April 1. Sunday. Night, 22:19.

Tonight is the day when Zhou Xuan is ready to commit suicide.

Future Dream Hotel, Penthouse, Room 1919. Circumferential stood on the open windowsill. The city skyline shrouded in rain flashed with a dazzling aurora.

What followed was the shaking of the whole building, like sitting on a roller coaster, the higher it was, the more violent it became, and if it hadn't been for the tight grip on the window frame, it would have already fallen nineteen floors. It was as if he was in another world, and the white light at the end of the sky pierced his eyes, and his heart shook so much that he almost jumped out of his chest, and then sank rapidly with the Future Dream Building.

Without this deadly aurora, without this sudden earthquake, Zhou Xuan would have closed his eyes, let go of all distracting thoughts, jumped into the void, and only stayed at the moment of kissing the ground, bidding farewell to the world forever, and getting rid of all kinds of torture, all kinds of joys and all kinds of helplessness for more than 30 years.

But when he felt his heart beat so truly, when he felt fear reign over every inch of his skin, when he felt the blood almost burst through the capillaries, when he felt the adrenaline rush over any obstacle...... That's when I felt alive.

He also found from his heart, from the depths of his unconcealed desires, that he was so eager to live.

Zhou Xuan had never felt that he was so powerful, and when the whole person was about to fly out of the window, he actually made a pull-up, miraculously climbed back into the window with his hands and feet.

Behind him there was the sound of glass shattering, and he was already rushing to the door of the guest room like a bullet.

The lights flickered and flickered, the TV fell to the floor, and the bed was shaken to the other end of the room.

Zhou Xuan opened the door and rushed into the hallway, and one of them stumbled and fell on the carpet. When he got up again, under the ghostly porch lamp, he saw a man rushing out of room 1918 opposite, followed by a beige Labrador.

The man glanced at Zhou Xuan, his eyes were cold, and he couldn't help but let Zhou Xuan take a half step back. He looked to be about forty years old, tall and straight, and under his thick eyebrows, there were particularly mature single eyelids, which made people want to take a few more looks.

Everyone knows, and perhaps dogs, that you can't take an elevator during an earthquake or fire.

Zhou Xuan was the first to rush down the stairs, followed by the man who followed the loyal Labradoodle.

The most painful thing in life is that when the earthquake came, it was still on the top floor of a high-rise building.

To rush from the nineteenth floor to the bottom floor, but also to ensure that there are no accidents in the middle, such as the building breaking in two, or the fire that blocked the escape route, or the fact that everyone squeezed into the stairwell, but no one ran down, and even people stomped each other to death...... It is necessary to rule out all these possible disasters in order to save this life, which should have been ended by itself.

Before he could run down half the floor, the flashing lights of the escape escape went out. Two men and a dog light the way with their mobile phones.

Presumably, people from all floors of the hotel are coming to this escape route. Running down a few floors, Zhou Xuanxiang rushed into a door next to him, but it was not what the hotel floor looked like, and he could see the sign of an American company, which was smashed on the floor. He didn't know that the 10th to 14th floors of the Future Dream Building were high-end office buildings for rent. Fortunately, it's the middle of the night and Sunday, so there won't be any more perverted overtime maniacs, right?

Suddenly, he heard a dog barking, followed by the man's voice: "You have chosen the right escape route!" ”

The other party had an extra flashlight in his hand, which he took from the fire box of the escape route.

"There are so many people on the two stairs below that they're almost blocked, and you have to change your escape route – follow me!" His Mandarin characters are round. With his Labrador in his hand, he galloped to the right side of the hallway of the office building—he seemed to be very familiar with the building. Turning many corners in the corridors, passing through two three-way intersections, three intersections - probably the white-collar workers who work here will get lost, right? Coming to an inconspicuous security door, he pressed a set of passwords, and Alibaba's treasure cave opened automatically.

"Aren't there all the power outages?"

"The cryptographic system has a separate power supply and is not affected by the building's circuitry."

