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

"Xiaomei—!"

"Xiao Yao, calm down!" "Xiao Yao, what are you doing?" "No! Xiao Yao, it's too high up here!" "Xiao Yao—"

Xiao Yao seemed to hear people around him calling out to him, but he also seemed to hear nothing at all. He could only hear a voice from his own heart, a very brief voice with only two words: "Save people."

So, before he even heard the shouts around him, he had already grabbed the railing on one side of the corridor courtyard, lifted his leg, and jumped into the courtyard, which was already engulfed in flames.

The descent was shorter than expected, seemingly just a quick fall over the school's flowerbed. When Xiao Yao landed, he found that Zhao Xiaomei, the stake, the executioner, and the jubilant onlookers in the shadows had all vanished; he was now enveloped in thick darkness. Turning around, he could see Shen Jie, Yu Luying, and Yu Bo running down with him.

The group regrouped, but before they could discuss their next move, a beam of light suddenly shone down from above, dispelling the darkness that had blocked their view.

Everyone then realized that they were in the school auditorium. On the red curtain behind the stage on one side of the auditorium, four bright and spirited characters were prominently displayed: Graduation Ceremony.

The banner hanging above the curtain reads: "Abundant achievements fill our bags, and the deep gratitude we owe our teachers is etched in our hearts."

Seeing this scene, everyone recalled what they had seen and heard on the trip, and they all burst into laughter.

"It seems you are not satisfied with your graduation ceremony." The guide sister appeared under a spotlight on the stage at the front of the room, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Stop playing tricks! Where is Zhao Xiaomei? Where is Song Haijian? Who exactly are you?" Xiao Yao drew his sword and charged toward the platform, followed by the other three.

Then, at the same time, towering iron bars descended on all four sides of the auditorium, locking Xiao Yao and the other three in cages.

Shen Jie immediately threw a fireball at the platform where the nun was, but when the smoke cleared, the iron fence between the two sides remained unmoved.

"Trying to use fire to extinguish fire, what a show-off... what a useless young lady." The nun continued her speech from the platform, as if she wanted to make fun of Xiao Yao and the others.

"If fire won't work, let's try ice!" Yu Luying drew her hand axe and hurled it at the nun. Unfortunately, the axe, whipped by a chilling wind, was stopped by the iron bars as it spun, embedding itself in them and leaving a patch of frost.

Xiao Yao also tried using his sword, but it was still to no avail.

"You'd better come up with a solution as soon as possible. Now that you've graduated, the academy can't protect you for much longer," the nun reminded everyone, as if she were saying, "I'm doing this for your own good."

Meanwhile, the outer walls of the auditorium outside the iron cage began to crack and disintegrate, crumbling and peeling away like weathered adobe bricks, allowing everyone to see the world outside the auditorium.

It turned out that the auditorium was suspended in the center of a huge furnace, with molten iron right beneath everyone's feet. The water level of the molten iron was constantly rising due to the continuous pouring of molten iron from above. Above them were sets of gear winches and crisscrossing iron chains, which connected to a metal turntable on the ground at the end of the auditorium away from the stage. As the entire cage swayed, it made a rattling sound.

"It's the same old thing!" Xiao Yao and Shen Jie shouted in unison, exasperated.

“This is the way out.” The guide nun adopted her professional tone as a tour guide and ripped off the red curtain behind the stage, revealing a narrow steel bridge winding upwards, leading out of the furnace.

At the head of the steel bridge stands a metal monument with the words "College Entrance Examination" written on it.

After observing the direction of the gears, hinges, and chains, Yu Luying concluded that the metal turntable should be the key to opening the cage, but there was no push rod on the turntable, so no force could be applied.

The guide nun continued her incessant explanation: "Dean Song said that only those who are capable of leaving here are qualified to leave this crucible and seek a new life. Of course, those who remain are also pillars of society. They will become one with their kind, be repeatedly hammered and tempered, and eventually be forged into steel, then buried in concrete forever until the building collapses."

"So you're planning to just keep babbling here and then join us in becoming pillars of society?" Yu Bo even had the leisure to mock her.

“Of course not, I stayed only to find out—my disguise was flawless, so how did you discover my flaw?” The nun confidently strolled to a spot two steps outside the iron fence before stopping.

