The giant infected plummeted downwards with a painful roar, while Wang Lan immediately grabbed the steel bars. Just as he was about to climb upwards, he suddenly felt a strange sensation and floated up, seemingly slowly but actually rapidly, before finally landing on the ground.

The blue light disappeared, and Wang Lan looked completely bewildered.

He saw Sun Muchen across from him tremble, her hands falling limply to her sides, and Old Zhang quickly helped her up.

Wang Lan ran over to look at Sun Muchen, only to see that Sun Muchen's face was ashen, bloodless, cold sweat was pouring down his forehead, and his body was trembling uncontrollably.

Old Zhang quickly said, "Your sister has a strange ability; she can manipulate things remotely, but it seems to put a lot of strain on her body!"

Wang Lan nodded and was about to check on Sun Muchen's condition when she heard a loud "boom" from behind.

He and Lao Zhang turned their heads and saw that the ground in the distance had suddenly collapsed and thick smoke was billowing up.

The supporting beams below are damaged and can no longer support the upper structure of the bunker.

Wang Lan immediately looked at Sun Muchen and asked, "Muchen, how are you?"

Upon hearing Wang Lan's voice, Sun Muchen slightly opened his eyes, glanced at Wang Lan, and then nodded gently.

Wang Lan nodded and said, "The situation down below is very bad. The giant infected have damaged the bunker's structure, and I estimate that the fortress will collapse soon."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhang's face turned deathly pale.

Wang Lan picked up the Vajra Umbrella from the ground and said, "We need to get to the surface quickly, or we'll be buried alive here."

“I know a way!” Old Zhang said, “There’s an iron staircase in this factory that leads to the next floor.”

Wang Lan nodded repeatedly, "What about the Ripper?"

Old Zhang was startled and turned to look. Suddenly, a tentacle with sharp spikes stretched out from the pile of clones.

Wang Lan was startled and shouted, "Run!"

Old Zhang turned around and led the way, while Wang Lan carried Sun Muchen on her back and followed behind.

Behind the three, a series of loud rumbling sounds rang out, and the ground collapsed one after another, sending up clouds of dust.

The clones hanging below the tracks also began to sway and swing from side to side with the abnormal movement. Some clones fell directly off the cantilever and were then buried by the smoke and dust.

The roar of the giant infected rang out once again.

The sound made Wang Lan and Lao Zhang, who were running fast, tremble. They dared not look back and could only quicken their pace.

Wang Lan saw the iron staircase that Lao Zhang had mentioned.

"That's it!" Old Zhang said breathlessly, "There are twelve sections in total, leading to the industrial area above. As for the residential area, we'll have to find another way!"

Wang Lan shouted, "Let's take it one step at a time!"

The ground subsidence continues and is even intensifying.

As Wang Lan stepped onto the stairs, she turned her head and saw that the factory had collapsed beyond recognition. Amidst the thick smoke and dust, the figure of the giant infected was vaguely visible, but the falling rubble from the continuously crumbling ground was burying it bit by bit.

Wang Lan carried Sun Muchen on her back and ran wildly up the stairs with Lao Zhang.

"It'll be safe once we get up there!" Old Zhang said. "The core area and the residential area are connected by pipelines, so it must be safe there. Let's hurry!"

"elder brother..."

As soon as Old Zhang finished speaking, he heard Sun Muchen's voice from behind him, "I...I'm feeling better, put me down, so we can walk faster."

Wang Lan turned around and saw that Sun Muchen's complexion had regained some color, which surprised Wang Lan. He hadn't expected Sun Muchen's self-healing ability to be so strong, so he asked with concern, "Are you sure? Is it really okay?"

Sun Muchen nodded.

Wang Lan put him down.

But I still helped her up, worried.

The three of them then ran upstairs.

Wang Lan was walking at the back when he suddenly stopped, as if subconsciously looking down. He then saw that countless tentacles were extending from the dusty ruins below, accompanied by the roars of parasites and crawlers.

Wang Lan immediately panicked.

These monsters are all species with extremely strong vitality. It seems that the collapse of the factory has also freed them, and they have begun to fight each other in the ruins.

Seeing this, Wang Lan immediately urged the two of them to quicken their pace.

The bottom staircase had been broken by the ripper's tentacles, causing the stairs above to sway and shake. The three of them had to steady themselves and then stagger up the stairs.

As the group climbed higher, their view was obstructed by the thick interlayer in the middle. As their vision gradually narrowed, they could no longer see what was happening below. They could only hear the roars and attacks of the infected, but these sounds were drowned out by the cacophony of gears and machinery in the core area.

The three arrived at the second core area.

They discovered that the staircase connected to a group of steam engines located in the core area, but it was already near the edge, where there was very little moisture in the air and the view was not obstructed.

The three of them finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang Lan looked at Sun Muchen and found that Sun Muchen's face had regained its color, and he didn't seem to be in any bad spirits. He couldn't help but ask again, "Muchen, are you really alright?"

Sun Muchen was taken aback, then thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, brother, I'm fine now."

Wang Lan nodded with a hint of doubt.

Then they saw Lao Zhang walking towards the reactor. Wang Lan and Sun Muchen exchanged a glance and followed him.

The fireball, resembling the sun, was still burning fiercely, seemingly unaffected by anything below, and unable to influence the reactor on this level.

Old Zhang sighed and turned to the two of them, saying, "In fact, as long as this reactor is not affected, the final fortress will be fine. Moreover, the entire core area should be the most impregnable part of the final fortress."

However, just as he finished speaking, as the last word faded, a deafening rumble suddenly echoed from afar, followed by the sound of massive metal gears colliding.

The three of them were taken aback.

They all looked in the direction from which the sound came, only to hear a loud roar.

That's... a giant infected!

Wang Lan was furious. "Is this thing immortal? Is it constantly evolving?!"

Sun Muchen looked at Old Zhang, "Didn't you say this layer was unbreakable? How did that guy get up here?"

Old Zhang was immediately overwhelmed. He said, "This is not the time to discuss these things. We must! We must stop the giant infected! Once it destroys the reactor, not only us, but the entire final fortress will be reduced to nothing!"