"The self-destruct program has been activated. This building will be completely sealed off in ten minutes. All personnel, please evacuate in an orderly manner."

Long Yuehong and the others had just stepped out of the elevator when they heard the previously silent broadcast announce this message.

The few employees from the Supplies Market who were still half-believing Shang Jianyao's words and had only chosen to follow the crowd were now completely panicked, both shocked and terrified.

"There's still time," Long Yuehong said simply, turning and running towards the emergency staircase leading to the 650th floor.

According to his estimation, if everything went smoothly, they could use the emergency staircase to ascend to the "Surface District" within five minutes. At that point, no matter how the underground section was sealed or self-destructed, it wouldn't affect them.

Thump, thump, thump. Long Yuehong led the way, followed by Gu Hong and Long Dayong. Bai Chen lagged slightly behind, responsible for dealing with any other unexpected situations.

The employees from the Supplies Market felt like they had found their backbone, no longer so panicked, and started running along.

The underground building had more than one emergency staircase. At least half of the elevator lobbies corresponded to one. Long Yuehong and the others only ran a few steps before entering the staircase, heading upwards.

The various roadblocks placed here had already been destroyed by people. They arrived at the 650th floor easily and smoothly.

If it weren't for the "self-destruct countdown" still echoing in their ears, everyone present would have quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

The emergency staircases on the 650th floor were concentrated on the other side, none of them connected to those below. They had to pass through a long corridor guarded by multiple pairs of metal doors to reach them.

Fortunately, the previous escape of the Security Department employees had allowed these metal doors to open automatically without the need for forced destruction.

Long Yuehong led his parents, wife, and the employees from the Supplies Market in a mad dash, without stopping.

"Countdown: Nine minutes..."

"Countdown: Eight minutes..."

The countdown rang out again and again, causing Long Dayong and Gu Hong, who usually lacked exercise, to secrete adrenaline and run steadily.

They all dared not slow their pace, panting heavily.

It was only because they weren't too old and had undergone immature genetic modifications that they could persist after such a sprint. Otherwise, they really wouldn't have been able to hold on.

"Countdown: Seven minutes..."

"Countdown: Six minutes..."

Long Yuehong became increasingly strange as he ran.

According to common sense, at their speed, they should have already arrived on the other side of the 650th floor and started searching for emergency staircases that had their roadblocks destroyed or were not permanently sealed.

Moreover, with such a straight path, they weren't Jiang Baimian; how could they get lost?

Long Yuehong's heart stirred, and he stopped.

He raised his right hand, signaling his parents and the others to rest temporarily.

At the same time, he shouted loudly:

"The underground building is about to be sealed off. Do you want to die inside?"

He suspected that he and the others had encountered an Awakened from the "Shattered Mirror" domain, one who was still loyal to the company and had not been affected.

However, no one answered him.

Just then, Bai Chen reminded him:

"Write on the wall!"

That's right! Long Yuehong suddenly understood.

The only reason that Awakened person hadn't been affected by Shang Jianyao or frightened by the self-destruct countdown was that they had blocked their ears in advance.

As for the worst-case scenario of a "High-Level Heartless," Long Yuehong was temporarily unwilling to consider it.

With a snap, the mechanical arm popped out a small knife and scratched on the wall:

"The building is about to be sealed off. You'll know once you listen!"

After ten or twenty seconds, it seemed as if a layer of invisible glass had shattered before Long Yuehong and the others.

They then saw the other side of the 650th floor, saw multiple figures pacing in place, and saw one person running towards the depths of that area.

Huff… Long Yuehong breathed a sigh of relief and called out to his parents and wife:

"Continue!"

Now, there were only a little more than four minutes left!

His group started running again, heading straight for the nearest emergency staircase.

But it was permanently sealed off.

They had no choice but to try another one.

After trying three in a row, Long Yuehong finally saw the destroyed roadblocks.

The fact that the roadblocks could be destroyed meant that this road should be passable!

"Countdown: Three minutes..."

While Long Yuehong was delighted, the cold electronic synthesized voice rang out again.

He quickly encouraged his parents:

"The 'Surface District' is just up ahead!"

Everyone's hearts filled with hope, and they frantically headed upwards along the staircase.

This emergency staircase was quite long, about the height of three normal floors.

The sound of footsteps echoed incessantly. Long Yuehong finally saw a platform, and at the end of the platform was a pair of silver-black metal doors.

"Huff." He gasped for breath and said to the people following behind, "It'll be safe once we get out!"

This gave a little more strength to many who had already gone weak in the legs.

Long Yuehong protected his parents and, together with Bai Chen, ran towards the already opened door. Outside was the parking lot.

"Countdown: Two minutes..."

At this moment, Long Yuehong suddenly became fragile, filled with doubt about whether they could escape:

"Does the sealing of the underground building really only refer to the underground area and not include the surface section?"

"If it's the latter, it would take at least five minutes to run from here to the Ashlands, and there simply isn't enough time..."

