Game: Civilization Paradise

At that moment, Luoxue activated a C4 charge and rushed at Ailo.

Ailo roared, charging toward Luoxue like a great beast.

Luoxue stomped hard on the ground, vaulting into the air. She flipped and landed on Ailo’s back, slapping the activated C4 charge onto its spine.

BEEP BEEP~

The indicator light on the C4 charge flashed incessantly.

Luoxue immediately bolted!

BOOM~

A terrifying explosion erupted, sending Luoxue flying.

Ailo dropped to one knee, its back a mangled ruin of flesh and blood.

But a moment later, its back began to frost over as the wound rapidly healed.

Just then, Long Ming charged straight at the wounded Ailo.

Seeing Long Ming rush toward it, Ailo forced its torso upright and brought a fist down with chilling force.

Long Ming’s pupils contracted as he dodged at the last possible second.

The fist grazed past his head.

The chilling wind from the punch made Long Ming’s cheeks sting with pain.

The next moment, Long Ming closed the distance. He raised Death’s Fang and viciously plunged it into Ailo’s heart.

CRACK~

Blue blood instantly gushed out.

"Argh~"

Ailo let out a wail of agony.

Just as Long Ming was about to unleash more Power and drive Death’s Fang all the way in, Ailo’s left hand shot out and clamped down on his right.

Then, Ailo’s right hand shot out, grabbing Long Ming by the neck as it slowly rose to its feet.

"Gah—"

Long Ming let out a pained gasp, lifted off the ground like a helpless chick, his neck caving in under the pressure.

Luoxue struggled to lift her head. She wanted to help Long Ming, but she couldn’t even get to her feet.

’It’s hopeless.’ A wave of despair washed over her.

Long Ming’s eyes rolled back in his head, his face a mask of agony. Cracks spread from his neck, spiderwebbing across his face and body.

"Ngh!"

Just as his neck was about to snap, Long Ming grit his teeth and summoned the last of his Power. He violently kicked up, striking the hilt of Death’s Fang.

CRUNCH!

The entirety of Death’s Fang plunged through Ailo’s heart.

"ARGHHH!"

Ailo let out a final, dying scream. The Power drained from its body as its grip on Long Ming went slack.

"COUGH, COUGH!"

Long Ming dropped to the ground, coughing violently. He had nearly been choked to death.

THUD~~

Ailo collapsed to the ground, its body hitting the floor with a final, resentful thud. Blue blood pooled beneath it, staining the floor.

"F-Father..."

Ailo murmured its father’s name before its eyes slowly fluttered shut for the last time.

Long Ming caught his breath, then stepped forward and wrenched Death’s Fang free.

Luoxue scrambled to her feet, panting. She glanced at the dead Ailo, then at the timer on her wristband.

"Let’s go. To the central control room. We have six minutes before the backup power runs out. After that, the entire base will lock down, and the tunnel doors won’t open."

"Wait."

Long Ming suddenly called out, stopping her.

Luoxue stopped and turned to face him.

"What’s wrong?"

"Even if I go down and open the gates now, there won’t be enough time for me to get back out. I’ll go alone. You get everyone else out of here."

Long Ming said calmly.

Luoxue frowned at his words, but then said...

"Alright!"

Without a moment’s hesitation, she turned and sprinted for the stairs, heading up.

Long Ming glanced at the main stairwell, which was swarming with monsters. Instead, he ran to the edge of Sub-level 5, vaulted over the railing, looked down, and let go.

He went into a freefall.

Long Ming reached out, caught the railing of Sub-level 6, and then let go again.

Moments later, Long Ming landed safely on Sub-level 12.

He immediately sprinted towards the central control room.

「Sub-level 1, Main Stairwell.」

Jing Chuan and the others were desperately spraying gunfire at the monsters.

BANG BANG~

But more and more monsters kept surging up the stairs.

"It’s no use! We can’t hold them back!"

An Qing and the others yelled to Jing Chuan in panic.

"Hold on a little longer!"

Jing Chuan was frantic. The monsters had already pushed them back to Sub-level 1.

He glanced back; the gate to the tunnel behind them was still sealed shut.

Hearing Jing Chuan, An Qing and the others pulled scavenged grenades from their packs, yanked the pins, and hurled them down the stairwell.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Swathes of monsters were blown to pieces, but seconds later, another horde scrambled up to take their place.

It pained An Qing and the others to do so.

Every grenade they threw was potential profit lost.

But they had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep tossing grenades into the throng of monsters.

Just then, a nimble figure appeared, gracefully running up the handrail of the main stairwell.

Zhihan’s face lit up.

"It’s Sister Luoxue."

Jing Chuan and the others rushed forward to meet her.

Soon, Luoxue leaped up to the landing of Sub-level 2, then sprinted the final flight of stairs to join Jing Chuan and the others.

"Luoxue! What are you doing here? Did you take care of that monster?"

Jing Chuan asked, a hint of tension in his voice.

"It’s dealt with."

Luoxue replied curtly.

"That’s great! But... why aren’t the gates open?"

Jing Chuan and the others were first overjoyed, then bewildered.

"Long Ming went down to open them. Everyone, prepare to evacuate. The moment those gates open, we run. The base is about to lose power."

Luoxue said, glancing at the timer on her wristband.

"Understood!"

The urgency in her voice startled Jing Chuan and the others. They immediately began falling back toward the tunnel entrance.

...

「Central Control Room.」

Long Ming burst into the room alone and ran straight to the central control console.

The screen was flashing with red warning windows.

"WARNING: Backup power reserves will be depleted in 2 minutes and 32 seconds. Base will initiate protective lockdown, sealing all sectors."

Long Ming immediately scanned the interface, trying to open the tunnel gates.

A prompt immediately popped up.

"Authorization Required: Deactivate System Lockdown!"

Seeing the prompt, Long Ming whipped a red keycard from his pocket and swiped it.

"Authorization granted."

The interface unlocked.

Long Ming immediately tried to disable the protective lockdown.

A yellow warning box popped up.

"Please engage the emergency override lever."

The message threw him for a loop. He snapped his head around, frantically scanning the room.

Just over a minute remained.

’Stay calm. Panicking now is useless; it’ll just make things worse.’ He forced himself to remain absolutely composed.

Soon, he spotted it: a large lever on the wall, currently in the down position.

Long Ming sprinted over, grabbed the lever, and heaved it upward.

...

「Sub-level 1, Tunnel Entrance.」

Jing Chuan and the others kept firing at the monsters surging up the stairs.

Luoxue’s eyes were glued to her wristband. Only one minute left.

The lights throughout the base began to flicker erratically.

"Sister Luoxue, the power’s about to go out! Why hasn’t Long Ming opened the gates yet?"

Jing Chuan and the others were growing frantic.

"Just a little longer."

Luoxue replied, her voice steady.

When there were fifty-four seconds left.

CLANK!

One after another, the heavy gates inside the tunnel began to rise.

"They’re opening!"

Zhihan and the others cried out in relief.

"Go!"

Luoxue immediately led Zhihan and the others charging into the tunnel.

Everyone ran desperately towards the exit.

Soon, they saw the final blast door at the exit. It was open.