Chapter 153: The Ouija Board
Haruto decisively shot down the proposal. "We have no idea if our guess about the evacuation point is even correct, let alone how much danger is waiting for us there. For normal players, this would be a reasonable gamble; what instance doesn't involve risk? But we're different... Are you really sure you want to bet it all on a hunch?"
His words sobered Xia Ye, who immediately saw the logic. He turned to his second-in-command. "Give me the Ouija board. I'll ask."
The female secretary hesitated, her expression tight, but ultimately handed the wooden planchette over.
Haruto and Youmu exchanged a brief glance. Then, under Youmu's sharp, disapproving glare, Haruto casually stepped forward.
"So, how do you use this thing?"
"Just place one hand on the pointer in the center of the board and ask your question," the secretary answered, her response automatic and well-rehearsed. "After you receive your answer, you must say goodbye. If you don't, the board will crack and release the spirit trapped within."
Hearing the instructions, Haruto simply placed his hand on the pointer and, without a moment's hesitation, fired off his question.
"What's the first thing we need to do to leave this place safely? What are the prerequisites, and what dangers can we expect to encounter along the way?"
By the time the others even processed what was happening, Haruto had already finished speaking.
The members of the Ascending God team stared at him, their faces a mixture of shock and awe.
"Boss, you... I should have been the one to ask that," Xia Ye said, his voice laced with guilt. They had already accumulated a significant debt to Haruto during the Mermaid instance, and now he was once again stepping up to shoulder the risk for them.
"It's fine," Haruto said, waving a dismissive hand. "Why draw such a clear line between us? Besides, it really is more appropriate for me to be the one asking."
It was then that the Ascending God members noticed something odd. Kaguya and the rest of Haruto's group looked completely unconcerned, as if nothing of consequence had just occurred.
A wave of confusion washed over them. Items that could divine the future or extract critical information always came with a steep price. An ordinary person might lose ten or twenty years of their life for a single use. How could they be so calm?
"Aren't you... worried?" one of them couldn't help but ask. "Your boss was far too direct just now. The price for a question like that will be enormous; it could cost him twenty or thirty years of his life..."
"It's fine. Haruto is just like me," Kaguya said, spreading her hands with a hint of theatrical smugness. "We both possess an Immortal Body."
Immortal Body?
Those two words made everyone's eyes sharpen, their focus snapping back to the composed young man at the center of their group. They suddenly understood. Of course. He could afford to spend his life force so recklessly because he had a bottomless supply.
And Kaguya's casual addition—"just like me"—sent a jolt through their hearts. It meant she, too, was immortal.
One team, two members with Immortal Bodies? Was this some kind of joke?
Such a trait wasn't unheard of; many powerful monsters possessed similar regenerative abilities, and there were even rumors of a few players who had acquired it. But to see two in one group was staggering.
The fact that Haruto was willing to reveal this ability in front of them... what did that signify? It had to be a gesture of trust. Still, they knew an Immortal Body didn't mean one was truly invincible. It just meant their recovery was far stronger than a normal person's. Abusing items that consumed one's life force would still eventually lead to a true death.
While they were lost in their thoughts, the Ouija board's pointer shuddered to life. It began to move, darting rapidly across the board, pointing to letters and numbers so quickly that it left behind a blurry afterimage.
When it finally came to a stop, Haruto was still utterly bewildered. He mumbled a quick "goodbye" and lifted his hand from the board.
"Brother Haruto, what did it say?" Yotsuya Miko asked, her curiosity piqued.
"How should I know? I just saw it zipping around randomly."
"It said our guess about the extraction point is correct," the female secretary interjected, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her voice was calm as she translated the frantic message. "However, a monster known as the Broodmother is currently parasitic to the location. We must eliminate it first. Only then will the Decision-maker cancel the nuclear bomb launch and arrange for our extraction."
"...Impressive," Haruto commented, genuinely surprised she could read that chaotic blur.
"It's nothing. I'm just used to it." The secretary adjusted her glasses again, a flicker of wry memory in her eyes. "My own boss made this mistake once before. I couldn't afford to let it happen a second time."
After a brief, heavy silence as everyone digested this critical information, Xia Ye was the first to speak. "So, the plan is simple. We go straight to the extraction point and kill the Broodmother hiding there."
"Exactly," the secretary confirmed. "And we're running out of time."
A little over a day remained before the instance concluded. While that seemed like plenty of time on paper, none of them knew how long it would take to deal with this so-called Broodmother.
The group dared not delay any longer. After a one-hour rest to recover their physical and mental stamina, they set off immediately.
To save time, Haruto located three vehicles that still appeared functional. He shattered their windows, then reached inside and casually manipulated the boundary between 'locked'and'unlocked,' forcing their engines to roar to life.
They hadn't used vehicles before, mainly because a car was a large, noisy target that would easily alert the surrounding swarms and other monstrous creatures. But now, with Ye Tian's group acting as their vanguard and time slipping away, they couldn't afford to be so cautious.
As they neared the designated extraction point, they passed three or four other players on the road. All of them were covered in dust and grime, their faces etched with a mixture of relief at having survived this long and anxious anticipation of finally leaving. When they saw Haruto's convoy barreling down the road, they all scrambled out of the way, terrified that the noise of the engines would draw unwanted attention and implicate them in the ensuing chaos.
The extraction point was located in the central plaza of an abandoned military base.
When Haruto and the others arrived, four or five players had already gathered, their voices rising and falling in a fervent discussion. A uniform look of confusion and anxiety was plastered on every face.
"What's going on? I thought this was supposed to be the extraction point!"
"Did we get the location wrong?"
"That's impossible. One person getting it wrong is understandable, but not all of us. Maybe we just have to wait until the official extraction time for it to count."
"Wait until the time arrives? By then, you'll probably be long dead."
An unfriendly voice cut sharply through their chatter.
The player who had just spoken was about to fire back a curse, but the words died in his throat the moment he saw Ye Tian and the massive greatsword resting on his shoulder. He froze, his expression shifting from indignant rage to stark fear. A companion quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him back.
"Don't be impulsive. That's Ye Tian, the leader of Ascending God."
Upon hearing the name, the player immediately fell silent. His face cycled through shades of pale and green as he shrank back, not daring to utter another word.
"Do you have a grudge against them?" Haruto asked the female secretary in a low voice.
She nodded grimly. "They're from a faction called Seventeen. They have six Alchemists under their command. While their individual skill can't match our Xiao Yi, they have the advantage in numbers. Most of the potions we used before this instance were purchased from them."
Haruto's mind immediately pieced together the likely story. It was a classic tale of corporate malfeasance—quality issues, passing off inferior goods as premium, or last-minute price gouging.
As if on cue, the secretary continued, her voice hardening. "Our requirements were simple: the potions had to be of standard market quality and, at the very least, usable. We didn't even complain when they hiked the prices on us. But they kept mixing in low-quality dregs, potions that were practically scrap, with the goods they sold us."
"And something happened?" Haruto prompted softly.
The secretary's voice grew heavy with remembered pain. "Two of our members used... potions that the boss had personally given them. He never would have imagined that he was handing them their own doom."
"And then," Haruto finished, his voice low and certain, "Ye Tian used a tracking scroll to chase them into the next instance... for revenge?"
The secretary looked at Haruto, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. She hadn't expected him to guess the details so precisely. She gave a small, somber nod.
"At that time, the boss personally killed one of their Vice Leaders and two of their Alchemists."
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