Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Nine: Key

Two days after Lu Xixi left.

「Tokyo, Taito District.」

This place is famous for preserving a large number of Edo Period style buildings, among which the most renowned is naturally the famous Asakusa Temple.

In a courtyard not far from Asakusa Temple, the architecture of the buildings also imitated that of the Edo Period. From the hooked corners of the building's pavilion, the open windows on the second floor provided a perfect view of the famous Thunder Gate of Asakusa Temple.

The weather was exceptionally fine that day. Under the sunshine, one could see from a distance the throngs of tourists at the gate of Asakusa Temple.

Chen Nuo sat before the window, a pot of green tea placed before him.

A maidservant in a kimono knelt quietly to one side, gently handling the tea utensils. Her head was respectfully bowed, her movements soft and gentle.

After a sip of tea, Chen Nuo's eyebrows twitched.

Noise already traveled from outside the door.

When the door was pulled open, a man in a suit bowed to Chen Nuo within, then stepped aside to push a wheelchair inside.

In the wheelchair, wearing a light white kimono, was Ishii Hisako. She offered Chen Nuo a faint smile.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting. I have an injury and am not very mobile, so I arrived a little late."

Chen Nuo looked at Ishii Hisako.

Her complexion was pale, clearly indicating that her injury had not healed in the mere three days. Moreover, Chen Nuo could detect a faint medicinal scent emanating from her.

Ishii Hisako gestured. The maidservant in the room immediately stood up and exited. Then, the people outside bowed and closed the door, leaving only Chen Nuo and Ishii Hisako in the room.

Ishii Hisako wheeled closer to Chen Nuo. "I'm sorry, I cannot perform the tea service for you myself today due to my injury."

Chen Nuo smiled indifferently. "Is the injury that bad? I remember holding back quite a bit."

Ishii Hisako sighed. "You did hold back, but I tore the wound open a bit more myself. Otherwise, the injury would have seemed too minor and might have raised suspicions."

After a pause, Ishii Hisako said in a low voice, "I was actually quite worried that you wouldn't call me."

Chen Nuo shook his head. "Killing Kobayashi and Aso was a huge favor to you. Bestowing kindness without seeking repayment? I'm not that noble."

"Good. I've been waiting for your call," Ishii Hisako smiled.

Chen Nuo picked up his teacup, took a sip, then glanced out the window again. "This meeting place is well chosen."

"...Indeed, it is." Ishii Hisako also looked out the window.

After a few seconds of silence, she suddenly let out a soft sigh. "Asakusa Temple... It's also where I first met the Sect Hierarch, years ago."

Chen Nuo frowned at her. He could discern a complex mixture of emotions in her tone, as if speaking of her Sect Hierarch carried an indescribable undercurrent.

There was nostalgia, reflection, and also a hint of faint resentment and ridicule!

"I was a girl from a rural family on Kyushu Island, born ordinary. Although I worked tirelessly at my studies and attended an average university in Tokyo, in a place like this, a girl from an ordinary family with only an average university education found it extremely difficult to establish herself. That was until I met that person.

"You could say... I'm actually very grateful to him. He led me into another dimension of this world, expanded my horizons, and showed me more possibilities. He let me know the extent of success a person can achieve when they strive to their utmost... or rather, the amount of destruction they can cause!"

Chen Nuo shook his head. "I didn't come to listen to you reminisce. Everyone has their own story of struggle, whether remarkable or mundane. Save those words for when you have the chance to have someone write your memoirs or an autobiography. I'm not interested."

"Yes!" Ishii Hisako nodded. "My apologies, I got carried away—it's probably the nostalgia of revisiting an old place."

After a pause, Ishii Hisako suddenly looked up at Chen Nuo and said directly, "If I'm not mistaken, you're not Japanese, are you?"

Chen Nuo raised an eyebrow. He looked at Ishii Hisako with a smile. "So, that day in the courtyard of your headquarters, when you said to me, 'We Japanese people...' you had already guessed, or should I say, you were testing me?"

Ishii Hisako nodded candidly. "Correct."

