The whole nation: You're put to survive on a desolate planet, you'll be running an alien b

The heavy blast-proof gate slammed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of choking dust that completely shut out the countless, tooth-grinding, insect-like crawling sounds behind it. But this did not ease the tense atmosphere in the slightest; rather, it was like a snapped string, foreshadowing an even more violent collapse that was about to begin.

Li Haotian did not linger in front of that door.

"He's not in the back." Li Haotian turned around, his gaze sweeping across the empty control room like a hawk's. The intense gunfight and killing just now seemed to be merely a delaying tactic. That "Professor Chen" wasn't among the array protected by those drug-equipped puppets; he had retreated long ago, like a mouse sensing danger, scurrying into a deeper burrow.

"On the left, the energy reading is soaring." Qin Yue's voice came through the headset, carrying a slight electrical static. "There's a separate backup energy zone there, and... there's a highly active energy signal that's moving rapidly."

Without a word, Li Haotian picked up Xiao Hei, pushed off with his feet, and shot towards the left corridor like a cannonball. Xiao Hei was unusually quiet in his arms, its eerie green eyes fixed on the half-open mechanical door at the end of the corridor, a rare, low-frequency vibration rumbling in its throat. It wasn't the excitement of a hunt, but a pure, undisguised disgust.

The moment the mechanical door was pushed open, a pungent, almost suffocating, fishy smell wafted out.

This is a secluded laboratory, or rather, a private shrine. In the center of the room, a specially made cylindrical culture tank is fixed on a complex hovering trolley. The tank is filled with a murky, pale green liquid, and deep within the liquid, curled up a biological embryo that is at least two meters long.

It was a deformed creation, half-human and half-god.

It had a humanoid outline, but its head had three tightly closed eyes. Proliferating tissue resembling bone wings extended from its back, and its skin was like charred charcoal, yet a chilling purple light emanated from its cracks. The light was unstable, flickering like breathing, and with each flash, the surrounding space seemed to subtly distort—a sign of the extreme instability of the void's power.

Professor Chen stood beside the trolley, his white coat stained with large patches of blood, whether from someone else or from the chaos just now, it was unclear. His hands trembled as he rapidly typed commands into the control panel. His once refined face was now contorted into a near-grotesque expression, his eyes flashing with an almost manic obsession.

"Don't come any closer!" Professor Chen saw Li Haotian barge in and suddenly pulled out a large-caliber pistol, the dark muzzle pointed at Li Haotian's forehead. "You mortals have no idea what you're obstructing! This is the end of evolution, the vessel for the gods to descend to earth!"

"God?" Li Haotian didn't stop walking, and didn't even blink under the gun. "I only see a low-quality failure."

Xiao Hei poked its head out from Li Haotian's arms and let out a low growl at the culture tank. The sound was harsh and short, like some kind of curse.

Professor Chen paused for a moment, then let out a strange laugh: "You're so blind! Even this mutated beast can't comprehend the great Will of the Void!"

"No, you're wrong." Li Haotian stopped five meters away from Professor Chen, coldly staring at the embryo. "Xiao Hei is a pure Void Predator, and that thing..."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze piercing through the murky culture medium, seemingly seeing through the chaotic genetic code inside the embryo: "To a pure-blooded void creature, that pile of stuff looks like moldy bread, full of disgusting impurities. What you forcibly matured with those messy genes and drugs is not a god at all, but a series of unmanageable error codes."

"Nonsense! This is a perfect masterpiece!" Professor Chen roared, slamming his finger on a red button on the control panel.

"Is this your perfection?"

Before Li Haotian could finish speaking, the entire underground base suddenly shook violently.

The piercing alarm ripped through the air, and the dim lights suddenly flashed into blinding red light. The metal seams on the walls began to crack, sparks flew, and rubble rained down from above.

"Self-destruct program initiated, countdown: ninety seconds." The cold, synthesized electronic voice echoed in the corridor, like the countdown to death.

