Chapter 561: Dongxia's Trade, Sword of Qi
Looking at the ugly crimson face of Kaito Shirogane's avatar, Ryo shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"Let's enter your personal space to talk in detail first."
Kaito Shirogane didn't object. With a flash of light, he brought Ryo, Song Xian, and the others into his own personal space.
Song Xian and Tian Jie looked at this huge personal space, secretly calculating in their hearts just how many Reincarnators Mercenary Tao had already killed.
Ryo, however, scanned the room and then sat down on the sofa in the empty hall.
"Kaito, your heart is still the same as before..."
"Completely blank."
A Reincarnator's personal space was a special place given by the Infinite Dimensional Space for Reincarnators to rest and relieve stress.
Just like many men bearing the pressure of life like to hide in their cars and smoke after work, having a safe space completely belonging to oneself can let people unload a lot of pressure.
The personal space was exactly this kind of place. Moreover, this personal space could be decorated at will according to the Reincarnator's intention. No matter how expensive, luxurious, or even dreamy the decoration style in the real world was, it could be realized here.
It could be said that a Reincarnator's personal space was the dwelling that reflected the most peaceful scene in his heart.
Some would choose to design it in the shape of the most familiar "home" in their memory, some would design it into an ideal magnificent room, and even more would design it into a dreamy landscape that wouldn't exist in reality, with mountains, seas, lakes, and starry skies having everything that should be there.
Yet Kaito Shirogane clearly possessed such a huge space, almost able to transform it into any shape, but he did nothing, letting the room maintain its empty and primitive posture.
Just from this point alone, Ryo could tell that Kaito Shirogane was still that guy with a barren wasteland in his heart.
When he was young, Ryo thought of himself as Kaito Shirogane's best friend. And because of Kaito Shirogane's action of imitating him, he mistakenly believed he was also the best friend in the other party's heart.
Therefore, he wanted to proactively gain a deeper understanding of this "close friend."
But the more he interacted with him, the more confused he felt. He completely couldn't feel anything.
Kaito Shirogane had nothing he particularly liked, nor anything he particularly hated. He had nothing he particularly wanted, nor anything he feared.
A person who wouldn't produce any special reaction to anything made the Ryo of that time feel extremely unapproachable, producing an intense sense of alienation.
Furthermore, the deeper his understanding, the stronger the sense of alienation. In the end, after seeing Kaito Shirogane's reaction to birth, aging, sickness, and death, Ryo began to feel fear towards this "close friend."
Song Xian, Ryo, and Tian Jie, the three of them, as if having some special agreement, didn't use avatars.
The avatar Ryo used previously had coincidentally been destroyed after he faked his death.
Kaito Shirogane also removed his avatar at this time, revealing his original appearance.
Even though Song Xian had already confirmed the truth, really seeing that familiar face wearing Mercenary Tao's pink robe sitting in front of him right now still made his eyes complex.
Kaito Shirogane took all their reactions into his eyes before smilingly responding to Ryo's words.
"What about you, Ryo? You, who became a Reincarnator earlier than me, still feel fear towards me now?"
He had a natural smile on his face, sniffing slightly as if smelling a certain scent, and answered his own question to himself.
"Hmm... you are still fearing me."
"That's right, I still harbor lingering fear towards you." Ryo didn't hide it, admitting it frankly.
In his view, facing an anomaly like Kaito Shirogane, feeling fear was a normal person's instinct, just like humans, as primates, would instinctively feel fear towards various snakes in their bones.
That was a biological instinct to protect oneself, not something to be ashamed of.
Kaito Shirogane withdrew his gaze in satisfaction and picked up the black tea in front of him.
If Lee Cheong-ja was of any use outside of combat, it was probably for these insignificant little details.
Song Xian also noticed at this time that the relationship between these two "childhood friends" was not as close as he and Elder Li expected, his heart also sinking slightly.
"Your Excellency... Mercenary Tao, the agreement we previously reached to exchange Singularities and Dimensional Points for Gantz to manufacture special weapons shouldn't be voided, right."
Song Xian against his will also added the suffix "Your Excellency," but felt awkward in his heart. The face in front of him, not long ago, still respectfully called him Officer Song, and even his innocent disciple could be called Officer Luo.
Now, after a mere two months, the other party had become the so-called [Your Excellency Mercenary Tao].
Kaito Shirogane nodded. [Gantz] was a suitable rare creation for him to earn resources.
Not just Song Xian; probably in the future, quite a few people would hope to purchase those super-technological weapons inside Gantz from him.
Despite shortcomings like slow activation, slow firing rate, and average range, the Gantz-series weapons and enhancement suits undoubtedly possessed powerful amplifications for ordinary people and even low-level Reincarnators.
With reasonable operation and coordination, in the hands of a large country like Dongxia, they could also pose a powerful threat to some Elite-level Reincarnators.
