The Ultimate Evolution

Sheyan’s voice had hardly died away when an invisible shock wave swept past them. A gale which must be higher than Beaufort scale 12 blew so strongly that they could not even keep their eyes open! The grass and trees nearby were pulled from the ground and blown into the air!

The pilot, Peter, was about to climb onto the chopper. The look of astonishment had yet to fade from his face when the sudden gale blew him hundreds of meters away like he was merely a small pebble. He disappeared among the dust and debris that were flying all over the sky before he even had a chance to scream!

If the Black Hawk did not have its tail facing the direction of the oncoming shock wave and gale, it probably would have been blown away too!

The greyish-red giant cloud in the distance expanded like crazy. Actually, it was mostly black now, the red parts were just spotted dots, providing embellishment to the magnificent monstrosity. More terrifying were the black clouds that seemed to have covered the whole sky. There were countless fiery-red spots in them which were crashing down at a terrifying speed! On the surface, they looked like little red dots, but they were actually the core stones from the deepest part of the Earth, filled with red magma! They were ejected from the Earth’s mantle with unimaginable speed, then came smashing down under the pull of gravity!

They were the most lethal product of a volcanic eruption, the volcanic bombs!

(TL note: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_bomb )

Sheyan’s group stared at the earth collapsing right in front of them. The huge mass of black clouds produced by the supervolcanic eruption approached rapidly despite looking like they were moving slowly. Countless red volcanic bombs poured down like rain, leaving long black trails of smoke behind them. They crashed into the ground, stirring up dust and smoke!

When they could observe more closely, they could tell that the bigger ones among the volcanic bombs were even larger than heavy duty trucks, while the smaller ones were about as big as a basin. The core of some of the volcanic bombs consisted of heat-resistant substances that had not melted, while others were formed from the lava ejected into the sky. The two kinds of volcanic bombs behaved differently when they hit the ground.

The volcanic bombs with solid cores formed craters when they fell, like the impact craters formed when meteors landed on Earth.

On the other hand, the volcanic bombs made from lava were like deep fried cuttlefish balls that were crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. When they pounded into the ground, their surface, which had solidified due to rapid cooling, instantly shattered. The red lava inside came splashing out stickily, dripping onto the area hundreds of square meters around, igniting everything that could be ignited!

Sheyan’s vision was filled with dark clouds, lava, trembling land, and countless volcanic bombs coming down screaming from the black clouds!! The sight was akin to the forbidden spell ‘Meteor Shower’ or ‘Judgment Day’ in highly magical worlds!

“We have to hurry up…” Sheyan muttered, “The nearest volcanic bomb is now only two kilometers away from us. Ah, look at that poor tree!”

Zi turned around to glare at Sheyan, biting her lower lip. She complained hatefully, “I wish it would go quicker, too!” Despite her anger, she still looked very charming.

Sheyan wished to reply, but the earth suddenly shook violently again. A terrifying crack emerged in the land in the distance, easily splitting through mountains and rivers, as if the land was gripped by two giant invisible hands and forcefully torn apart. The bottom of the fissure was an unspeakable abyss of terror. The whole land seemed like it would be split into two!

Most importantly, the crack seemed to be rapidly extending in the Black Hawk’s direction!

The sound of the land cracking became louder and louder. The concrete floor of the apron began to split open. The crack expanded rapidly, from a centimeter wide to two, from two centimeters to five….

Everyone on the chopper was drenched in sweat, not only because of the tense mood, but also because of the hot gas pouring out from the abyss. The temperature on the land’s surface had spiked to around 40 degrees Celsius in an instant. The air they inhaled felt as hot as burning charcoal.

When they looked down, they could see red hot magma surging and boiling thousands of meters underground at the bottom of the abyss. Countless sticky-looking bubbles emerged from within the magma one after another. The crack was still expanding rapidly. All who stared into it felt like they were going to be sucked inside!

Suddenly, a volcanic bomb came roaring down, bombarding the Hummer they took here. The tough metallic fighting vehicle instantly burst into pieces. A small mushroom cloud rose, and a large amount of lava came splashing out, boiling and unstoppable.

At the same time, the terrifying fissure had already enlarged to an astonishing width of over 20 meters. The landing gear of the Black Hawk was unable to withstand the pressure of the expansion. It bent and broke, flying more than 7 meters away. The helicopter itself instantly dropped into the abyss!

