142: Chapter 142 The World Has Lost Its Color

"Damn!"

Li Taiping's eyes twitched wildly, his molars grinding together with a creak.

He grabbed Su Jie's wrist, exerting sudden force to pivot mid-air at an incredible angle, sprinting toward a dilapidated unfinished building on the right.

The asphalt road beneath their feet rolled violently.

The massive body of that Earth-Burrowing Tiger Shark wove through the soil and rock layers, moving even more smoothly than it would in the deep sea.

Boom!

A deafening roar.

A crossroads the two had just passed collapsed directly into a giant pit over ten meters in diameter.

Amidst the swirling dust, that abyssal maw filled with barbs burst from the ground, snapping shut just inches from Li Taiping's heels, creating a visible ring of white shockwaves in the air.

"Run! Don't look back!"

Li Taiping roared, his fingers gripping the handle of the AK-47 tightly as the muzzle never stopped spewing tongues of fire.

This wasn't just a chase; it was a one-sided game of slaughter.

The Earth-Burrowing Tiger Shark was in no hurry to swallow them whole; it was enjoying the fear of its prey struggling in despair.

Sometimes it lurked dozens of meters underground, following silently; other times, it would crash out from a load-bearing wall without warning.

Bang—! Crack!

An abandoned heavy truck blocking the middle of the street was sliced in two by its dorsal fin, the ear-piercing sound of twisting steel making one's scalp tingle.

A five-story shop along the street was plowed through from the bottom by its massive body, the entire building collapsing like toy blocks and kicking up clouds of gray dust.

These urban ruins had completely become its private playground.

Li Taiping and Su Jie were like two rats driven into a corner, rolling pathetically through this steel jungle that could collapse at any moment, constantly changing their route.

Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat!

While sprinting, Li Taiping suddenly turned, the gunstock pressed firmly against his shoulder.

Without aiming, relying purely on combat instincts etched into his bones, the muzzle spat out half-meter-long tongues of fierce fire.

Golden shell casings poured onto the gravel like a waterfall, making a crisp clinking sound.

However,

It was useless.

The 7.62mm bullets, powerful enough to tear through steel plates, slammed into the Earth-Burrowing Tiger Shark's dark gray skin.

Leaving behind rows of "shallow pits" that didn't even qualify as white marks.

The opponent's physical strength was an insurmountable chasm for the current Li Taiping!

"Damn it! This thing is a freaking solid block of iron!"

A flash of irritability flickered in the depths of Li Taiping's eyes.

If the transcendent power of the Many Children, Many Blessings were still there, if he were still that ruthless top-ranked player, he could crush a beast of this level into meat paste with a single slap!

But now, he could only pull the trigger in frustration, listening to the meaningless sound of gunfire.

"Hubby!"

Su Jie's voice sounded strained amidst the howling wind.

She followed closely behind Li Taiping, her chest heaving violently.

To Li Taiping's surprise, this woman he had always seen as a "delicate flower" was now displaying incredible resilience.

She didn't cry, nor did she complain of exhaustion.

Though her beautiful peach-blossom eyes were bloodshot, they held a ruthless determination to face death.

She bit her lower lip hard, unaware that bright red blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth.

While leaping over a half-meter-high broken wall, she even managed to twist her waist mid-air, raising her AK-47 and firing a precise three-round burst at the Earth-Burrowing Tiger Shark's crimson eye.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The bullets hit accurately but were deflected by a transparent nictitating membrane over the shark's eyeball.

Though it didn't break through the defense, it successfully enraged the giant beast, causing it to instinctively close its eye and buying Li Taiping half a second of breathing room.

"Ignore it! Save your strength!"

Li Taiping pulled her into a narrow alleyway, the heart in his chest pounding against his ribs like an overloaded engine.

Time was stretched infinitely in this life-and-death race.

Ten minutes... half an hour... an hour.

The high-intensity sprint combined with extreme mental tension finally pushed these two mortal bodies to the brink of collapse.

With every breath, Li Taiping could taste the thick metallic scent of blood rising from his lungs.

His legs were heavy, his throat inflamed; every step required squeezing out the last drop of strength from his marrow.

