Yang Hao and the other two were sprinting desperately through the collapsing tunnel, with the roaring sound behind them growing louder and louder, and rocks constantly falling from the ceiling. Suddenly, Li Qiang slipped and fell to the ground, and a massive boulder came crashing down towards him. Yang Hao reacted swiftly, turning around and pulling Li Qiang with all his might. The boulder grazed their bodies as it smashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Hurry up!" Yang Hao pulled Li Qiang to his feet, and the three of them continued to charge forward. Finally, they caught sight of the light at the tunnel's exit and dashed out with their last ounce of strength. Just as they left, the tunnel completely collapsed, sending up a huge cloud of smoke and dust.
The three collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath, and a sense of relief at having survived the ordeal surged within them. Yang Hao clutched the crystal tightly, his eyes gleaming with determination. "We've finally found it. Now let's go back and activate the alien relic to start the Ark!"
Upon returning to the shelter, Lin Xiao quickly installed the crystal onto the alien relic. Instantly, the relic burst into a dazzling light and emitted a low-pitched humming sound. Yang Hao focused his mind and, through the connection he had established with the relic, began to manipulate its energy. Under his control, the relic's energy flowed continuously into the Ark's core system.
The Ark's engines started up, emitting a deafening roar. The entire shelter shook violently, and dust rained down. Li Qiang jumped up excitedly. "Great, the Ark is starting up!"
However, at that very moment, the Ark's control system suddenly issued a series of alarm sounds. Lin Xiao hurriedly checked the data, and her face turned pale. "Not good, there's a malfunction in the Ark's energy shield. It can't fully deploy. If we enter the universe like this, we won't be able to withstand any dangers at all!"
Yang Hao furrowed his brow, and he immediately increased his control over the alien relic, trying to repair the energy shield. But no matter how hard he tried, the malfunction persisted. Time was ticking away, and the neutron star was getting closer and closer. They had very little time left.
"Are all our efforts going to be in vain?" Li Qiang cried out in despair.
Lin Xiao suddenly had an idea and quickly typed a string of commands into the computer. "Maybe we can use the energy from the alien relic to temporarily modify the energy shield. It won't be perfect, but it should be able to withstand some small meteorites and cosmic rays."
Yang Hao and Li Qiang looked at each other and nodded. Under Lin Xiao's command, they began to assist her in modifying the energy shield. After a tense and frantic effort, the energy shield was finally completed. Although it still looked somewhat unstable, at least it was operational.
"There's no time to hesitate. Start the Ark!" Yang Hao shouted loudly. With his command, the Ark slowly rose into the sky and headed upwards. Behind them, Earth, under the gravitational pull of the neutron star, had already started to develop massive cracks. Cities were collapsing, and the oceans were churning with towering waves. Humanity's home was about to be destroyed in this catastrophe.
The Ark broke through the atmosphere and entered the vast expanse of the universe. Yang Hao and the other two stood in the command舱 (command module, could also be simply translated as "bridge" depending on context, but "command module" is more precise here) of the Ark, looking out at the starry sky with mixed emotions in their hearts. They knew that this was just the beginning of a long journey of escape, and countless unknowns and dangers awaited them ahead. But they were unafraid because they bore the responsibility of continuing human civilization.