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

The girl felt somewhat ashamed.

But even this very un-"female-centric" romantic fantasy still failed to come true.

You have to rely on yourself for everything.

The girl closed her eyes slightly, and her whole body floated up. Her toes were raised, as if she were dancing ballet, but her toes were 2-3 cm off the ground.

The girl's wet clothes had long since been dried by the flames, and now, a gust of hot air was lifting the hem of her black skirt. Her legs were tightly encased in white printed pantyhose, resembling a sea of ​​flowers in spring. However, grains of sand rubbed against the soles of her feet, caressing the surface of the pantyhose and staining the once pristine white stockings with dust.

The foot area of ​​the pantyhose was particularly dirty from walking, running, and fighting barefoot on the beach. Tiny grains of sand were embedded between the fibers of the pantyhose, forming gray spots, and there were several large holes in the foot area, exposing the girl's injured feet.

A large hole appeared at the heel, wide enough to expose her heel, with her bleeding big toe following closely behind, squeezing out merrily into the air.

The edges of the torn fabric were curled up in a messy manner, and the material of the socks was worn and rubbed, now just a bunch of tangled threads and incomplete fibers.

The black dress and pure white stockings were ignited by an unexpected passion—the girl's entire body was enveloped in flames.

The flames appeared exceptionally intense in the afterglow of the swirling skirt, like the fiery blossoms of a flower. Black and white intertwined in the blazing fire, creating a strange and beautiful scene.

Shen Jie's eyes shone with a light that echoed the flames, as if she had become one with the burning world. The girl's hair danced in the hot wind, like the lingering smoke of a raging fire, as she stood on the burning stage.

"Hey!" With a girl's delicate shout, a thick ring of fire burst forth from her body, spreading outwards and forming a circle with Shen Jie as the center and a radius of several tens of meters.

Within this circle, no shadow is standing anymore.

"Oh no!" Shen Jie was horrified to discover that she also had a fever.

Perhaps due to the overload, the protective flame barrier around Shen Jie temporarily disappeared, and the raging fire instantly engulfed the girl's entire body.

Those who play with fire will get burned—this sentence suddenly popped into Shen Jie's mind.

The tiny fibers of the pantyhose ignited, and the flames spread rapidly, dancing with a swaying motion. Several small holes appeared simultaneously on the girl's thighs, knees, and calves, quickly expanding into large holes, revealing her fair, bare skin.

Oh no! The girl inwardly groaned, trying to take off her pantyhose, but it was too late.

As everyone knows, before an emergency landing, flight attendants and passengers must take off their stockings—Shen Jie knew very well why.

The flames grew increasingly fierce, like the roar of a wild beast. The synthetic stockings were engulfed by the intense heat, releasing a pungent, acrid smell.

Most of you probably haven't burned stockings before, but if you've ever burned any plastic product, you'll know what I mean. The synthetic fibers in stockings burn just like any other plastic product, and because they're so thin, they're even more "flammable."

As mentioned earlier, the flames licked at Shen Jie's stockings, quickly gnawing large holes in them, turning the edges of each hole black and emitting an unpleasant smell of burning plastic.

The flames shot high, making a louder burning sound than a gas stove, and black synthetic fibers dripped down incessantly, looking like many tiny liquid flames, quickly scorching the girl's completely bare feet.

That's not the worst part—the worst part is that many of the still-burning synthetic fiber embers are tightly "stuck" to the girl's bare leg skin, as if they have become one with her skin, continuously giving her "loving hugs".

Shen Jie's face was filled with terror. She screamed and tried to put out the flames, but each touch only made the fire more intense. The heat and pain spread throughout her skin, and the flames spread on her legs, like a raging inferno, engulfing her black dress in the sea of ​​fire.

The girl's heart-wrenching screams echoed across the entire coastline, her voice a mixture of pain and despair.

Shen Jie finally remembered to lie down and roll around on the beach, trying to scoop up sand and throw it on herself.

Am I... going to die? I'm so unwilling to accept this.

I'm sorry, Tianyun...

I'm sorry, Xiao Yao...

I'm sorry, Dad? ...

Some shadowy figures in the distance were sneaking over here, seemingly trying to confirm whether Shen Jie was truly dead, and if not, to give her a couple more swipes.

At that very moment, a huge, icy stream of water suddenly poured over her, continuously extinguishing the deadly flames instantly.

saved……

Shen Jie stuck out her tongue and licked her lips; it tasted extremely salty.

Did Xiao Yao come to save me?

The girl's legs were severely burned, and the pain and suffering continued.

Forget about fighting, she couldn't even stand up.

The shadows drew closer, ever closer.

Shen Jie heard a deafening sound, and huge flashes of fire erupted from the shadow formation. Amidst the continuous explosions, the shadow formation slowed down.

The girl turned her head with confusion and difficulty, looking towards the direction of the sea.

The first thing that catches the eye is three enormous... seahorses. The upper bodies of these seahorses float on the sea surface, and they have very ornate bridles and reins, just like they really are warhorses galloping across the battlefield.

Looking out into the deep sea along the reins of these strange seahorses, a figure even larger than the giant seahorses floats on the waves, appearing and disappearing as the seahorses pull it along.