"Even if we could smash a car, we don't have the keys..."

"Xiaobai can hotwire a car, but I don't know if there's enough time..."

"Even if the Big Boss and the 'New World' experts are indeed being held back, can the company's many 'Mind Corridor' level Awakened really let us get our way? Moreover, the company has been operating in this building for decades. Who knows how many other arrangements there are!"

These questions were like bullets shot into Long Yuehong's heart, shattering his spirit and depriving him of the will to move forward.

Not only him, Bai Chen, Long Dayong, and Gu Hong all had similar reactions, stopping with expressions of collapse and gasping for breath.

The employees from the Supplies Market and those who had been affected by the illusion earlier were the same.

Only a third of the people were unaffected, running out of the metal door not far ahead of Long Yuehong and into the parking lot.

"Fragile Heart"!

The Awakened ability of the "Zhuang Sheng" domain!

Long Yuehong turned his body halfway and saw two figures walking over from the other side of the platform.

One had ears plugged, eyes muddy, wearing neat black clothes, body slightly hunched, around fifty years old. The other was completely covered in a "Chameleon" series biomimetic intelligent armor.

"High-Level Heartless"... Long Yuehong's heart sank, becoming even more desperate.

There wasn't much time left to begin with, and they had encountered a "High-Level Heartless" intercepting them. The road ahead was bleak.

No, there was no hope at all!

The fragile Long Yuehong couldn't help but shed tears, his vision blurry.

He seemed to hear the footsteps of death.

"Wuwuwu." Gu Hong cried, and Long Dayong squatted down, covering his face with his hands.

Even Bai Chen, who had always been strong-willed, had moist eyes at this moment, with expressions of dejection and pain on her face.

The "High-Level Heartless" led the person wearing the biomimetic intelligent armor step by step.

He grabbed an employee from the Supplies Market and suddenly bit into the other person's neck.

Blood spurted out.

Long Yuehong stared blankly at this scene, seeming to see his own end.

"Countdown: 59 seconds..."

"58..."

"57..."

Another group of people ran up from this emergency staircase, behind them a large number of ferociously aggressive "Heartless."

It's over, it's over… Long Yuehong's willpower was like porcelain hit by a hammer, shattering into countless pieces.

He seemed to be able to see the way he, Bai Chen, and his parents would die.

Either have their necks twisted by the "Heartless," their hearts ripped out, and torn into pieces, or be sealed inside the underground building and die from the subsequent explosion, poisonous gas, flooding, suffocation, or mental collapse.

Imagined scenes appeared one after another in Long Yuehong's mind, accompanied by the screams of "Pangu Biology" employees being hunted by the "Heartless," making him so fragile that he wanted to end his own life to avoid witnessing the慘状 of his parents and Bai Chen.

"30..."

"29..."

A large group of escapees were being hunted by the "Heartless" in various ways, while some were fortunate enough to cross Long Yuehong and the others and rush into the parking lot.

This made the nerve in Long Yuehong's brain nearly snap.

The fear of death and the 慘状 of his loved ones constantly hammered at his heart, gradually creating echoes in his mind:

"No, I don't want to see such things…

"I don't want to see Dad, Mom, and Bai Chen die like this…

"I'm afraid of death, but I'm even more afraid of seeing those I love die tragically!"

"12..."

"11..."

"10..."

The number "10" leaped into Long Yuehong's mind, causing him to have a hallucination of a nerve snapping.

He completely collapsed.

Some people completely collapse and give up completely, while others will do some extreme things that they wouldn't normally do.

This is influenced by both their personality and the growth brought about by their experiences, with the latter carrying more weight.

"9..."

Long Yuehong suddenly moved, seemingly no longer affected by "Fragile Heart."

With red eyes, he took a step to the side, grabbed his parents' clothes with both hands, and lifted them up.

"8..."

"7..."

Long Yuehong first used the mechanical arm's strength to throw Gu Hong out of the door and into the parking lot, then twisted his waist, exerted all his strength, and threw Long Dayong in that direction as well.

"6..."

Long Yuehong ran back to Bai Chen.

"5..."

He used his mechanical arm to pick up Bai Chen around the waist and threw her out the door with a fierce shove.

"Run!"

Long Yuehong shouted loudly.

"4..."

Bai Chen flew into the air with a look of sadness and astonishment on her face.

At the same time, Long Yuehong turned his body and faced the "High-Level Heartless" who was still killing.

"3..."

Long Yuehong ran over and raised his arm. He wanted to quickly take care of this "Heartless" who was still affecting his parents and Bai Chen.

At this moment, he was no longer fragile, no longer hesitant, no longer afraid. His heart was incomparably calm, and his eyes were only on the enemy.

My name is Long Yuehong. I only made it to 1.75 meters after genetic modification, my looks are average, and my grades in all subjects are also ordinary…

ps: Four updates today. The second update is at 3:30, the third is at 7:00, and the fourth is at 10:00.