"President, the target is inside the room."
Hayasaka held up the magnet in her hand and whispered.
"Leave it to me."
Natsuki took out a universal lock-picking tool and started tinkering. This item was also a small tool he acquired, and its effect was to quickly pick locks. The more advanced and complex the lock, the lower the success rate.
However, given the environment of the park, the quality of the door locks was imaginable.
A few seconds later, the door clicked open softly.
Natsuki gripped the doorknob and pushed the door open directly.
The room wasn't large, and there was only a dim candle inside. The octopus-faced leader hadn't gone to sleep; instead, he was sitting at the table eating something. Seeing Natsuki and Hayasaka push the door open, he suddenly stood up and said:
"Who are you…"
Before he could finish speaking, the octopus-faced leader was shocked to discover that Natsuki had appeared in front of him with an indescribably strange speed.
No, that's not right.
It couldn't be described as speed, because the person appeared as if teleporting, instantly appearing in front of him.
The octopus-faced leader's nuclear-corrupted green eyes suddenly widened, and he instinctively tried to stand up and counterattack. However, just as he stood up, he fell to the ground with a thud. Looking down, he realized that a rope had been tied around him at some point, and the rope seemed to be alive, tightening more and more as he struggled.
"H-how is this possible…"
The octopus-faced leader wanted to call for help, but then he discovered again that a towel had been stuffed into his mouth at some point, making it impossible for him to make a sound.
Upon realizing this, a wave of despair immediately surged in the octopus-faced leader's heart.
"Their kidnapping methods are so practiced… I've encountered fierce bandits!"
"Done." Natsuki clapped his hands, turned to look at Hayasaka, who was still standing at the door, "Come in."
Since it was a secret infiltration, maintaining silence was paramount. There were many thugs nearby, and if any commotion was made, things would become very troublesome.
As fierce bandits, they naturally had the cultivation of fierce bandits.
So Natsuki chose to go all out as soon as they met. Three seconds of Time Stop was enough for him to bind the octopus-faced leader tightly.
"President, you worked hard."
Hayasaka responded, stepped into the room, then closed the door, completely cutting off the octopus-faced leader's last shred of hope.
"Tsk, with such fierce eyes, it will definitely be difficult to get information from him." Hayasaka said from above, "Or should we just torture him?"
Natsuki nodded:
"Indeed, torture is simple and efficient."
Upon hearing Natsuki and Hayasaka's conversation, the octopus-faced leader immediately trembled. His green eyes, corrupted by nuclear wastewater, bulged outwards, and he made muffled sounds.
You two, please remove the thing from my mouth first, and then ask questions!
Not asking any questions and going straight to torture, that's just too taking advantage of for an evil spirit!
"Then let's begin."
Hayasaka said, taking out a rather cute-looking pink, strange gun, and then pointed it at the octopus-faced leader on the ground.
"Wahhh Wahhh…"
The octopus-faced leader became even more flustered, whimpering constantly, wanting to speak.
The next second.
Hayasaka pulled the trigger without hesitation, and a bullet trailing a colorful flame tail shot out, directly hitting the octopus-faced leader's forehead.
The octopus-faced leader lay on his back, with only one thought in his mind:
These two fierce bandits don't play fair!
They said they'd torture me, but they just pulled out a gun and shot me in the head. They're clearly trying to kill me!
Natsuki observed for two seconds, then quickly said:
"What a pity, it's a sage state."
"Then one more shot."
Hayasaka pulled the trigger without hesitation, firing another shot.
Bang.
Another projectile shot out, trailing a colorful flame tail, hitting the octopus-faced leader's forehead.
Even in a sage state, the octopus-faced leader still shivered slightly.
One shot wasn't enough, and they even fired another. These two fierce bandits weren't trying to ask questions; they were trying to torment and play with the evil spirit, weren't they?
Natsuki sat down nearby and casually said:
"Looks like your luck isn't good today."
"Tsk~" Hayasaka lightly pouted, "So troublesome… Hurry up and confess your sins."
This Magical Girl's special firearm had no lethal effect, and its bullets flew very slowly, making it difficult to hit enemies.
However, when a bullet hit an enemy, it could apply various buffs, such as sage time, or confession and repentance, etc.