"Spying on a dragon, a monstrous beast you can't resist—are you not afraid?"

"When cooperating with a powerful being I cannot resist... even knowing my own weakness, I must do everything in my power to secure some leverage for myself—even if it's just an insignificant bit." Ishii Hisako said decisively, without a hint of retreat. "It's a necessary and unavoidable approach. Even if this leverage has no real significance! Even if, in the process of conversing with you, this leverage can only earn me a tiny bit, just a tiny bit... of your respect. To gain a slight psychological advantage. To make you feel I'm not worthless, that I'm smart enough, that I possess some small qualification to cooperate with you. I... must do so!"

It had to be said, of all the women Chen Nuo had met in his two lifetimes, Ishii Hisako was the strongest. The strongest mentally!

Chen Nuo chuckled, an unreadable expression on his face, and slowly said, "Well, let's talk business. I prefer a straightforward approach. I've done you a huge favor; what benefit will you offer me in return? With Kobayashi and Aso dead, you should now be the de facto leader of your organization. As for your Sect Hierarch, he's been imprisoned for several years. His control over your organization must have weakened considerably. You must be the de facto second-in-command now, right?"

"That's right." Ishii Hisako didn't deny it, admitting with a nod. But then she said, "However... becoming the second-in-command of the Truth Society is not my goal."

Chen Nuo laughed. "If being second-in-command isn't what you're after, what do you want to do? Run for prime minister?"

Ishii Hisako's tone was slightly mocking. "Run for prime minister? The Sect Hierarch considered it once. He tried to leverage the church's influence in politics but failed miserably in the local council elections. Only then was he harshly awakened to the reality that pursuing that path was a daydream."

Indeed, Chen Nuo knew this from his previous life when he had researched the history of the Truth Society. The former Sect Hierarch… had indeed harbored political ambitions in the early days, only to be soundly defeated. It was after that he became increasingly radical.

Chen Nuo watched her quietly, frowning as he asked, "Then what do you want?"

Ishii Hisako's demeanor remained calm, but her eyes couldn't help but betray a hint of irrepressible excitement.

"Aren't you curious? That man... he was originally just a masseur in a massage parlor. Blind, with impaired vision, and disabled legs! In the first few decades of his life, he achieved nothing, lacked any talent, and was insignificant! So why did he suddenly rise like a kite on the wind, soaring to the heavens, becoming a Sect Hierarch who could captivate thousands with a single call? How did he go from abject poverty to possessing assets worth hundreds of billions of yen? From being a pariah no one would spare a glance, to a religious leader who could sway countless hearts with his own power? How did all this change? How did it happen? Aren't you curious?"

Chen Nuo laughed. "Are you here to tell me a story? Your storytelling skills aren't bad; you know how to build suspense by asking questions to captivate your audience... but!" Chen Nuo's smile gradually cooled. "I didn't come here for a story!"

Surprisingly, Ishii Hisako wasn't intimidated by Chen Nuo at all. She slowly said, "A tale without an answer is called a story! A tale with an answer... can be called... a proposal!"

Chen Nuo stared at Ishii Hisako's face, scrutinizing it for a few seconds. "Tell me about your proposal."

Ishii Hisako let out a sigh of relief. "One year, on a certain day, a man who had never accomplished anything wandered into a place by a stroke of fate and obtained something. Then... everything that followed happened."

"And so?" Chen Nuo asked.

"I happen to know where that place is."

Chen Nuo shook his head. "This story is even more cliché. A treasure hunt, is it?"

Ishii Hisako grew anxious. "It's not about treasure hunting!" A strange light flickered in her eyes. "That place... it houses something! He has a Key that can unlock the door to that place. But this Key has a limited number of uses; it can be used at most three times before it disintegrates!"

"As far as I know, that person went in twice. After the first visit, he transformed from a silent, inarticulate man into an eloquent leader whose words carried a mysterious persuasive power! After the second visit, he returned as a magician who could disturb others' minds and even their vision, creating illusions—this is also the main reason the Truth Society has always claimed the Sect Hierarch possesses Magic and is a reincarnation of a god. Although his displays of these so-called Special Abilities were all a sham! But... at the time, he truly did deceive many people, including through television cameras and interviews!"