"Why should I tell you?" Yu Bo asked.

The nun produced a long iron rod from somewhere and said, "Because I will use this as an exchange. You are a smart man, you should know that this is a good deal."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because you have no other choice."

"To be honest, your portrayal of the nun was flawless and impeccable."

"So it was a trick on me? How boring."

“I’m not trying to scam you. I’m absolutely certain because this fake monastery is riddled with blatant deviations and flaws, both in its architecture and in its personnel and rituals.”

"so what?"

"Don't you realize that in such a flawed monastery, an impeccable nun is a huge flaw in herself?"

"I see." The guide sister seemed to laugh again.

“It’s a gentleman’s agreement, bring me the putter.” Yu Bo stretched out his left hand.

The nun hid the metal rod behind her back and said, "If I don't give it to you, what can you do about it?"

“I knew you wouldn’t behave.” Yu Bo was confident. He deftly lowered the violin case from behind his back with his right hand, held the violin head with his left hand, and aimed it at the nun outside the iron bars.

The nun had been outside the iron fence and had not been threatened. At first, she did not take Yu Bo's actions seriously, but then she seemed to remember something and suddenly dodged to the side.

However, it was already quite late.

After a loud bang, the violin case and headstock in Yu Bo's hand turned into a piece of broken wood, revealing the still-smoky muzzle of a gun.

The instant the gunshot rang out, Xiao Yao saw a dark figure leap out from the nun's robe, which was left in place, pierced through by the bullet, and the metal lever that had been in her hand fell to the ground.

The figure tried to turn around to grab it, but was forced back by Yu Bo's continuous and accurate shooting. Shen Jie quickly snatched the metal push rod away.

Finally, seeing that it couldn't gain any advantage, the figure swiftly climbed to the top of the iron fence in a bizarre, spider-like motion, leaving behind the harsh words, "Don't think you can get away just because you have the key," before whipping a long whip upwards and disappearing from sight.

"Uncle, how did you get a gun?" Yu Luying asked Yu Bo as she realized what was happening.

"Children shouldn't ask too many questions about adult matters."

Seeing that the molten iron level below the furnace had risen considerably, Xiao Yao quickly asked Shen Jie for a push rod. He inserted it into the metal turntable and pushed hard, and sure enough, the iron grate rose slightly. However, one person's strength wasn't enough. Fortunately, the push rod was long enough, and with the combined efforts of the four of them, after turning it more than ten times, they finally managed to pull the iron grate up.

However, this thing cannot be locked; once a person lets go, the iron gate will start to fall.

They tried several times but couldn't escape before the iron gates closed again, especially Xiao Yao, who, despite being the strongest, was the slowest.

Xiao Yao proposed a plan: everyone would push the iron gate up together, and then Xiao Yao, who was the strongest, would stay at the turntable to try to slow the gate's descent. Meanwhile, the other three would escape with all their might and then hold up the gate from the outside, buying Xiao Yao time to escape. However, this plan could only be tried once, because if Xiao Yao failed to escape, neither he nor the three outside would be able to open the gate again.

The group hesitated to take the risk and preferred to try sprinting a few more times, but they never saw any hope.

As the molten iron level rose, the surroundings became increasingly scorching, and time became increasingly tight. Under Xiao Yao's strong insistence, Yu Bo had no choice but to agree to his plan on behalf of the two girls.

The reason she is referred to as a "representative" is because Shen Jie is still strongly opposing the plan, but she cannot come up with any better constructive suggestions.

The plan started smoothly. When Xiao Yao held up the turntable and the other three ran to the iron fence, the fence had only fallen halfway. Yu Bo and the other two jumped onto the platform, which was just enough to support the bottom of the iron fence.

However, just as Xiao Yao released the turntable to sprint forward, the iron gate suddenly sank a large section, causing Yu Bo and the other two to grimace in pain. It seemed that without the lever arm amplification effect of the winch, simply relying on brute force was not enough to support the weight of the iron gate.

Seeing this, Xiao Yao had no choice but to push the turntable again to barely maintain the iron fence at its current height.

He turned around and shouted to Yu Bo and the others, "You guys go first, I'll figure out how to get out myself, no problem."

