You're my wife, don't doubt it!

Seeing this, Xiao Yao quickly added, "If I had a choice, I wouldn't really want to achieve my goal through this method, so I think we should forget about forming a team to do chivalrous deeds."

"Do you think I'm useless? You guys can help me out more! I grow really fast. If you help me level up, maybe I can upgrade to armor and axes too!" the little bear exclaimed excitedly.

"Isn't that why I brought you here?" Xiao Yao quickly reassured him, "These kinds of missions that don't require combat usually give more experience. Maybe if you succeed this time, you can upgrade to a short sword and a bow and arrow and become a chivalrous thief."

Little Bear casually drew the sword from Xiao Yao's waist, held it in his hand to admire it, and sighed, "Even the most chivalrous thief is still a thief. I still prefer a knight like you, clad in armor and wielding a sword. How dignified you are."

"Then this sword is yours." Xiao Yao was polite to him, but he was also a little worried that he would take the opportunity to be impolite.

"What's that thing inlaid on your sword hilt? It's neither square nor round." Little Bear noticed the yellow gemstone inlaid on Xiao Yao's sword hilt.

"That thing is like a trophy. I don't know what it is, but I just put it on here. It seems to increase our attack power a little?" Xiao Yao said.

"A loot? It looks like it? You're really patient. If I found some treasure, I definitely wouldn't be able to sleep until I figured out how to use it." The little bear turned the sword over and carefully examined the yellow gemstone, stroking its surface with his fingers. But apart from seeming to be a little brighter, the gemstone didn't react much.

"Stop chatting and get down to business," Yu Luying interrupted their research.

"Let's try out the communicator that Uncle gave us first."

"Okay!" the two boys replied in unison.

Fortunately, the communicator was working, but Yu Luying still suggested that it was necessary to test the communication range.

So the three of them split into two groups. Yu Luying took one communicator and stayed where she was, while Xiao Yao and Xiao Xiong took the other communicator and walked in one direction, testing the call as they went.

"Can you hear me? Over."

"I can hear it clearly. Over."

Okay, let's keep going. Over.

After walking a considerable distance, Xiao Xiong suddenly lowered his voice and asked Xiao Yao, "Did you and Yu Luying have a fight?"

"No, why?" Xiao Yao asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I think she's in a bad mood; you see, she hasn't said much today," Little Bear pointed out.

"No, she's never been a talkative person." Xiao Yao said dismissively, but inwardly he was a little suspicious.

Little Bear: "Oh, really? Last time at the karaoke bar you deliberately sent me away, why did you not only invite me along to be a third wheel this time, but also separate from her and walk with me?"

"Don't we have important business to attend to? When did you become so gossipy?" Xiao Yao frowned.

“I’ve always been a gossip, but you are. We’re good brothers, so we don’t keep secrets from each other. You’d better think carefully about how to handle your relationship with Shen Jie and Yu Luying, or you might end up losing everything.” Little Bear warned, “Honest advice is hard to hear, but don’t think your brother is being mean.”

"Alright, alright, a triangle is the most stable structure, you know that—and you, a single guy, are lecturing me?"

"Hey, I was just trying to help you, why are you resorting to personal attacks?"

"Can...you hear...? Ov...er"

"I can't hear... anymore, OVER!"

Before they knew it, Xiao Yao and Xiao Xiong had walked more than a kilometer. Looking back at Yu Luying in the distance, she was just a tiny dot.

Now that the communication limit had been determined, they prepared to return and reunite with Yu Luying.

Just as Little Bear was complaining about having to walk another three miles, suddenly, a yellow light flashed beside them. Before they could react, the two of them were instantly back beside Yu Luying.

This phenomenon greatly surprised all three of them.

Xiao Yao thought that Xiao Xiong had awakened some kind of ability, Xiao Xiong believed it was because Yu Luying cared about Xiao Yao, but Yu Luying suspected that their actions might have triggered some advancement rules of the hall.

After a brainstorming session of analysis and elimination, the three finally found the crux of the strange phenomenon—the yellow gemstone on Xiao Yao's sword hilt.

"I should have thought of that sooner," Xiao Yao said.

He recalled the battle with "Earl Nottingham" in Song Haijian's hall, where the opponent could also suddenly appear out of thin air.

I initially thought it was the Earl of Nottington's mental fortress ability, but now it seems to be the effect of this yellow gemstone.

He had only obtained a fragment, while the Earl of Nottingham possessed a complete gem, which was naturally more potent.

After repeated experiments, it can be concluded that this fragment of gemstone can rewind time and return the people and things associated with it to their previous positions and states.

The way to start it is by rubbing it, and the duration of the rubbing is positively correlated with the interval of the backtracking start.

Simply put, it means that before you leave home, you rub the package to make a call. After rubbing it for a long enough, you can return to the city on the same spot after picking up the package.

However, the timing of this effect is ambiguous and does not strictly correspond to the number of frictions. Moreover, it is forcibly activated when the time comes, so it is not a particularly useful thing.

However, Little Bear firmly believes that this thing has great potential.

The yellow gem test took quite a while. After figuring it out, the three of them headed to the building entrance, passed the entrance exam, and then tried to take two more tests. Xiao Xiong's recent tutoring classes seemed to be working well, while Yu Luying was doing particularly well.

Finally, Yu Luying activated her teleportation ability at the elevator entrance on her floor, while Xiao Yao and Xiao Xiong went to the stairwell to activate their teleportation abilities as well. The three of them successfully returned to the same fitting room in the clothing store.

