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

"I got the key."

Li Haotian's whispered voice was as clear as thunder in the deathly silence before the destructive energy torrent struck.

In that instant, time seemed to stretch infinitely. He could clearly "see" the black beam of light, formed from countless runes, descending from the sky with a force that seemed to tear through space, its target directly above his head. The air was filled with the pungent smell of ozone, and the silent groans of space itself as a higher-dimensional energy dissipated. The remaining metal structures around him, under the pressure of this force, twisted and deformed like tin foil being kneaded by an invisible giant hand, ultimately turning into dust.

Liu Hu and Su Wan's exclamations, along with the desperate cries of others, became distant and indistinct background noise. At this moment, Li Haotian's entire world consisted of only three things: the warmth and trembling of Lin Mo in his arms, the cage in his mind constructed of pain and wailing, whose doors had already been revealed, and the destruction above his head that was about to devour everything.

However, there was no fear in his eyes.

Deep within her bloodshot eyes, that single spark of resilience, guided by the "key" passed down by Su Wan, had ignited into a blazing sea of ​​fire capable of incinerating the void. It wasn't madness, but an absolute focus that pierced through the fog of life and death.

He was no longer a pawn passively enduring suffering, but a judge wielding a butcher's knife, ready to storm into hell.

Just a fraction of a second before the black beam of light touched his head, Su Wan's urgent and precise voice finally pierced through the roar of energy through the tactical headset and reached the core of his consciousness!

"Coordinates locked! 30 meters vertically below, frequency 7.8 Hz!"

This string of data, like a bolt of lightning in the darkness, instantly and perfectly coincided with the coordinates that Li Haotian sensed through his bloodline.

That's it!

Li Haotian's eyes widened suddenly, and the corners of his mouth, which had been taut, finally curled into a ferocious and gleeful smile. Following the throbbing deep within his bloodline, his gaze pierced through the countless fragments and dust stirred up by the energy shockwave at his feet, precisely locking onto an inconspicuous corner.

It was a maintenance passage entrance, half-hidden beneath a collapsed wall, its edges rusted and barely large enough for one person to pass through. In the surrounding chaotic battlefield, it was as ordinary as a forgotten piece of scrap metal. However, in Li Haotian's "vision," that entrance was emitting a faint yet incredibly clear glow, perfectly resonating with the 7.8 Hz frequency.

That's the back door to the "singularity." It's the weakest link in that cage.

Destruction was imminent; the scorching energy made his hair curl and his skin feel an intense burning pain.

Retreat means death. Defend also means death.

The only way to survive is to go down!

Without the slightest hesitation, without even a second's thought, Li Haotian made a decision that terrified everyone who witnessed it. He tightened his arms, shielding Lin Mo, who was already pale with fear and choked with sobs, even more tightly against his chest, using his own body as the strongest shield. Then, with a sudden burst of power, he didn't retreat, nor did he dodge, but instead leaped into the thirty-meter-deep darkness below!

"No!" Liu Hu roared, his eyes bloodshot, as he tried to pounce, but was thrown back by the violent energy shockwave and crashed heavily into a crumbling wall.

"Li Haotian!" Su Wan's scream rang out in the communication channel, filled with sobs and despair.

The moment Li Haotian leaped out, the thick beam of black energy finally crashed to the ground. It missed its target, but instead vaporized the spot where Li Haotian had just stood, along with everything within a ten-meter radius. A bottomless crater, its edges flowing with molten metal resembling magma, appeared.

At the same time, the "gatekeeper" in the monitoring room suddenly stood up from the command seat and slammed his fist heavily on the control panel, instantly covering the hard alloy tabletop with spiderweb-like cracks.

"He jumped? He actually jumped!" The gatekeeper's voice was filled with incredulous rage. He stared intently at the vanished signal dot on the main screen, his eyes practically spitting fire. "A mere mortal! A cornered ant, how dare he! How dare he make such a choice!"

He couldn't understand it. In his meticulous calculations, Li Haotian had less than a one percent chance of choosing to break through upwards, seeking a glimmer of hope. Going downwards was a forbidden zone leading to the deeper underground, a path to certain death! Yet, it was precisely this most illogical act of "suicide," which he hadn't anticipated at all, that perfectly avoided his fatal blow.

"He didn't commit suicide..." the gatekeeper gasped, his eyes turning icy cold. "He knows the coordinates! He got the key!"

In an instant, he understood. Every act of resistance and every drop of blood from Li Haotian was not a futile struggle, but a meticulously planned deception! He used the energy interference of the "Mother" and the gatekeeper's own underestimation to ultimately complete this astonishing reversal of the assassination in a desperate situation!

"Seal off! Seal off all underground passages! Activate the 'purification' program!" The gatekeeper almost roared as he raised his hand and made a crushing motion at the spot on the screen where Li Haotian had disappeared.

"Hunt him down! At all costs, tear him to pieces before he enters the 'Singularity'!"

At his command, a more solid and finer beam of black energy shot out from the anomaly device behind him, like a soul-chasing arrow shot from hell, and struck the newly discovered maintenance passage entrance with perfect accuracy!

Boom—!

With a deafening roar, the ground where the entrance was located, along with the surrounding walls, was instantly melted by energy reaching thousands of degrees Celsius. Molten iron splashed everywhere, and rocks boiled. That unassuming entrance, along with its hope of leading underground, was completely sealed off and annihilated.

The gatekeeper grinned maliciously, as if he could already see Li Haotian being suffocated to death in the dark passage or swallowed by molten iron.

However, just when he thought it was all over, deep underground, covered in lava, in the darkness, Li Haotian was holding Lin Mo, plummeting rapidly through a narrow passage in a manner far beyond what ordinary people could imagine. The wind howled in his ears, and the trembling and weak breathing of the girl in his arms were the only real things he could perceive at that moment.

The light and heat overhead were swallowed up by the rapidly falling darkness. He could feel an even more terrifying destructive energy chasing after him from behind, melting everything in its path.

The escape route has been completely cut off.

Ahead lies an unknown abyss and the source of suffering.

Li Haotian's gaze grew even colder. He looked down at Lin Mo, who was still in shock in his arms, and whispered in an unquestionable, steady voice, "Don't be afraid, we... are almost there."