Arasaka Will Become the World Itself

"This is an experiment in immortality."

Hanako Arasaka's words exploded in Mingzhi's mind like a bolt of thunder. At last, he understood the true purpose of Hanako Arasaka and the others—within the power struggle of this steel jungle, what could possibly matter more than factional conflict?

Immortality.

Without question, this was the ultimate proposition, one that stood above all disputes.

No matter how rebellious or combative Arakawa Sesen was, he could never escape the constraints of a human lifespan.

Even if he drove the opposing factions into a corner, sent them fleeing in panic and teetering on the brink of collapse, it would all become meaningless when his life reached its end. He could only struggle madly within his limited years, tearing at everything within reach like a trapped beast.

More tragically, he could never be certain whether his will would be inherited by those who came after him. That anxiety over succession clung to him like a festering disease, forcing him to gamble everything before death arrived. It was the shackles of lifespan that left him no choice but to survive in such a brutal way.

But later, he changed.

Because someone had appeared—someone who shared his ideals and stepped onto the same path.

Lifespan suddenly no longer mattered. He no longer needed to wager everything. His will could continue in another way: a legacy carried by "immortality," far more eternal than the survival of flesh and blood.

But to his opponents, such spiritual inheritance was nothing more than a vague illusion.

They sneered at it arrogantly. All they saw was immortality within their grasp, immortality that belonged to them alone. An undying body was real power. The continuation of the soul? That was merely a fairy tale losers told themselves for comfort.

This was the most fundamental difference