“——Go and hide her in the future.”

“Humanity at present does not yet possess the capability to safeguard this blessing from the heavens.”

“Keep her until a day when hope still remains.”

Tang Xun’an uttered a single word: “Alright.”

He had just stepped off the operating table; the bleeding in his eye sockets had not yet ceased, rendering his vision hazy and tinted with a faint, crimson hue. Despite the abundance of strangers present, his gaze instantly found Lu Yan. The other man stood apart from the crowd, his expression aloof and serene, closely resembling a spectator drifting entirely outside of this world.

For some inexplicable reason, Tang Xun’an felt an overwhelming urge to weep at that very instant.

He did not immediately reach out to take the life-support capsule. Instead, he took a step forward and abruptly enveloped Lu Yan in a tight embrace.

“Lu Yan,” Tang Xun’an held him close, his nose flushed a slight red. “Was it the future version of me who sent you to my side?”

Lu Yan’s expression shifted with confusion; he couldn’t quite grasp the meaning behind those words.

With rimmed eyes, Tang Xun’an’s voice carried an tone that verged on desperate pleading: “Could you please wait until I return? Do not leave.”

Unaccustomed to embraces, Lu Yan’s body inevitably grew somewhat rigid, yet he gently patted Tang Xun’an’s back: “I won’t leave.”

This place was still Tang Xun’an’s dream after all. If the master of the dream did not awaken, he, as a mere traveler within it, would in all probability be unable to escape either.

The time allotted for their farewell was severely limited.

Tang Xun’an took hold of the life-support capsule and cast one final glance in Lu Yan’s direction.

In the next second, a luminous circle akin to a teleportation array from a video game materialized beneath his feet. As he channeled his talent, the traits of distortion began to manifest upon his body once more.

He vanished from the spot.

Aside from Tang Xun’an himself, no one knew which specific future Zhizhi would appear in.

However, Lu Yan became acutely aware of one stark reality—he had to endure and survive the duration of Tang Xun’an’s absence. After all, dying within a dreamscape resulted in an absolute, genuine death.

The furious and irrational pollutants would hardly abandon their assault on the research institute merely because Experimental Subject No. 0 had vanished.

The current time was 23:57.

The floorboards had already begun to experience minor tremors. Unaware of the unfolding crisis, the majority of the personnel stepped out of their quarters in a state of sheer panic: “Is this an earthquake?”

Seizing the fleeting moments while cellular signals still persisted, Qiao Yu dispatched a message to the internal work group. He refrained from mentioning that Yu Zhizhi’s awakening had drawn the horde, stating only that the research institute was completely besieged by pollutants.

“Awaken all the volunteers in Building 9,” he commanded into the receiver to the staff on duty.

Colossal worms and beetles struck the walls with relentless, heavy thuds.

The entirety of the research institute’s architecture was forged from a singular, solid mass of metal deeply embedded underground, rendering it far sturdier than conventional structures.

Upon the surface, packs of wolves raised their howls toward the moon. The largest among these monstrous wolves reached a staggering height of ten meters, resembling a small mountain from afar.

Beyond their ranks, a ceaseless influx of pollutants continued to converge. Anthropomorphic and monstrous entities alike gathered together, setting the stage for what appeared to be a carnival of absolute carnage.

Pollutants could achieve evolution by consuming their own kind, and naturally, they could evolve just as effectively by devouring the Awakened.

After all, fundamentally speaking, they were all “evolved species.”

The Pollution Disease Control Center had already detected abnormalities via satellite monitoring and relayed the intelligence up through the chain of command. The headquarters swiftly dispatched reinforcements, yet it appeared entirely akin to a mantis attempting to halt a chariot with its limbs—a drop of water against a raging inferno.

Presently, the most formidable Awakened on the planet were concentrated within the research institute. Now, the institute had no choice but to devise a means of self-preservation.

Fortunately, the outbreak of the pollution disease had occurred only a few years prior. Had this been Lu Yan’s modern era, the institute’s current combat capacity would leave them with no choice but to wait for death where they stood.

An announcement from the staff echoed over the broadcast system: “Will everyone please assemble on the first floor. The research institute’s power supply is unstable; please evacuate via the emergency exits.”

The first floor comprised the shelter constructed by the institute, serving as the most expansive level. At the time of its design, the total collapse of the surface world had been thoroughly accounted for. Consequently, rather than a mere shelter, it closely resembled a small-scale township structured with capsule units, capable of sustaining tens of thousands of lives within its confines.

