026, attack the armored monster!

Upon hearing this, Song Chen lowered his head and kissed Qi Ran’s forehead with devout reverence.

"My Lady, I could not be happier than to be by your side and protect your safety!"

"I implore you, My Lady, please do not keep thinking of severing the most intimate bond between us!"

Deep down, Qi Ran already felt she owed Song Chen far too much. Song Chen’s softened voice only made her heart ache and her eyes sting with warmth. Her eyes reddened as she looked at him, tears welling up.

"Song Chen, you and I are already in the most intimate relationship possible! There is no need for you to suffer through this unequal, exploitative contract to reinforce it."

Having spoken with great solemnity, Qi Ran took a deep breath and stepped back. With glistening, tear-filled eyes, she looked at him: "Song Chen, wait here for five minutes. I have some business to attend to."

Seeing Song Chen nod obediently with a rare, gentle, and submissive expression, Qi Ran could not help herself. She quickly stood on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss against his lips.

Oh, goodness! Having finally reunited with him, she constantly felt the urge to kiss and embrace him, to cling to him and never let go. She secretly chided herself: To wallow in such gentleness was simply too decadent. Her resolve was far too weak; it was far too easy to be bewitched by Song Chen.

Before Song Chen could react, Qi Ran rushed out of the hot pot restaurant without looking back, heading toward the group of people at the emergency exit. Before she could participate in the "Mayfly Trial," she had to deal with those people first—especially Qi Sheng, who was among them.

...

At the emergency exit, the group had been stunned when Qi Ran snatched Song Chen away.

"This... why did the Ancestor take Brother Song away?" someone muttered in fear, shrinking back.

"Exactly! I remember someone mentioned in the group chat that this was a new type of monster. Could it be that it’s not an Ancestor at all, but a newly emerged species? Maybe it got bored of eating the previous monsters and has changed its palate to humans?"

"Oh no! Heavens! If that's the case, why did it have to pick my Brother Song out of everyone else? Boo-hoo, Brother Song, you died such a miserable death! Why did it have to be you? Why couldn't it have been someone else—one of those weak, useless cowards who only know how to ride the coattails of others?"

This sorrowful wail silenced everyone. Although they knew the person spoke from genuine grief and did not mean to insult them directly, the few survivors near the door—who had specifically hidden in the back while rushing to the eighth floor out of fear of the zombies—still felt their faces burn with shame.

Since the speaker’s concerns were also things they needed to consider, most of them couldn't be bothered to argue. Only a few fitness enthusiasts, who loved to provoke, couldn't help but retort: "But Song Chen’s hand was injured too! Even if he were still alive, if he led us back to the seventh floor, it’s not like he’d be able to kill that many monsters!"

The person mourning Song Chen retorted angrily: "Brother Song’s hand was only bitten because you cowards kept hiding and failed to strike the monsters in your assigned sectors! Even with an injured hand, Brother Song still managed to lead us safely to the eighth floor! And you cowards, even if you were alive and whole, would you have the guts to charge at the monsters? Can you guarantee you wouldn't make mistakes in your sectors? What hope of survival do I have following the likes of you? Boo-hoo! Why are you the ones still alive, and why wasn't it you who got dragged away by the monster?"

The man spoke with pure emotion and zero social awareness. His blatant disdain quickly ignited the crowd's anger.

"You’re certainly loyal to Song Chen, but when that armored monster appeared, why didn’t you jump out and shield him?" someone sneered.

"Exactly," another countered. "You look down on us, but we want to ask: why was it Song Chen who got snatched by the armored monster instead of a useless waste like you who only knows how to cry and spread panic?"

"Y-you all..." The man who had been mourning Song Chen turned red with rage. But facing the prospect of death, he no longer held back: "You cowards, what is the point of acting tough in front of me now? I truly hope that when the armored monster finishes eating Brother Song and comes back out, you are the first ones it kills!"

Hey! The survivors branded as cowards could not help but roll up their sleeves. This guy was playing dirty! Since he couldn't win the argument, he resorted to malicious curses.

Just as the group was squaring up for a fight, Qi Ran, clad in armor, suddenly appeared from the swarm of monsters like a whirlwind. The group screamed in terror: "Oh no! The armored monster is here! Run!"

Seeing the armored figure from afar, Qi Sheng also felt a tremor of fear. However, he had struggled so hard to get from the seventh floor to the eighth! Because of that, his left shoulder had been bitten hard by a zombie—yes, Qi Sheng was injured too. At the time, Qi Ran had only noticed the blood on his white shirt without paying close attention to whether he was actually wounded.

Now, having finally climbed to the eighth floor, Chu Yan was waiting for him in the grilled fish restaurant. Moreover, while the eighth floor had been teeming with zombies, most of them had fallen due to the presence of the armored monster—well, let’s call it that for now. This was the perfect opportunity for Qi Sheng to rush to the restaurant and save Chu Yan.

After only a second of deliberation, Qi Sheng made a decision.

"Brothers, we must not run!" he shouted. "The armored monster is in a killing frenzy! Even if we run, it will hunt us down and finish us off! It’s fast and can breathe fire; we can't escape it! Instead, we should all attack together! If I’m not mistaken, it was originally just a suit of armor that gained immense power after being called upon by some unknown force. We only need to find suitable weapons and shatter this armor; it won’t have any offensive power left!"

Following Qi Sheng’s analysis, those who had been preparing to flee stopped and nodded in agreement.

"That's right! Little Qi is right!"

"Let’s do this: we concentrate our fire on the Ancestor... ah, I mean, the armored monster's neck. If we knock off its helmet, it will likely lose its power source! We’ll be able to survive! What do you think, everyone?"

"Great idea, brother! Once we shatter the armor, maybe we can even divide up the pieces for protection! Alright, I’ll count to three, and we all attack together!"

"Three!"

"Two!"