Holy Land. This area is also encircled by unknown creatures, though in smaller numbers compared to the Southern Continent. The three major forces have established bases there and are engaged in combat.

The whereabouts of the other meteorite fragments remain a mystery.

3. The Seven Underground Cities:

The Northern Federation Continent is home to two Underground Cities: Winterley, located at the continent's center, and World's Corner, situated at the southwestern coastal edge.

The Southern Alliance Continent had two Underground Cities: Ye Ling Underground City in the southwest (now destroyed) and Ocean Gazing Underground City in the northeast, heavily guarded by the three major forces.

The Western Empire Continent has one Underground City, located directly to the south. Known as the Dark Pit Underground City by locals, its status is currently unknown due to the Western Empire's declaration of independence following the disaster.

In the Eastern Holy Land, there is an Underground City situated at the very heart of the continent, known as the "Jingdu Underground City." Another Underground City lies at the core of the Central Continent, aptly named the "Central Underground City."

As for the location of our protagonists, they find themselves in the northernmost part of the northern continent, specifically in Vage Village of Bear City.

Regarding the current global population, the inhabitants of the Underground Cities total 6.8 billion, while the Surface Beings number 0.9 billion.