"Bah!"

Vice President Zheng spat out a mouthful of dust and struggled to stand up, shaking off the broken billboard that had fallen on him.

He looked around and noticed that the members of Can Society, including the special agents who were escorting them, were all in a sorry state.

One member of Can Society had even had his leg crushed by some falling debris and was letting out a gut-wrenching scream.

Vice President Zheng’s gaze quickly locked onto Lv Bai.

Compared to the disheveled crowd, Lv Bai appeared like an outsider, his clothes untouched by the chaos.

Lv Bai stared in the direction of the explosion, his gaze piercing through the buildings before him: "That is..."

"It’s the Heavy Element Reactor." Pu Xueli added with a grim expression.

Lv Bai had once prevented an attack on the Heavy Element Reactor, so he naturally knew Pu Xueli was speaking the truth.

It must be emphasized that the Heavy Element Reactor provides more than seventy percent of the energy needed for the Underground City. It is the foundation of its existence, vital for survival.

Without the Heavy Element Reactor, there is no Underground City—this statement is not an exaggeration.

Admittedly, with various backup measures, it isn’t impossible to keep the Underground City running.

But without the Heavy Element Reactor, Shelter Number 9 definitely can’t sustain this many people.

As for the casualties caused by the reactor’s explosion?

Under the current circumstances, they don’t seem as important.

Li Shan, covered in dust, rushed over and grabbed Vice President Zheng by the collar, shouting almost hysterically: "What the hell is going on!"

Vice President Zheng had lost all his abilities and was now an ordinary person, gasping for air as Li Shan violently dragged him.

Nevertheless, he tried to gather his wits, saying hoarsely: "I didn’t expect him to actually succeed."

"Who?" Li Shan blurted out without thinking.

Upon hearing this, Lv Bai suddenly understood.

It should have been obvious from the start.

In Can Society’s organizational structure, aside from the director and the president, the position of vice president is held by two people.

Lv Bai had overlooked the other vice president after dealing with the president.

No one anticipated that the vice president would be capable of causing such a stir.

The repercussions of the Heavy Element Reactor’s damage hadn’t ceased.

As time went on, the power supply to the holographic sky screen was cut off.

Everyone had grown accustomed to the sky being simulated by the holographic screen, so when it went dark, it felt like nighttime without stars.

As for the dense blocks of the Habitable Tower, they plunged into darkness, one area after another, as if tracking the city’s rhythm.

Facing an event endangering the continuation of the shelter, all backup energy would prioritize various functional departments at different levels.

If someone were to hover above the shelter now, they’d see that in this vast area, only a few buildings still emitted light.

The other pinpoints of light buried in darkness were just individual devices like cell phones and flashlights.

Beep beep beep~

Everyone present, whether special agents or Cheng Zhiwu, as long as they had an official background, received a Level One Alert Order from City Council.

It was the highest level of alert ever issued by City Council since the dawn of the Underground City era.

The primary goal was to stabilize the situation and ensure human survival; if necessary, even abandoning the shelter was justified.

...

As it turned out, even with City Council’s crisis plan for issues with the Heavy Element Reactor, the situation remained difficult to contain.

Security personnel, including ground forces, were entirely focused on maintaining stability.

Armored vehicles equipped with extra lighting moved orderly like industrious ants, continuously urging citizens through red and blue lights and sirens to stay calm.

Unfortunately, the efforts were minimally effective.

The public network had long been shut down. This action may have curtailed widespread rumor-mongering but only heightened public fear.

Especially in such an ominous environment, uncertainty filled the air.

The vast majority of honest citizens were caught in anxious waiting.

Yet those with ulterior motives took this as a pre-apocalyptic feast, driven by the thought of indulging before death, dismissing the consequences and letting loose.

Such individuals weren’t numerous, but considering the population in billions, the number of rioters acting on this impulse was in the thousands.

When the beastly nature within humanity is triggered, it spreads like a plague, with equally uncontrollable consequences.

City Council had considered this aspect, which is why it unleashed its full force to uphold basic stability.

Unfortunately, achieving that was no walk in the park.

Bear in mind, the terrifying blast from the Heavy Element Reactor had an extraordinary impact range, engulfing virtually the entire Underground City—only the degree of devastation varied.

This meant a significant portion of the population required assistance.

Whether injured or trapped in buildings, relying on them and their families to stay calm and patiently wait for help was utterly impossible.

The compounding factors resulted in the chaos within the Underground City escalating visibly.

"What do we do now? Should we go to the City Hall Building?"

Feng Yixuan had to yell to be heard over the din.

The captain of the Sixth Unit remained relatively composed, gesturing for Feng Yixuan and others to stay calm while attempting to contact the commander of Cheng Zhiwu and any higher-ups accessible.

Pu Xueli was doing the same, reconnecting with his network of old friends.

In a disaster like this, the distinction between official personnel, ordinary citizens, or Death Fighters disappeared—everyone sought their inner cornerstone.

In contrast, Li Shan refrained from doing so, dejectedly releasing Vice President Zheng. Staring in a daze for a while, his gaze gradually shifted to Lv Bai.

He looked like a drowning man clutching the only straw or seeing his last hope.

Li Shan didn’t hide the hope glinting in his eyes, staring directly at Lv Bai: "Do you have a way? Take my last ability if it helps."

The Heavy Element Reactor had exploded; restoring it seemed only possible by reversing time.

Sadly, even if Lv Bai rummaged through his "Discard Pile," he couldn’t conjure a set of abilities to do such a thing.

He shrugged: "What could I possibly do."

Upon hearing this, the light in Li Shan’s eyes completely dimmed.

"But simply illuminating the entire Underground City is easy."

Lv Bai suddenly spoke, then snapped his fingers: "Let there be light."