Chapter 146: 096?
The next day.
Haruto woke with a groan, his mind swimming in a groggy haze. He blinked, the unfamiliar ceiling slowly coming into focus as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He glanced at Kaguya, still sound asleep beside him, then took in the room's layout. Slowly, his brain began to reboot.
'Ah... right. Still in the instance.'
The simple luxury of sleeping until he woke up on his own had, for a moment, tricked him into thinking he was back in Gensokyo.
He fished out his phone and glanced at the screen. It was already noon.
Haruto threw off the covers, his gaze unconsciously drifting back to Kaguya. She was sprawled out like a starfish, occupying more than half the bed. Two buttons on her pajama top had come undone, revealing a patch of fair, delicate skin.
As if sensing the absence of the blanket, she frowned in her sleep, fumbled around for a moment, and then simply latched onto Haruto's right arm, her legs unceremoniously scissoring around his waist.
"Time to get up," Haruto said, patting her shoulder to rouse her. He never thought he'd see the day he was the one waking someone else up.
"Mmm..." Kaguya's eyes fluttered open, still hazy with sleep. She stared at Haruto for a long moment before extending her hands toward him, her voice thick and nasal. "Pull me up."
Haruto rolled his eyes in helpless exasperation but took her hands and hauled her into a sitting position anyway.
"Where are Miko and the others?" Kaguya asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "I don't see them."
"I don't know. I just woke up too, but it's already noon."
"Huh? You mean they're still sleeping?" Kaguya looked astonished.
If Yotsuya Miko and Lin Xuelao were already awake, they would have almost certainly come to wake them. The silence meant they were probably still dead to the world.
"They were probably exhausted from yesterday," Haruto reasoned. It wasn't strange at all. Between all the running and fighting monsters, it was perfectly normal for them to be worn out, given their physical condition.
"What happened to that monster that glared at us yesterday?"
"Not sure. Ye Tian and his group probably dealt with it." Haruto had initially planned on cleaning up his own mess, but Ye Tian had insisted on taking over, proclaiming he would handle everything.
Naturally, Haruto and Kaguya were more than happy to let him. Besides, as a "Destined Player," Ye Tian's strength was considerable. There was nothing to worry about.
The two pushed open their bedroom door and crossed the living room to another bedroom. Sure enough, just as they'd expected, Yotsuya Miko and Lin Xuelao were still fast asleep.
"Up and at 'em, you two," Haruto called, gently shaking them awake.
"Is it morning already...?" Miko murmured, blinking blearily. "Brother Haruto, why are you up so early?"
"Early? I slept until I woke up on my own."
Miko's eyes widened slightly. She checked the time on her phone and saw that it was already past noon. "Sorry, we overslept..."
"It's fine," Haruto said with an indifferent shrug. "Where are the others?"
"Haven't seen them. They probably left a long time ago," he added with a shake of his head.
Miko thought so too. It was already late, and the other team seemed far too disciplined to sleep in like they had.
However, as if to directly refute their assumption, a knock sounded at the front door.
"Is anyone there? Have you woken up?"
Haruto was a little surprised they were still around. He walked over and opened the door to find a young woman standing outside—one of the only two female members of Ye Tian's ten-person team.
"You haven't left yet?" Haruto asked bluntly. "Did you guys sleep in too?"
A hint of embarrassment flashed across the young woman's face, and she gave a slight nod. "The Boss said there's no need to rush. Haste makes waste, so we usually wait for him to wake up before setting off."
"He's right. No need to rush," Haruto nodded in agreement. For a mission like this, being fully rested was essential before taking any action.
The embarrassment on the woman's face deepened. 'Actually,'she thought,'we were hoping your team would keep a normal schedule so we could leave earlier. We just didn't expect you to be just as bad as us.'
"We'll be departing in half an hour. Is that okay?" she asked.
Haruto nodded. Getting breakfast ready in thirty minutes was no trouble at all. There was no need to cook from scratch.
Before they left for this instance, he had specifically asked Yakumo Ran to prepare several meals. Then, he'd had Kaguya use her ability to manipulate Eternity and the Moment to freeze the food in time, keeping it perpetually in the state it was in the instant it was freshly cooked.
It turned out to be a perfectly feasible plan. The food was still steaming hot and tasted just right.
