Chapter 52: Dense and Overlapping

“Run! Run!”
“The end of the world is here!”
Smack!
“You have to get out of the lab to survive!”

Suddenly, the lab was filled with chaos—glass beakers shattered, chemicals spilled, tables overturned—all in a desperate rush to escape.

When faced with the unknown and mysterious, people often imagine the worst.

Like when someone’s in a car accident or falls off a cliff, they immediately assume death is imminent. Yet still, they cling to a shred of hope, wondering if they’re truly dead or merely injured—perhaps a broken leg instead of shattered bones.

Now, with no explanation from higher-ups, it could only mean something so incomprehensible has happened that even the authorities are at a loss to explain it.

Or maybe it’s truly what old legends warned of—resource exhaustion, volcanic eruptions, the earth splitting apart—the apocalypse has truly arrived.

Faced with the threat of death, the instinct to survive ignites fiercely. In the pitch-black lab, everyone threw themselves into the struggle with every ounce of strength.

Those at the back wanted out, so they had to run faster.

How to run faster? By pushing and shoving those ahead. The door was small, only one person could pass at a time, yet there were three or four crowded near the entrance.

The doorway could not hold four people side by side; to survive, they had to squeeze through, desperate to press forward.

Those at the front pushed fiercely, each determined to be the first out, arms flailing wildly. Some shoved their neighbors to push them back while trying to move forward themselves.

“Ah!”

Some gripped the doorframe, fingers reddened and crushed, howling in pain and cursing fiercely.

Yet still they refused to give up, desperate to outpace those beside them.

“Run faster! Keep moving!” The people behind shoved those ahead, shouting anxiously in a frantic hurry.

Some were lost in the chaotic crowd, trampled cold on the ground.

They cried out in agony, wept bitterly...

Various research instruments were toppled, as if revolting.

Some lifted their legs carefully, fearful of missing a step, but those behind pushed relentlessly regardless, forcing everyone forward.

Shouts that would have been clear in the silent room were now swallowed by the chaos—no one cared if you screamed; everyone was fighting for their own life.

At this moment, human indifference showed itself starkly. People stepped on others without hesitation, unmoved, driven solely by the will to survive.

In the frenzy, countless things happened within seconds—stampedes broke out, and yet no one managed to squeeze through the narrow door.

The four people at the entrance had faces flushed red, twisted with exertion, straining with all their might to hold the doorframe. Finally, one broke through.

Due to momentum, his feet kept moving. His body bent forward, balancing carefully as he gasped for breath.

Suddenly, he sensed something and turned his head. His expression changed drastically as a dense crowd surged toward him!

He spun around and fled, only to find the crowd moving faster than he could.

His right shoulder was slammed, then his left—like a relentless drumbeat!

He felt the world spinning, staggered left and right, then powerful hands shoved him down.

He fell to the ground, countless merciless feet trampling him.

He struggled, swaying side to side, his body covered with red marks. His head spun, and he could only feel the crushing weight of merciless feet pressing on his skull.

Soon, pain faded, numbness crept in, and his head grew heavy and drowsy. He lost consciousness, lying face down on the cold floor.

“Freedom...” His eyes went empty, spiritless, his face pressed to the ground as he murmured faintly...

“Zhenhua! What are you doing? Why aren’t you running?”

He exerted every effort but still couldn’t light the cylinder. Thinking to escape with the crowd, he blinked and saw a familiar figure still tinkering with his research.

“You go on ahead! I feel like I’m close to a breakthrough... just need a little more focus!” Zhenhua said softly, immersed in his own world, indifferent to the chaos around him.

“We’re all damn near dead, and you’re still messing with your research? Do you think your life isn’t at risk? Even if you finish now, do you think you can get out alive?”

Angrily, he scolded him. Scientists might be eccentric, but surely they retained some sense of reason when facing death!

“Mm...” Zhenhua muttered, but continued fiddling with his work.

Faced with this well-meaning warning, Zhenhua remained unmoved. Feeling angry at his careless attitude, he rushed over to confront him.

But after only a few steps, his vision blurred. Suddenly, a brilliant light flooded his eyes, dazzling as if it were broad daylight.