"Of course, I have always possessed the spirit of a contract."
Kaito Shirogane's reply made Song Xian feel slightly relieved. At least, the first objective was achieved.
They prepared to order a batch of Gantz-series super-technological equipment from Mercenary Tao, on the one hand to arm the soldiers of the [Azure Dragon Department], forging them into a special force truly capable of fighting Reincarnators.
On the other hand, it was to try and use them for research.
Before the concept of [Ability Users] appeared and gained worldwide recognition, Reincarnators didn't dare hand over super-technological items to research institutions, fearing they would violate confidentiality regulations. Once information leaked and violated the regulations, the purge would be almost impossible to complete; they could only be obliterated.
Now, as the cognitive concept of [Ability Users] became increasingly accepted by the whole world, they believed they could start gradually letting the real world accept super-technological items and try to conduct technological upgrades.
Although Song Xian believed that possibility was very small. After all, the technology in the Gantz world came from the Multi-Faced Aliens, completely unrelated to the technology of the current real world, and not in the same dimension.
Ryo took over the conversation smoothly at this time.
"There's one more thing. You sending that clone back to Dongxia, you want to utilize Dongxia's research to try to let the clone enter the Space, right..."
The corners of Kaito Shirogane's mouth parted slightly, an extra touch of appreciation in his eyes looking at Ryo.
"Not bad. I know you guys have been trying to let more soldiers enter the Space and become Reincarnators through hypnosis. How about I give you an alternative candidate with absolutely high enough potential?"
"Do you dare to take him?"
Tian Jie's indifferent gaze focused on the face of this Mercenary Tao who stirred up the winds and clouds in the Space. Song Xian was right; the other party was indeed a thorough madman, truly planning to send a clone he couldn't control into the Space.
Kaito Shirogane spread his hands, unceremoniously praising his own talent.
"That's a potential newbie who, purely in terms of physical ability and combat awareness, can match a [Parallel] tier Reincarnator right after entering the Space~"
"If you are willing, I can give you a few more."
He never thought about controlling his clone. Kaito Shirogane also wouldn't view those clones from the perspective of "another me."
To him, those clones were just strange offspring who similarly possessed his physical aptitudes and life characteristics.
Sending those clones into the infinite space was merely an attempt by him. It was best if they succeeded; it didn't matter if they failed.
If another him could enter the Space and become a powerful Reincarnator, Kaito Shirogane would actually be very interested in hunting himself in that state.
Clones created by the same [Information], in a place like the Infinite Dimensional Space, after randomly obtaining various enhancements, exactly who would be more excellent compared to him.
Hunting such a clone would probably also have a special kind of fun.
Looking at the unconscious smile on the corners of his old friend's mouth, Ryo could faintly hear crackling sounds.
Confirming once again in his heart that Kaito Shirogane was indeed an anomaly completely different from ordinary humans like him, Ryo smiled in relief.
"Truly worthy of being you, Kaito. The angle from which you view problems, the way you treat problems, are completely different from us..."
"This world, after all, is still for existences like you..."
Looking at this old friend he hadn't seen for seven or eight years, Kaito Shirogane still saw that simple and ordinary meaning revealed in his eyes, and shook his head.
"Heh, I really don't know how a guy like you got a Title like [Illusion Sword]."
Ryo was stunned. In this instant, he strangely felt a bit of change. This was indeed Kaito Shirogane making an evaluation of his behavior.
Moreover, it wasn't about strength, but an evaluation of his personality.
Even if it was just a little bit, he still felt the difference.
The past Kaito Shirogane, who wouldn't produce any thoughts about anything in the outside world, started having thoughts at this time?!
His agitated mind was so obvious in Kaito Shirogane's eyes. If they weren't in the Space right now, Kaito Shirogane felt he could probably read his thoughts with ease.
Ryo is ultimately just a mortal~
Kaito Shirogane's eyes became indifferent again. He put down the black tea and leaned on the sofa.
"Speak. What kind of agreement do you want to reach with me using the condition of [sending my clone into the Space]?"
Tian Jie was stunned, and Song Xian's expression also changed slightly. The two looked at each other, and in the end, both subconsciously looked at Ryo, suspecting it was the other party who leaked the intelligence.
But Kaito Shirogane chuckled.
"Does a judgment of this level still need something like intelligence?"
He reached out and poked his own temple. It didn't pierce the skull, but that magnetic field was stirred by him, causing his cerebral cortex to secrete abnormally fast. His hair felt a tingling sensation, as if growing rapidly.
Subsequently, he extended his hand, slightly pulling his index finger and thumb apart by a tiny distance.
"This kind of thing only requires this insignificant bit of... wisdom."
Human thinking usually has fixed patterns that one cannot perceive oneself, just like the matter of him giving the clone to Dongxia.