Walking into the secret escape route, I noticed that floor - 12 was written on the wall.

Descend several floors down the narrow stairwell, turning twice on each floor. I ran to the ninth floor, but I was blocked by a pile of rubble, and the way down was buried tightly.

"Hey!" The man stroked the barking Labrador, "The escape route should be made of the strongest material, but it's a pity-"

Zhou Xuan couldn't help but ask, "Are you the designer of this building?" ”

"It's not."

He returned to the corridor on the ninth floor, which was already an open space, next to the movie theater ticket window, and several movie posters hung on the wall.

On the ninth floor, Future Dream Studios, the audience and staff have fled, and the ground is full of all kinds of garbage.

Zhou Xuan thought to himself that if he didn't follow this man and the strange Labrador Retriever, he would have lost his way in this dark labyrinth and would either fall into the abyss and hell or be smashed to pieces.

A few minutes later, they came to the ground floor through the escape route, and the noisy voices of people resonated in their ears, and the place seemed to be a huge Gothic church, with a choir of young people and an organ.

The middle-aged man quickly bypassed several obstacles, stepping on broken glass and objects on the floor, approaching the center of the ground floor. Zhou Xuan looked at the empty overhead, imagining the usual nine floors, with people coming and going up and down the escalators, half an hour ago the lights were like torches, and now there are only a few flickering stars left—and there are still survivors who haven't had time to escape downstairs?

Out of nowhere, a blinding light lit up. Zhou Xuan instantly thought that the power supply had been restored, or that the rescue team had arrived outside. The Labrador barks violently.

"Shut up! Churchill! The man let out a low, terrifying roar, and the name of the former British Prime Minister had been bestowed on the Labrador.

The dog, named "Churchill", obediently lay on the ground and looked up at his master.

The man's gloomy face, like a tight iron curtain, completely blocked his heart. If there is really a mind-reading skill in the world, there will undoubtedly be a Waterloo in front of him.

Emergency lights flickered, and hundreds of survivors gathered in a commotion. Men with various tools are trying to dig through the foyer buried in the rubble, as if they are about to dig a ray of life.

The mysterious man left these desperate escapers behind and retreated into darkness with Churchill. Zhou Xuan followed him through the emergency passage to the Calford supermarket on the basement level. Churchill barked, and out of nowhere there was a barking dog, possibly a pet shop nearby.

"Churchill!" The man yelled again, not angry, and the Labrador had to regain its quietness, reluctantly following its master's feet.

The second basement floor is also Calford Supermarket. Continuing to the third basement floor, the flashlight dimmed, and they passed through the silent underground garage like a tomb. A lot of parking spaces are empty, and a few cars hit the wall, probably shaking too violently, or forgetting to pull the handbrake before getting out of the car.

The building also has four basement floors. As if enchanted, Zhou Xuan followed Churchill and went deep into the deepest part of the underground palace. The basement four floors are still garages, where a few priceless sports cars are parked, as well as RVs like the Maybach and Lincoln, which should belong to some boss or rich kid.

This layer is so strong that there are hardly any signs of an earthquake. Walking dozens of meters along the foot of the black wall, the man pushed open a wide door. The Labrador spun around a few times but refused to go in. Zhou Xuan smelled a pungent smell of gasoline. A gasoline leak? Going to explode? Just about to run for his life with Churchill, he heard the man's voice: "Don't be afraid! It's diesel, and we're going to restore power to the building. ”

The deep and deep voice with some magnetism, coupled with the standard Mandarin with a round tone, stabilized the panicked people and dogs. Circling around, he saw a large warehouse-like house, and the emergency lights illuminated several strange-shaped machines. Several men, dressed in blue overalls, lined up with a tubing and pouring pungent liquid into the machine.

It's a diesel generator. Zhou Xuan counted silently in his heart, there are five in total!

When the mysterious man appeared, the team leader in overalls immediately said respectfully, "Hello, Mr. Luo." ”

Only then did Zhou Xuan know what his surname was.

