Dimensional Hotel

All at once, the black spider threads snapped taut. The massive flesh-and-blood beast let out a series of indistinct, ear-piercing howls. Irene strained with all her might to control the pitch-black threads, making them weave and reweave in midair, combining into pulling ropes that dragged the monster bit by bit toward the doorway.

Yu Sheng was desperately holding open a door wider than any he’d opened before, trying to make it a little wider, a little more stable.

The “door” had the ability to isolate the environments on either side. Simply opening it couldn’t release the harsh conditions from the other side into this one. To burn this monster to death, they had to throw it entirely inside.

Normally, this isolating feature was a good thing. It prevented Yu Sheng from accidentally causing catastrophic accidents when opening portals to dangerous places. But right now, he wished the door could merge the two environments without any protection.

If only he could open the door directly into a lake of lava and let the magma gush out to roast the monster. That would save them so much trouble.

But he could only wish. He’d just begun to grasp the power of the “door.” Ensuring it opened at the right place was hard enough; he couldn’t expect to use it as a flexible weapon.

In a flash, the monster had been dragged to the doorway. Some of its limbs had even been forcibly shoved through. Through the doorway, Yu Sheng saw those parts quickly dry up, then ignite and turn to charcoal in the infernal heat.

For a moment, he even felt as if his own limbs were burning.

Meanwhile, the beast’s struggles became frantic. Even the “hunger” that acted purely on instinct felt immense danger and fear now. All its limbs trembled violently within the spiderweb, and countless cracks opened up on its body. Eyes, mouths, sharp teeth, tentacles—even human-like features—all sprang out at once!

From its hideous mouths came even more piercing roars. The deafening howls so close made Yu Sheng’s ears ring, and his mind filled with a tumult of noise. He felt dizzy but still clung tightly to the handle of the illusory door, watching the beast being gradually pushed into the passage leading to the inferno.

But then he heard a series of unsettling cracking sounds.

Yu Sheng looked up sharply toward the sound.

It wasn’t Irene’s threads breaking—the little puppet had given it her all; not a single thread had come loose.

What was breaking was the monster’s flesh and twisted limbs.

It began to break free from the spiderweb in midair, tearing its own body apart, blood and flesh flying everywhere. It seemed to feel no pain; limbs that were tightly bound were torn off entirely. Then new limbs grew out, grabbing onto nearby rocks, accelerating its escape.

It had become an amorphous, flowing mass of flesh, rapidly changing shape through the gaps in the spider threads, quickly leaking out.

It was adapting to Irene’s spiderweb; it was learning a new form.

“We can’t hold it!” Irene’s scream came from nearby. “My body’s giving out! Do something, Yu Sheng!”

He turned to see fine cracks appearing on Irene’s arms and cheeks; the puppet’s body was crumbling.

“Dammit!”

He cursed under his breath. Holding the door with one hand, he reached out with the other to grab the monster before it broke free.

But then, a sudden gust of wind howled in his ears, carrying… a wolf’s howl.

A wolf’s howl?

Yu Sheng looked up in astonishment. Shadows swept across the night sky, forming the shapes of wolves. Packs of shadowy wolves howled and ran through the air, then crashed into the monster one after another, tearing at its flesh, slowing its transformation and writhing.

Then he heard a deep, powerful shout from behind. “I’ll help you!”

A figure nearly two meters tall charged over like a whirlwind. In midair, he delivered a flying kick, smashing into the monster like a giant boulder with a dull thud.

The beast’s body lurched uncontrollably toward the door; its frantic struggles and roars couldn’t stop it now.

The burly man landed gracefully, turning to Yu Sheng. “Good thing I made it in time—”

He saw Yu Sheng’s face.

The man’s expression turned to shock, his eyes widening as if he’d been struck by lightning.

He looked like someone who’d just realized he’d been tricked into moving from one battlefront to another during his rest.

But Yu Sheng didn’t have time to wonder why this stranger had such a reaction. He noticed that the beast was struggling again. Even though half its body had been pushed into the door and burned to charcoal, the remaining half was stuck at the edge, regenerating rapidly.

An inexplicable connection made Yu Sheng feel… anger and hatred.

In those trembling eyes, a glimmer of primitive emotion and thought appeared.

The burly man sensed the movement, looked up, and exclaimed, “Damn! This thing’s still fighting back!”

Then Irene screamed, “It’s snapping!”

The puppet’s arms were covered in cracks; the pitch-black threads snapped inch by inch. The spiderweb emitted a series of sharp bangs, breaking and disappearing instantly.

The beast had broken free.

Just as Yu Sheng felt all was lost and was about to tell everyone to run, a dazzling blue flame burst in the corner of his eye.

Foxy, who’d been hiding behind a nearby wall, had somehow gathered her courage and rushed out. She glared fiercely at the monster struggling before the door, crouching like a wild animal. Her silver-white fox tails spread out against the night sky, blue spiritual flames burning fiercely at the end of each tail.

The fox girl let out a low growl.

At the same time, pitch-black spikes and bone fragments emerged from her limbs and body, pinning her to the ground.

Seeing this, Yu Sheng shouted urgently, “Don’t—”

But before he could finish, Foxy, crouched on all fours, forced herself forward, breaking the spike-like restraints. She suddenly adjusted her posture—

Foxfire exploded. A dazzling flash pierced the darkness. A silver-white projectile, with ghostly blue flames gushing from behind, shot toward the beast like a rocket.

Yu Sheng didn’t have time to see what it was. He saw a violent flash erupt on the monster’s back. Even though Foxy had restrained the explosion’s range, the blast was so close that Yu Sheng felt his bones rattle. The beast, hit directly by the silver-white projectile, lost its balance. Already at its limit, it staggered and finally fell completely into the door.

As the fading roars echoed, Yu Sheng released his control over the door.

The illusory door vanished instantly.

Silence fell over the ruined temple; the sudden quiet felt almost unreal.

Irene collapsed to the ground; her cracked arms hung limp.

A girl in red, riding a phantom wolf, approached from outside the ruins, her face filled with astonishment. Beside her was an ordinary-looking black-haired young man.

The young man saw Yu Sheng from afar. His expression froze as if recalling something, and he frowned.

The burly man stared at where the door had vanished, looking astonished and thoughtful.

But Yu Sheng didn’t have time to greet these unexpected allies. He turned immediately to look for Foxy.

The fox girl was struggling to stand, and the foxfire behind her was noticeably dimmer, but she was still there.

Yu Sheng was stunned. So what flew over just now? Wasn’t it a headbutt?

Then he noticed that Foxy seemed to have one less tail.

He was speechless.

Did she just… fire her own tail?

She can even do that?

Yu Sheng was utterly shocked. Realizing that the silver-white projectile flying out with blue flames was actually Foxy’s tail left him dumbfounded. The surprise even overshadowed the excitement of defeating the monster.

He didn’t understand magic or demon arts, but instinct told him that no matter what kind of magic it was, it shouldn’t include “a nine-tailed fox can fire her own tail like a missile”…

Foxy didn’t notice the astonishment on her benefactor’s face. She struggled to her feet; the wounds from the black spikes had vanished. She stumbled toward Yu Sheng, her face anxious. “Sir…”

Yu Sheng quickly reached out to steady her. “You should rest—”

But Foxy interrupted urgently, “No time to rest, sir! It’s not over yet!”

Yu Sheng froze.