The ground barely shuddered at first, then began to shake violently! Trees and houses swayed incessantly, as if floating on water. People could barely stand; the sensation was utterly awful, like the earth’s crust was being violently assaulted in a frenzied manner.

One could even see an elderly man, enjoying the morning sun and air on his porch, thrown right over the railing by the intense shaking, slamming heavily onto the ground below. Several cyclists also tumbled off their bikes. The piercing, heartbreaking screams of car alarms, triggered by the violent tremors, blended together, fraying everyone’s nerves.

The crushing irony was that on the television, the official—Governor Schwarzenegger—was announcing that the period of seismic activity had officially passed, just before the earthquake even struck. No wonder people mocked him for only being able to read lines from a script.

Worst of all, Kate and the children were still inside the house packing their bags!

“Damn it!” Fang Senyan roared, immediately issuing orders: “Reef, you go rescue them. I’ll start the car and prepare for escape. San Zai, keep Kurutgo sharp; our lives will likely depend on him now.”

“What about me?” Zi was clearly annoyed at being ignored.

“Pray that that bastard Fu has truly been expelled from this world! Of course, if you don't mind, a kiss for good luck wouldn’t hurt.” Fang Senyan shrugged.

Zi’s face flushed red. She shot Fang Senyan a fierce glare and immediately put on a stern expression:

“I do mind.”

Ignoring the shaking earth completely, Fang Senyan lunged toward the waiting vehicle—a massive, even wild vehicle they had meticulously chosen before arriving! A pure white, stretched six-wheel Hummer H6! (Picture available on Weibo.)

This vehicle could sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.6 seconds, with a top speed exceeding 200 km/h. Its 6.0-liter V-type gasoline engine heart provided astonishing power. Compared to it, the standard 2.0-liter and 3.0-liter engines in ordinary off-road vehicles looked completely inadequate.

Of course, the sole drawback of this thing, weighing nearly four tons, was its astonishing fuel consumption. It drank oil as if it were water. To put it more vividly, the H6’s stop-and-go fuel economy in the city was about ten times that of a common 0.8-liter QQ. Fortunately, the H6 was equipped with dual fuel tanks, holding 240L of fuel in total, enough to cover seven to eight hundred kilometers without issue—otherwise, it would need refueling every few dozen kilometers.

Meanwhile, Reef had already strode into Mr. Gordon’s house. The entire small villa felt as if several invisible monsters were madly squeezing it from all directions. He kicked open the door; everything in sight was eerily twisting and trembling, dust raining down, yet sunlight dappled through the warped gaps!

Although the sound of shattering porcelain and crockery erupted everywhere, what worried Reef most was the clearly audible creaking groan and snapping sounds of the structural timbers struggling under the load. Clearly, under the earthquake’s power, this house wouldn’t last much longer.

The children’s screams from upstairs successfully guided Reef forward. He rushed upstairs, shielding his head with his hands. In that short distance, at least two chandeliers fell, showering him with glass shards, though they caused no harm to the rock-solid Reef. Just as he reached the second floor, an entire wardrobe, flung violently, hurtled toward him. Reef clenched his fists and swept out an elbow!

With a crack, the wardrobe shattered into pieces, underwear and dust scattering, yet unable to impede Reef’s progress an inch. As soon as he reached the second floor, he saw Mrs. Kate and the two small children huddled together under the dining table, trembling in terror.

“Hurry!” Reef rasped, his voice steady despite the chaos.

Kate screamed in fright:

“But the experts said under the table is safer during an earthquake!”

Just as Reef was about to speak, he distinctly heard a sharp, piercing snap from a ceiling beam, which immediately broke. The entire villa was seconds away from complete collapse. He couldn't waste time explaining; he bent low, charged forward, kicked the dining table aside with one knee, tucked Kate under his left arm and the two nearly paralyzed children under his right, and burst through the window, leaping out!

Less than two seconds after his exit, the outer walls of the small villa finally buckled under the tremendous pressure and collapsed. The whole structure was demolished as if by a gigantic, invisible palm pressed down from the sky, kicking up clouds of dust.

