This bulletproof vest was quite a piece of high technology; though it didn't appear overly large, it possessed incredible elasticity, allowing it to expand to fit whoever wore it, regardless of their bulk.

Zheng Zha swiftly pulled the vest on, enveloping both himself and the little girl, who was practically strapped to his back. With a dagger in his right hand and an assault rifle in his left, he bolted outward without a second thought.

At the other end of the interrogation room, pandemonium had erupted. Everyone stared, dumbfounded, as Zheng Zha produced items out of thin air. While a dagger might be concealed somewhere hidden, what about the assault rifle and the bulletproof vest? The National Security Bureau agents were not novices; how could they have missed such items? As he ran, Zheng Zha examined the dagger closely. Just then, he caught a faint glimmer of light at the pommel. Probing carefully, his fingers brushed against something the size of a grain of rice. He casually flicked it onto the ground, his heart nevertheless filled with bitter hatred for Chu Xuan.

He had just entered the corridor when the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the far end. Without hesitation, he raised the assault rifle and swept a burst toward that direction, simultaneously scrambling frantically toward the stairs leading to the third floor.

This assault rifle was of the same technological caliber as the vest—immensely powerful and firing at an incredible rate. With a series of sharp crack-crack sounds, the wall down the corridor was peppered with countless indentations. Judging by the damage and muzzle velocity, it sounded as though several assault rifles were firing at once, immediately forcing a halt to the footsteps approaching down the hall.

Zheng Zha's speed was astonishing; the air around him seemed to thicken with pressure. In a few strides, he reached the stairwell entrance, then launched himself downward. The little girl strapped behind him let out a sudden shriek, but the girl proved docile, biting down hard and clamping her mouth shut.

It was merely a staircase. Zheng Zha’s neurological reaction time was phenomenal; he landed solidly on the ground, then pushed off again, descending rapidly. Behind him, a barrage of gunfire erupted, shattering the spot where he had just landed into a mangled mess.

More people were assembling on the second floor. Zheng Zha didn't slow for an instant, leaping down the steps, his speed exponentially greater than his pursuers. In less than a minute, he had burst from the third floor and out the main entrance of the Public Security Bureau. As soon as his head cleared the threshold, a sharp snap zipped past his left leg, leaving a deep gash of blood across his thigh.

"Sniper?" The sense of danger felt absolute, pushing Zheng Zha’s entire reservoir of strength to its limit, his internal energy surging. He shot out of the bureau doors like a black shadow, with bullet trails stitching the air around him, yet not a single round struck him.

Zheng Zha dared not linger. He zigzagged violently toward the main road, following it straight ahead—in front lay the company where he worked! His office there was his only hope! Inside the Public Security Bureau, chaos reigned supreme. Countless police and National Security agents rushed toward the vehicle bay, while on the third floor, several figures shouted furiously into their communicators. As one man was roaring with particular enthusiasm, he suddenly spotted a faint glimmer flashing on the floor. Had it not been for the deep shadow in the corridor corner, he would never have noticed the brief reflection.

The man rushed over and pinched the grain-of-rice-sized object from the ground. Several others crowded around, looking delighted. He exclaimed, "Quick, call Technical Services! Colonel Chu Xuan actually removed the tracking beacon! There must be a message inside from him…" Zheng Zha had no idea what was unfolding back at the bureau. After he had sprinted a kilometer down the main road, the gunfire behind him ceased. Still cautious, he continued weaving forward for several hundred meters more, only stopping abruptly when a sedan pulled up behind him, slamming himself in front of the vehicle.

"What the hell, are you trying to die…" The driver was a young man with dyed blond hair, accompanied by a stunningly dressed beauty.

Zheng Zha spoke no pleasantries. He unleashed a full burst from the assault rifle toward the roadside, then swung the weapon toward the youth, commanding, "Out!" The young man proved straightforward; without a word to the girl, he jumped out with her. Zheng Zha dove into the driver’s seat, just managing to pull the little girl close and secure her in front of him when thwack-thwack sounds of bullets hitting metal echoed from behind the car. With a sharp crunch, one round pierced the vehicle, shattering both the front and rear windshields into dust.

Zheng Zha stomped on the accelerator, smashing the entire front windshield into fragments with a single punch. Behind him, a chorus of police sirens wailed. Only as the car began to accelerate did Zheng Zha dare glance back. It was a mistake that nearly paralyzed him with fear: at least a dozen police cars were desperately in pursuit, with many officers firing handguns at him.

The blond youth and the beauty were too stunned to speak. Only after the dozen police cars had passed did the young woman cry out, "Oh my God, a shootout! It’s a gunfight! So cool…" As the blond youth prepared to agree with an awestruck exclamation, a rush of wind whipped over their heads. Both looked up simultaneously and saw three helicopters flying low along the highway ahead of them. The two youngsters froze once again in stunned silence.

Zheng Zha’s focus was absolute; nothing existed in his mind but the road ahead. The sedan’s speed increased steadily, overtaking the sporadic traffic on the highway. Yet, the pursuing police cars kept up the relentless chase, giving him no respite. In fact, the contingent of police cars behind him seemed to grow larger, and more incredibly, Zheng Zha noticed the three helicopters consistently tailing him from above.

"Damn it, is Chu Xuan really that valuable? To send this many people…" Zheng Zha muttered to himself with a bitter smile. Before he could finish, a sharp crack sounded, and a sudden, searing pain shot through his left hand. A sniper round had pierced straight through it. For a moment, he could barely grip the steering wheel, and the car nearly swerved into the guardrail.

Zheng Zha gritted his teeth, desperately clamping his broken left hand onto the wheel. Though the metacarpals were shattered, he could still manage to steer by gripping tightly. With his other hand, he firmly held the little girl close to his chest, while his foot jammed the accelerator to the floor.

