Chapter 1 The Unfolding

The moment Fang Senyan's words faded, an invisible shockwave swept over, accompanied by winds exceeding force twelve, making it impossible to even open one's eyes! Nearby weeds and trees were snapped in half at waist height, flying into the air.

Pilot Pete was about to climb into the helicopter, the look of astonishment still on his face. He was blown away like a small stone for hundreds of meters, disappearing into the dust and debris! He didn't even have time to scream!

If the tail of the Black Hawk hadn't been facing the direction of the shockwave and wind, it wouldn't have escaped being overturned and blown away!

Then, the distant gray-red giant cloud expanded crazily, dominated by black with crimson streaks. It was overwhelming. Even more terrifying, within the black cloud that seemed to fill the entire sky, numerous crimson dots streaked past at incredible speeds! These were not just red dots; they were core stones surging from the deepest parts of the earth! Saturated with red magma, they erupted from the mantle at unimaginable speeds, then were pulled back by the earth's gravity and crashed down!

These were the most lethal products of a volcanic eruption: volcanic bombs!

Fang Senyan and the others stared dumbfounded as the ground disintegrated before them. The massive black ash cloud from the supervolcano's eruption rapidly approached. Countless incandescent volcanic bombs trailed black smoke, raining down like rain and creating clouds of dust on the earth!

Closer inspection revealed that the giant volcanic bombs were larger than a heavy truck, while the smaller ones were the size of washbasins. Some had cores of heat-resistant compounds that hadn't been dissolved, while others were solidified lava ejected into the air. Therefore, their impact on the ground varied.

Solid volcanic bombs crashed into the ground like meteors, forming impact craters.

Lava bombs were like "crispy on the outside, tender on the inside" dumplings. The rapidly cooled and solidified outer layer shattered upon impact, while the red-hot magma splashed out, covering hundreds of square meters and igniting everything flammable!

Before Fang Senyan and his group was a scene of dark clouds, lava, trembling earth, and countless volcanic bombs screaming from the black clouds!! It was a scene best described by forbidden spells from a high-magic world: "Meteor Shower" or "Doomsday Judgment."

"We need to hurry..." Fang Senyan muttered, "The nearest volcanic bomb landed less than two kilometers away. Ah! Look at that poor tree!"

Zi turned to glare at Fang Senyan, biting her lower lip with a unique charm, and said resentfully:

"I want to go faster too!!"

Fang Senyan was about to speak when the earth shook violently again. In the distance, the ground seemed to be grabbed by two invisible hands and torn apart. A terrifying crack formed rapidly, casually splitting the mountains and land. The end and bottom of the crack revealed an indescribable abyss. It looked as if the once unified land would be divided in two, going their separate ways!

Most critically, the Black Hawk helicopter seemed to be directly in the path of the crack!

Cracking sounds became increasingly audible. The concrete on the helipad began to crumble, and cracks appeared, rapidly widening from one centimeter to two, then from two to five…

Fang Senyan and the others were sweating profusely, not only from anxiety but also from the scorching gas rising from the ground fissure, instantly raising the surface temperature to thirty or forty degrees Celsius! Even the air felt like hot embers.

Looking down, one could see red-hot magma bubbling thousands of meters below, viscous bubbles rising. The crack widened rapidly, and one's vision was immersed in it, creating an illusion of abyss, prison, sea, and storm!! Almost sinking into it!

At that moment, a volcanic bomb screamed down, hitting the Hummer they had been riding in. The sturdy steel vehicle instantly shattered into pieces, erupting in a small mushroom cloud and splashing out a large amount of extremely hot lava.

Simultaneously, the terrifying ground fissure widened to an astonishing width of more than twenty meters. The landing gear of the Black Hawk helicopter couldn't withstand the expansion and snapped, flying seven or eight meters away. The entire fuselage began to fall into the abyss!

In that instant, Zi activated the engine to maximum power. It emitted a terrifying sound, almost exploding, but the lift generated by the helicopter's rotors finally offset its weight. The aircraft struggled to climb out of the terrifying abyss, finally rising slowly, then adjusted its direction and flew away.

But just then, everyone's vision went black, as if they were completely plunged into darkness!

After a volcanic eruption, molten magma is ejected from the vent under tremendous pressure, forming magma mist. This process is called magma atomization. Like water in a sprayer, water is ejected from the nozzle under pressure, forming a mist. Magma mist cools and solidifies, forming volcanic ash.

The ash cloud from a volcanic eruption is terrifying.

It blots out the sun. The eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in 1815 caused nearly 92,000 deaths. The volcanic ash blocked out the sun, causing global temperatures to drop by more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit (about 2.8 degrees Celsius), making 1816 impossible to plant normally.

Fang Senyan and the others were engulfed by the volcanic ash cloud chasing after them! In this cloud of fine dust less than two millimeters in size, not only was visibility impaired, but prolonged exposure would cause the engine to suffer fatal damage from the dust!

Fortunately, the Black Hawk helicopter's powerful engine was fully engaged. The high-speed rotating rotors provided enough power to quickly disperse the black cloud and fly away, soon outpacing the spread of the volcanic ash cloud.

A mere forty seconds later, everyone's vision cleared. They had successfully escaped the overwhelming volcanic ash cloud. Although red-hot volcanic bombs trailing black smoke were still raining down, they ultimately belonged to the "earth" element. Kuru Tree's ability to deflect the falling volcanic bombs allowed them to escape the terrifying area with some narrow escapes.

Watching the last volcanic bomb crash heavily into the lake behind them, splashing out a large amount of white smoke and mud, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, feeling almost exhausted. Kate hugged her children, tears streaming down her face, sobbing uncontrollably. Miss Bo Ji felt an indescribable pain in her injured leg, her face pale, biting her lower lip tightly, almost drawing blood, and shivering in her seat!

Seeing this, Fang Senyan said to Reef:

"A military helicopter should have a standard first-aid kit. Find it and help. My perception is higher; I need to help Zi control the helicopter."

Reef nodded and searched around. He found the medical first-aid kit with a red cross on the luggage rack without much effort. It was well-stocked with various medicines. He quickly injected her with morphine, carefully bandaged her wound with a triangular bandage, and used a steel pipe from the side of the chair to fix the fractured limb.

After a simple treatment, Miss Bo Ji's pain was reduced, and her face regained some color. However, when Reef offered her antibiotics, she refused. She first looked at Doctor Gordon, then at Kate, who seemed somewhat confused, and lowered her head, saying softly:

"I'm so sorry, I'm pregnant, these medicines… shouldn't be taken by pregnant women."

"Oh," Reef replied calmly. Upon hearing Miss Bo Ji's words, Doctor Gordon's expression was the most dramatic. He jumped up from his seat, only to be pulled back down by the seatbelt, and said tremulously:

"You, you…."

Miss Bo Ji looked at him with tearful eyes, sobbing but not speaking. But her eyes would break the heart of any man. Kate's face seemed to be covered with a mask, and Doctor Gordon finally managed to say a complete sentence:

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I only had a test this morning to confirm…" Bo Ji said helplessly.

Under such circumstances, what choice did Doctor Gordon have? He could only sigh and say to Kate:

"I, I, I'm very sorry, Kate, you know I really want a child, but…."

Kate shook her head expressionlessly and said faintly:

"I understand. You need to take good care of Miss Bo Ji. She's already very weak, and she's injured. She'll probably be in more pain when the painkiller wears off."

"……"

Fang Senyan and the others exchanged glances, not expecting this complex love quadrangle to be resolved so easily.