His vision began to blur, and the sound of the wind turned into a sharp ringing in his ears.

His stamina was depleted.

This was a physical limitation, a hard limit that willpower could not overcome.

Just then.

Accident, or rather, inevitable misfortune, struck.

While Li Taiping tried to vault over a large tilted billboard, a seemingly solid piece of asphalt beneath his foot suddenly loosened due to the underground vibrations.

His ankle buckled, and his center of gravity instantly shifted.

"Oh no!"

Li Taiping's heart skipped a beat.

He tried to force his body to turn, but his overextended muscles completely gave out at that moment.

He fell forward uncontrollably, crashing heavily onto the ground covered in broken glass.

Boom—!

The moment he hit the ground.

The ground directly in front of him exploded as if tons of C4 explosives had been planted there!

Countless stones weighing a hundred pounds shot into the sky like cannonballs.

Amidst the flying dust, the massive head of the Earth-Burrowing Tiger Shark burst from the earth with a violent momentum that could crush anything.

Its bloody maw, large enough to swallow a car, opened wide like the gates of hell.

A foul-smelling gale hit him, blowing so hard Li Taiping couldn't even keep his eyes open.

Rows of pale, barb-like teeth rapidly enlarged in his pupils.

Shadow instantly enveloped him.

He couldn't dodge.

This body's neural reaction speed could no longer keep up with the brain's commands.

"Am I... going to end here?"

Li Taiping stared intently at that abyssal maw, no fear in his eyes, only endless ferocity and indignation.

He wasn't willing!

He wasn't willing to die in this damn dungeon where truth and falsehood were indistinguishable!

But he wasn't afraid!

He had the Famous Sword! He had the Resurrection Armor!

In this critical moment, where time seemed to have been put in slow motion.

From the side and behind.

A slender but resolute figure, like a burning meteor, suddenly burst through the dust.

It was Su Jie!

She had squeezed out the last of her strength from somewhere, moving so fast she even left an afterimage in the air.

She didn't raise her gun, nor did she hesitate.

Her whole body was like a cannonball leaving the chamber, slamming hard and without reservation into Li Taiping's side.

Bang!

A massive impact hit him.

Li Taiping was knocked by this force, skidding across the ground and rolling wildly four or five meters to the right.

Sharp gravel tore his clothes, leaving bloodstains on his skin.

He barely rolled out of the range of that giant maw.

But.

Su Jie, because of the counter-force, completely lost her balance.

She fell right where Li Taiping had been.

Exactly at the center of the Earth-Burrowing Tiger Shark's attack.

"No—!!!"

Li Taiping snapped his head up, his eyes nearly bursting.

His eye sockets instantly split, two lines of bloody tears streaming down his cheeks.

He let out a shrill, agonizing roar like a dying beast, his voice cracking and distorted.

He struggled to get up, reaching out to grab her.

But the massive shadow had already completely enveloped Su Jie.

In the final second of life and death.

Su Jie didn't look at the terrifying beast about to devour her.

She turned her head, her gaze piercing through the dust, looking deeply and intently into Li Taiping's eyes.

The gale blew her ponytail into a mess, but on that peach-blossom face covered in dust and blood, there wasn't a trace of fear in the face of death.

Nor was there despair.

Instead, she broke into an incredibly brilliant, incredibly gentle smile that held a certain resolution and relief.

In that look, there seemed to be a thousand words, and she seemed to have seen through some truth of this false world.

"Hubby."

She didn't shout, just used her last bit of strength to utter a few words extremely quickly yet with absolute clarity.

That voice pierced through the monster's roar and the rumble of collapsing buildings, striking Li Taiping's heart with precision.

"In this world I hate most..."

"You are the person I love most."

"I love you."

"Good..."

Before she could finish her sentence.

Crack—!

The hair-raising sound of flesh and bone shattering exploded in the empty ruins.

The abyssal maw slammed shut.

Su Jie's slender figure instantly vanished into that suffocating darkness.

A splash of eye-piercing crimson sprayed out from the gaps between the Earth-Burrowing Tiger Shark's hideous teeth.

Staining the gray wasteland red.

And turning Li Taiping's eyes completely red.

At this moment, the world lost its color...

And its sound.