We start moving.

  Xiaolang, controlling my body, takes point while carrying the unconscious man. Nanao covers our rear. We press ourselves flat against the cold wall on our left, attempting to blend into the shadows of the corridor.

  To my right lies an endless row of glass windows, but instead of the bustling cityscape of Tokyo, what greets my eyes is a silent hellscape. The pitch-black sky swirls with soundless lightning, and the ruined buildings lean askew like skyscraper tombstones.

  Xiaolang dares not let his guard down for even a second. His eyes are glued to the azure holographic display on my wrist, adjusting every step according to the winding path the algorithm maps out.

  "Turn left three meters... Stop two seconds... Continue straight..." He mutters, and sweat begins to bead on my forehead.

  But that accursed Murphy's Law, the notion that anything that can go wrong will go wrong, strikes again with full force.

  BOOM!!!

  A terrifying tremor shakes the entire high-rise, violent enough that I almost pitch forward face-first onto the floor if Xiaolang did not regain our balance in time.

  I turn my head toward the window, and the blood inside me freezes.

  He has returned.

  The giant Executioner appears once again, looming large outside the glass of the twenty-fourth floor. But this time, he is not merely watching.

  His roar, though partially muffled by the soundproof glass, is still powerful enough to rattle my ribcage. He swings his elongated arms, smashing madly into the neighboring buildings. I watch as he peels back the roof of an opposite office tower as one would open a tin of sardines, then thrusts his hand inside, rummaging and clawing as if searching for a louse hiding in fur.

  Billowing concrete dust chokes the crimson light of this world.

  "He is looking for us..." I whisper, my throat parched.

  "We are doomed," Nanao hisses, his cat ears pressed flat against his head, tail fur standing on end. "If he hits this building, we are all screwed! Hurry up, you mutt!"

  "Why do they always choose these critical moments to show up?!" I scream in my frustrated mind. "Can't they let a person breathe for just a moment?"

  On my wrist, the hologram screen flashes a continuous red alert. The green line, our sole lifeline, suddenly fractures and redraws a completely new route.

  "Change direction!" Xiaolang orders, his voice taut as a bowstring. "The corridor ahead is blocked! Lesser Executioners are moving there because of the noise!"

  We veer sharply, abandoning the corridor by the glass wall, where at least some light remains, to plunge deeper into the belly of this concrete monster.

  The further in we go, the thicker the darkness becomes. The pungent scent of mildew and decaying paper assaults my nose.

  Finally, we step into a vast space.

  "This is..." I squint, looking around.

  It is a large lobby. The sofas are slashed open, spilling their stuffing, and the potted plants are reduced to withered bonsai with nothing left but barren branches.

  And in the corner, flickering light emanates from a row of vending machines.

  Their glass fronts are shattered to smithereens. Soda cans and snack bags litter the floor, covered in dust. A few machines still function, emitting the fzzt fzzt sound of sputtering electricity, while their screens display nonsense characters dancing wildly.

  The flickering light from the broken machines casts elongated shadows across the floor, creating the sensation that dozens of eyes are stalking us from the dark.

  "Shh..." Xiaolang raises a hand to signal a halt.

  On the holographic map, a red dot has just materialized right at the exit on the other side of the lobby.

  The thudding footsteps of the Executioner echo closer and closer, sounding like a sledgehammer striking concrete. He is heading straight for the broken vending machine, where the flickering neon light serves as the only source of illumination in this deadly hall.

  "Damn it, we can't make it to the other corridor in time," Xiaolang hisses.

  Without wasting a single second, he controls my body and lunges toward the vending machine. But instead of hiding behind it, he dives straight into the long, dark shadow the machine casts on the floor.

  That familiar cold, sticky sensation washes over me again. Nanao, the unconscious man on my back, and I are swallowed by the darkness, vanishing from reality just a split second before the monster's pitch-black head looms in the doorway of the hall.

  We fall back into the Shadow Space. It is the same absolute silence and freezing air. Broken mirror shards float around us, each one a window looking out into the external world.

  Xiaolang steers me toward the largest shard, which reflects the vending machine area directly.

  On the other side of the glass, the Executioner stands towering right in front of the machine. He has no eyes, but his bald head tilts back and forth, and his nose, or rather the two holes in his face, sniffs at the rusted soda cans.

  He stands there. Silent. Motionless.

  One minute passes. Then two. He remains there like a statue, blocking our only exit.

  "What the hell is wrong with this bitch? Why is he just standing there?" Nanao grows impatient, his cat claws scratching at the air. "Is he contemplating the nutritional value of expired soda?"

