Chapter 827: Chains of the Ritual / Russell's Joy

Rattling—

A chain snapped apart on cue.

Menrojina had paid the price of fifteen of others' karmic threads in exchange for severing one of the chains of causality she owed to Ye Qiyan.

Located within an 11th-level Station World, Menrojina swung her Staff-Sword.

Two ritual cards intersected above the blade's tip.

One of those card sequences still had ten chains coiled around it.

Those were the karmic debts Menrojina owed to Ye Qiyan.

And after she handed over those fifteen silver thread strands to Ye Qiyan,

one of the remaining ten chains was now slowly shattering.

[Ritual Card · Unending Karma] × [Ritual Card · Karmic Retribution]

The Force of Arcane Mystery surged violently.

Countless runes swirled around her.

This place lay deep beneath the sea.

The Sea Beast King, wielding a Trident, led an endless horde of oceanic monsters, completely encircling Menrojina's train, the [Arcane Dream].

"Human! You can no longer escape! This world is where you die!"

Menrojina opened her eyes.

A playful smile curled across that stunning face beneath the veil.

"Heh, a mere fish living in the deep sea dares to spout such nonsense? Perfect timing, I'm in a good mood."

More runes merged with the Force of Arcane Mystery.

Countless formation diagrams materialized out of thin air.

"But that doesn't mean I'll waste any more time on you."

The Force of Arcane Mystery broke through the Ocean's curse.

All ten ritual cards manifested simultaneously, combining into her very own [Ritual Ring].

An adorable soul-white cat elegantly perched on her shoulder.

Menrojina casually tapped into her second Mana Source.

The Ocean trembled.

Countless monsters that should have been besieging her suddenly turned on their own allies, violently attacking those beside them in mutiny.

"Now, this is where it truly begins."

————

After the conversation with Menrojina ended, Ye Qiyan idly played with a small green-gold pot the size of a phone.

The fifteen threads inside represented fifteen karmic bonds.

Whether within RUN Company headquarters or anywhere else, Ye Qiyan could use these threads to locate those who owed repayment.

In a sense, their existence was even more useful than some high-tier artifacts.

So then...

Now it was time for him to have a nice little chat with his good old Brother Russell~

Just why exactly did he possess divinity, and what exactly~ had he done that he hadn't told him about?

Although the Trolls were numerous, their strength truly wasn't much to speak of. They were quickly wiped out by the Train Conductors led by Stacia.

When Stacia returned to the area, seeing Ye Qiyan and Zhao Lin already changed into casual clothes, she looked puzzled.

"Where are you two headed?"

Zhao Lin rubbed her wrist that she'd accidentally bumped a moment ago, then, instead of answering Stacia, she spoke to Ye Qiyan:

"Brother Qiyan... I think I'd better not tag along with you. It might just be my imagination, but I keep getting this feeling that staying by your side might actually be more dangerous. How about I go with Sister Stacia instead? With the necklace you gave me, I'll be fine."

"Come with me? Sure thing~ Little Sister Zhao is so cute, come help me rehearse later, how about I set you up with a backup dancer spot?"

Seeing how enthusiastic Stacia was, Ye Qiyan opened his mouth, then swallowed his words.

After a moment of thought, he secretly left a Justice Mark from the [Judge] on Zhao Lin.

His current cap for marks was three. Aside from the one on WALL-E that would never be removed, he could spare one on Zhao Lin limited to just this station.

"Here."

He tossed Zhao Lin a Light Sticker similar to the one WALL-E had.

"If you're about to die, press it."

This ensured Zhao Lin could survive this station even after he used up the woman's good luck.

This was one part of the deal Ye Qiyan had set.

He hated failed deals, especially ones that failed because of him.

But dragging Zhao Lin everywhere obviously wasn't realistic either, so having her stick with Stacia was the best solution.

"Oh dear, why does it feel like we're parting ways for life and death? Alright, Little Sister Zhao, let's hurry! First, come with me to check out the rebuilt Stage!"

Stacia pulled Zhao Lin and left.

After the two were gone, Ye Qiyan's mood actually lightened a bit.

He scrolled through his never-closed Friends List until he locked onto a name.

[Russell]

["Russell, remember when you said you'd treat me to a meal once I got back to the company?"]

Inside the RUN Company boss's office.

In the vast space, only he was present.

He silently sorted through roster after roster of personnel.

Many of the faces on the lists had already been marked with red X's.

"I won't forget you all. For the natives... to drive those Outsiders away... your sacrifices will surely have meaning!"

Hatred flickered in his eyes.

[Beep beep—]

The cold chat notification sound came through.

Russell furrowed his brow, summoned his bound system interface, and looked at the name on it. The chill on his face instantly melted away, replaced by pure, unadulterated joy.

"Brother?! No way! Finally, I can finally see you again!"

This joy contained not a single trace of pretense.

"Which means his mission is complete, Brother has returned to company headquarters. From now on, I'll have a powerful ally like Brother by my side!"

He knew the name [Altos].

And from beginning to end, he had regarded [Altos] as a senior of RUN Company.

Even though Ye Qiyan clearly gave off the feeling of being a non-native Train Conductor, because of the Bewitchment, Russell would naturally find a reason for it himself.

For example, that he was using some sort of Module or artifact to conceal his identity.

["Brother! Of course I remember! Where are you right now?! I'll come find you immediately!"]

Russell rose from the boss's chair and started walking out before Ye Qiyan even replied.

["Water park, Zone C. Let's meet here."]

["Got it, Brother! I'm on my way!"]

Russell pushed open the door of the boss's office.

And outside that room was an absolutely massive, highly technological space.

Tens of thousands of RUN Company couriers and Research Personnel were in the middle of debugging a colossal Mecha.

And on the outside of that Mecha was a layer of Troll iron plating.

This place was not the RUN Company headquarters building.

It was deep underground within a Troll tribe's lair.

"Boss!"

Everyone present saluted Russell with respect and reverence.

Russell wiped the smile off his face, adopting a majestic demeanor as he pounded his chest with his fist.

"Everyone! RUN Company will surely reclaim the world that rightfully belongs to us! Let those Outsider Train Conductors who plunder and steal pay the price they deserve!"

"The natives will prevail!"

Divinity.

Manifested upon Russell.

Faith.

Flowed toward it from the conviction of these couriers.