Chen Nuo spoke dispassionately, "Your story is losing my interest. If that's all there is to it, I plan to get up and leave in one minute."

Cold sweat beaded on Ishii Hisako's forehead. She slammed her hands on the table, ignoring the pain from her injuries, and pushed herself to stand. "Isn't that miraculous enough, sir?!" she cried out. "That place might hide an artifact capable of changing a person's destiny! An artifact that can transform an ordinary person into an extraordinary figure!!"

Chen Nuo shook his head. "That's what *you* consider 'miraculous.' In my world, I've seen far too many 'miraculous' things. Your Sect Hierarch doesn't seem so extraordinary to me."

A place, a miraculous treasure, turning an ordinary person into a powerful entity? So what? An ordinary person becoming a Psychic? So what? To Chen Yanluo, who once stood at the pinnacle of the world of Special Abilities, the attraction wasn't great.

Ishii Hisako was truly anxious now. "What if I told you the Sect Hierarch once said he only received less than one ten-thousandth of the benefits from that place due to his own limitations? The treasure there could be far more miraculous than what he later displayed. What if I told you that, in his description, the things from that place could produce effects far beyond what words can describe?"

"Then you should go yourself." Chen Nuo yawned. "Didn't you say you already know where that place is? And... that Key you mentioned. I guess, for a woman like you to reveal it, you must have already acquired it!"

"I can't do it alone! I need an Ability User... a powerful one—the more powerful, the better!" Ishii Hisako finally revealed her trump card. "The Sect Hierarch told me that the benefits of that place are very limited for ordinary people! Only a powerful Ability User can reach its deepest parts and obtain the greatest benefits!"

"The deepest parts?" Chen Nuo laughed. "So what's that place like? A tall flight of stairs? Or a deep tunnel? The weaker can only go in a little way, but the stronger you are, the deeper you can go? Is that what you mean?"

"I don't know, but that's what he said at the time." Ishii Hisako shook her head. "Therefore... after the Truth Society was established, he scoured all of Japan for Ability Users, sparing no effort! It's just a pity that Japan is too small a country to produce true powerhouses. So, the number of Ability Users we found over the years is not only small, but their strength never truly reached a high level. Take Mr. Tree, for example. He was the strongest we could find, but before you, he was like a three-year-old child, utterly powerless."

"Then I wish you good luck." Chen Nuo, still uninterested, shook his head. "I see no benefit for myself in accompanying you on a treasure hunt."

"I can give you a lot of money," Ishii Hisako said, biting her lip.

"How much?"

"The Truth Society's entire assets amount to a hundred billion yen! I can give it all to you!"

Chen Nuo was taken aback. Has this woman gone mad? A hundred billion yen is over ten billion US dollars. And… all-in? Betting this big?

"I don't have much time left." Ishii Hisako looked downcast.

Chen Nuo frowned. No time left? Is she dying? That can't be right. In his past life, this woman was still alive before Chen Yanluo died and was reborn.

"The Key!" Ishii Hisako whispered. "The Key is nearing the end of its life. If it dies, that place will become inaccessible."

Chen Nuo felt a flicker of interest. "That Key? Is it... alive?"

Seeing Chen Nuo finally show a hint of interest, Ishii Hisako dared not waste any more time. She promptly clapped her hands forcefully and shouted, "Bring it in!!!"

Observing her urgency, Chen Nuo leaned back in his chair and settled down. Let's see then.

A few minutes later...

The door was pulled open, and a glass cabinet on wheels was pushed in. It was roughly twice the size of a regular household refrigerator and filled with water, seaweed, and other such things, as if a delicate ecological circulation system had been carefully created within.

But upon seeing what was inside the glass cabinet, Chen Nuo, though he remained seated, felt his heart suddenly pound several times!!

Inside the glass tank, submerged in the water, was, astonishingly... an octopus!!!