Churchill, however, stubbornly crouched at the door, wailing out and not daring to enter.

This Mr. Luo asked in a low voice, "How is the situation?" ”

"The internal circuitry of the building is basically not damaged, but the external power supply is interrupted. To be sure, the entire city is without power. ”

"How long does it take to get a diesel generator to start?"

"I don't know, this machine hasn't really been used since it was shipped in."

Zhou Xuan saw several lines of eye-catching text on the shell of the diesel generator, full of operating instructions and safety warnings. He noticed that in this room, there were large diameter intake and exhaust pipes. Diesel power generation consumes a lot of oxygen and at the same time emits deadly exhaust gases, so air circulation must be maintained. There is also a water pump next to the generator, and if there is no cooling water supply, a serious accident can occur at any time.

"How much diesel is in reserve?"

"All the diesel fuel is collected and placed in the oil depot on the fourth basement floor, which supplies electricity to the entire building, and even with the central air conditioning turned off, it can only last for less than 12 hours. However, if you control the scope of use, such as electricity on a single floor and a power outage on a double floor, then you can use it for 24 hours – and so on, depending on how we use it. ”

"Have the air intakes and exhaust been checked?" The man took a closer look at the safety precautions and realized that it was a matter of life.

"It is being checked, and it must be confirmed that it is safe to start the diesel engine, otherwise in the enclosed underground space, everyone will be suffocated by exhaust gases." This team leader is very dedicated, and his face has not changed at this juncture, and he can't help but be in awe.

"Can you make sure the exhaust goes outside?"

"If you can't go outside, in the atrium of the third, fifth and seventh floors of the mall, there are secret spare exhaust outlets."

"Exhaust gases directly into the atrium?"

"Mr. Luo, the atrium space of the mall is huge, from the ground floor to the ninth floor, the exhaust gas will be diluted quickly, as long as it is not continuously discharged, at most there is a peculiar smell, which will not endanger human life."

While they were working on the technical problem, there was a rumbling sound overhead, and the walls of the fourth basement floor were shaking, and the staff hurriedly stopped the oil delivery.

April 1. Sunday. Night, 10:45 p.m.

Under the flickering emergency lights, everyone looked at each other, only Mr. Luo said calmly: "Maybe, I shouldn't have said such things at this time, but I don't want to lie to you." And I am very grateful to all of you, you are the real heroes who can still stick to your posts at this earth-shattering critical juncture. Well, I tell you my judgment - the outside world, indeed, is ruined! ”

"What?"

"Oh my God!

"Ah......h

All kinds of exclamations came in response, but I didn't know whether it was fear or excitement. For someone like him, who wanted to commit suicide half an hour ago, the mood at this time is indeed indescribable.

"That's right, I don't think we're on the fourth floor now, but maybe forty floors underground!"

"Mr. Luo, how is this possible?"

"The entire Future Dream Building may have been buried underground, I just can't tell how far it is from the ground."

"Do we have any hope of escaping?"

"I don't know, but as long as there is a glimmer of life, I have to work hard!" Mr. Luo put on a resolute expression, his tall body and powerful eyes gave people psychological comfort, "This building has a special earthquake-resistant design, which can withstand earthquakes of magnitude 10 or more. Although it is buried in the ground, the basic structure will not be damaged, and the façade of the building can withstand great pressure, so as long as we do not kill ourselves, we can survive. ”

I don't know who shouted hopefully: "Someone will definitely come to save us!" ”

"According to my analysis, if such a sturdy building can be shaken to the ground, then this earthquake must be unprecedented, probably the strongest earthquake on the earth, and the whole world will be destroyed!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone was silent, and Zhou Xuan also lowered his head, thinking about whether it was lucky or unfortunate to choose to commit suicide today.

A man's sobbing sound sounded next to the generator, probably thinking of not knowing whether his wife and children at home were dead or alive.

Zhou Xuan approached the mysterious man and asked, "Who are you?" ”

"My name is Luo Haoran, the owner of the Future Dream Mansion."