Lin Ze craned his neck to look inside, but could only see pitch darkness with nothing visible.
He pulled his phone from his pants pocket, intending to turn on the flashlight, but Lin Ran had already stepped inside ahead of him and found the switch on the wall.
Instantly, Lin Ze could clearly see the layout inside.
It was a staircase—so the Ye family really had a secret chamber with mechanisms!
Seeing that Lin Ran had already descended, he hurriedly stuffed his phone back into his pocket and followed.
After passing through a long staircase, they came upon a massive basement.
Countless shelves filled the basement, neatly stacked with endless supplies of rice, flour, cooking oil, and various other goods.
“Wow, the Ye family actually stockpiled so many supplies! Food, Luncheon Meat, compressed biscuits, toilet paper, military tents—this is almost as much as a supermarket!”
“Did the Ye family know something in advance? Otherwise, why would they hoard so many supplies?”
Lin Ze clicked his tongue in amazement, while Lin Ran showed no surprise at all.
In her previous life, Ye Lan had told her that the reason their family first rose to prominence wasn’t because of how much money they had or how much gold was in their vault.
When the apocalypse arrived, those things would become worthless scraps.
What truly allowed their family to rapidly accumulate wealth and prestige after the apocalypse were the piles of supplies in this secret chamber. Just having a bottle of clean mineral water during the apocalypse could make some people willing to risk their lives for them.
The reason they stockpiled these supplies wasn’t because they had prior knowledge of some secret, but because Ye Lan’s grandfather was a man with a strong sense of crisis. He was obsessed with building an underground fortress and had stored enough supplies inside to last them ten years.
Moreover, this underground fortress was waterproof, heatproof, and insulated—an ideal place for surviving the apocalypse.
Lin Ran’s main purpose in coming here today was to find this place. She wanted to sever all of Ye Lan’s opportunities. She wanted to see how the arrogant young master of the Ye family, after losing everything, could still manipulate the world at will during the apocalypse.
She strode through the basement, and wherever she went, all the supplies vanished, leaving only empty shelves behind.
Lin Ze watched in stunned silence, then felt genuine delight.
Satisfying, so satisfying.
Just like this—take everything that bastard owned. His expression would surely be priceless when he saw these empty shelves.
He needed to taste the bitterness of losing everything too.
The thought made Lin Ze incredibly happy. He crossed his arms and leaned lazily against the wall.
“Creak, creak—”
A heavy mechanical sound came from within the wall, followed by the appearance of a hidden door.
Lin Ran looked at the door with pleasant surprise, patting Lin Ze’s head approvingly. “Xiao Ze, you’ve got great luck. You even discovered Ye Lan’s family’s hideout.”
Passing through the door, Lin Ran found the light switch on the wall, revealing another downward staircase.
The two followed the steps downward, and when they reached the bottom, she finally saw all the secrets the Ye family patriarch had hidden underground. If the first basement level was a storage warehouse, this place was their paradise for hunkering down during the apocalypse.
It was an extravagantly decorated underground castle, furnished with luxurious and modern decor.
“The Ye family really knows how to live in luxury,” Lin Ze exclaimed with admiration from the side.
The first thing that caught their eyes was a grand hall decorated in European classical style. A high-quality leather sofa sat prominently in the center, placed atop an expensive wool carpet, with a fireplace nearby.
A massive crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting an extravagant glow throughout the room.
This family truly knew how to indulge themselves. Lin Ran noticed there was also a kitchen here, equipped with a large refrigerator and an enormous freezer, both packed to the brim.
With a sweep of her hand, Lin Ran unceremoniously took everything, leaving nothing behind for Ye Lan.
The second basement level appeared to be specially designed by the Ye family patriarch as a leisure area. Not only were there several comfortably decorated bedrooms, but also a game room.
Inside stood a billiard table along with numerous gaming consoles and cartridges.
Lin Ran thought these items would be useful for her own family too, so she stored everything in her Dimension – determined not to leave anything for Ye Lan.
Lin Ze sat on the leather sofa for a while, quickly becoming captivated by its comfort. This sofa was far superior to any he had ever experienced before.
How could the leather be so comfortable?
Why did it feel so incredibly pleasant?
No way – such a fine piece couldn’t be left for that scumbag Ye Lan.
With this thought, Lin Ze hopped up and bounded over to Lin Ran, who was carefully examining their surroundings as if searching for something.
What was she looking for? Could there be some hidden door here?
But they had already discovered two secret doors. Were the Ye family members so clever that they would install another hidden door in this basement?
Lin Ze had always been straightforward around Lin Ran, speaking whatever came to mind. “Sis, what are you looking for? Don’t tell me there’s another hidden door here?”
Hearing this, Lin Ran stopped her exploration and glanced at Lin Ze. “That’s not necessarily true. Xiao Ze, aren’t you curious about something? When we first entered, we destroyed their power system, yet the lights in this room are still on. Do you know how that’s possible?”
Right.
His sister had cut the power when they first arrived, so how could there still be electricity here?
“You’re right, sis! How could I forget such an important detail? There must be some mechanism in this basement. Let me help you search for it.”
The revelation woke Lin Ze from his reverie. Forgetting about taking the comfortable sofa, he enthusiastically joined the search for hidden mechanisms.
Lin Ran smiled faintly at Lin Ze’s enthusiasm and continued, “It’s not just the electricity that’s odd – the air here is strange too. This is the second basement level with no windows, and we haven’t found any ventilation system. Yet there’s no discomfort from poor air circulation, no musty smell at all. There must be another level here.”
Lin Ze nodded with a serious expression. He had been too careless to notice such obvious anomalies. His sister was truly remarkable.
“Don’t worry, sis. I might not be good at analyzing clues, but I’m great at manual work. Watch me conduct a thorough search – I’ll definitely find that hidden mechanism.”
Like someone injected with adrenaline, Lin Ze immediately dropped to the floor and began his meticulous search.
But Lin Ran poured cold water on his enthusiasm once more.