When an enemy was in a state of repentance, they would answer any question, which was much more effective than truth serum. The only downside was that the effects were randomly triggered, and it could only store three shots at a time. Once the bullets were used up, it needed to be recharged.
Bang.
Hayasaka fired another shot without hesitation.
The octopus-faced leader still lay on the floor, motionless, in a standard dead fish state, or rather, a sage time.
"Tch."
Hayasaka scoffed in dissatisfaction, then turned to look at Natsuki, her eyes filled with disdain:
"Just thinking about being touched by the President makes me furious right now."
Natsuki sat on the chair and said seriously:
"I'm also a person who cares about my reputation. Since you say that, I really won't touch you today. "
"Tch."
Hayasaka pouted disdainfully, walked to Natsuki's side, then sat sideways on Natsuki's lap, wrapped her arms around Natsuki's neck, and lightly hummed:
"President, hurry up, don't waste time."
"I feel my dignity has been insulted." Natsuki said unmoved, "I said I wouldn't move, unless you do it yourself."
Hayasaka raised an eyebrow, tilted her head, and said:
"President, you're asking for a beating, aren't you?"
Natsuki was quite firm now, saying:
"Yes, I am."
"This measly perverted president, actually pushing his luck…" Hayasaka's pretty face flushed slightly, she leaned closer, bit Natsuki's lips, "Just you wait."
"…"
A moment later.
Magical energy replenished.
Hayasaka stood up, exhaled softly with a flushed face, wiped away the silver thread from the corner of her lips, then raised the Magical Girl gun, aimed it at the octopus-faced leader on the ground again, and pulled the trigger mercilessly:
"Hurry up and confess your sins, you bastard!"
Bang.
The bullet hit the octopus-faced leader's forehead again.
"Wahhh Wahhh…"
The octopus-faced leader was trembling uncontrollably, like a fish accidentally thrown onto land.
"President, what's wrong with it?" Hayasaka asked, puzzled.
Natsuki pondered for two seconds, then slowly said, "Did we forget to pull the towel out of its mouth?"
Hayasaka: "..."
As Natsuki pulled out the towel, the octopus-faced leader was finally able to speak:
"I... I am guilty..."
"Very good, the confession effect has been successfully triggered." Natsuki dropped the towel in his hand. "Now it's question time."
In a state of confession, it would answer whatever was asked.
Natsuki half-knelt down, looked at the octopus-faced leader in front of him, and got straight to the point:
"How many thugs are there in the park?"
The octopus-faced leader's voice was muffled and buzzing, but it answered every question:
"Two hundred... more people..."
Natsuki asked again:
"On the way out of the park, besides the patrolling hellhounds and thugs, what other traps are there?"
"There are man-eating vines on the park walls... and putrid giant worms underground around the walls..."
Indeed.
It was impossible for players to easily climb over the wall and escape the park.
Hayasaka said from the side:
"Where does the park supervisor live?"
"The supervisor... is not inside the park..."
"What do you mean?"
"The supervisor... only comes to the park once every seven days... and when he comes... he takes away the sin coins earned over these days..."
"He doesn't even live in the park, this supervisor is a bit derelict." Natsuki complained, then said, "When will the supervisor come to the park next?"
To catch the bandits, first catch their leader.
A mere octopus-faced leader was not the ultimate goal.
The octopus-faced leader's voice was low: "Five days... later..."
"He'll only come in five days?" Natsuki frowned slightly.
This dark, putrid place, filled with sin, he really wanted to clear it and leave as soon as possible.
Hayasaka blinked, then suddenly asked:
"So, the sin coins you've collected are all in the park... Where in the park are they stored?"
"In the cafeteria's... basement..."
"Who is guarding it? How many people? Is the security tight?"
The octopus-faced leader shook its head and said:
"I don't know..."
In a state of confession, the octopus-faced leader would not lie; if it said it didn't know, then it truly didn't know.
"What a pity, it's just a small leader." Hayasaka couldn't help but pout.
Natsuki, however, felt little regret and said softly:
"Information naturally needs to be gathered little by little, no need to rush."
"..."
Next, the two asked many more questions about the park. This small leader could answer most of them, but there were also many questions it couldn't answer.
A moment later.
As the confession effect ended, the octopus-faced leader's gaze immediately turned fierce, and the tentacles forming its beard began to twist and squirm, trying to attack the two.
