Starting to Eat Clone Soft Rice from Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 39

"Doctor Kal'tsit, has something happened?"

Happening to pass by, Amiya—whose appearance and age were now smaller than at the start of the original story—saw Kal'tsit walking briskly and asked.

"Mm, there are some things I must personally confirm, so I'll be leaving Rhodes Island for a while."

Kal'tsit nodded to Amiya as she spoke.

"Is that so... Should I dispatch some Operators to ensure your safety?"

"No, I'll go alone. If my instincts are correct, the situation in Ursus is likely far from simple. When the time comes, I'll also attend the new Emperor of Ursus's Coronation Ceremony."

"I understand, Doctor Kal'tsit."

After giving a few final instructions, Kal'tsit's figure gradually faded into the distance, disappearing from Rhodes Island.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

After leaving Chernobyl, considering the Doctor's physical condition—to care for this frail, white-haired young woman who had only recently awakened from cryostasis—An Xiu deliberately avoided using the Shadow Troopers for rapid transit on the return trip. Instead, he traveled at a normal pace, spending several days slowly making his way back to Holy Steed Castle.

As soon as he returned to Holy Steed Castle, An Xiu led the Doctor straight to the palace, intending to find Talulah.

Inside the palace, Talulah—who had just finished handling a batch of state affairs—learned that An Xiu was back and wanted to see her. She quickly had someone bring An Xiu and the Doctor in.

"Talulah, this is a high-level talent I specifically sought out. You can call her the Doctor. I want her to serve as the Imperial Prime Minister of Ursus, to assist you in governing this nation."

As soon as he saw Talulah, An Xiu got straight to the point.

If anyone else had dared to speak so boldly before the Emperor, their entire clan would likely be six feet under by now—after all, appointing high-ranking officials is one of the Emperor's most fundamental rights. No ruler would tolerate a subject encroaching on that authority, let alone someone dragging in a random person and demanding Talulah grant them the position of Imperial Prime Minister.

But Talulah merely nodded, then drafted an appointment order on the spot.

Imperial Prime Minister, Duke—everything was arranged in one go, skipping all steps.

In other nations, such an operation might not fly. Appointing someone with no foundation to a high position, especially one granting power second only to the Emperor, could easily stir up court turmoil and breed resentment among nobles and high-ranking officials.

But in the current Ursus, even though Talulah had yet to formally ascend the throne, appointing anyone was truly just a matter of her word and a single appointment order.

After all, look at what Ursus was like now. The nobles who dared defy Talulah had been slaughtered by the Wendigo Legion days ago. The Dukes commanding the Group Armies had been taken out by a smooth combo from the Shadow Troopers and the Inner Guards, and their armies had been reorganized by Talulah's people ahead of time.

In other words, all of Ursus's military forces—Group Armies and Inner Guards alike—were now firmly in Talulah's hands. Even if someone with ill intent wanted to stir up trouble, seeing this setup, they'd have to obediently crawl back into hiding. The entire Ursus had officially entered an era of unprecedented power centralization, with the upper echelons of the empire being Talulah's sole domain of speech.

And the common folk at the bottom? The corpses of the purged nobles were paraded around by designated personnel, who also detailed the crimes these nobles had committed before the public. Seeing these once lofty aristocrats executed en masse was a spectacle that thrilled the bloodthirsty masses. As a result, even before Talulah had formally ascended the throne or issued any policies, she already enjoyed extremely high approval among ordinary citizens.

Not to mention the future aid—improved crop seeds and other assistance from Mobius—it was foreseeable that Ursus would remain as it was now, never allowing a second voice to emerge.

"Speaking of which, it's been a while since I've seen Mobius. I wonder if she's come up with anything new since returning to the One Punch World."

After settling the Doctor, An Xiu thought to himself, then decided to head back to the One Punch World to check.

One Punch World, Research Base.

A tube of liquid, radiating a warm glow like sunlight, was placed in a reagent and set before An Xiu.

Staring at the reagent, An Xiu was silent for a moment, then looked up at Mobius before him.

"This is the Kryptonian Factor you extracted, cultivated, and modified from the Kryptonian Blood we had before, suitable for the Flame Chaser Surgery?"

To this, Mobius, sitting across from him, nodded.

"Correct. I was planning to finish a few more studies before informing you, Master. But since you happened to come yourself, there's no time like the present—let's begin the surgery now."

Chapter 83: Soaring Power, Kal'tsit: Where's My Big Doctor?

Kryptonians—a race from the DC universe of American comics, possessing immense strength and potential.

Even if you don't know Kryptonians, you've surely heard of that muscular man in a tight suit with an S-shaped emblem on his chest, wearing his underwear on the outside—one of the most iconic IPs from An Xiu's past life: Superman.

Superman's race is Kryptonian. Of course, not every Kryptonian is Superman, but the potential and upper limits of the Kryptonian Bloodline are indeed extremely high. That's why An Xiu had Mobius prioritize researching the Kryptonian Blood he had purchased earlier.

Now, after nearly two months of research, Mobius had finally produced results that satisfied An Xiu.

