91: Chapter 91 Chaos

On the high platform, City Lord Zhao Tianyu looked at Zhou An, who was protecting Luo Ning like a cornered beast, a complex mix of emotions flashing in his eyes.

There was regret, heartache, but also a hint of the coldness typical of a ruler.

He knew Zhou An's value all too well. This was a top-tier talent capable of changing the landscape of the entire district, his future right-hand man, and the most perfect puzzle piece for his "Sky City."

"Zhou An, let go."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu's voice came through the loudspeaker, carrying a rare hint of pleading and helplessness.

"She is beyond saving. Is it worth throwing away your own life for a woman? With your talent and ability, as long as you're willing to turn back, the position of Sky Engine's vice president is still yours. Your future is far greater than this!"

Zhou An slowly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes cutting through the layers of laser crosshairs to stare deathly at City Lord Zhao Tianyu on the high platform.

"Zhao Tianyu, whatever you've given me, I will repay you twofold in the future. But today, whoever dares touch her, I will kill!"

The moment the words fell, Zhou An pulled Luo Ning, who was curled up in pain, tightly into his arms.

[System Warning: Your SAN value has dropped to the near-death threshold!]

[Talent Triggered: Last Stand!]

[Effect Active: Minimum SAN value locked at 1 point. Duration: 30 minutes! All attributes increased by 99%!]

"Boom—!"

Nano-armor flowed like water from Zhou An's watch, instantly covering his entire body. The powerful aura of a peak Tier 4, combined with the doubled boost from his talent, transformed into a physical shockwave that directly knocked down several approaching guard soldiers.

Hundreds of glaring red lasers instantly locked onto Zhou An's armor. The atmosphere was tense to the extreme, on the verge of exploding.

However, in this tense deadlock, true despair descended.

"Arghhhhh—!!!"

In the extremely crowded middle section of the connecting bridge, a scream suddenly erupted that was ten times more agonizing than Luo Ning's just now!

The burly man who had frozen mid-cheer earlier suddenly had his chest burst open. Several thick tentacles covered in barbs and eyeballs ripped out, bringing a rain of blood and directly skewering the unsuspecting survivors nearby!

Immediately after, as if triggering some terrifying chain reaction, the sounds of mutating bones snapping rang out one after another from the crowd.

"My hand! Why has my hand turned into a claw?!"

"Don't come over! Monsters! They're all monsters!"

[Warning! Large-scale Abyss contamination outbreak detected!]

[Warning! The rate of SAN value decrease in the current area is extremely dangerous!]

The SAN values of the surrounding crowd, who had just been watching, began to plummet like a waterfall. Purplish-black mutation lines began to surface on many people's skin.

Amidst the extreme panic, someone in the crowd shrieked at the top of their lungs:

"It's those two! That woman brought the contamination in! Zhao Tianyu is harboring monsters!!"

This single shout completely ignited the powder keg. Not only did all the crazed and terrified survivors cast murderous glares at Zhou An and Luo Ning, but some even began aiming auxiliary cannons at City Lord Zhao Tianyu on the high platform!

"Damn it! This is a pre-planned Abyss erosion!"

Guild Leader Lin Xiaotian's face turned ashen. He glanced at the plaza below, which had completely turned into a purgatory, and made his decision without any hesitation.

"Divine Realm Guard, retreat! Staying here will only drag us into the Abyss!"

"President Zhao, it seems your Sky City won't be built after all."

Minister Su Hongye's face also paled with fright. She hastily threw out a sentence and, along with several other guild leaders, fled the high platform in a panic under the cover of their respective elites. Figures of their level would never gamble with their sanity.

City Lord Zhao Tianyu watched the situation collapse in an instant, his fists clenched tight.

Just then, a terrified report from his subordinate came through his communication channel: "President! The outer... the outer gathering area of tens of thousands of people has also broken out! There are mutated monsters everywhere, and the contamination is spreading like crazy!"

"Pass down my order!"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu bit his lip until it bled.

"Launch the Sky Engine flagship immediately! Turn on all fire control systems and execute all mutants below indiscriminately! Destroy this entire connecting bridge area!"

As the order was given, the guild's fleet began to retreat frantically to the perimeter. At the same time, countless destructive particle beams began to bomb the connecting bridge indiscriminately.

"Go!"

Zhou An held Luo Ning, who was still murmuring in pain, tightly in his arms. The thrusters on his back instantly erupted with a blinding blue tail flame, and he shot into the sky like a cannonball, forcefully breaking through the guards' encirclement.

These guards were no match for him at all; with the enhancement of the armor, his speed reached an unbelievable level.

He didn't use lethal force, only using the armor's kinetic energy to knock away the soldiers blocking his path. He had only one goal now—escape!

Amidst the crossfire of artillery and lasers filling the sky, Zhou An connected to Li Muzi's communication channel.

"Muzi! Listen to me!"

Zhou An's voice sounded extremely hoarse in the howling wind.

"Take Old Zhang and Sister Lin Qing to the hangar immediately and fly your own fighter jet! Run as far as you can! Don't return to the fortress!"

"Boss! What happened? What about you and Sister Luo?!"

Muzi's confused voice came from the other end of the communication.

"Luo Ning is heavily contaminated. I must use the fortress to help suppress her mutation now. If you get too close, you'll be affected by the radiation. Sister Lin Qing's unborn child won't be able to handle it!"

Zhou An slashed open an incoming missile with his blade and roared urgently.

"Listen to me! Run! Once I've dealt with this, I'll find you!"

"I understand! Boss, you two must stay alive!"

Muzi bit her lip and hung up, immediately leading Zhang Ming and his wife toward the backup hangar.

"EVA! Support me!"

[Command received. Cloud Top Fortress is descending at full speed!]

Soon, in the sky, the [Cloud Top Fortress] tore through the clouds like a descending god, its heavy armored hatch opening to Zhou An.

Zhou An held Luo Ning tightly, racing toward the fortress.

And behind him was an even bloodier scene.

The connecting bridge was collapsing, and countless people were mutating.

No one dared approach Zhou An, because the Luo Ning in his arms was like a walking source of high-dimensional radiation.

Pursuing them were hundreds of glaring laser beams and tracking missiles pouring down like torrential rain, dragging long tails as they chased frantically behind Zhou An, blooming into red lotuses of death in the night sky!