Chapter 1199: Saving Straw

Sun Bumian was the embodiment of good fortune, and what he sought was the boisterous sound of gongs and drums and the dazzling display of fireworks, not to be protected like a rare animal in an enclosed underground facility.

Sun Bumian turned and headed out of the secret passage.

While the lack of an elevator might trap others, it wouldn't stop Sun Bumian; he could transform into an Awakened Lion and easily navigate through the underground to leave the facility.

Seeing this, Sun Zhongliang did not try to stop him, but quietly watched his departing figure.

As the Awakened Lion pendant on Sun Bumian's wrist swayed slightly, seven-colored flames enveloped his form. Just as he transformed into an Awakened Lion and was about to pass through the wall, a cold aura, as if from the netherworld, forcefully bounced him back!

Sun Bumian's face was filled with astonishment. He then saw a faint, dark glow flash across the wall, and at the same time, a very familiar scent entered his nostrils.

Bounced back into the stone corridor, Sun Bumian seemed to realize something and abruptly turned to look at Sun Zhongliang.

"How can there be something from an Ancient Relic of the Ghost Path here?"

"Bureau 749 has been established for many years, so it naturally has some hidden capabilities…" Sun Zhongliang was not surprised by Sun Bumian's reaction and calmly began to explain.

"In the early years, when excavating the 7012 underground project, a secret treasure called 'Du Shang' was discovered deep beneath the area around Wushan. It looks like a teacup, and once inverted, it seals off an area that cannot be easily opened from the inside… Even if you are a Tier Seven, you cannot break out by brute force. Mr. Sun, please don't be willful. Staying here is the safest."

Sun Bumian's expression immediately turned grim. He swept through the secret passage like a gust of wind and once again grabbed Sun Zhongliang's collar.

"Sun Zhongliang, I don't want to resort to violence… Don't force me."

"Mr. Sun, I am just an ordinary person. Even if you kill me, Du Shang won't open… My duty is simply to bring you here and meet your needs. I can do nothing else." Sun Zhongliang's voice remained calm, despite the threat from a Tier Seven.

The noise from the adjacent conference room grew louder.

Sun Bumian stared fixedly at him, veins bulging on the back of his hands.

Buzzing—

The nuclear weapon that had fallen in the mountains caused Wushan Town to tremble slightly.

The lights overhead flickered continuously, and fine dust occasionally fell from the ceiling. This was accompanied by the sound of numerous windows shattering and the continuous blaring of car alarms outside.

Inside the crowded civil defense shelter, the panicked civilians cried out, clutching onto anything or anyone nearby that could give them a sense of security. Their hearts pounded in their throats…

"Wh-what's happening outside?""Did a nuclear bomb explode? Did we survive?!""Help me, I'm so scared… I want to go home, I want to go home!!"

Amidst the cries of babies, fear spread among the populace. Inside the shelter, they had no idea what was happening outside, nor if a second or third nuclear bomb would follow.

Perhaps the next second, the earth above them would collapse, burying them alive or blowing them to pieces… If not the next second, then perhaps the one after that, or the second after that.

The shadow of death loomed, and more terrifying than the nuclear weapon itself was the unknown future.

Chu Changqing stared fixedly at the dust-covered ceiling overhead and couldn't help but ask:

"Can this place really withstand a nuclear strike?"

"Our country classifies civil defense projects into four grades: A, B, C, and D. Grade A projects have full protection capabilities against nuclear strikes, while projects below Grade B can only withstand the indirect effects of a nuclear explosion, such as the shockwave… But strictly speaking, any shelter, regardless of its grade, will be destroyed if directly hit."

Lu Xun, who was relatively the calmest, recalled the information in his mind and answered calmly.

"If it's a direct hit, will everyone die…?" Su Zhiwei sighed. "It seems we truly are at the mercy of fate."

"What grade is our shelter?" Yang Xiao asked.

"Grade B," Lu Xun replied, glancing at the ventilation shaft.

"Shelters below Grade B cannot block the threat of nuclear radiation, nor can they filter the air contaminated with hazardous fallout after a nuclear explosion. Even if we survive the direct impact of the nuclear blast, we will still die soon after inhaling the hazardous fallout…"

As soon as he said this, everyone's expressions turned grim.

They had thought that by hiding in the underground facility, they would survive the nuclear strike, but now it seemed the situation was much more severe than they had anticipated.

"If only I had known, I would have gone directly to a Grade A shelter," Chu Changqing said, frowning deeply.

"For a typical third-tier city, Grade A shelters can accommodate only 10% of the total population. Wushan Town has a population of about a million, and there are fewer than twenty Grade A shelters in total. Furthermore, officials and engineering maintenance personnel are prioritized for entry… Our location is also too far from any Grade A shelter, so having a Grade B shelter is already fortunate," Lu Xun said, giving him a complicated look.

"Now do you understand why ordinary citizens aren't informed in advance before a global nuclear war?"

"The chaos caused by uncontrolled human nature is even more terrifying than the nuclear strike itself."

The group fell silent.

Lu Xun was about to say something more when he suddenly looked up at the void above.

"What's wrong?"

"Something is approaching… right above us!"

As soon as Lu Xun spoke, everyone's expressions instantly turned incredibly grim. They knew that whatever could make Lu Xun suddenly alert was certainly not ordinary, and given that a nuclear strike was underway, the "thing" Lu Xun mentioned was instantly obvious.

"Right above us?" Chu Changqing frowned deeply. "Doesn't that mean…"

Yang Xiao, standing nearby, closed his eyes as if trying to sense something. Unlike Lu Xun, whose perceptions came through the radiance of stars, Yang Xiao sensed through the fluctuations of surrounding magnetic fields.

Although it was still somewhat strenuous, he could sense that an extremely peculiar metal component was rapidly descending above Wushan Town.

And judging from its trajectory, its point of impact was precisely in their street block!

"No… it absolutely cannot land here!" Lu Xun understood the gravity of the situation; if this object directly impacted the shelter, all of them would surely die.

His mind raced. He abruptly grabbed Yang Xiao's shoulder, as if grasping a last straw.

"Yang Xiao!! Only you can influence it now!! Everyone's lives here depend on you… even if you can just shift it a tiny bit, it absolutely cannot land here!"