Chapter 147: Imprison it in a Gap
"Isn't this 096?"
Before Haruto could even voice the thought, Kaguya spoke first, her eyes fixed on the creature inside the box with a feverish excitement. She grabbed Haruto's arm and shook it forcefully.
"Haruto, you know about it too, right?"
"I know." Haruto nodded. The SCP Foundation's tales were a cultural touchstone in his past life, and surprisingly, they existed as popular fiction in Gensokyo's Outside World as well.
Ye Tian and the others, however, were completely in the dark, their faces etched with confusion. Seeing their expressions, Haruto took a moment to recount the chilling lore of the Foundation and its infamous anomalies.
"A creature from folklore?" Ye Tian murmured, not looking particularly surprised. Players had long since discovered that many beings from myth and legend were terrifyingly real in this game.
Still, the creature's supposed immortality and its relentless, unstoppable pursuit of anyone who saw its face gave him pause. He wasn't afraid for himself, but what about his team?
"Boss, we could keep it as one of Ascending God's trump cards," Xia Ye suggested, his voice buzzing with excitement.
Ye Tian didn't answer, his gaze locked on the monster in the box. It was still thrashing, slamming itself against the container's inner walls, a perfect embodiment of the creature Haruto had just described—an entity that would not rest until it had slaughtered every last person who had observed it.
"Is there a problem with the Silence Box?" the female secretary asked, her sharp eyes catching the subtle shift in Ye Tian's expression.
Ye Tian nodded slowly. "The Silence Box won't last much longer. It'll shatter in a day, at most."
"How is that possible?" The secretary's professional composure cracked.
The Silence Box wasn't called that for nothing. Unlike common Ghost Boxes, which were merely strange items tainted by ghostly energy or containers fashioned from a ghost itself, a Silence Box was a product personally crafted by a Ghost God. Even for a powerful organization like their Ascending God, they only possessed two such artifacts.
Counting from the previous night, only two days had passed. To consume a priceless Silence Box in just two days was a cost Ascending God simply couldn't afford.
Now, long-term imprisonment was out of the question. It was uncertain if they could even last another day to escape the instance and transfer the creature to their second box.
They were left with two choices.
First, they could accelerate their progress, clear the instance before the monster broke free, and auction it off to some other guild foolish enough to believe they could handle it.
Second, they could discard it here and now, then escape the instance as quickly as possible. No matter how powerful the creature was, it couldn't break the fundamental restrictions of the instance world.
The secretary looked to Ye Tian, awaiting his command. Though she heavily favored the second, safer option, the final decision rested with her boss.
"The thing stays here," Ye Tian finally declared. "We evacuate as quickly as possible."
A collective sigh of relief passed through the secretary and the other team members. A current of genuine warmth surfaced in their expressions as they looked at their leader. They knew their boss well; if it weren't for their presence, he would have insisted on dragging this monster back, consequences be damned. Whether it was feasible or not, he'd only know after a fight.
"Then give it to us," Kaguya chimed in, her eyes immediately lighting up.
"You want it?" Ye Tian rested a hand on the hilt of his greatsword, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. It wasn't that he was unwilling to part with it; he just felt the creature was far too dangerous to hand over.
Sensing his reluctance, Kaguya pressed on. "Don't worry, we have a way to handle 096 that's more secure than your box. I guarantee it won't escape."
Ye Tian was taken aback—not by doubt, but by sheer curiosity. "How do you plan to handle it?"
Haruto shot Kaguya a confused look as well. If she were at her peak, freezing 096's time would be a simple matter, but in her current state, she shouldn't have access to that level of power.
"Of course, we're relying on our Haruto!" Kaguya declared with a grin, pointing dramatically at him.
Haruto blinked, stunned for a moment before the gears in his head started turning.
'Can't you just throw it into a Gap?'
He finally remembered his own cheat-like ability. As the dimensional space between worlds, the interior of a Gap was a world of infinite, empty vastness. He'd already tossed a legion of Cute Meatballs in there; what was one more SCP-096?
The logic was sound. Haruto nodded in agreement. "I can indeed keep it locked up. Let it out."
Ye Tian hesitated no longer. He signaled for everyone to step back. With practiced motions, he swiped across the expression-like patterns on each side of the Silence Box in a specific sequence, and the container slowly began to open. After placing the box on the ground, he too retreated a few paces, leaving the stage to Haruto.
"ROAR—!"
A piercing, unearthly howl ripped through the air. A pair of long, withered arms shot out from the top of the box, and a bone-pale, emaciated humanoid creature clawed its way out.
Without a moment's hesitation, it shrieked and charged toward the nearest person: Haruto.
But in the next instant, its foot found only empty air. A jagged, purple-black rift had torn open in the space before it, and its entire lower body plunged into the void.
Unfortunately, the rift was a bit too small; only 096's lower half fell through. As it dug its long fingers into the pavement, trying to crawl back out, Ye Tian stopped his team members who were about to rush forward and help. He grinned, hefted his greatsword, and with a mighty swing, used the flat of the blade to physically smash 096 the rest of the way into the Gap.
The rift snapped shut, and the enraged, shrill howling vanished completely.
"Done. It definitely won't be escaping," Haruto said with a satisfied nod.
Feeling a pang of conscience, he handed Ye Tian a stack of talisman cards as a fee for his hard work. Then, he and Kaguya immediately began whispering to each other, excitedly discussing the possibility of printing out photos of 096 and throwing them at Fujiwara no Mokou. The two of them were completely unaware that this whimsical idea would later result in them being angrily chased across Gensokyo by a certain perpetually seventeen-year-old beauty.
With that little interlude concluded, the group continued their advance.
Just like the day before, the Ascending God team handled almost all the battles. Later, however, to give them some practical experience, Haruto had Miko and Lin Xuelao join the fray.
Whenever they encountered an enemy that was too difficult for even their combined efforts, Ye Tian would simply wave a hand, tell everyone to fall back, and take the lead himself. Haruto and Kaguya were more than happy to enjoy the leisure.
The sun gradually sank toward the western horizon.
That was when the group discovered it—a Flesh Mountain. An exceptionally massive one. At a glance, it was easily over a hundred meters taller than the surrounding high-rise buildings. Countless spider-like limbs grew from its base, wriggling slowly as it dragged its colossal form forward.
The Flesh Mountain completely blocked their path.
Even though a detour would take a significant amount of time, the sheer scale of the behemoth left them with little choice.
But how could Ye Tian, a man walking the path of invincibility, allow himself to simply walk away? It went against the very core of his philosophy.
"A detour will take too long. I think we can just push through," he said, his voice a feigned, serious baritone. His gaze shifted to Haruto and Kaguya, hoping for a vote of approval.
A thrill, sharp and unexpected, shot through Haruto. He was actually quite excited by the prospect.
Kaguya, however, suddenly wore a subtle expression. She turned to Haruto.
"Haven't you noticed that someone is missing from the team?"
Yotsuya Miko and Lin Xuelao were stunned for a moment before the realization dawned on them.
"Brother Haruto," Miko asked timidly, "did we forget Sister Youmu at the hotel?"
Haruto waved a hand dismissively. "How could I forget my Youmu? I could forget anyone else, but never her."
He glanced down at the time, a slight curl forming on his lips. "At this hour, she should be back soon."
Before his voice could fade, a gust of wind swept past them.
Youmu's figure arrived in an instant. She had a basket strapped to her back, a large bag clutched in each hand, and even a small parcel held delicately in her mouth. She looked for all the world like a triumphant shopper returning from a massive haul.
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