<h4>Chapter 1044: Chapter 1051: Dangerous Situation (8)</h4>


    At this moment, outside the entire building, the police had already set up a perimeter, sealing off all the surrounding intersections, prohibiting unauthorized personnel from getting close. Meanwhile, outside the perimeter, more than a dozen news vans were parked. Reporters and cameramen stood on top of the vans, setting up equipment, broadcasting and recording the scene live.


    At this time, Xia Mutong was leading a group of police officers and firefighters racing towards the building on the east side. A few minutes ago, another explosion was heard from the east. Concerned for Ling Chen’s safety, Xia Mutong hurried to the explosion site with her team. Upon arrival, they saw only a heap of rubble outside, with thick dust filling the air.


    "Quick, search everywhere and see if anyone’se out," Xia Mutong shouted loudly.


    However, apart from rubble and dust, no one emerged. "Captain Xia!" a colleague examined for a moment and said, "There’s a hole at the bottom of the building. It must have been sted open just now. Should we send someone down to check it out?"


    Xia Mutong nodded and was about to give instructions. But then, a firefighter ran over quickly, pointing to the closest building, "Captain Xia, the beams below have been blown open; I’m afraid this building won’t hold much longer."


    "What should we do then?"


    "It would be best to evacuate people immediately to prevent unnecessary losses."


    Hearing this, Xia Mutong seemed a little reluctant. She finally managed to create an entry point, and she wanted to go in and look for Ling Chen’s whereabouts. But she couldn’t ignore the firefighter’s advice; if the building copsed, they would all be buried underneath.


    Having no choice, Xia Mutong had to give the order for all colleagues and firefighters to evacuate. However, before everyone could retreat to a safe area, a ’boom’ explosion was heard again from the north side of the entire building.


    "What happened?"


    Xia Mutong frowned and said in a deep voice, "Immediately call people to gather over there."


    "Yes!"


    However, it took quite some time to go around from the east to the north. After a few minutes, when Xia Mutong arrived with others, they only saw a crack at least one meter wide on the ground. Furthermore, this crack extended from the ground to a building on the north side. At this moment, the crack was spreading rapidly, almost covering the entire wall of the building, looking very frightening.


    "Captain Xia, what is that?" Suddenly, one of Xia Mutong’s colleagues pointed upwards. Instantly, everyone’s gaze focused on the sky.


    Above their heads, a massive strange bird pped its wings, hovered for a moment, and then flew straight into the distance. In the blink of an eye, the strange bird vanished from sight.


    "What on earth is that?" Xia Mutong asked.


    "It looks like a hawk or falcon," a firefighter replied. "I’ve seen this animal on TV; it’s a very fierce bird of prey. Strange, how could such an animal appear in the city?"


    "Forget it! If we don’t know, let’s not bother with it. I just want to know now, what’s with the two consecutive explosions. Those explosives couldn’t have blown up on their own; it was definitely man-made." As she said this, Xia Mutong hoped that the person who set off the explosives was Ling Chen. If that were the case, Ling Chen could escape from inside. However, despite two consecutive explosions creating openings, no one emerged.


    Seeing that the building might copse at any moment, Xia Mutong dared not send people in to search lightly. She could only extend the perimeter again, making the onlookers move further back to avoid being affected.


    ...


    At this moment, in the storage room of the basement, Ling Chen appeared somewhat groggy, feeling his head getting heavier and his breathing bing increasinglybored. This situation made Ling Chen’s heart sink to the bottom. He knew it was due to theck of air. In a sealed space, without air cirction, once the air was used up, he and Zhu Xiaozhu would eventually suffocate to death.


    "Xiaozhu, Xiaozhu!" Ling Chen gently shook Zhu Xiaozhu’s shoulder, trying to wake her up. But Zhu Xiaozhu seemed to be in a deep sleep, showing no reaction at all.


    This isn’t good!


    Ling Chen’s face changed slightly. It must be because of the thin air that Zhu Xiaozhu fell into a semiatose state.


    Just when Ling Chen was devising a n, a loud rumble suddenly came from above, as if an earthquake had struck, followed by the entire ground shaking. At the same time, Ling Chen saw a faint glimmer of light shining through from above. Seeing that light, Ling Chen immediately stood up.


    After examining it for a few moments, Ling Chen’s gaze lit up, filled with hope.


    Surely, it was just now when the violent tremor caused some of these rocks to crack open. Without wasting time, Ling Chen quickly ced Zhu Xiaozhu aside and went alone to the crack, using both hands to dig open the surrounding stones. Before long, the crack becamerger, big enough for an adult to squeeze through.


    By this time, as the air cirction had resumed, Zhu Xiaozhu, who had been in aa, gradually woke up. Seeing the exit Ling Chen had dug out, Zhu Xiaozhu immediately got her spirit up, quickly stepped forward, and asked, "Can we get out through here?"


    "Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll go out first to check. If it’s safe, you cane out," Ling Chen replied.


    Zhu Xiaozhu nodded, responding, "Be careful!"


    Crawling out through the hole, Ling Chen dusted off himself, looked around, and found himself on the first floor of the building. However, because of the explosion, this building had suffered significant damage, with many ces piled with rubble. Moreover, the walls of the building kept swaying left and right, as if they might copse at any moment, making one’s heart race with rm.


    "Xiaozhu,e out. It’s temporarily safe."


    Once Zhu Xiaozhu climbed out of the hole, Ling Chen suddenly felt the ground tremble, followed closely by sessive ’bang’ sounds from outside. Through the cracked wall, they saw the exterior walls at the top of the building peeling off, falling densely to the ground.


    Seeing this scene, Zhu Xiaozhu couldn’t help but ask, "How do we get out of here like this?"


    Ling Chen opened his mouth, about to answer. But before he could speak, his expression suddenly changed drastically, and without a word, he immediately carried Zhu Xiaozhu and ran towards the stairwell.


    The building exit had been blocked, and with too many stones falling outside, Ling Chen wasn’t confident of making it out. Now, the only choice was to keep going up.


    "Ling Chen, what’s wrong?" Faced with Ling Chen’s actions, Zhu Xiaozhu asked in confusion. She hadn’t detected any danger, not knowing why Ling Chen was so tense.


    Hearing Zhu Xiaozhu’s question, Ling Chen did not respond, instead desperately rushing upstairs. Fortunately, the building wasn’t very tall, and before long, the two of them reached the rooftop.