Zi pushed the power output of the helicopter to the maximum with a cold expression. The helicopter engine let out a horrible sound, as if it was close to exploding. The lifting force produced by the helicopter rotors finally surpassed the helicopter’s weight. The chopper gradually flew upwards with much difficulty. It slowly climbed out of the terrifying abyss, and, after adjusting its direction, flew off towards the distance.

But at that instant, their vision turned dark. They were almost completely submerged in darkness, and could not even see their outstretched hand!

Volcanoes erupted when the molten rock below the surface of the earth was pushed out of a vent due to a strong pressure. The magma which erupted from the volcano crater became volcanic lava. The process was like water being ejected from a sprinkler under the action of pressure. The ejected lava would cool down and solidify into volcanic ash.

The ash cloud from a volcanic eruption was often terrifying as it would obscure the sun. The eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in 1815 resulted in the death of nearly 92,000 people. The ash cloud it produced covered the sun, lowering global temperatures by more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit (about 2.8 degrees Celsius), making it impossible to sow properly in 1816.

The helicopter was gobbled up by the volcanic ash cloud coming from behind! In the ash cloud which composed of a large number of ash particles smaller than two millimeters in diameter, not only was their sight obscured, the helicopter engine would also be damaged by the ashes if the helicopter remained in the cloud for too long!

Fortunately, the powerful engine of the Black Hawk was already running at full power, and the high-speed rotating rotors provided enough force to quickly disperse the black cloud around them. The helicopter flew away, quickly outpacing the spread of the volcanic ash cloud.

They managed to break out of the volcanic ash cloud covering the sun merely forty seconds later. Their vision instantly brightened. They were still surrounded by red-hot volcanic bombs that came roaring down with black smokes trailing behind them, but in essence, volcanic bombs belonged to the category of “soil”, so Kulutego was able to use his powers to skew the trajectories of the volcanic bombs heading for them. Hence, they were able to fly out of the danger zone without encountering much danger.

They flew past the outermost volcanic bomb as it crashed into a lake behind them. All of them breathed out in relief at the same time. The sudden sense of relief made them feel so weak that they felt like collapsing. Kate had already burst into tears while holding her children in her arms. The agonising pain in Brooke’s injured leg finally caught up to her. Her face was pale, and her teeth clenched her lower lip so tightly that it almost bled. She curled up in her seat, trembling non-stop!

When Sheyan saw this, he turned to Reef and said, “There must be a first aid kit on a military helicopter. Look for it and help her treat her wound. My Perceptive Sense is higher, so I have to stay at the front to help Zi steer the helicopter.”

Reef nodded and started looking. He soon found the first aid kit on a luggage rack. The collection of medicine inside was pretty thorough. Reef first gave her an injection of morphine, then wrapped her wound carefully with a triangular bandage. He had even removed a steel rod from one of the helicopter seats to fix her broken limb in place.

After the simple treatment, Brooke’s pain was greatly alleviated and her complexion turned for the better. But she refused when Reef gave her antibiotics and some other medicines for her injury. She first looked at Gordon, then at Kate, then lowered her head and said in a soft voice, “I’m sorry, but…I’m pregnant. These drugs aren’t meant for pregnant women.”

“Oh…” Reef nodded in understanding. As soon as Gordon heard that, the look on his face was priceless. He leaped up from his seat involuntarily but was pulled back down by his seat belt. He then uttered in a trembling voice, “You, you…”

Brooke looked at him with tearful eyes. She started sobbing but did not say anything. The look on her face could melt any man’s heart. Kate’s face was stiff, as if she was wearing a mask.

After a while, Gordon could finally utter a complete sentence, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I only went for an examination this morning to make sure…” Brooke answered helplessly.

What else could Gordon do under such circumstances? He sighed and turned to Kate. “I… I’m really sorry, Kate, you know how much I want a child of my own, but….”

Kate shook her head expressionlessly and said in a soft voice, “I understand. You have to take good care of her. She’s already so weak, and now she’s injured too. She’ll be in even more pain when the painkiller’s effect wears off in a moment.”

“…..”

Party Ace exchanged glances among themselves. Surprisingly, such a complicated four-sided relationship was so easily resolved.