A few military officers rushed forward in a flurry: “Director, we must evacuate using the emergency elevator first. Nothing can be allowed to happen to you.”

In their eyes, the present Qiao Yu possessed a value that far outweighed the entirety of the research institute combined.

Qiao Yu cast a glance at the surrounding crowd, nodded slightly, and uttered a brief: “Alright.”

Having spoken, he naturally turned to Lu Yan and said, “Lu Yan, come with me.”

An officer hesitated for a moment: “Director, it is highly advisable for the emergency elevator to be utilized by a single individual.”

“It can accommodate two people just fine; it doesn’t matter,” Qiao Yu’s demeanor remained resolutely unyielding. “He is Tang Xun’an’s psychologist. Tang Xun’an requires his presence to keep his distortion rate under control.”

Only upon hearing this did the officers cease their objections.

Sandworms had already breached the metallic walls, gnawing holes that allowed molten lava to flood inward from the exterior, accompanied by a scattering of distant shrieks and wails.

Qiao Yu’s footsteps faltered inevitably for a brief instant, yet under the urgent prodding of the others, he pressed forward.

Under the protection of these special forces operatives, Qiao Yu and Lu Yan arrived at a concealed operating room, revealing the hidden elevator nestled behind it.

At his very first glimpse of it, Lu Yan came to understand precisely why the officers had stated the emergency elevator could only accommodate a single person.

Rather than a conventional elevator, it resembled a circular vertical shaft of exceedingly cramped dimensions. It didn’t even rely on electricity to operate, functioning instead via magnetic forces.

The elevator car itself was nothing more than a metallic canister.

Qiao Yu stepped inside and gestured toward Lu Yan.

With an area measuring less than two square meters, the presence of two grown men standing well over 180 centimeters tall inevitably rendered the space exceedingly cramped and uncomfortable.

Qiao Yu pressed the digit 1. The elevator commenced its descent, inducing a sensation of weightlessness within Lu Yan.

“I heard it,” Qiao Yu spoke abruptly. He turned his torso to face Lu Yan.

Diverging from the somewhat aged countenance depicted within historical textbooks, Qiao Yu, who was past the age of forty, still appeared remarkably youthful. Even though his hair was streaked with a prominent shade of grey, it did nothing to diminish his handsome features.

Qiao Yu: “Do you hail from the future?”

Lu Yan pondered briefly: “In a sense, yes, but also no.”

Everything within this realm felt profoundly tangible. Though it was merely Tang Xun’an’s dream, every element resonated with the gravity of a genuine world—a reality so vivid it caused the heart to tremble.

Qiao Yu did not entangle himself in the nuances of the answer, choosing instead to inquire: “Has the future turned for the better?”

Lu Yan: “The society of a century later still retains order and civilization. By that time, the pollution disease has grown exceedingly severe, yet no one has surrendered to despair.”

Upon hearing this, a genuine smile blossomed across Qiao Yu’s face: “That truly is wonderful, far better than the future I had envisioned.”

Then, with sudden abruptness, he struck the emergency stop button of the elevator.

“I have performed countless fusion and transplantation surgeries throughout my life, and I have tasted failure only once. In that single instance, I lost… my lover.”

Lu Yan deduced that Director Qiao and his partner must have shared a profoundly deep affection, for even as he uttered those words, a gentle smile remained anchored at the corners of Qiao Yu’s lips.

“He succumbed to pollution and underwent a severe distortion. In an endeavor to save him, I conducted a fusion surgery. Yet, he failed to awaken as an Awakened… By all accounts of experimental protocol, I should have subjected him to euthanasia, but I found myself utterly incapable of it.”

“I spun a falsehood. I claimed that his distortion rate was merely excessively high, causing him to lose his reason, and subsequently confined him to the ninth floor.”

Qiao Yu stepped out of the elevator cab: “Though the volunteers on the ninth floor possess high spiritual power thresholds, the fusion states of the vast majority remain highly unstable. I cannot abandon them. Furthermore, it is time for me to personally bring an end to this falsehood.”

Lu Yan caught him by the wrist: “Professor Qiao, I shall accompany you.”

Presently, Qiao Yu possessed a spiritual power threshold of 6000. Though he did not belong to a combat-oriented lineage of the Awakened, his physical constitution was far from frail.

