Wen Shifei rushed forward, her body already stretched beyond its limits. Her muscles burned like red-hot irons, her lungs stabbed, and every heartbeat tugged at the old wounds beneath her ribs. But Ajie's lifeless face as he was taken away remained etched in her mind like a brand. Intertwined with the unknown dangers Qingyi might face, it became the sole fuel that kept her going—a frenzied will that bordered on self-destruction.

Lao Qiang followed closely behind. His heavy footsteps echoed like muffled thunder in the cramped space. His cloudy, single eye gleamed with a terrifying glint under the swaying headlights, like a wounded, enraged ancient beast. His left hand still clutched Qingyi's hairpin tightly, blood practically seeping between his fingers. Rick silently brought up the rear, like a moving iron wall, the muzzle of his homemade shotgun, called "Thunder Roar," lowered, ready to unleash a deadly arc of electricity.

"How much further?!" Lao Qiang's voice was like a grinding wheel grinding pig iron, filled with suppressed fury. The passage seemed endless, and every passing second felt like a sharp cut through Ajie and Qingyi's lifelines.

"Right ahead! Go through that pressure relief valve hatch up ahead! Outside is the gap between the outer deck of Area B-7 and the abandoned ventilation shaft! They fell somewhere near there!" Wen Shifei shouted without turning back, her voice broken by her rapid breathing. Her memory, honed by the fear of death, was unusually clear, and the nightmarish scene at the edge of the fortress seemed to replay itself as if it were yesterday.

Sudden!

Boom——!!!!

A terrifying explosion, far more intense and closer than the relentless muffled thuds within the tunnel, struck the metal dome above them like a 10,000-ton hammer! The entire downward-spinning tunnel twisted and shook violently like a can in the grasp of a giant! A torrent of rusted debris and condensed water rained down from overhead! From deep within the tunnel came the teeth-grinding sound of metal tearing apart!

"Fuck! They're shooting from above!" Rick growled, suddenly raising his gun to aim at the violently vibrating metal structure above his head, and the helmet light swept across the rapidly spreading cracks.

"It's from the direction of 'Scrap Canyon'! The Executioner has broken through the defenses!" A fierce gleam flashed in Lao Qiang's single eye, but he didn't pause for a moment, instead quickening his pace. "Hurry! We must find them before they completely tear this place apart!"

The shadow of death, like icy water, instantly soaked Wen Shifei's back. The executioners! Those crimson-eyed killing machines! If they burst through this passage, everyone would be dead without a burial place! And Ajie... Ajie was still up there! Carried by Dr. Sarah, they rushed towards the "waste canyon" that was about to become a battlefield!

"Ajie..." Wen Shifei's heart was gripped by a piercing pain. She stumbled and nearly fell down the slippery stairs. Rick was quick-witted and grabbed her arm, his rough fingers like iron pliers.

"Wait a minute if you want to die! Now, let's go!" Rick's cold voice came through the mask, without any emotion, but it was like a basin of ice water that instantly sobered Wen Shifei. Yes, we can't stop! If we stop, everyone will die, including Qingyi!

She gritted her teeth, a strong taste of blood filling her mouth, and burst out with speed again, rushing towards the huge, round pressure relief valve hatch covered with heavy rivets and rust at the end of the stairs.

At the same time, in the upper floor of the Iron Fortress "Furnace", in the "Anvil" medical room.

Here, too, the pungent smell of disinfectant and blood filled the air, though the light was much brighter. Simple yet powerful surgical instruments gleamed coldly under the operating light. Ajie lay on the central operating table, his face pale and his breath as weak as a candle in the wind. Dr. Sarah and her assistant, a young girl named "Xiaodao" with a childish face and calm eyes, raced against time to prepare for the surgery. The crude life monitor attached to Ajie's body beeped faintly, intermittently. The curves representing his vital signs on the screen rose and fell faintly, like a thin line ready to straighten at any moment.

"The blood pressure continues to drop! The heart rate is too fast! Sister Sarah, he can't hold on for much longer!" Xiaodao's voice trembled slightly as she quickly applied disinfectant around the wound on Ajie's chest.

Dr. Sarah's forehead was covered in beads of sweat, but her eyes were as calm as ice. She quickly arranged the various surgical instruments on the sterile cloth. "Prepare for a blood transfusion! O-type radioactive blood! Quick! Knife, electrocoagulation! We must open the chest immediately, remove the broken bones and blood, and repair the lung!" Her voice was firm and unquestionable, with unquestionable authority.

Just then—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A dull yet penetrating explosion, accompanied by the distinct hum of energy weapon fire and the wail of metal being torn apart, echoed from outside the heavy metal door of the medical room! The entire room shook! The surgical instruments clanged crisply on the tray!

"From the canyon! The executioners are coming!" A soldier guarding the door from the lower city suddenly changed his expression and yanked a rusty red lever beside the door! A heavy metal shield rumbled down from above, sealing off most of the medical room's door, leaving only a narrow observation port.

"Damn it!" Dr. Sarah's hands trembled ever so slightly, a flicker of anxiety in her eyes. Surgery requires an absolutely stable environment! Any disruption could cause the already fragile Ajie to die instantly!

"Sister Sarah!" Xiaodao looked outside the door in horror.

"Don't worry about the outside! Keep preparing! Our battlefield is here!" Sarah took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in her heart. Her eyes became sharp as a knife again. She picked up the scalpel, and the cold blade reflected a resolute light under the shadowless light. "Xiaodao, give me a blood transfusion! Prepare to open my chest! Quick!"

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