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

"What on earth is going on?" Yan Xiao finally spoke, her voice trembling with tears. "Why is it so dark? And what is this 'shadow time' you're talking about?"

"So, why did Yan Xiao come in too?" Shen Jie asked, looking at Daiyu.

“I don’t know,” said the ribbonfish. “Either she has a special constitution like me, or it’s because I was holding her hand just now?”

The people in the sea remained motionless on the surface, and the tourists and the beach volleyball team on the beach also maintained the postures they had before entering the shadow time. A volleyball was suspended in mid-air—the human-shaped shadows all over the mountains and fields looked like materialized humans, and only the light in their eyes could make them distinguishable.

They did not attack Shen Jie, Daiyu, and Yan Xiao, nor did they attack other passersby. Instead, they all headed in the same direction—to the Sheng'ai Hotel.

"Can anyone explain this?" Yan asked with a smile.

"There's no time to explain." Shen Jie glanced around and made a decisive decision: "Daiyu, you and Yan Xiao stay where you are and don't move. Explain to Yan Xiao slowly. I'll go with them to the hotel to take a look."

"No way!" Ribbonfish strongly objected: "Sister-in-law, you stay here with us and wait for the movie to end."

Even a fool could see how dangerous it would be for someone to rush into so many shadows—since the shadows didn't seem to intend to attack the three of them for the time being, staying put and waiting was obviously the safest and most cautious strategy.

“No,” Shen Jie shook her head and said, “Since they are all running towards our hotel, they must have a specific goal. Many campers are still in the hotel, and I have to go and check it out.”

Seeing that she couldn't persuade Shen Jie, Daiyu said, "Then Yan Xiao and I will go with you."

"No, it's too dangerous!"

“It’s dangerous for us to stay here,” the ribbonfish said. “If a shadow suddenly appears and attacks us, even if it’s just one or two, we won’t be able to defend ourselves.”

Shen Jie thought that what Daiyu said made sense—although Daiyu hadn't awakened the Fortress for so long, he had leveled up many times with Xiao Yao, Yu Luying, and the priest in the mirror under the bridge, so he should know how to protect himself by the side of the Fortress Envoy. But Yan Xiao…

"Woo-woo-woo-woo" The sound of the horn continued, growing more urgent and louder.

Shen Jie was still hesitating.

"Woo-wu-wu-"

Chapter 312 Fireball?

2023-08-28

Suddenly, Xiao Yao grabbed Yu Luying and spun her around.

Yu Luying was startled and was about to scold him, "How can you still be in the mood at a time like this?" when a claw struck Xiao Yao's back, fortunately without penetrating the armor.

Xiao Yao and Yu Luying groaned together, then used their elbows to push away the shadowy figure that pounced from behind, turned around, and thrust their swords forward to finish it off.

Descending from the 27th floor to near the 23rd floor, every step was difficult, reminding Xiao Yao of the movie "Beachhead".

I don't know if it's because he hasn't been exercising lately, but he's a bit weak.

This battle was even more arduous than climbing the skyscraper in Shen Hongsheng's place. At least it wasn't as dark there, and there was no need to worry about teammates accidentally injuring each other.

To avoid accidental injury, Xiao Yao had to keep a certain distance from Yu Luying, but even so, the narrow stairwell still prevented him from moving around freely.

A barrage of Frost Arrows was fired at the group of shadows below.

"Drink up!" Xiao Yao swept his attack, taking down three or five figures charging at the front.

"Didn't you already eat?" Yu Luying shouted.

"..." Xiao Yao, panting heavily, ultimately couldn't utter a word.

"Then I'll sing?" Yu Luying said.

Singing can boost Xiao Yao's stamina, enhance his various stats, and heal his injuries. However, during this time, Yu Luying needs to focus on singing, making her vulnerable to ambushes by the enemy.

"Wait a minute!" Xiao Yao finally shouted, "Be careful, your ice shards are splashing all over me!"

"Isn't it cool in the middle of summer?" Yu Luying was actually in the mood to joke.

"Damn it, I'm frostbitten!" Xiao Yao said.

The frost arrows were thrown further, but with little effect. Xiao Yao had no choice but to swing his longsword and shield with all his might, trying to shield the shadows in front of him and prevent them from falling into Yu Luying's hands.

Fortunately, these shadows almost all came from the same direction.

Xiao Yao thought, "This kind of unparalleled mowing-down situation would be so much better if I had a long spear."

Something silently rose from nowhere, and a captivating white frost appeared on its surface.

Xiao Yao felt a biting cold wind sweep over his head. The thing had already passed over his head, split open a shadowy head, swirled, and landed steadily back in Yu Luying's hand.

"Damn it!" Xiao Yao yelled, "You finally remembered how to use this move? Didn't you forget your axe?"

Xiao Yao would never forget how badly he and Shen Jie were beaten by Yu Luying's flying axe in Teacher Yao's hall of fame, the so-called "parent-child education center," and how they only managed to win by cheating through symbiosis.

So, what does this ability have to do with Cinderella? Cinderella still had to go into the forest to chop wood herself, right?