If the people of Dongxia didn't perceive that he actively hoped the clone would be sent into the Space, then the decision-makers of Dongxia would probably think about concealing this matter and attempt to use this clone to make secret plans.
That aligned with their interests.
But when they were a bit smarter and perceived that this matter was what he desired, then they would start thinking, start playing a game, considering whether to let his thoughts be achieved.
And right now, they were obviously heading for the decision to let the clone enter the Space. Analyzing from this angle, the decision-maker of Dongxia's so-called South Heaven Gate Project or the Special Affairs Bureau was standing on the third layer.
He agreed to this plan and accepted the result that Kaito Shirogane's intention would succeed. Correspondingly, that decision-maker would definitely think about using such a result in exchange for some things.
As Kaito Shirogane said, this series of thinking shifts only required a tiny bit of [Wisdom].
Tian Jie pursed his lips, the danger level of the beast Mercenary Tao rising several tiers in his heart instantly.
A powerful beast isn't scary. This beast is also very smart...
After Song Xian also remained silent for a moment, he spoke.
"We hope your [Paradise] can stop within the borders of Myanmar and not enter Dongxia's borders."
"Correspondingly, we will guide and pressure High-Risk level Reincarnators within Dongxia to enter the Myanmar border, or directly enter [Paradise]. I think... that is also the result you want."
Kaito Shirogane's smile grew even wider. Song Xian, or the decision-maker of Dongxia's Special Affairs Bureau, was indeed also a smart person.
He had no reason to refuse.
What's more, right now, he was actually restricted by the [King] of Azure Sky. Going out hunting for a short time couldn't be considered a good idea.
Conversely, managing [Paradise] well was more cost-effective in the long run.
He already had a quite comprehensive plan. For this, he was willing to suppress the impulse to hunt slightly and let go of those overly weak guys.
Building [Paradise] into a truly stable, free real-world paradise was what he needed to do now.
"Very good, Officer Song, this is a good trade."
Kaito Shirogane calling Song Xian Officer Song almost made the hairs on the latter's back stand up.
Song Xian seemed to see that incomparably cruel and dangerous beast disguise itself once again as that harmless young man at Binhai University.
He almost somewhat regretted taking this trade next. But Ryo completely didn't give him time to regret and spoke directly.
"We came this time needing to first obtain a batch of Gantz enhancement suits and basic X-Guns, H-Guns."
"Regarding funds, we are also quite short on Singularities. For now, we can only offer a few B-Class Singularities."
Before Kaito Shirogane could frown, he flipped his right hand, and an item had already appeared.
"But I think this thing will be useful to you."
[Reincarnator AN70219495 showed you Item · Sword of the Three Powers · Sword of Qi (Incomparably Rare)]
[Sword of the Three Powers · Sword of Qi]
[Quality: Incomparably Rare]
[Description: A special swordsmanship created by a stunningly brilliant cultivator, condensed with innate energy Qi]
[Usage Requirements: Possess Qi Sense; Energy > 5; Constitution > 10;]
[Effect 1: Command the Sword of Qi, generate kills from a distance. Using this effect requires Swordsmanship Specialization higher than Lv7, Energy · Qi not lower than 20]
[Effect 2: The Sword of Qi can be absorbed and turned into pure innate energy, increasing Energy by 4-16 points (Specific enhancement magnitude is affected by the Reincarnator's absorption and conversion rate of Qi)]
This was a Sword of Qi that seemed to float in the air!
It had no material structure, but a free sense of sharpness appeared, like a special precious sword.
Merely reaching out his hand, Kaito Shirogane perceived that incomparably pure energy. Whether it was called Qi, or purer biological energy.
That kind of thing was probably exactly the most highly esteemed pure Qi in cultivation-type worldviews!
In Taoist philosophy, Qi is an innate energy distinguished from acquired Qi.
Although Kaito Shirogane's Energy attribute was extremely high, actually, his total amount of [Qi] hadn't reached an extreme value.
For Kaito Shirogane, who possessed Kaioken, improving the energy of [Qi] meant that after activating Kaioken, it would multiply enhancements!
"Very good, very good!"
He was quite satisfied with the choice of this trade. Song Xian knew he couldn't stop it and didn't speak further.
Only Ryo, who was happy to see Kaito Shirogane further grow stronger, was very satisfied with the result of this trade.
Dongxia obtained super-technological weapons and items, while Kaito Shirogane obtained pure [Qi].
He was very certain that in the future, this world would face an unimaginable and terrifying encounter. That was the true reason why he, not hesitating to fake his death, had to seize the [Card] and forcefully send Kaito Shirogane into the Space.
Ryo smiled bitterly in his heart. Instead of looking for some savior, to him, finding a stronger, more terrifying anomaly to deal with it was actually much more realistic.
(End of Chapter)
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