This modified Kryptonian Factor before him was the product of Mobius studying all of a Kryptonian's abilities, retaining the strengths while eliminating the weaknesses.

It preserved the Kryptonian's formidable physical constitution and the growth potential of growing stronger simply by basking in sunlight, while minimizing the weaknesses that could reduce power in certain environments—ensuring that after the Flame Chaser Surgery, no new vulnerabilities would be added to An Xiu.

Even if achieving this effect meant the modified Kryptonian Factor would provide a slightly smaller boost to An Xiu's power, he was still pleased.

After all, with his system, he didn't need to worry too much about future power growth. Avoiding any new weaknesses was far more important than a temporary power increase.

Half an hour later, inside the laboratory.

"Now, I'll begin injecting the Kryptonian Factor. The entire surgery will take about six hours. Please endure as best you can."

Lying on the operating table, Mobius operated the instruments to slowly inject the factor into An Xiu's body.

Immediately, An Xiu felt a warm current surging through his body, and a new power gradually emerged within him.

Time flew by. Thanks to Mobius's precise technique, the surgery was painless, even giving An Xiu a sense of comfort.

Finally, six hours later, a powerful aura erupted within the lab.

Boom!!!

A figure, as if the surrounding structures were nothing, smashed through the lab and even the research base's roof. In the blink of an eye, it had soared thousands of meters into the sky, spreading its arms wide to face the sun above.

"This feeling..."

Feeling the explosive power surging through his body, An Xiu, high in the sky, clenched his fist. Thick bolts of azure lightning flashed across his skin. In an instant, he appeared over a hundred kilometers away and punched downward at the mountain range below.

BOOM—!!!

With a single strike, the mountains were shattered by this unstoppable force. A ruin over a kilometer wide and tens of thousands of meters long carved straight through the entire range, forcibly rewriting the terrain along its path.

The clouds in the sky were blown away by the shockwave of his fist. Under the sunlight, An Xiu's consumption from that attack was instantly restored, and his overall strength was even slowly rising at a steady pace.

"With my current strength, it's probably hard to accurately gauge my exact tier through this method without causing too much destruction. And simply testing raw power isn't enough to assess combat ability—I'd better just get into a real fight."

"In that case..."

Opening the system interface, An Xiu pulled up the shop and clicked the search option.

[Mirror World] Price: 3000 Points

Looking at the skill before him, An Xiu didn't hesitate and directly clicked purchase.

Mirror World—a special magic from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, mastered by the Ancient One and his disciples. As the name implied, it allowed the user to temporarily unfold a mirror world that was a one-to-one replica of reality. No life existed within the mirror world, and no matter how much destruction was caused, it wouldn't affect the real world, allowing one to fight with full force without restraint.

A moment later, feeling the newly acquired knowledge in his mind, An Xiu confirmed he had obtained the corresponding skill. He then used his traversal ability to return to the Arknights World.

After that, An Xiu directly called for Jibril, activated the Mirror World, and ordered Jibril to engage in a full-scale battle with him.

A few hours later, utterly exhausted, An Xiu leaned on Jibril for support as he deactivated the Mirror World.

Confirmed. After undergoing the Flame Chaser Surgery using the modified Kryptonian Factor, his current strength was roughly between Continental and Surface-level.

Though he was no match for Jibril, she still had to put in considerable effort to defeat him. But since he hadn't won, it meant his power hadn't truly reached Surface-level yet. He'd need at least a few more months of sunbathing to reach a level where he could rival or even surpass Jibril.

To have made such progress, An Xiu was honestly quite satisfied. After all, the only real expense was the Kryptonian Blood he'd bought for 2500 points back then. Everything else—including manifesting Mobius and the Holy Grail—didn't count as real costs, since those could be reused.

"Take me back to my room in Holy Steed Castle. I'm exhausted today—I need a good rest."

"With pleasure. But may I ask if my master requires me, Jibril, your most loyal slave, to warm your bed tonight?"

"I'm too tired after that fight. Let's talk another day."

Feeling Jibril's perfectly curved, voluptuous body pressed tightly against him—especially the full, astonishing softness at her chest—An Xiu forcibly suppressed the fire rising within him and spoke.

No way. In his current exhausted state, having just been beaten to his knees by Jibril in battle, was he supposed to go back and get beaten to his knees by her in bed too? That would be the ultimate humiliation.

He'd endure for a few months, or find a sunny day for an open-air brawl. Then he'd show Jibril what the dignity of a master really meant.

Chernobyl, abandoned laboratory ruins.

After over a day of travel, Kal'tsit had finally rushed here at top speed.

Cracked walls covered in moss and lichen, dust-laden floors—everything looked so familiar, except for the broken, completely wrecked Stone Coffin lying not far away.

Staring at the now-empty Stone Coffin, Kal'tsit's pupils trembled. A bone-chilling cold surged from her head down through her entire body.

Where was the Doctor?

Where the hell was her Doctor?!

Logically, the Stone Coffin was a relic of the Pre-Civilization. Without knowing the method to open it, no one or no civilization in all of Terra should have been able to unlock it, let alone destroy it like this!