He gently pried Lu Yan’s fingers away from his wrist and spoke: “There is no need to follow me… Proceed to the first floor, and stay alive until his return.”

With those words, Qiao Yu utilized his fingerprint to activate the elevator’s emergency contingency protocol. Within the entire research institute, he alone held such authoritative clearance. Once initiated, the elevator would descend to the first floor at its maximum velocity.

A sharp ache throbbed within Lu Yan’s head, accompanied by an inexplicable sensation of dread. Fortunately, according to historical texts, Qiao Yu’s recorded time of demise was around the year 2070, providing him with a slight measure of solace.

A few minutes later, the elevator arrived at the first floor.

The staff members standing guard outside the doors were left completely utterly dumbfounded: “Where is Director Qiao?!”

Lu Yan took a deep breath: “He went to the ninth floor. I attempted to restrain him, but he refused to listen. I do not possess the elevator overrides.”

The two staff members exchanged bewildered glances. One departed swiftly to report to headquarters, while the other escorted Lu Yan toward the designated refuge area.

Presently remaining within the research institute were a fraction of researchers, but the vast majority comprised administrative clerks, nurses, janitors, and cafeteria staff—ordinary individuals.

As the evacuation had only just commenced, the two groups gathered together numbered barely a hundred individuals. At the outermost perimeter stood the military personnel and the Awakened belonging to the Special Operations Department. Should the situation deteriorate further, this protected assembly would retreat into safety pods.

Lu Yan observed that a few individuals were actually engaged in a game of Fight the Landlord, appearing remarkably relaxed and at ease. In all likelihood, they perceived the issue to be minor. They weren’t even aware that an onslaught of pollutants was underway, under the impression that it was merely a standard earthquake.

Half a day later, Professor Wu and the remaining researchers were escorted up from the lower laboratories. The expressions of many were fraught with terror, their appearances entirely disheveled, accompanied by soldiers bearing missing limbs.

Incredibly, they were locked in a fierce argument.

One faction wept and wailed: “The data! The data hasn’t been salvaged yet! That motherboard! It is more valuable than my very life! On what grounds did you forbid me from retrieving it?!”

The opposing faction bellowed in anger: “Retrieve it for what?! Even if you grabbed it, there’s no way to transport it out! If you belonged to a combat department, it would be one thing, but you are trying to step over the lives of others just to fetch it?! Hope exists only while people remain alive! Those datasets are still preserved within our minds! Give me another five years—no, two years—!”

Upon spotting Lu Yan, Professor Wu let out a long, profound sigh of relief: “Damn it, those lower floors are terrifying beyond measure; I nearly failed to return. Did you know? One of those sandworms managed to burrow inside, packing the corridors completely… It resembled a maggot magnified several hundred times.”

“And those beetles, their forms resemble flying scythes, and their mouths can actually spit molten lava. With a single squirt, the walls simply liquefied. An entire laboratory that cost me hundreds of millions to forge! Damn it all, gone in an instant.”

As Lu Yan listened to the frantic recounts, he found himself losing all appetite, indifferently putting down his ration box.

“I truly envy you, managing to evacuate alongside Director Qiao,” Professor Wu scanned the immediate surroundings. “Where is Director Qiao?”

Lu Yan had no choice but to replicate the explanation he had previously offered to the staff members.

Professor Wu stood frozen in stunned silence for a long time before tears suddenly erupted from his eyes: “He must have gone back to find Mr. Song. Mr. Song’s surgery was a failure; he was already fading when he arrived. We continuously falsified the distortion rate reports, deceiving Director Qiao into believing that Mr. Song had not yet transformed into a pollutant—that he was merely confined to the ninth floor and couldn’t receive visitors… Director Qiao… Director Qiao had always yearned to see him.”

His face still lacked any discernable features, yet large, heavy teardrops streamed down from the blank expanse of his human countenance.

Qiao Yu had stated that he had deceived these researchers. Yet Professor Wu revealed that they had, in truth, deceived Qiao Yu.

Both parties were entirely aware of the reality, yet each had acted under the assumption that the other remained in ignorance.

Lu Yan seldom experienced turbulent shifts in emotion, yet at this precise moment, he could not restrain a heavy, sorrowful sigh.

The dust of history falls upon the head of each individual, bearing the weight of an entire mountain.