  "He is suspicious," Xiaolang replies, his voice tense. "These guys have sharp senses. He probably smells the residual spiritual energy from earlier."

  "We can't wait for him to leave," Nanao snaps. "That giant outside could come back and crush this building at any moment."

  "Then we exit from somewhere else," Xiaolang suggests. He points to the dozens of smaller mirror shards floating around. "Each of these shards corresponds to a different shadowed area on this floor. Just pick one that looks safe and let's go."

  Nanao narrows his eyes, looking skeptical. "Are you sure it is safe? What if we pop our heads out and run smack into another one, I don't want to play a real-life version of Whac-A-Mole."

  "Well... um... not really," Xiaolang scratches his head. "The field of view through these shards is very limited, so we can't see the whole picture."

  So the three of us huddle together, straining our eyes to look into the messy pile of shards like we are playing a game of Spot the Difference.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  This shard looks out onto a pitch-black corridor corner. High risk.

  That one looks into a dilapidated men's restroom. Too narrow to maneuver if things go south.

  That other one only shows the ceiling. Useless.

  "This place..." I suddenly speak up, pointing to a small shard hidden in the back.

  The image inside is quite blurry, showing only a corner of a wall with peeling paint and part of a tattered ash-gray sofa, next to which is a dark streak of dried blood.

  "What is so special about it, kid," Xiaolang asks.

  "Look closely at that broken chair leg," I say, my brain rewinding through my memories. "And that spiderweb crack on the wall right above it. It is Room 2402, the place where we just rested and gave first aid to that guy,"

  The two gods look closely again, then exclaim in unison.

  "That's right," Nanao claps his hands. "We just left that place. I set up a barrier there, so the monsters have definitely skipped it and gone to patrol elsewhere. They say the most dangerous place is often the safest, so going back there is the best move."

  "But..." Xiaolang hesitates. "Aren't we trying to get to the elevator? Going back there is going the wrong way."

  "One step back to take three steps forward, you idiot," Nanao raps Xiaolang on the head, which is technically my head. "We go there to reorient ourselves and find a new route. It is better than popping out in some random place and getting ambushed."

  I nod vigorously. Even though the situation outside is dire, playing it safe is still the top priority.

  "Let's decide on that," Xiaolang hoists the man on my back. "Back to the starting line."

  We rush toward the shard reflecting the old room.

  We retreat to Room 2402, currently the safest starting point. On the hologram screen, Xiaolang's algorithm redraws a new route, a green zigzag line that looks even more tangled than the lifeline of a very unlucky person.

  I swallow hard, staring at that labyrinthine map.

  "Guys," I speak up hesitantly, my hand gripping my backpack strap even though it only contains useless schoolbooks. "If... in the worst case scenario... an Executioner sees us and we cannot hide in the shadow in time, what then?"

  Nanao is checking the door barrier. Hearing this, he turns around, his cat eyes narrowing with seriousness. "You have a point, kid. On the battlefield, no plan is perfect. We must always have a Plan B in our pocket."

  "Hmph," Xiaolang growls inside my head, controlling my hand to crack my knuckles. "Then there is only one way. We have to silence them."

  "Silence them?" I ask.

  "Literally," Nanao continues, his voice cold. "Actually, looking back, killing them is hard, but shutting one up so it cannot call for backup is not too difficult. Just crush its head. Destroy the organ that transmits psychic signals in the brain, and it will be mute as a clam, even with their hive mind connection."

  "Make sure you do it precisely, you stupid dog," Nanao warns. "One hit must finish it."

  "I know. Let's roll," Xiaolang replies curtly.

  I shudder at the violent decisiveness of the two gods. But then, a flash of inspiration strikes my mind. An idea so simple it is stupid that we have ignored it until now because we were too focused on running on foot.

  "Wait!" I cry out. "Why do we have to run? Why don't we try entering Xiaolang's Shadow Space and then popping out right at the elevator?"

  "We looked very carefully earlier," Nanao sighs wearily. "The Wolf and I strained our eyes out at those floating mirror shards. None of them reflect the elevator area."

  "Or maybe the capacity of the Shadow Space is limited by the number of shards," Xiaolang explains further. "This area is too big, there are too many shadows, my vision cannot cover every corner."

  "No!" I shake my head. "The problem is light and shadow! We can create the shadow ourselves! You guys can fly the mechanical mosquito to the elevator area and turn on its headlight. Strong light will create a sharp black shadow. Then we will have an exit door!"

  The room falls silent for three seconds.

