Chapter 145: Take Out Your Barrett and Shoot It for Me
"A fox?"
The word alone was enough to pique Haruto's interest. He had long known that non-human species existed within the Death Game, but he hadn't expected to run into a fox youkai so soon.
His own Ran, after all, was a nine-tailed fox. Perhaps this player was a distant relative.
"How strong is she? And how many tails does she have?" Haruto pressed for details.
"Very strong," Ye Tian admitted frankly.
He had too much pride to claim a hollow victory. If not for a fluke during their last encounter, he wasn't entirely certain he would have won. He had proposed a rematch several times afterward, but she had refused each time, so in the end, they could only announce it as a draw to the public.
"As for the number of tails..." Ye Tian pondered for a moment. "She usually seems to have three, but when she was fighting me, I thought I saw an illusory fourth one."
"Then it's four," Haruto said with a nod of understanding. "Her current strength is just being suppressed by the instance. All non-human species are subject to certain restrictions upon entering one."
The two continued their conversation as they walked, bringing up the rear of the weary group.
The sky gradually bled into darkness.
Although any player who had survived this long possessed decent physical conditioning from multiple enhancements, even they couldn't withstand a full day of trekking, especially with the constant threat of monster attacks. Seeing that most of the group was on the verge of collapse, Haruto had Lao Lao lead everyone to a nearby hotel to take shelter for the night.
The hotel was enormous; even if every person took their own room, there would be plenty to spare. For safety's sake, however, everyone decided to stay in small groups.
As it happened, the top floor had two presidential suites.
Ye Tian had wanted to room with Haruto, planning to spend the night discussing the grand vision of him joining 'Ascending God' to dominate the Death Game together. Haruto, however, rejected him without a moment's hesitation. As he left, Haruto even shot him a strange, knowing look, as if to say, the night is long...
Standing by the window over a hundred stories high, Haruto had a commanding view of the entire city. The monsters roaming the streets below were no bigger than ants, and the surrounding skyscrapers seemed insignificant.
He pulled two pairs of binoculars from a gap in space, handing one to Kaguya. He was curious to see if they could spot anything interesting.
A moment later, Kaguya seemed to find something. She pointed off into the distance. "Ryuko, look over there."
"Look at what?" Haruto closed his left eye and pressed his right to the lens, scanning the horizon. He saw nothing out of the ordinary.
"Don't use the binoculars. Just look," Kaguya reminded him with a hint of exasperation.
Haruto lowered the binoculars. Only then did he notice it: a colossal mass of flesh in the far distance. Even from so many miles away, its sheer scale was obvious. It had to be at least a hundred meters tall—a true behemoth.
For perspective, even most Ultramen were only a few dozen meters tall, nowhere near that gargantuan size. The creature resembled a giant, pulsating tumor, its base a writhing nest of dense, coiling tentacles.
"How about we go take a look?" Haruto suggested, his brow furrowing slightly. He glanced back at the bed, where Miko and Lao Lao were sound asleep, their breathing deep and even.
That worked out perfectly. If it was just him and Kaguya, they could easily escape even if they ran into a troublesome opponent.
"Wait, wait!"
"What's wrong?" Haruto asked, puzzled. Kaguya was aiming her binoculars at a spot not far below their building. Curious, he raised his own to follow her gaze.
A pair of strange, lifeless eyes stared directly back at them. If Haruto hadn't been mentally prepared, the sudden, unnerving contact might have made him jump.
"Is that thing glaring at me? It has to be! Ryuko, quickly, take out your Barrett and give it a shot for me!" Kaguya grumbled, clearly displeased at being stared at.
"It's probably just a coincidence. We're so high up, and there are several streets between us... I doubt its eyesight is that good."
Even as he said it, Haruto still retrieved the Barrett sniper rifle from a gap and propped it steadily on the windowsill.
However, just as he took aim, before he could even touch the trigger, the humanoid creature below suddenly threw its head back and let out a silent, insane roar. It then charged fiercely in their direction, disappearing into the sniper's blind spot beneath the building.
"Alright, you were right. It really could see us," Haruto said, putting the rifle away. "And now it's coming to settle the score."
"I saw that," Kaguya said, her expression unreadable. "Should we wake Miko and Lao Lao?"
"No need. They're exhausted after a long day. It's just one little monster; nothing to worry about."
Haruto took out his Ghost Phone. As a temporary teammate, he still felt obligated to send a quick warning to Ye Tian in the suite next door.
At the same time, in the other presidential suite, Ye Tian was also sitting by a window, his massive greatsword leaning against the nearby wall.
Unlike Haruto's group, he faced west. Standing beside him was a woman in glasses with the air of a professional secretary, clearly a member of Ascending God. She held a Ghost Phone in one hand to check messages and a small notebook in the other, where she rapidly jotted down notes while delivering a report on their faction's recent status.
Ding-a-ling—
Ye Tian's phone chimed. He picked it up, his eyes narrowing as he read the screen.
"Boss, is something wrong?"
"He said there might be a small danger tonight and told us to be careful."
"Danger?" The secretary raised an eyebrow. She quickly connected to the hotel's hallway surveillance and then messaged the other eight team members quartered in different rooms. After confirming no one had left, she voiced her suspicion. "Neither our group nor theirs went downstairs. Where would the danger come from? Could it be that they're..."
"Impossible!"
Before the secretary could finish her thought, Ye Tian cut her off decisively. He stood up and a grin spread across his face.
"They wouldn't harm us. I trust my instincts. Besides, even if we take a step back..."
He paused, opening his palm.
With a sharp whoosh, the greatsword leaning against the wall flew into his hand as if pulled by an invisible force. He plunged the tip into the floor, and the solid marble cracked under the impact. A wave of confident power instantly filled the room.
"Even if there is real danger, with me here, what is there to fear!"
The secretary beside him sighed, a hint of helplessness in her expression. He had only known them for a day, yet he already trusted them so completely. But since the boss had spoken, she naturally had to obey.
She immediately issued instructions to the other eight members via her phone.
The sleeping team members were promptly woken by their companions standing watch. At the same time, she pulled up surveillance feeds from every twentieth floor, starting from the ground up, to closely monitor the entire hotel.
Suddenly, the secretary let out a soft gasp.
"What's happening?" Ye Tian asked, his tone calm and composed, as if he had expected this all along.
"A monster has indeed broken in. It's a humanoid species, about two meters tall, slender, and extremely fast. In the time we've been talking, it's already rushed from the first floor to past the thirtieth... The others have been notified."
The secretary's expression was complicated. She hadn't expected her boss's intuition to be right this time; the other party really had sent a kind warning.
"Only one?" Ye Tian sat back down, his tone relaxing. "It seems Haruto is still a bit too cautious. Why bother with a special warning for a single monster like this? Still, we have a lot of new members on the team. This will be a good chance for them to practice their vigilance."
He looked at the surveillance footage the secretary projected, intending to observe how his team members would adapt to a sudden crisis.
However, when he saw the pale, humanoid monster use its slender arms and seemingly fragile body to forcefully smash open the heavy steel fire door on the one-hundredth floor, the composure on Ye Tian's face instantly froze.
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