At that moment, a sharp glint flashed in Fang Senyan’s eyes, for he clearly saw a jagged piece of rebar shoot out during the building's collapse, aimed directly at Lily, whom Reef was holding. Whether by chance or design was unclear.

This direct an attack probably wasn't Fu’s work, a thought flickered through Fang Senyan’s mind. Zi, standing beside him, flicked her finger gently; a sharp pulse of elemental force shot out like a needle, striking the rebar sideways and deflecting it. Reef, landing with a roll, cleanly sprinted over with the three of them trailing behind.

Fang Senyan threw open the car door, unceremoniously hauling the frantic Mr. Gordon into the passenger seat, and stomped on the accelerator. Zi opened the rear hatch and reached out to receive the others. Amidst the earth-rending roars, large, clear fissures began to appear on the road surface dozens of meters behind Reef, extending rapidly toward their position.

The powerful V8 engine roared to life. Reef tossed the two dizzy children and Mrs. Kate into the back of the H6; Zi caught them easily and settled them onto the sofa. Despite the vehicle already accelerating past sixty miles per hour, Reef vaulted into the car with apparent ease.

It is necessary here to introduce the H6’s most astonishing modification: the front and rear seating areas could accommodate five adults, while the extended rear space had been converted into a luxurious mini-bar, complete with lighting, sound system, television, and refrigerator. The corner luxury leather sofa could seat five, with wide, comfortable backrests. (Picture included.)

Opposite the sofa, a wall-mounted 15-inch screen linked to the front DVD player, coupled with the deafening sound from ten speakers, created a mobile private cinema. Next to it, a walnut-trimmed bar featured two built-in refrigerators, and the bar’s cup holders could firmly secure ten glasses. The roof and surrounding areas were covered in chrome metal trim, inlaid with color-changing ambient lights.

As Kate’s shock subsided, she was settled onto a nearby sofa. Zi fastened her seatbelt and handed her a glass of vodka to calm her nerves. The vehicle still pitched violently due to the tremors. On both sides of the road, small villas, unable to withstand nature’s fury, showed massive cracks appearing in their walls, collapsing one by one, even spewing thick smoke and flames.

More terrifyingly, large sinkholes and fissures appeared on the road behind them, collapsing like dominoes, seemingly chasing them relentlessly! Numerous parked vehicles were swallowed by the rolling subsidence! And the trees toppled over, vanishing into the newly formed, pitch-black chasms.

“Can you possibly go any faster!” Zi shouted to the front. “The collapses and sinkholes behind us are only two seconds away! I feel utterly unsafe right now!”

Fang Senyan shrugged and stomped the accelerator again. The Hummer H6’s engine roared suddenly louder. The wide off-road tires proved their worth now. The vehicle began to speed down the highway, desperately trying to outrun the collapse chasing them.

The speed indicator began to rise slowly, firmly, and steadily… and at this moment, in everyone’s sight and senses, the entire world seemed to be shaking and trembling uncontrollably!!

Kate and Gordon were muttering prayers to God; their minds seemed frozen apart from this single event.

Just then, the one thing Fang Senyan and his group had feared most occurred… traffic congestion! Upon entering a main road, they clearly saw other sedans moving ahead, and the drivers were clearly gripped by terror, not yet realizing the massive crisis bearing down from behind!

“Now is not the time to follow some goddamn traffic rules!” Fang Senyan snarled through clenched teeth. “Gentlemen, hold tight, there’s going to be a violent impact!”

As soon as his words fell, they heard a loud BANG ahead. Fang Senyan viciously wrenched the steering wheel, slamming the H6 into the rear of a Toyota Corolla in front, sending it spinning sideways and flying off. If that car had remained in their path, they all would likely have been saying goodbye in an underground abyss within seconds.

This was the moment the Hummer H6 displayed its raw, domineering power. Weighing over four tons, built with high-strength alloy steel, and accelerating close to 150 km/h—honestly, unless it was a heavy-duty transport truck, ordinary vehicles stood no chance against its ramming force!

Hmm, I really miss the days of one chapter updates, hehe. Normal updates will resume tomorrow.

Oh, wait, not normal updates.

Because I still plan a small burst of updates to apologize for slacking off for a week. RQ