Death… And Me

Chapter 4540: Lock

Kentucky, Kachia, and Celis watched as Rean moved away, disappearing from their sight as he activated his Light Bending Skill. He went behind a corner and carefully checked whether anyone was nearby. Only after making sure the area was clear did he turn off his Light Bending Skill, revealing that he now looked exactly like High-Elder Falasliu.

To tell the truth, Rean had originally wanted to copy the Sect Master. Unfortunately, his Body Transformation Technique definitely couldn’t copy a Spirit. That much was certain. With no other choice, he settled for Falasliu’s appearance and began walking toward the guarded entrance, doing his best to imitate the High-Elder’s usual demeanor he had seen through Kentucky and outside the meeting hall.

As he walked, countless possibilities passed through his head. ’Now, let’s hope they will open the passage for me and that I don’t need any identification badge. If they insist on one, I’ll have to drop the plan entirely. Well, they think Kentucky and Kachia fled from the sect, so the real Falasliu is probably helping look for us together with the other High-Elders. That should give me some time.’

The cultivators guarding the entrance soon noticed Falasliu approaching, and all of them immediately bowed respectfully.

"Elder Falasliu."

Rean merely nodded, maintaining a stern expression as he stopped in front of them. "Open."

The cultivators at the front looked at Falasliu, their expressions becoming confused. One of them hesitated before asking, "Open... what?"

Rean narrowed his eyes. Wasn’t it obvious that the entrance was sealed by several protection arrays and the doors? However, he didn’t say that out loud. Since they had asked what he meant, there was a good chance that the guards never had to open the entrance themselves.

’Is my plan ending before I even get to try?’

Of course, Rean couldn’t allow his expression to betray his thoughts. He immediately adopted an irritated tone. "What else? Open your eyes, you idiots! Have you not heard about the outsiders who escaped yet? None of you look to be alert at all!"

"N-No! That’s not it, High-Elder Falasliu!" one of the guards quickly exclaimed. "We know about them, and we haven’t seen them coming here. We promise they absolutely haven’t come here!"

"Hmph!" Rean pretended to let it go, waving his hand dismissively. "So be it. You already received the pictures, so keep your eyes open."

"Yes, High-Elder!"

Rean then walked past the cultivators and approached the sealed entrance. Since it was obvious that the guards weren’t the ones who opened it, he could only give it a try himself. He needed to inspect the entrance from up close and see whether there was some way for him to get through.

’Sister Orb, I sure miss your hacking abilities in moments like this.’

[We’ll get there one day, don’t worry. Now, take a close look. Perhaps we can open it ourselves. The arrays here in Woster are truly poor. It shouldn’t be all that hard if we get enough time to work on them.]

’That’s the problem,’ Rean sighed inwardly as he got closer to the entrance. ’If we had the time, it wouldn’t be much of an issue. Yet, staying here while messing with the arrays will obviously catch the guards’ attention. If even one of them sends their Godly Sense into my body, my disguise will be as good as gone.’

Rean was just about to take a proper look at the protection arrays when he suddenly heard the guards behind him. "Look forward! Make sure no one gets close!"

The leading cultivator among the guards issued the order, and all of them immediately formed a wall with their bodies. Not a single one of them continued looking at Rean. It was almost as if they had a strict rule never to look at the entrance whenever one of the higher-ups came to open it.

’Why are they doing that?’ Rean wondered.

[Rean, on your right!]

Rean’s eyes immediately followed Sister Orb’s direction, and he understood the reason. ’This...’

There was a panel with ten numbers, going from zero to nine.

Rean’s mouth twitched. ’A fucking keypad lock?!’

Rean felt completely helpless. The entire entrance could apparently be disabled with a simple password. Was that really all there was to it? He and Sister Orb had been expecting to spend time analyzing array runes, only to discover that the entrance was protected by something that looked like a keypad lock from the movies.

No wonder all the guards had turned around and kept watch while making sure they weren’t looking at the entrance. Anyone could figure out that their order was to avoid peeking while one of the higher-ups entered the password.

[Well... that makes things a lot simpler.]

Rean nodded. He immediately controlled his Light Element. He had reached the peak of the Vinx Great Void before ascending, and his control over Light Element was absolutely exceptional. When it came to manipulating Light Element, one could only match him, never surpass him.

That said, converting ordinary light into UV light was incredibly easy for him.

Yes, Rean was going to check the fingerprints left on the keypad lock.

As for the chemicals necessary to make those fingerprints visible under UV light... Rean might not know which substances would work, but Roan absolutely did. Rean immediately contacted his brother through their connection, explaining the situation and telling him all the materials he currently had inside his spatial rings.

Roan understood what he needed and quickly told him which materials could produce the desired effect. In a matter of seconds, Rean mixed the necessary substances and created the powder. He then quickly spread it over the keypad lock before illuminating the surface with UV light.

One by one, the numbers that had been pressed most often became visible.

Rean didn’t feel particularly happy as he stared at the result, though. ’Why do I feel like I’m trying to rob a bank?’

[More like trying to enter a coffer. Well, a coffer would exist inside a bank anyway... back on Earth during your time, that is.]

’Thank you for the completely unnecessary details.’

[You’re welcome!]

Rean’s mouth twitched.

*Claclangglangglang...*

The arrays immediately began to deactivate. A series of metallic and mechanical sounds echoed through the entrance as the locks disengaged, and the doors slowly opened.

Rean looked at the exposed keypad and felt his expression turning strange. On top of everything else...

’They literally put 123456 as a fucking password!’ Rean wanted to cry already.

Kentucky suddenly joined the conversation through their Soul Connection. ’That was a good idea. Passwords are hard. It’s always good to have something easy to remember, especially if more than one cultivator has to use it.’

’That’s literally the opposite of what a password should be!’ Rean complained.

Kentucky completely ignored Rean’s outburst. He remained hidden with his own Light Bending Skill active, watching as the arrays deactivated and the entrance opened. ’So... it is opening. What do you want us to do here?’

Rean sighed and forced himself to put his mind back on the task at hand. ’It will be better if I go in alone. You stay hidden somewhere nearby. In case we need to escape, I’ll be counting on you to fly us out.’

Kentucky couldn’t have been happier with that arrangement. He definitely didn’t want to enter that place himself. ’You can count on me.’