Mage Manual
Chapter 339 - Chapter 339 Chapter 286 Tomb Safe House

Chapter 339: Chapter 286: Tomb Safe House Chapter 339: Chapter 286: Tomb Safe House The incessant trickle of water washed over a nearly flawless physique, streaming along the grout of the tiles into the drain.

Without shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, or facial cleanser, there was nothing here–not even a showerhead, just a water pipe spewing water down.

Igula felt less like he was taking a shower and more like he was caught in a downpour.

Moreover, the shower room was so small, it couldn’t even accommodate Igula with his arms outstretched. Even in Shattered Lake Prison, Igula hadn’t fallen to such a state.

But the tidy Igula presently had little to fuss over. After hurriedly rinsing the sweat from his body, he grabbed a rough towel to dry himself and changed into a set of casual clothes. The size of the clothes was not a perfect fit, but obviously, in these circumstances, one couldn’t be too demanding.

He returned to the basement’s main hall and saw Harvey applying makeup to a coffin, with a brow pencil made of bone and lipstick based on blood ink; Ash dried Liss’s hair with an extremely inefficient hairdryer; Banjee made snacks beside the stove, while Hanna pored over a cup of hot milk and the Gospel Book.

“Ha ha, looks like everyone is chatting. I just fell asleep and dreamt that Ash and Hanna, you became the top artists in ‘Art Ranking’ and then we were attacked and had to escape from Azura. I’ve just woken up… such a strange dream,” Igula picked a chair to sit on, “when we’re clearly just on a cemetery outing.”

Hanna closed the Gospel Book, “Are you trying to hypnotize us?”

“Or perhaps just myself,” Igula said, “Escaping reality is the last tear of a Spirit Mage.”

At that moment, Banjee turned off the portable stove and brought over a plate piled with thick-cut steaks, white bread, cream sauce, mashed potatoes, and more. It was quite a lavish spread for a late-night snack.

“Is there any alcohol?” Hanna suddenly asked.

Banjee nodded, opened his briefcase, and took out a bottle of booze and five cups. He then pulled out a lemon slice, turned drinking water into ice cubes, and promptly fixed five drinks.

“When I run into trouble, I like to use alcohol to lightly buffer my brain,” Hanna said, “I think you’ll like the feeling–shut up if you have an objection, and down it now!”

“This is workplace harassment…” Ash muttered, holding Liss’s head as he took a cup and tipped it back.

The drink was smooth, with a fruity fragrance, not spicy in the slightest, leaving only a sweet aftertaste. It was very pleasant to drink.

“Is there more?” Harvey asked.

“Yes, but none for you,” Hanna’s spirits visibly lifted after a sip of alcohol, “This is a local craft beer from Azura, called ‘Pink Bunny.’ It’s easy to drink too much because it’s so pleasantly sweet on entry, but once the aftereffects kick in, you can pass out suddenly, so one mustn’t be greedy with it.”

Liss immediately became anxious, “I want some, too!”

“Children, drink your milk,” Ash chopped a hand down on Liss’s head.

“Well, after the bath, the drinks, and some rest, it’s time to sort things out,” Hanna pushed her long hair back and sat cross-legged on a long sofa, “You must all have many questions right now. Let me answer them first.”

“First off,” Igula pointed at the briefcase next to Banjee, “is that a spatial device?”

They couldn’t ignore the ordinary-looking briefcase–during their escape, Banjee had stuffed Harvey’s coffin right into it; upon arriving at this tomb, Banjee pulled out the coffin, portable stove, a large supply of foodstuffs, utensils, and even clothing for six people including underwear from the briefcase!

No one would be surprised if Banjee pulled out an armored vehicle from the briefcase next.

No wonder Hanna wasn’t concerned about packing their gear. That briefcase alone was enough to meet all their needs.

“Yes,” Hanna nodded, “but not as you might think. Banjee is not adept at the Space Faction… this is Banjee’s exclusive reward.”

“The reward from the last Weaving Festival?”

“Yes,” Hanna nodded again, “the briefcase is not as useful as you imagine. It can’t hold items heavier than Banjee’s weight, can’t contain unsealed liquids, and it has a cooldown time for both storing and retrieving items… It might have been practical decades ago, but in this era of highly developed transportation, a simple mobile storage unit doesn’t have much use.”