"If I can't take it with me, I'll destroy everything! Nobody will get it!" Professor Chen laughed maniacally, but he didn't look at Li Haotian; instead, he stared intently at the culture tank. He pulled the trolley sharply, as if at this critical moment, his only thought was to save this deformed "creation."

Li Haotian made a move.

Instead of lunging at Professor Chen who was holding a gun, he pushed off with his feet, gliding along the ground, and the tactical knife in his hand flew out, drawing a cold silver light in the air, heading straight for the hydraulic bearing of the cart.

"clang!"

With a crisp snap, the tactical knife precisely locked onto the bearing, the trolley tilted violently, the heavy culture tank shook violently, and the liquid inside surged up as if boiling.

"No!" Professor Chen let out a heart-wrenching scream, and without even bothering to aim, he fired two shots haphazardly. The bullets hit the floor at Li Haotian's feet, sending up a string of sparks.

Taking advantage of the moment the gun barrel shifted, Li Haotian had already rushed forward. He punched Professor Chen's wrist, and the pistol fell to the ground with a thud. Then he grabbed Professor Chen's collar and slammed him hard against the metal wall next to him.

"Bang!"

After a tremendous crash, Professor Chen slumped to the ground, still muttering incoherently, "God...cannot die...God is leaving..."

At the same time, the tilted culture tank that had been hit suddenly emitted a crisp sound of shattering glass.

A thin crack appeared on the thick bulletproof glass, and the purple light within the embryo suddenly intensified, as if sensing the impending crisis of destruction. Its three tightly closed eyes snapped open, revealing no pupils, only endless greed and chaotic void storms.

"Damn it!" Li Haotian's pupils shrank.

Little Black roared again, this time with a strong warning. It was reminding Li Haotian that although this forcibly pieced-together monster was of inferior quality, it was currently in a critical state. Once it fully erupted, this underground structure would be instantly devoured by void energy.

"Boom—"

The entire second basement level groaned under the strain, the massive load-bearing columns began to bend, a large hole collapsed in the ceiling, and steel bars drooped down like pythons.

Li Haotian grabbed the tactical knife from the ground, ignoring the unconscious madman and the extremely dangerous incubation tank. He had seen that Professor Chen, before collapsing, seemed to have activated the emergency ejection device at the bottom with his last vestiges of consciousness.

The expensive incubation tank containing the demigod embryos detached from the broken cart chassis with a hissing sound of air pressure being released, and slid into an emergency escape shaft that had just cracked open in the ground like a giant torpedo.

The well leads to the surface, into the unknown darkness.

"Trying to run?" Li Haotian watched the rapidly receding shadowy light, a cold killing intent flashing in his eyes.

"Qin Yue! Seal off the surface exits!"

"It's too late! That's an emergency slide leading directly to the external drainage ditch, and all the surveillance footage has been lost!" Qin Yue's urgent voice came through. "Moreover, the structural support here has reached its limit. Li Haotian, we must evacuate immediately!"

Everything around them was collapsing. Huge concrete slabs crashed down, smashing the original laboratory to pieces. Flames erupted from the pipes, mixing with the special coolant that filled the air, creating plumes of toxic, multicolored smoke.

Li Haotian took a deep look at the dark well that had swallowed the cultivation tank.

Little Black ran over and nuzzled Li Haotian's leg with its head, its growling turning into a hurried urging. It seemed to be saying: That thing is unclean and doesn't deserve to be buried here now.

"Let's go."

Li Haotian sheathed his sword and turned to rush back the way he came. His figure appeared exceptionally resolute amidst the flames and falling rocks.

The demigod-like monster escaped, taking with it its unstable void power and the mad professor's obsession. It was as if a tumor, ready to mutate at any moment, had been implanted in the body of this city. But now, in this crumbling underground tomb, survival was the only truth.

He rushed out of the corridor, just in time to catch the last crack as the blast door opened. Behind him were towering flames and devastating roars, while ahead lay the pitch-black yet vibrant night.