Unless... the person who took the Doctor was also connected to the Pre-Civilization, or it was simply a contingency left by the Doctor himself.

After all, only another Pre-Civilization artifact could destroy one.

At that moment, even though she was indoors, Kal'tsit felt as if she had fallen into an icy abyss.

The Doctor was gone. Could it be that what had been happening in Ursus lately...

Chapter 84: What? Talulah Actually Has a Feminine Side?

Ursus capital, Holy Steed Castle.

Bright sunlight shone down from the sky, driving away the chill from the land.

On this day, countless people from all over Terra—from various nations and factions—poured into the city. Among them were civilians, merchants, officials, and even Infected.

All kinds of people converged on this single city, because they shared one goal: to attend the upcoming coronation ceremony of Talulah, who was about to be crowned the Emperor of Ursus—an event that would, to some extent, decide the future of Ursus.

As more and more people flooded in, this already most important capital city of Ursus grew even livelier. The streets were packed with people coming and going, and crowding had already begun.

Countless reporters and agents from various factions all rushed toward the open space in front of the palace where the coronation platform could be seen, striving to secure the best spots.

The coronation and crowning ceremony would take place at noon, when the sun reached its zenith. There were still about two hours until noon, but even so, those who arrived early were willing to crowd here and wait idly rather than leave. The Reunion members maintaining order on-site were already dizzy from the chaos.

Compared to the commotion out front, the atmosphere in the back was no less tense.

Inside a dressing room deep within the palace, countless maids were bustling about in a hurry, carrying clothes, the Scepter, cosmetics, decorations, and other items, striving to ensure that Talulah, about to be crowned, would appear in her most perfect form.

Off to the side, An Xiu, dressed in formal attire, yawned a little out of boredom. Beside him stood Mobius, Jibril, the Doctor, FrostNova, and others.

As key high-ranking figures in Ursus now, An Xiu, Mobius, the Doctor, and FrostNova also needed to attend the upcoming coronation ceremony. That was why they were here.

Strictly speaking, this wasn't much of a hassle. Given the current state of Ursus, this coronation was purely a formality for Talulah. Even without the ceremony, her authority in Ursus already surpassed that of any former emperor.

After all, even the previous Emperor of Ursus, Fyodor, at the peak of his power, had never managed to firmly grasp all the major Group Armies within the empire like Talulah now did. In truth, he wasn't even as powerful as the uncrowned Talulah.

One could say this coronation held more symbolic than practical significance. Talulah only needed to change into her coronation robes, put on the Crown and take up the Scepter, then walk to the platform and give a speech.

But perhaps because Talulah had never worn such an intricate and inconvenient outfit before, what should have taken only two hours to prepare ended up dragging on for nearly four.

It was fortunate that An Xiu and the others had arrived midway; if they had been present for the entire process, it was hard to imagine how agonizing it would have been.

Finally, half an hour before the coronation ceremony was set to begin, the door to the dressing room opened.

Talulah, now clad in a solemn and magnificent Coronation Gown, held the Scepter in her hand, while the Crown, symbolizing the emperor's authority, sat between the two dragon horns protruding from her white hair.

Beneath the gown, her slender, straight, and powerful legs were fair and smooth, her delicate jade feet encased in a pair of black High Heels with golden soles. The low-cut opening revealed the soft, silky tops of her feet, which clicked against the palace's polished floor, exuding an aura of pride, majesty, elegance, and nobility.

After meticulous grooming by the palace's professional female makeup artists and attendants, the Talulah before them was almost unrecognizable compared to her usual self. One glance and she felt like an Empress—truly, professionals lived up to their reputation.

In this state, Talulah was something even FrostNova, who had followed her for so long, had likely never seen. Before, Talulah was a valiant and spirited female warrior; now, her demeanor was far closer to that of a ruler wielding power, someone whose single word could decide life and death.

"Um... do I look strange like this?"

After leaving the dressing room, Talulah and the others arrived at a quiet chamber, where she dismissed the surrounding attendants.

Wanting to rehearse the speech for the upcoming coronation, Talulah found herself growing increasingly uneasy as she noticed An Xiu and FrostNova repeatedly stealing glances at her.

"There's nothing strange about it. It's just that the current Talulah is very different from before, so I took a few more looks."

"I just think you look great now—it gives people a refreshing feeling."

FrostNova and An Xiu replied in turn.

"Is it really that big a change?"

Adjusting the Crown on her head, straightening it back into place, Talulah looked puzzled.

In her eyes, she had merely changed clothes, reluctantly learned some court etiquette, and paid attention to her posture. How did that make her seem like a completely different person in FrostNova and An Xiu's eyes?

Seeing their expressions, Talulah grew curious about what kind of image she had in their minds before.

On this point, An Xiu had plenty to say. If before, Talulah's aura had lacked any trace of femininity, making people treat her like a good brother, now her attire and demeanor had shifted so drastically that one's impression of her went straight from "good brother" to "brother, you're looking mighty fine."