She paused briefly, “It’s only when you’re fleeing that it can play its greatest role.”

“So you’ve been preparing to flee all along,” Igula, perceptive as fire, said. “But you don’t plan to flee now, rather you’re waiting for the second list to be announced in ten days–You’ve foreseen that once us outsiders get listed, we will become targets for all. Fleeing has always been the first movement in your plan.”

“More accurately,” Hanna exhaled, “around the 14th, I’ll take you away from Azura and then quietly wait for the moment when the entire Kingdom of Gospel is shaken by the news of your four names… It’s just that plans never keep up with changes… Ash, oh Ash, although I don’t have the habit of blaming the heavens and others, this time it’s really…”

Ash immediately objected, “Miss, don’t forget that you are the creator; I’m just your portrait model. If we round it off, I’m actually the victim!”

“This isn’t a tomb, is it?” Harvey suddenly said, “Tombs are for the dead to reside in, and not only is this place not for the dead, I haven’t even smelled the scent of the dead.”

“Of course you haven’t,” Hanna shrugged, “my grandfather was cremated into ashes a long time ago. But this place is his tomb–at least, it is in name.”

The Necromancer didn’t grasp the intricacies here, but the Swindler quickly caught on, “To mislead the Gospel Book?”

“Truth be told, given some time, Mr. Bokin could certainly build a power base from scratch that’s no less impressive than Shattered House’s operations,” Hanna mused. “That’s right, although the Gospel Book knows the entire Kingdom of Gospel like the back of its hand, there is wiggle room when it comes to specific names–Like I bought a residential house and remodeled it into an office space, but in the records of the Gospel Book, it still counts as ‘Hanna’s residence,’ not ‘Hanna’s office.'”

“If I built a safe house without any approval, the Gospel Book would automatically categorize it as ‘a person’s basement.’ But if I buy land from the City Planning Bureau under the guise of a tomb and remodel it, the Gospel Book will recognize it as a tomb construction.”

“Even if I turn this place into a safe house, in the database of the Gospel Book it will still be marked as a tomb–after all, there’s no rule saying a tomb can’t be remodeled into this. Right now, Red Hats and the offices are definitely scouring the safe houses I had prepared before, but they definitely won’t find this place anytime soon. For them, the priority of searching tombs is too low.”

Speaking thus, Hanna clasped her hands devoutly, pleading, “Grandfather, please bless this tomb with your fatty liver and ammonia-infested urine, drive out the beasts of civilization, so we stay away from danger.”

One could tell that Hanna’s grandfather did not have a peaceful life; his health was so poor that even the Medical Practitioner didn’t bother with repairing and patching up.

Hanna’s words were not hard to understand, and the plan was not complicated, but everyone was still astonished by her meticulous thinking–only someone like Hanna, who spent her days researching how to exploit Gospel Book loopholes, could know such cunning tricks.

“So,” Igula clasped his hands together, “what’s the plan now?”

“It’s 2:11 AM now; we need to move before 6:00 AM, which means we have about four hours of rest,” Hanna said. “We’ll now split into two shifts to keep watch through the night.”

“The shift on watch must stay alert and is required to open the Gospel Book every five minutes to check for people within a 300-meter radius. Those not on shift will enter the Void Realm, trying to recover their spirits within two hours; we must continue our journey early tomorrow morning.”

The Gospel Book is not only a blade for pursuers, but it also serves as a shield for escapees. As long as one has enough points, the Gospel Book doesn’t care whether you’re good or evil, providing services of great value to anyone equally.

Igula and others summoned their own Gospel Books, pondering–Their mode of operation remained in the Blood Moon version. If not for Hanna, a member of the Strategy Group well-adapted to the Gospel version, they would’ve been hit hard by Red Hats and offices across different versions a long time ago.

Reconnaissance, attack, defense, logistics… in the Kingdom of Gospel, nearly every facet can involve a Gospel Book, and its power is not the slightest bit inferior to a Mage’s Miracle. How to use the Gospel Book well is the core essence of combat in the Gospel version.

Hanna spread her hands, “If there are no questions, then–”

“What about Ash?”