The Decelerating Meteor and the Collapsing Fortress

Anjing Zhen sprinted out in front. He had never run so desperately before. His lungs burned with pain, and all he could hear was his own ragged breathing and his heart pounding like a drum.

He charged down the stairs and burst through the building doors, the afternoon sunlight glaring painfully bright.

He rushed out of the building, his eyes urgently sweeping across the courtyard until he spotted that familiar black figure in the distance. She was tearing across the empty courtyard at a despairing speed, like a black meteor, rapidly shrinking from view before flashing around the corner of a small path leading deeper into the campus and vanishing completely.

Her frantic, tear-choked "I'm sorry" seemed to linger in his ears, while all that remained before his eyes were the lightly swaying tree shadows stirred by her speed and the empty road.

He abruptly slammed to a halt, braced his hands on his knees, bent over, and gulped down breaths.

His lung lobes felt like they were on fire, every breath stabbing with pain. His heart hammered as though it would burst free from his chest cavity, and cold sweat instantly covered his forehead.

The stifling meeting and violent emotional turmoil earlier had already drained more than half his strength. That all-out sprint had pushed him into instant exhaustion, and his vision went black in waves.

What was he supposed to do now—Little Kita, she—

The thought had barely surfaced when hurried footsteps, accompanied by the rush of wind, came from behind him.

They were swift and powerful, reaching within a dozen meters behind him in the blink of an eye.

Then, without pausing in the slightest, they surged past with even greater force, becoming several blurred shadows racing in the direction Kitasan Black had disappeared.

All the wind