1289 Road to Survival

On the way back, it was obvious that the vibration was slowly easing.

Galaxy ran at the front. Zhang Zian had to monitor both the front and back. He had to make sure Fina was keeping up, look after his own safety, and beware of any young female ghosts suddenly appearing to take him back to the pyramid. He could only do so much!

It was a journey filled with anxiety all the way back to the entrance. The blasted entrance now looked nothing like it had before.

The earth had already broken into numerous plates. Many of the honeycomb-like sand dunes had collapsed or disappeared. The few cars left behind by Peter Lee and his team fell into the abyss.

At the bottom of the widest and deepest abyss, a car that had fallen in was distorted, and the alarm was ringing.

On the surface, the most intense of the shockwaves seemed to have passed. However, it wasn't a moment to relax, for the real danger had yet to arrive.

The golden pyramid itself had been tilted, and the degree of inclination was gradually increasing. Once the balance was lost, the impact of its huge weight would completely break the land. That would be the beginning of a catastrophe.

They skipped the smaller cracks at the foot of the pyramid and circumvented the corners.

The rupture of the earth was caused by the final explosion. However, the crack originating from the north side was blocked by the pyramid, so the condition of the land on the south side was better than the north.

Seeing that their off-road vehicle was safe and sound, Zhang Zian was relieved.

The elfins waited anxiously at the car. When they saw all three of them came back, they jumped up and down, urging them to run faster.

"Hey! I thought you were an idiot who wanted to live with the treasures in the pyramid!" Richard said while hiding under the shade of the roof rack.

Richard was the most calm at present. He felt that way because he could fly even if the earth cracked.

"I have no time to explain! Get in the car!" Zhang Zian almost jumped into the driver's seat, and the other elfins also entered the car. He looked back and counted. He was missing only Vladimir.

"Did anyone see Vladimir?" he yelled, but he knew that they likely wouldn't give him a correct answer.

Every time Vladimir arrived in a strange place, he liked to be alone. He would run off after a while and mingle with the local stray cats.

The pyramid had blocked the cracks, but more cracks had already bypassed the pyramid from both sides, forming a left and right perimeter. The south side of the landscape was about to fall.

They could not wait any longer. If they did, everyone would be dead meat.

It wasn't that Zhang Zian was biased. He knew where Fina was and could find her. However, he didn't know where to find Vladimir and could only hope that he was safe.

He slammed on the gas, and the car roared to life.

"Where did you run to?"

He observed the surroundings. The road to the north had been completely sealed off. He couldn't get through there. East, west, and south. Which directions would he choose?

"Vladimir is here!" cried Famous.

Just in time. Just as Famous finished crying out, Vladimir jumped into the car from the open window.

"Follow the wild cats!" he shouted, pointing outside the car.

Zhang Zian saw several sand cats fleeing and immediately turned to follow them.

When natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, heavy rains, and wildfires struck, wild animals often had an intuition regarding the event. They could hear high- or low-frequency noise and knew which direction to run. Rats in the city, as well as cats and dogs, also had similar intuitions. When one encountered natural disasters, following these animals vastly improved the odds of survival as well.

Soon after their car left their spot, the area roared with deafening sounds and was swallowed by the cracked abyss.

Zhang Zian tried not to look at the terrible scene in the rearview mirror and followed the sand cats closely for fear of losing them.

Sometimes, they abandoned the flat sand and ran to areas with smaller cracks. However, after a while, the flat sand suddenly twisted, collapsed, or bulged. If the car had not followed these cats, it may have gotten caught in the unfriendly terrain…

"Slow...slow down… I am…" Richard was stunned by the bumps and was starting to see double.

The other elfins were also upset by the bumps on the road. However, as they could not fly, they knew that they couldn't slow down now. If they did so, they would risk their own lives.

Snap! There was an unusual sound behind the car. The sound was not loud, but it was so clear that even the roaring engine sound could not cover it.

It sounded like something had broken.

In the rearview mirror, the pyramid jerked and tilted further into the abyss. It was not a collapse but a slip.

The pyramid might have been the most stable building in ancient times. Its large foundation made its center of gravity very low. The extremely dense boulder gave the structure strong integrity. Even with this disaster, the building did not fall apart and merely slipped into the abyss.

Seas of sand rose into the sky and covered most of the pyramid.

Zhang Zian's eyes were wide open. It was an incredible scene—the sinking of the pyramid caused a strong rising tide, much like a huge sand wave, to sweep across the land. The waves must be at least a dozen meters high and could swallow everything in their paths.

Once caught up by the sand waves, they would be buried under the sand. They would not see the sun tomorrow.

He had already stepped hard on the gas pedal. The car could, at this point, overturn at any moment. That might be better than being buried by sand waves.

The sand cats seemed to be aware of the urgency of the situation and fled more desperately.

More animals came out of unknown places. Lizards, snakes, foxes, small rodents… They joined the escape team. Some gerbils even jumped on the roof of the car, trying to hitch a ride.

Usually, when some of these animals met, they tried to eat one another. This time, they seemed to be comrades-in-arms. The common goal was survival.

The landscape grew even more chaotic. The level of destruction had suddenly increased. Now, everything on the ground had been swallowed into the abyss.

Even…everything above ground.

There was a black spot in the sky. It might have been a falcon, vulture, or some other bird. However, this black spot was being sucked into the abyss. It struggled but nevertheless failed. The air was clearly affected by the destruction.

Upon witnessing this, Richard jumped onto Zhang Zian's shoulder, poked him hard, and screamed, "You idiot! Drive faster!"