[Land of No Master, Life Sequence Exploration Center]
"Run! This place is going to collapse!!!"
Amidst a series of rumbling, the ceiling above Su Mo and Nuobai kept collapsing, with rubble and steel-reinforced concrete showering down, and flying dust making it hard to breathe.
Nuobai wanted to escape, but she stumbled and fell after just a few steps, gasping for breath with difficulty.
She was too seriously injured; her IPS stem cells were nearly depleted, the recovery ability of the Crimson Rose Blood Code greatly weakened, with wounds all over her body not yet fully healed, bleeding through her clothes.
Su Mo, seeing this, ran over and looped one of Nuobai's arms around his shoulder, carrying her out to escape.
Alote's body bomb had enormous power, completely destroying the load-bearing structure of this building, leading to its comprehensive collapse.
Su Mo now could only race against time, striving to escape to the surface before the passage collapses.
He rushed to the corner, just about to step onto the stairs when suddenly he felt a sense of oppression coming from the side.
A beast attacked from the shadows, likely attracted by the commotion of the previous fight.
This beast had the appearance of a giant ape, with purplish-red muscles and blood vessels exposed directly on the skin surface, possessing four mutated arms, each brimming with mountain-like muscles.
Nuobai was now seriously injured, unable to withstand the beast any longer; it was up to Su Mo.Su Mo stood in front of Nuobai, rushing directly towards the beast.
He activated the "Mad Corpse Blood Code" he recently hunted from Alote, his shoulders differentiating into a piece of Rigid Bone, forming a large bump.
Su Mo ran at the beast, lowered his body into a ramming posture with the bump at its body.
"Boom!" A muffled loud sound.
The beast was forced back several steps, then steadied itself and let out an angry roar, its four arms combined to strike at Su Mo.
Crimson Rose, Mad Corpse, with Dual Blood Code existing simultaneously in his body, granting Su Mo far superior athletic abilities than before.
He leaped back to avoid the attack, the beast's arm thumping onto the ground, spraying up a large piece of rubble.
Su Mo took advantage to step on one of its arms, his fingers differentiating into sharp bone spikes, forcefully tearing forward.
"Pfft—" The beast's arm was ripped open with ten gashes deep to the bone, blood spurted out chaotically, dyeing the wall a crimson red.
Just as the beast was in pain, gunshots rang out.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two bullets hit the beast's eyes, it screamed in agony clutching its bloodied eyes.
Nuobai held a handgun, too weak to engage in battle with a sword, and could only assist Su Mo in such manner.
The beast's vision was deprived, plunging into a frenzy, its four arms flailed wildly, smashing everything it could reach, continuously causing dents in the walls and ground.
Su Mo, nimble thanks to the athletic ability brought by the Blood Code, dodged around and kept tearing open the beast's flesh.
Nuobai also continued to fire shots in support, leaving bullet holes on it.
However, this beast had an astonishing vitality, drenched in blood yet not falling, its massive body blocking the passage completely, making it impossible to get around.
Su Mo knitted his brows.
The building was collapsing now; time was crucial, they couldn't afford to be delayed by a beast here.
He signaled Nuobai to cease fire, then began shouting loudly to draw the beast's attention: "Hey there, dumb monkey, come chase me if you've got the guts!"
The beast roared angrily and charged at the sound.
Su Mo backed while shouting, luring the beast to a corner about to collapse.
As the beast lunged, he rolled sideways to dodge.
"Crash!" The corner was crushed by the beast, the ceiling collapsed like an avalanche, burying it instantly.
From underneath the rubble, scarlet blood kept seeping out; even if it wasn't crushed into paste, it was impossible to escape.
Meanwhile, Su Mo and Nuobai had already seized the chance to make their escape to the surface.
Spiral staircases led endlessly upwards, so deep they gave an illusion as if there was no end.
Until a massive door appeared in front of them, a sense of hope spontaneously arose.
The two pushed the door and rushed out, light instantly brightened, fresh air flooded into their lungs, sending chills through their bodies.
The collapse of the underground structure also affected the stability of the surface buildings, they didn't have time to enjoy this renewed feeling, and kept running out nonstop.
The entire Life Sequence Exploration Center was collapsing, with steel and various building materials constantly falling around them, creating deafening noises.
Nuobai slightly recovered and no longer needed Su Mo's support, the two were running one after another.
Su Mo looked at the increasingly closer exit ahead, the urge for survival stirred inside, his heart rate climbing to its zenith.
Faster...
Faster!
They were about to escape!
Su Mo ran with all his might, the sunlight at the exit getting brighter, eventually engulfing all vision.
The moment of rushing out the building and into the outside world, Su Mo's taut nerves abruptly eased, he fell to the ground rolling, looking up to see a sky crystal-clear beyond compare.
Skies bright, clouds high, winds gentle, resplendent sunlight sprinkling all around, bringing a beautiful and peaceful warmth, a world seemingly opposite to below ground.
"We did it!" Su Mo clenched his fists, exclaiming excitedly, "Nuobai, we've ..."
"Boom—"
Fate played a massive joke.
Just as Nuobai was about to rush past the exit as well, the building completely collapsed, countless falling rubble buried her under layers of ruins.
Su Mo's face turned pale with shock, he hurried over to check.
Nuobai was relatively lucky, not dead from being crushed, her upper body exposed without injury, but her legs were trapped under rubble and steel.
She struggled desperately, supporting herself on the ground with her arms to try to crawl out.
But the ruins pressed her legs too firmly, she couldn't break free no matter how hard she tried.
Nuobai reached a hand towards Su Mo, wanting him to pull her out.
Su Mo was just about to grab that hand, suddenly seeing a light spot appear at the horizon, its tail trailing a shocking white wave in the sky.
Clearly, it was a missile!
Moreover, judging from its flight path, the missile was heading towards them.
It must be that the Hegemony Company detected Alote and others' demise, and decided to employ extreme measures to eradicate everything here.
Once that missile hits, the entire Life Sequence Exploration Center will be destroyed, all life will go up in flames and turn to ashes.
Su Mo mindlessly turned back, seeing Nuobai's pleading gaze.
The pressure of impending death was overwhelming, Su Mo's heart was in chaos.
What to do...
The missile was about to hit, everything here would be obliterated.
Nuobai was now trapped by rubble, uncertain how much time it would take to save her.
Escaping a second earlier could distance from the explosion center further, increasing the chances of survival.
If staying to save her, he might perish...
Life exists just once...
I don't want to die...
I want to live!
Yes, to live...
Some thought surged in Su Mo's mind, like the tide, sweeping, occupying all his consciousness.