The helicopters fired several more rounds, but at that extreme speed, hitting the target was impossible. Moreover, they dared not shoot the tires; a rollover at this velocity would certainly mean instant death for the occupants! The car was rapidly approaching the vicinity of his company—just one more curve and the tower would be in sight. Before excitement could set in, a blinding white light flashed ahead: the road was completely blocked by dozens of police cars, their searchlights painting the night a stark, brilliant white.

"Li'er…" Zheng Zha suddenly said softly.

"En?" The little girl remained buried in his chest, seeing almost nothing, letting out only a muffled hum.

"Li'er… We won’t die, absolutely not! Whether in reality or in the horror movie… We will survive!" "Ah!!!" Zheng Zha’s head snapped down as he floored the gas pedal. The car’s speed was pushed to its absolute limit. Ignoring the hail of handgun fire striking the chassis, the sedan plunged forward relentlessly. With a massive crash, the car slammed through three police cruisers before finally gaining distance, though its speed was drastically reduced. The snipers in the helicopters immediately pulled their triggers. With a final crack, a tire was blown. The car swerved wildly, skidding for several thousand meters before crashing headlong into the roadside barrier.

Zheng Zha slammed into the steering wheel, which shattered completely under the impact. His forehead caught an exposed edge, tearing open a deep, bloody gash that looked terrifyingly gruesome. Within a second or two of the impact, he recovered from the shock. Without thinking, he grabbed the dagger and slashed at the car door.

The door parted easily under the blade. He kicked hard, sending the severed half flying out over ten meters, immediately met by a volley of gunfire where it landed.

He didn't hesitate. He hoisted Li'er onto his back once more, shouldered the assault rifle, and burst out. After firing a few short bursts, he began sprinting madly toward the company building; he could now see the structure, perhaps only a thousand meters away.

Simultaneously, back at the Public Security Bureau, the group surrounded several researchers who were furiously typing on laptops. Suddenly, one researcher shouted, "We're in! The password is indeed Colonel Chu Xuan's personal code!" Everyone crowded around to watch the screen where Chu Xuan was speaking continuously. At the same time, the printer connected to the laptop began spitting out sheaves of design schematics. But no one looked at the papers; they were all staring, slack-jawed, at Chu Xuan on the screen until the entire document finished printing. Then, they exchanged looks of profound strangeness.

The researchers rushed to the stack of printed documents, flipping through the schematics with rapt, almost obsessive attention, their faces morphing into expressions of utter bewilderment.

"It's, it's all real! Hahaha, this is a stable hydrogen fusion reactor, hahaha, holy hell, a stable hydrogen fusion reactor…" "Yes, it’s all real! This is the Gauss ultra-long-range cannon! Wu, Lao Wang spent his whole life trying to perfect this…" "This is the component list for the high-efficiency battery. Hahaha, this thing really exists! Lao Li, you died too soon, ah…" The surrounding agents watched the researchers cycle between laughter and tears, their own expressions growing more intense and strange. One of them finally yelled, "Damn it! Contact the field teams immediately! Recall every single pursuer! No one is to fire another shot… Yes, and figure out a good excuse to send the four old gentlemen back, and also…" Zheng Zha had only run about a hundred meters from the wrecked car, vaulting a guardrail, when his left thighbone exploded with a sharp crack. His entire leg instantly soaked crimson, and he tumbled to the ground. Before he could react, another bullet drilled into his right leg, simultaneously robbing both limbs of mobility.

(Can’t die… I absolutely cannot die!) Zheng Zha screamed inwardly. His internal energy was driven to the absolute limit, and that sensation of having something unlocked returned. The pain in both legs instantly vanished. He then used his hands and feet, crawling forward across the ground like a quadruped, his speed far exceeding that of an ordinary person running. Furthermore, having unlocked the Gene Lock, his intuition for danger sharpened several times over. Every time a gunshot rang out, he managed to dodge just to the side. His incredible speed and bizarre crawling motion utterly stunned the snipers in the helicopters.

He was getting closer to the company tower, but the path ahead was a dead straight line. Since the main gate was securely shut, he would have to smash through it to reach the interior. This required him to pause at the gate for one to two seconds—a window sufficient for a sniper to land several headshots. He couldn't be sure if the snipers truly intended only to capture him alive; it was a risk he couldn't afford to test.

"Ah!!!" Zheng Zha’s eyes flared crimson. Time was critical; he could afford no more hesitation. He violently vibrated the dagger in his right hand. His forward momentum was now so extreme he seemed to be a mere black streak. Just before reaching the company gate, he leaped upward nearly four meters high, brought the dagger down with all his might, and instantly cleaved through the steel door. At the same moment, Zheng Zha felt a violent jolt surge through his body.

The personnel in the helicopters were beyond mere shock; they were seized by fear. If you suddenly watched a man leap four meters into the air from a standstill, no amount of psychological conditioning could prevent astonishment, even terror. They watched helplessly as Zheng Zha rolled into the company grounds, only one of them managing to place a shot into his back.

Zheng Zha rolled upon landing and immediately sprang up, sprinting toward the emergency exit stairwell without pausing. Given his physical condition, that short flight of stairs posed no obstacle, and his speed did not diminish.

"We made it, Li'er, we made it… We can definitely survive, none of us will… Li'er?" As he ran, Zheng Zha suddenly noticed something was wrong with the girl on his back. He yanked her off and held her, his hand meeting something wet. He stopped dead, realizing with horror that the area around Li'er’s waist was drenched in blood—the exact spot the bulletproof vest hadn't covered. A bullet had entered her back and exited through her stomach. As he pulled her close, the round rolled from between them onto the ground.