As Xiao Yao walked out of the dressing room to the stunned silence of the shop assistants, he was absolutely certain that he had to find a safe exit; he couldn't come to this place a third time.

Back on the street, Xiao Xiong said he wanted to take a taxi home, and Xiao Yao generously took out his money to reimburse him. Then, he planned to wander around the neighborhood some more, so Yu Luying had no choice but to say that they should walk together.

"Xiao Yao, do you think that building in the hall is 1000 meters tall?" After Xiao Xiong left, Yu Luying looked again in the direction of the Tower of Babel in the hall, where there was no building of even moderate height now.

“You can’t tell from this, but you can sense it – it definitely is,” Xiao Yao said.

“It’s only 1000 meters, less than a bus stop. It would only take 15 minutes to walk on flat ground. But once it’s erected, it becomes such an insurmountable wall. I really don’t know what price an ordinary person has to pay to stand on the top.” Yu Luying muttered to herself.

Chapter 254 Shen Jie's Victorious Escape

2023-07-04

Xiao Yao and Yu Luying informed Yu Bo of the experimental results of the walkie-talkie equipment, and then spent a lot of money to rent a hotel suite in the western suburbs business district—although it was expensive, they were after the large dressing mirror, and the location was convenient and inconspicuous.

Xiao Yao informed Shen Jie of the operation plan, and Shen Jie replied that there was no problem.

They said they were going to gather a large group of people, but in the end, it was only a few.

Xiao Yao himself, Yu Luying, Xiao Xiong, Dai Yu, Yu Bo, Teacher Yao, and Abbot Shi Hui.

The addition of these last two characters was truly inexplicable and unexpected.

The Venerable Master Shi Hui, who had been elusive for many days, suddenly arrived just as everyone was gathering to set off. Upon hearing that they were going to rescue people and about that incredibly magical and enormous hall, he insisted on going along to "see it."

Teacher Yao, who seemed a little confused, appeared to have been invited by Yu Bo to guard the suite during the operation, preventing outsiders from accidentally entering or other unforeseen circumstances—and to serve as a backup team member.

According to Yu Bo, this might be somewhat beneficial to Teacher Yao's soul rehabilitation training, but Xiao Yao was only worried that he would meet Xiong Ji again and they would fight each other.

Although it was later proven that Xiao Yao was just worrying unnecessarily, the awkward scene of "meeting with someone he hated" still made Xiao Yao feel a little uncomfortable.

The following evening, Xiao Yao and his group of teachers and friends gathered in the hotel suite.

After inspecting the equipment, Commander-in-Chief Xiao Yao reiterated the action plan and emphasized the principle of "never forcing things, and retreating when necessary." After confirming that VIP Shen Jie was ready to proceed, the first well-informed and organized operation in the story officially began.

--split line--

The deployment and implementation after entering the hall went smoothly at first.

According to the report of Venerable Master Hui, with his comprehensive and superb cultivation, he ascended all the way to the 88th floor.

Xiao Yao even had a thought that perhaps simply asking Shi Hui to rescue the person would solve the problem.

Then there's Yu Bo. Although he's not exactly good at fighting, he inexplicably received a commission to give a sermon, so he went up to the 64th floor to guard it.

This is strange, Xiao Yao thought. Do the "people" here actually have this kind of need?

Yu Luying entered the 14th floor based on her exam scores, and then participated in a musical instrument performance selection, which led her directly to the 24th floor.

There was another beauty pageant similar to Miss America that could lead to advancement, but Xiao Yao didn't want Yu Luying to wear a bikini and pose provocatively, so he stopped her from participating.

Thinking about it carefully, there's really no need for that. After all, Yu Luying isn't Shen Jie, and she herself wouldn't be able to let go of that.

The bear that stayed on the 13th floor did well on the exam.

Both Daiyu and Xiao Yao could only reach the 3rd floor, but then they worked together to reach the 7th floor.

Since there was no need for the two of them to be together, Xiao Yao left the ribbonfish on the 7th floor and found a slide to return to the first floor, where he stood guard near the drain and the manhole cover connecting the first floor.

With all preparations complete, all that remains is for VIP Miss Shen Jie, who is to be rescued, to set out on her mission.

Unable to contact Shen Jie directly, the waiting process seemed rather long, and the team members, unable to meet in person, could only chat idly over the radio.

"Do you think this temple will still exist if our operation goes smoothly today? I think this place is quite fun, it would be a pity if it were destroyed."

"Is it fun? What's on your floor? Mine is full of cram schools, it gives me a headache just looking at it."

"You'll know once you finish your tutoring classes. There's even a beauty pageant here, it's so lively."

"Which beauty pageant contestant won?"

"Number 76, I think you're not even as good as him, why don't you participate?"

"Don't be distracted, we're not here for sightseeing."

"There's still no news, we can't keep saying everything's fine, can we?"

“Father Yu, I observe that the shadows here today are all at peace, and there is an orderly scene. Even the villains are kept out of the order. This is completely different from the chaotic cannibalism we have seen and heard before. You must take good care of these children you are with and not let them lose themselves here.”

"This place seems orderly, but looking at the people at the top, I don't see anything that makes them better than the people at the bottom. In the end, it's still the old routine of the lower class harming each other to support the upper class. I'll talk to the children about this when I get out."

"Two masters, you're discussing this on the public channel, and we can hear it right now."

"Then we can talk about it another day."

"Hey? Who was that girl who just spoke? Was it Shen Jie?"

"Isn't it you?"