doomsday shelter

Chapter 20：discover the fort

They arrived at the entrance of the basement, where stood a large wooden door, but it was not black; instead, it was white. After removing the same "No Entry for Customers" sign, they noticed the button was also white.

Song Yunian remarked, "Oh no, this should require my father's fingerprint to open! I didn't register mine when I inherited it!"

Liang Jiajia urged, "Husband, give it a try!"

Song Yunian attempted with each of his ten fingers, to no avail. Liang Jiajia tried hers as well, with no success.

With a sigh, Liang Jiajia lamented, "What should we do? Husband, are we going to starve here?"

Ignoring her question, Song Yunian approached the fingerprint button and noticed what seemed to be a camera-like device inside. Muttering to himself, he said, "A fingerprint recognition button, why would there be a camera? There's no peephole behind the big black door of Villa No. 2!"

Annoyed, Liang Jiajia said, "Are you even listening to me? What camera? It can't take pictures anyway!"

Suddenly, a spark of inspiration hit Song Yunian. "Pictures! Right, Jiajia, have you ever seen front-facing cameras on some phones that can unlock using facial recognition?"

Liang Jiajia replied, "What's so strange about that? My phone can do that!"

With a smile, Song Yunian said, "If the camera on this door also has facial recognition, then I have a solution!"

Perplexed, Liang Jiajia asked, "What's your plan? It won't recognize your face; although you resemble your father, you can't fool the recognition system!"

"I can use my father's photos!" Song Yunian exclaimed. "I have plenty on my phone!"

Liang Jiajia questioned, "Will photos work? My phone can't be unlocked with my photos, otherwise, it wouldn't be secure!"

"Only time will tell," Song Yunian sighed. "Let's hope the facial recognition technology from ten years ago couldn't distinguish between real people and photos!" As he reached for his phone in his pocket, he realized it wasn't there.

With a wry smile, he said, "It's been so long since I used my phone for calls or internet; I forgot to bring it with me! I'll go back to the room to get it!"

Upon returning, Song Yunian opened a photo of Song Aimin when he was younger, taken from a family photo. Although not very clear, the clearer photos were taken in recent years, showing more facial lines, which might confuse the recognition.

He aimed the phone screen at the camera on the door, adjusting its position carefully. With a "ding" sound, the button flashed a red light, and the white door swung open.

Liang Jiajia exclaimed, "Husband, you're amazing!"

Song Yunian remarked, "Impressive! The technology from ten years ago is quite remarkable! Although it can't distinguish between real people and photos, it's still remarkable, considering smartphones weren't even a thing back then!"

Liang Jiajia tightly held Song Yunian's hand as they entered the basement. It had the same layout and furnishings as Villa No. 2. Liang Jiajia said, "We mustn't give up. Let's search carefully; my mother wouldn't deceive us!"

Song Yunian agreed, "Yes, let's search meticulously, not overlooking any detail!"

They meticulously searched every inch of the basement's walls and floor. Cabinets and refrigerators were moved and opened. After an hour of searching, they couldn't find any hidden mechanisms in the hundred square meters of space.

Liang Jiajia, exhausted, bent over, gasping for breath. She walked over, embraced Song Yunian from behind, and said, "Husband, do we still have hope?"

Rubbing his eyes, Song Yunian suddenly noticed something unusual about the central light bulb in the basement. He brought over a cabinet, laid it horizontally, and stood on it to touch the light bulb.

Liang Jiajia cautioned, "Husband, be careful of the electricity!"

Ignoring her warning, Song Yunian, despite the glaring light, carefully examined the top of the light bulb and discovered a white button identical to the one on the door. Before he could rejoice, he quickly opened his phone and aimed Song Aimin's photo at the button.

With a "ding" sound, a red light flashed again. Accompanied by a rumbling sound, a one-square-meter section of the floor slowly descended, then retracted under other floorboards to reveal a black hole.

Curious, Song Yunian and Liang Jiajia approached and saw a staircase leading underground in the black hole. Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the staircase, and a loud, robotic voice rang out, "Welcome to the Citadel of Doom!"