Natsuki took half a step back, avoiding the octopus tentacles, then turned to look at Hayasaka, and said softly:
"We've asked enough. You go out first; I'll handle the rest."
Hayasaka nodded lightly, her figure suddenly changed, and to the astonishment of the octopus-faced leader, she transformed into an identical existence, then gracefully pushed the door open and left.
Leaving in front of all the thugs, and then disappearing, naturally no one would suspect that the octopus-faced leader was still in the room. Even if someone came to check, they wouldn't conduct a meticulous, carpet-style search, so it could hide for at least a few days.
Therefore...
Natsuki looked down at the octopus-faced leader and silently pulled out his axe.
If it were a human, he would naturally think twice, but the target to be killed was an evil spirit, so there was no psychological burden whatsoever.
A moment later.
Natsuki finished dealing with the scene, put on his Shadow Cloak, locked the door from the inside, then pushed open the window and quietly jumped out.
The sky grew darker, and Natsuki moved stealthily in the shadows, like a fish in water, avoiding several thugs along the way and quietly arriving at the corner he had agreed upon with Hayasaka.
"President."
Hayasaka walked out of the shadows, having already dispelled her transformation skill.
"Let's go back to the dormitory first." Natsuki came to Hayasaka's side, picked her up, and whispered, "We'll identify the manager of the private vault tomorrow."
Hayasaka wrapped her arms around Natsuki's neck and complained:
"So troublesome, the supervisor isn't even in the park. I thought we could clear it today."
Natsuki walked and said:
"You should always look on the bright side."
Hayasaka glanced over: "Like what?"
Natsuki said:
"Like I can openly hold Ai-chan for two more days."
"Tch."
"..."
The journey was silent.
The two quickly returned to the dormitory area.
Upon returning, Natsuki immediately contacted secretary Chika with a red string. Before long, several girls walked out of the dormitory building.
"President, you're back."
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"..."
After the girls met up, they chatted briefly, then began to discuss the information they had just gathered.
"So amazing!" The passerby player clasped her hands to her chest, her eyes sparkling, and said admiringly, "He only left for a short while and got so much useful information. Natsuki-kun is too amazing, unlike me, I didn't help at all."
Kaguya glanced at her, crossed her arms over her chest, and said softly:
"Is President gathering information about the vault because he plans to steal from it, to make the park supervisor come earlier?"
Natsuki nodded and said:
"Since we're already here, the more side quests, the better... That's all for today, let's rest. Tomorrow, everyone can do a few more side quests."
"..."
The conversation ended.
Natsuki was about to go to the dormitory when the passerby player suddenly said pitifully behind him:
"Na-Natsuki-kun, can I ask you for a favor?"
Natsuki stopped, turned around, and asked:
"What is it?"
"My roommate is too scary." The passerby player clasped her hands together and whispered, "Her head is dented, and blood keeps dripping from it, and she just stands by the window staring at me. I really don't dare to stay with her."
Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly and said:
"So it's not a single room?"
"Of course not." Chika put her right hand on her hip and shook her head, "All dormitories are quadruples, but most aren't full. Some have one person, some have three. For example, Miss Mitsui's dormitory has three evil spirits in it."
Natsuki looked at Mitsui and said speechlessly:
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Mitsui bit her lip lightly and whispered:
"I thought I could..."
Natsuki complained:
"Your face is pale, you clearly can't."
Mitsui: "..."
Although she had encountered **Strange Tale** and was mentally prepared before entering the instance, the thought of sleeping in a dormitory with several evil spirits at night still made her uncontrollably nervous.
"Not only that." Chika chattered on, "The dormitories aren't even separated by gender. Yukino-chan's roommate is a male evil spirit."
Natsuki looked at Yukino and said speechlessly:
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Yukino calmly said:
"I don't mind."
You might not mind, but I super mind!
Forget male evil spirits, even the child are unacceptable!
Natsuki pondered for a moment, then looked at Chika and said:
"Chika, how many 'roommates' do you have in your room?"
Chika held up two fingers and whispered:
"Two evil spirit roommates, but they're both female. Neither of them speaks, they just sit there combing their hair. I only took one look and then came out to stay with everyone."
"Lead the way." Natsuki said seriously, "I want to have a friendly chat with your roommates."