  Nanao slowly turns to look at Xiaolang, his gaze sharp as a razor. "Hey Xiaolang, that mosquito... it has a flashlight function, right?"

  "Uh... of course it does," Xiaolang stammers. "Super bright LED, genuine Asgardian tech."

  "Then why didn't you say so from the beginning, you idiot?!" Nanao yells, almost rushing over to scratch his teammate.

  "Who would have thought of that!" Xiaolang argues back stubbornly. "Plus, it is not certain that the lack of shadow is the reason! Like I just said, maybe it is due to..."

  "We still have to try, guys!" I interrupt their argument. "Try it! Hurry!"

  There is no time to hesitate. The mosquito drone is immediately ordered to fly off, weaving through cracks and corridors, heading straight for the distant elevator area. Through the hologram screen, we watch with bated breath.

  The elevator area is deserted. No Executioners.

  The headlight on the mosquito turns on. A beam of brilliant white light shines down on the floor, and immediately, the shadows of the metal railings appear sharply on the surface.

  "Got it!" I cheer.

  Once again, we dive into the Shadow Space. And this time, among the countless floating mirror shards, a brand new piece appears, reflecting the image of the brightly lit elevator doors.

  "Let's go!"

  We rush through the mirror shard. The cold sensation vanishes, replaced by the musty air of the 24th floor corridor. We have reached the destination! Right in front of us are the elevator doors.

  "We did it! Haha!" I laugh, a sense of relief spreading through my body.

  But the smile has not yet faded when a familiar sound rings out, freezing every sense.

  Kekeke...

  A giggling sound, small but sharp, echoes from right above our heads.

  "Damn it," Nanao curses. "It’s hiding in the vent!"

  From the ventilation grate on the ceiling, a pitch black shadow slowly slithers down. This Executioner is smaller, its limbs spindly and twisted, crawling on all fours like a giant spider. Its bald head rotates 180 degrees to face us, its mouth smiling widely.

  "DON'T YOU DARE!"

  Xiaolang does not say another word. He controls the mosquito drone to fly over instantly, shining the blinding beam of light straight into the monster's face.

  Its shadow casts sharply onto the ceiling.

  "Shadow Kill!"

  From within that shadow, a giant black hand sprouts out, grabbing the monster's head.

  CRUNCH!

  A clean, horrifying sound. The head of the Executioner is crushed to mush in the blink of an eye like a rotten watermelon. Its scream is choked right in its throat.

  "Now throw it into the Shadow Space!" Nanao orders urgently. "It won't realize what is happening in time!"

  The shadow hand immediately drags the headless corpse into the black puddle on the ceiling.

  "Can... can it escape?" I ask, trembling.

  "The space inside the shadow is only hard to enter from the outside, but escaping is easy for them," Xiaolang replies, his voice still tense. "But at least it will buy us a few minutes."

  We sigh in relief and rush to the elevator control panel. I press the button. The indicator light turns on.

  Ding.

  The door opens. It still works! Thank heaven, thank the gods!

  We rush inside. I place the injured man on the floor, then tremblingly press the buttons in the familiar sequence.

  4... 2... 6...

  The elevator moves smoothly. Hope rekindles in my heart. As long as we follow the procedure correctly, we will escape this hell.

  ...2... 10... 5.

  The elevator stops at the 5th floor. The door opens. No one is there.

  I hold my breath, reaching out to press the final button.

  1.

  The door closes. The elevator vibrates slightly, preparing to move. If it goes up to the 10th floor, we win.

  But suddenly...

  SCREECH... BOOM!!!

  A terrible metallic impact sounds from above the elevator car. The entire metal box shakes violently as if hit by a level 10 earthquake. The lights inside flicker continuously then die out, leaving only the red emergency light.

  And then, instead of going up or down, I feel a strange acceleration force. We are being... lifted up.

  Not by the cables. This swaying, shaking sensation... it is like being inside a toy box picked up by a child.

  "What... what is this?" I scream, clinging tight to the handrail.

  A piercing tearing sound rings out. The elevator ceiling warps. Red light from the outside leaks in through the cracks.

  "We're screwed..." I whisper, giving up.

  Through the crack in the ceiling, I see a giant red eye looking in.

  "Stay calm!" Nanao's voice rings out, steely and cold. "Xiaolang! No escape route left. Deal with it fast, then jump to the next building!"

  "Yeah," Xiaolang replies, aura exploding around my body. "Let's do it again. This time I will blind it permanently!"

  As soon as he finishes speaking, the giant hand of the monster squeezes tight. The elevator door is ripped away, flying off into the air, revealing a twisted smile right before our eyes.