After eating their fill, Haruto and his friends rested for a while longer. Once the full half-hour had passed, they headed out, arriving just in time to meet Ye Tian and his group, who had already gathered.
Haruto's eyes immediately narrowed. He noticed several members of the team were wounded. Their bodies were wrapped in blood-soaked gauze, and one man was missing an entire arm.
"How did they get hurt so badly? Was there danger yesterday?" Yotsuya Miko asked, her voice laced with horror.
Beside her, Haruto and Kaguya exchanged a look. Their first thought was the monster that had stared them down, but it hadn't seemed that strong. Ye Tian should have been able to handle it by himself. How could his team have sustained such injuries?
Ye Tian's expression was grim. The female secretary beside him spoke up, her tone professional as she explained.
"After receiving your warning yesterday, the Boss saw there was only one monster and wanted to use the opportunity to let the team members gain some experience. He didn't expect that thing's strength to far exceed our projections. By the time the Boss realized something was wrong and rushed to help, it was a step too late. But please rest assured. Once we return to headquarters, we at Ascending God have methods to reattach new limbs for them."
Hearing this, Haruto and Kaguya shared another glance, the awkwardness in their eyes deepening. Even though the other team had taken the initiative, the blame for this ultimately rested on their shoulders. They decided they should at least help heal the wounded.
While Haruto could now manipulate boundaries related to time to a certain degree, it was limited to short durations. For an injury this old, and one so intimately tied to the human body, the difficulty was simply too high. He turned to Kaguya, giving her a pointed look.
Kaguya, of course, didn't mind. If there was one thing she had in abundance, it was the various elixirs she had "borrowed" from Eirin's seemingly endless supply. She pulled three small bottles from her sleeve and tossed them to Ye Tian.
"Here, for you. Just sprinkle the contents on the wounds."
"This is...?" The secretary looked at the unremarkable little bottle in her hand, her brow furrowing slightly.
"A regeneration potion."
'Regeneration potion?' The secretary's frown deepened. She had heard of healing potions, but those could, at most, accelerate wound recovery. Limb regeneration was unheard of.
While she was still skeptical, Ye Tian had already taken the potions and tossed them to his injured team members. "Do as she says. Sprinkle it on your wounds."
It had to be said, the members of Ascending God were highly disciplined. At Ye Tian's command, they unhesitatingly unwrapped their bandages, revealing mangled, bloody wounds. Only when they began to sprinkle the liquid on did their faces show a hint of trepidation.
What happened next made every onlooker hold their breath. The wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. Flesh and sinew knitted back together, skin sealing over without a scar. In just a few moments, they were completely restored. Even the man's severed arm regrew, bone and muscle sprouting from the stump until a new hand flexed at the end of it.
The three injured members, especially the one who had lost his arm, burst out with uncontrollable joy. Nothing could compare to having your own original limbs back.
Seeing this, Ye Tian also let out a clear sigh of relief, gratitude filling his eyes. He was about to speak and offer his thanks, but Haruto cut him off, changing the subject.
"What about that monster? Is it dead?"
At the question, Ye Tian's expression turned solemn again, and he shook his head. "No. Not only were its strength and speed ridiculously high, but it's simply unkillable. No matter how many times I destroyed it, it would reform to its original state before long. Left with no other options, I had to seal it away."
As he spoke, he glanced at the secretary beside him. She understood immediately and carefully took out a uniquely shaped box.
The surface of the box was engraved with four distinctly different expressions: crying, laughing, sorrow, and anger. The carvings were eerie, and the entire object radiated an ominous aura. Through the transparent lid, they could clearly see the monster imprisoned within.
It was tall and gaunt, with pale, humanoid features.
Combining Ye Tian's description—"extremely fast, extremely strong, and unkillable"—with its appearance, a certain creature from Haruto's past life immediately surfaced in his mind.
'SCP-096.'
It was one of the Foundation's most infamous containment subjects, known as "The Shy Guy." Its core characteristic was simple: if anyone saw its face, through any medium whatsoever, it would sense that person's location and break through any obstacle to hunt them down until they were utterly eliminated.
Haruto's eyes filled with curiosity. He wondered if this thing was the genuine article from the legends, or if this instance world simply had its own version of the Foundation, with locals who had used some strange technology to reproduce a similar monster.
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