Just as Shen Jie was guessing what kind of monster the enormous figure might be, a series of flashes of fire suddenly appeared in the direction of the giant figure, followed by the same deafening roar as before—three fireballs formed three parabolas in the air, passed over the girl's head, and crashed into the group of shadows.

A short while later, three more came, this time landing even further away.

The area around Shen Jie has been cleared into a safe zone by these attacks.

In the firelight, Shen Jie finally saw the true form of the figure that launched the fireballs—it was a huge, modern-looking gunboat, and the fireballs were shells fired from two triple-mounted guns on the foredeck.

What Shen Jie couldn't see was that on the bridge of this gunboat, a man of medium height, wearing a feathered helmet, bare-chested, with a red skirt around his waist, and wielding an iron rod, was giving orders.

"Extend the artillery fire! Bomb them!" the ribbonfish shouted excitedly, and three more shells whistled towards Shen Jie's direction.

"It's too close, it will hurt Jie'er." A girl, who was also shirtless and only wearing bikini bottoms, sat on the boat with her hands covering her chest, still looking shaken.

"No, I know what I'm doing," the ribbonfish said smugly.

"You know what's going on, you know what's going on!" Yan laughed and said, "Won't it blow up tourists and passersby?"

"Ah this..."

--split line--

Xiao Yao coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered to one knee on the ground.

His vision began to blur. The sword in his right hand was stuck in the carpet, forming a cross shape, while the shield in his left hand, now only half intact, leaned against the leg of the dining table.

The boy had lost count of how many shadows he had slain.

100? 200? 300? He didn't know.

The private room had been cleared out, but there were still many shadowy figures lurking at the other end of the corridor, presumably coming up the unguarded stairs. They hadn't approached yet, as if they were waiting for someone else to go first.

This private room is terrible! It has doors on both sides. It's like eating in the middle of the road!

Could even Shadow be afraid of death? Xiao Yao wondered.

For some reason, he recalled what Teacher Li Teng had told him about the "Battle of Hattin"—the final battle of the defeated Crusaders at Hattin, where, facing an endless stream of enemies, not a single knight surrendered. They held out until the last man and the last drop of blood were shed, defending the true cross with their lives.

"We defend our honor with our blood," Xiao Yao muttered to himself.

Ultimately, this is nothing more than self-aggrandizement and self-indulgence—what kind of story is it to die here? To protect his girlfriend's grandfather? Hmm... not quite.

It should be to protect unarmed, innocent elderly people.

No, damn it, that doesn't matter. I don't want to die, and I can't die yet.

"Young friend!" Yu Texuan said, coughing violently, "Don't worry about us! You've done your best! You're still young, it's not worth sacrificing yourself for these two old bones... You should run!"

“Grandpa Yu,” Xiao Yao said, coughing as he spoke, “Don’t bring up such things again… I…”

Damn it, I want to run away, but the whole room is surrounded by layers of people. I'm in this state, where can I run? You old man, you know how to be polite!

Should we break out and take the monster to Yu Luying's side?

“I… since I’ve been entrusted with this task,” isn’t that just a polite way of saying it? I would say, “Yu… Da Yang wants me to protect you, and I’ve promised… so I have to… do it.”

"Oh dear! Big Sheep is here too? How is she?" The old man exclaimed, patting his other uninjured leg. "How could you abandon her like that!"

"I……"

"Dad, how are things on your end?" A young man's voice came from Yu Texuan's direction.

"Damn, Brother Bo!" Xiao Yao exclaimed, "You're here too?"

No, that's the sound of a radio.

Wait a minute, didn't you not sense the shadow time last time?

“I’m fine for now. Your older brother, Xiao Yao, and I are all here.” Yu Texuan pulled out something that looked like a walkie-talkie. It was the communicator that Yu Bo had distributed to the team members who participated in the “Shen Hongsheng’s Hall of Fame Raid”. However, Xiao Yao hadn’t brought this to the summer camp at all.

"No time to explain!" It was Yu Bo's voice again: "Xiao Yao, are you even capable?"

"I might...not quite..." Xiao Yao stammered.

“Dad’s leg is injured too,” Yu Baolu added.

"Big brother, help Dad up. Xiao Yao, you lead the way to the Holy Body Chamber on the ground floor. You should know it, right? It should be safe there. I'm on my way," Yu Bo ordered.

“I understand—okay, I’ll do whatever you say!” Xiao Yao gritted his teeth and stood up again.

“Let this old man help you,” Yu Texuan also got up and staggered over, gently patting Xiao Yao’s shoulder, muttering Latin that Xiao Yao couldn’t understand. A warm current flowed from the old man’s right hand throughout the boy’s body—his wound was less painful, and his strength had recovered a little.

"If you can, take care of your injury," Xiao Yao exclaimed. "Your leg is still bleeding."

"I know my own body, and using it on you would be a drop in the ocean. But using it on you would offer a better chance—the Communion is over there!"

"Let's go!" Xiao Yao raised his shield and charged ahead towards the door of the private room.

Although he was still not in good condition, the old man's selfless help made him feel very warm.

Xiao Yao fought his way through the layers of shadowy encirclement, with Yu Baolu carrying Old Master Yu on his back at the back. The three of them quickly reached the elevator on the other side.

"Taking the elevator? Is it safe?" Xiao Yao asked.