"Xiao Yao," Yu Luying called out, "they're here too!"

While fighting, Xiao Yao took a moment to look back and vaguely saw a considerable number of shadows pouring in through the stairwell windows.

What about the 23rd floor? Can it fly? Or are they all Spider-Man?

While Xiao Yao was still considering whether to use his shield to block the stairwell window, some shadows were already howling and rushing towards Yu Luying.

Just as the boy was about to turn back to save her, he vaguely saw, by the dim, dark green moonlight, that Yu Luying was entangled in thorns and covered with a layer of solid ice emanating a chill—the shadows were blocked by the ice barrier, and then collapsed and dissipated under the influence of the thorns.

Ah, that familiar taste, Little Apple is great!

The girl's form continued to change, and soon she reached her complete form.

After such a long period of time and so many adventures, Yu Luying finally transformed back into the armored female knight—her gray-blue iron armor was entangled with thorns and covered with a layer of icy coldness. Her helmet was a pointed helmet also entangled with thorns. The strangest thing was her face—she wore a mask that looked as if someone had covered her eyes from behind with both hands. Only her nose and mouth, which were exposed, could vaguely reveal the girl's original appearance.

With Yu Luying's enhanced combat power, the speed of eliminating enemies has increased. However, Yu Luying's current form is very slow and cannot sing or cast spells. In the face of a constant stream of enemies, it takes longer to fight, which causes Xiao Yao to consume more stamina.

The two finally descended two more floors, reaching the 21st floor. Xiao Yao was utterly exhausted, and the situation, caught between two forces, was far more severe than at the beginning.

No, this won't work.

Xiao Yao was well aware of this.

"No...no, we...we need to go to...the floor first," Xiao Yao said breathlessly.

He didn't have the energy to say anything more, but Yu Luying understood what he meant.

The corridors between floors are much more spacious than the stairwells, and you might even be able to find a large room to catch your breath and rest.

The fire doors on the 21st floor were locked.

"Damn it, once I get out of here, I'll definitely report you to the fire department," Xiao Yao thought bitterly.

Then, holding his breath and concentrating, he kicked the door open.

This kick exhausted his last bit of strength, and as he rushed into the corridor, it aggravated the injury he had sustained from the bicycle accident that day, causing him to immediately fall to the ground.

Yu Luying almost fell down too, but luckily she reacted quickly and grabbed the door. She deactivated her armored female knight form and hurried over to help him.

"Attendant, come to my side!" Xiao Yao said.

“If you keep talking nonsense, you’d better get up yourself,” Yu Luying said.

“You should say: ‘Yes, Master,’” Xiao Yao corrected.

"Does it hurt?" Yu Luying helped him sit up. "I sang."

"Mm." Xiao Yao nodded weakly.

"The Holy Body is supreme and unparalleled, we bow down in reverence; the ancient religion and old rituals have become relics of the past, the new testament rites continue the holy work..." The girl's heavenly voice rang out in the empty corridor.

As the girl sang, Xiao Yao felt his strength return, the minor injury he had just sustained no longer hurt, and he even felt that he could walk faster now.

Strangely enough, the shadows did not pursue them; the entire empty corridor seemed to form a strange safe zone.

The whistling bugle calls had stopped, replaced by the regular, deafening roar of cannons.

……gun?

With Yu Luying's help, Xiao Yao stood up, walked to the window, and gasped.

He couldn't see the outside world at all, because the glass windows were covered with densely packed "people," leaving him no gaps.

These shadows can only be described as "overwhelming" and "obscuring the sun," each one as agile as Spider-Man, struggling to climb upwards.

Even shadows overlapped, several layers enveloping the exterior walls of the Saint-Ai Hotel.

The booming sound of cannons still came from afar. Some shadowy figures had clearly seen Xiao Yao inside the glass window, but none of them broke through the window to attack him.

Yu Luying also noticed that the shadows were rushing up the stairwell, and none of them came through the fire door that had just been kicked open to chase after the two of them.

“They’re not coming for us,” Xiao Yao and Yu Luying said in unison.

So all that fierce fighting just now was simply because the two of us were blocking Shadow's path.

"There are two options: first, take the elevator down; second, wait here until the movie time ends," Xiao Yao analyzed.

“Choose option two without hesitation,” Yu Luying said. “Normally you can’t take the elevator during fires or earthquakes, how dare you now? What if it stops halfway? It’s such a small space, what if we get attacked?”

“That makes sense,” Xiao Yao said.

"Besides, what's wrong with leaving the hotel if the movie doesn't end? Maybe it'll be the same even if we go all the way to Shanghai," Yu Luying continued.

"I'm just worried about Shen Jie... and everyone else, aren't I?" Xiao Yao said. "By the way, what's that noise outside?"

"It sounds like cannon fire," Yu Luying said after listening for a moment.

“Right, I think so too,” Xiao Yao said. “What are these shadows for? The Normandy landings?”

"Xiao Yao, where are my grandfather and uncle?" Yu Luying suddenly asked.