The three people over there frowned and shook their heads upon hearing his words. Shen Jie was so anxious that tears were about to stream down her face: "You, surnamed Xiao, what are you trying to prove?!"

At this moment, one person suddenly withdrew from the team holding up the iron cage, resolutely jumped off the platform, and went back into the iron cage.

The hem of her elegant long dress billowed in the hot wind as she fell, and her white stockings, soaked with sweat, clung tightly to her delicate ankles. The once smooth velvet fabric of the stockings, now soft and sticky with sweat, became inseparable from her skin. The originally snow-white stockings had become somewhat transparent, with a dark ring of water stains around the edge of the cuff, showing clear signs of dampness. The elasticity of the stockings blended perfectly with the lines of her calves, further accentuating the curves of her beautiful legs.

Like a sprite emerging from a vast sea of ​​fire, the girl lifted her skirt and nimbly rushed towards him. Xiao Yao could almost see the beads of sweat on her face and hear her rapid breathing.

Xiao Yao shouted in panic, "Ying... Yu Luying! What are you doing?!"

Chapter 145 The Human Comedy

2023-03-30

Yu Luying knew exactly what she was going to do, but Xiao Yao had no idea what she wanted to do.

To die alongside one's former "white moonlight"—is it warmth? Regret? Fortune? Or simply a source of sorrow and heartache...?

He gazed longingly at Shen Jie, the barefoot girl in sandals who was howling.

It's a pity it wasn't you who stayed with me until the end...

After I become a vegetable, will Shen Jie marry another man? She definitely will, right? Will she take care of me and visit me?

Some people selfishly don't want her to get married, but they also hope she can be happy...

Should he have hugged Yu Luying at the last moment? But Shen Jie was watching...

"What are you thinking about?" Yu Luying shouted angrily, drawing her hand axe and concentrating her cold energy on it. The originally small hand axe quickly grew longer and larger, the cold energy emanating from it shimmering with a pale blue light in the red-toned furnace. Then, she raised the axe above her head with both hands and hurled it with all her might towards Xiao Yao.

The axe swung in an arc, striking the winch squarely, embedding half of it in the metal. At the same time, the chill emanating from the axe spread rapidly along the metal, even numbing Xiao Yao's hands as he held the lever. In the blink of an eye, the entire winch, along with the connected chain, turned into an ice sculpture.

Xiao Yao then understood Yu Luying's intention. He tried to loosen his grip, and the iron gate shook violently. The frozen turntable made a creaking sound, but it still held.

"Xiao Yao, run!" Yu Luying shouted at Xiao Yao.

Xiao Yao snapped out of his daze and quickly ran towards Yu Luying. But it seemed that because of the impact of the flying axe, the far end of the cantilevered ground had sunk slightly, so running now meant Xiao Yao was essentially climbing a hill.

Although Father Yu and Shen Jie had used all their strength, the iron gate still began to fall after a few seconds. The ice sealing the winch began to crack, and then the cracks quickly expanded into fissures.

"Hurry, Xiao Yao!"

Xiao Yao gritted his teeth and began to sprint desperately, but because of the several rounds of struggle, he had exhausted a lot of energy. Although the slope was not steep, he felt that it was difficult to take a step. The distance of a few dozen meters now seemed so far away.

Shen Jie suddenly shouted, "Brother Bo, Silly Sister, you two stand firm!"

She picked up a fireball with one hand and slammed it into the ground between Xiao Yao and Yu Luying, creating a small explosion.

Although the environment here is not afraid of high temperatures, it will still deform when it is impacted. This explosion changed the angle of the ground again, and Xiao Yao's path became a slight downhill slope.

At this point, the ice on the winch began to crack, and the previously stationary push rod was visibly reversing.

"I can't hold on any longer!" Father Yu was already red-faced and panting heavily.

"I've got it!" Yu Luying's eyes suddenly lit up. She spread her hands out and placed them on the ground in front of her feet. A layer of ice quickly spread outwards from her hands, covering the ground between Yu Luying and Xiao Yao in the blink of an eye.

Shen Jie, who had a clear view from above, shouted to Xiao Yao, "Yes! Slide over here!"

Xiao Yao also saw a glimmer of hope. He threw his shield onto the ice and then jumped onto it.

His original intention was to gracefully step on the shield and slide in front of Yu Luying and Shen Jie.