The next day, just after dawn, Siwei Yan arrived right on time at the meeting point outside Runlin An.
Quite a few Shinigami had already gathered there, standing in two clearly separated groups.
One group consisted of Thirteenth Division members. They noticeably outnumbered the others, and nearly the entire division had turned out, from Seat Officers to ordinary members.
From the turnout, the situation in the Human World clearly wasn't looking good. They needed a large number of people to guide souls and perform Soul Burials.
Yan noticed a composed young man with short black hair standing at the front of the Thirteenth Division's group. It was Third Seat Shiba Kaien.
The Thirteenth Division currently had no lieutenant, and its captain, Ukitake Jūshirō, was absent due to illness, so Kaien was the one actually leading this operation.
Kaien was quietly discussing how to split into groups after passing through the gate with several Seat Officers beside him.
The other group consisted of members of the Eleventh Division.
They were fewer in number than the Thirteenth Division, but every one of them looked full of energy, their eyes gleaming with anticipation. You'd think they were heading to a festival.
Captain Kurayashiki Kenpachi hadn't arrived yet, so Vice-Captain Ashido stood silently at the front of the group.
Although Shiba Kaien was a Third Seat whose experience and abilities were widely recognized, the Eleventh Division's captain was taking part in this joint operation. By convention, overall command naturally fell to Kurayashiki Kenpachi.
However, given Captain Kurayashiki's temperament, he would probably leave the detailed arrangements and coordination to the meticulous, dependable Ashido.
Kaien seemed to have no objections and was cooperative.
As an "unofficial observer," Yan stood at the edge of the gathering, neither with the Thirteenth Division nor close to the Eleventh Division, keeping a tactful distance.
His attention was drawn to the equipment in the center of the area.
It wasn't the usual fixed Senkaimon frame.
Instead, it was a machine that looked hastily assembled, with metal parts and Spirit Particle Circuit boards piled together in a jumble. It hummed, and faint Reishi flickered across its surface from time to time.
A familiar petite figure with short blond hair was hopping around beside the machine, tools in hand, tapping and adjusting various parts while muttering nonstop:
"Hey! You over there! You connected the Reishi output circuit wrong! Do you want the Senkaimon to collapse halfway through? Baldy!"
"And you! So what if you're the vice-captain? If the vice-captain makes a mistake, it still needs fixing! You even got the basic parameters wrong. Are you trying to get everyone who passes through killed?"
"Shut up, all of you! Do what I say! A bunch of baldies!"
Her sharp, furious cries of "baldy" rang especially clearly through the morning air.
Siwei Yan's brow twitched slightly with every cry of "baldy."
But he took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the urge to make a snarky comment.
His face quickly returned to its cool, indifferent "young noble" expression, though he stood a little straighter.
So the Twelfth Division was responsible for setting up and maintaining the Senkaimon this time.
And the short-tempered blond girl before him, whose technical skills seemed undeniable, was none other than the Twelfth Division's newly promoted Fifth Seat, Sarugaki Hiyori.
She darted rapidly among the complicated machinery. Her tone was awful, but every adjustment she made was orderly and precise.
A moment later, she slapped a control panel and shouted, "All set! Start it up!"
Whumm!
The seemingly jumbled machine shook violently. The Spirit Particle Circuits on every component lit up at once, and Reishi surged through the preset channels, rapidly converging.
Then the air in front of the machine began to twist violently, letting out a low, whistling roar.
The light collapsed inward, turning into a slowly rotating black vortex that steadily took shape in the air.
"Done!" Sarugaki Hiyori put her hands on her hips and tipped up her chin.
"The new Senkaimon can stay stable for a whole hour now! Impressive, right? This is a major project I helped improve!"
But the gasps and praise she expected never came.
Most of the Thirteenth and Eleventh Division Shinigami merely glanced at the Senkaimon and nodded before going back to their preparations.
For veteran Shinigami who often traveled between the Human World and Soul Society, there wasn't much difference between a Senkaimon lasting ten minutes and one lasting an hour. A few minutes was all they needed to pass through when they went on a mission anyway.
A longer operating time? It sounded nice, but it didn't seem all that necessary...
Sarugaki Hiyori's expectant expression gradually fell. She pursed her lips and muttered in annoyance:
"Hmph, a bunch of baldies who don't understand technology..."
Just then.
Clap, clap, clap!
A clear, rhythmic applause rang out, standing out in the quiet outskirts.
Everyone looked toward the sound.
Siwei Yan stood there, clapping steadily, a smile of admiration and praise on his face.
He walked over to the machine and Sarugaki Hiyori, then gave a slight nod and spoke in a clear voice:
"That's an impressive improvement."
His words drew everyone's attention.
"Raising the Senkaimon's stable operating time from ten minutes to an hour is far more than just a change in the numbers."
Yan looked over the steady black vortex, his tone serious.
"It means the Senkaimon's Reishi structure and circuit stability have both improved dramatically. The energy output is smoother, and the spatial passage is more secure."
He looked at Sarugaki Hiyori, his eyes filled with sincere praise:
"That leap in stability greatly reduces the risk of accidents while passing through.
"For example... In the past, there were occasional cases of Shinigami being thrown off course by an unstable passage and getting 'lost' somewhere in the Dangai or an unknown location in the Human World. This should greatly reduce the chances of that happening—or even eliminate them altogether, right?"
He paused, then summed up:
"For all the Shinigami who need to travel frequently between the two worlds on missions, this is a genuine improvement that makes things safer. It's really impressive."
Only after Yan finished speaking did the Shinigami present realize what he meant.
That was right! People had occasionally gone missing because of an unstable Senkaimon before, even if it didn't happen often.
Improving its stability was like giving everyone an extra layer of protection!
"Clap, clap, clap..." A few people started applauding, then more and more joined in.
As Sarugaki Hiyori listened to the applause around her and saw Yan's sincere admiration, her irritation vanished at once.
She puffed out her chest and lifted her chin even higher, her tone noticeably more amiable:
"Hmph, at least you've got some sense. Stability is only the first step. The next goals are portability and rapid deployment. When that happens..."
She didn't finish. As if she'd suddenly remembered something, she awkwardly reached inside her clothes and fumbled around before pulling out two well-preserved books.
They were the hardcover edition of The Boy and a brand-new copy of Killer.
She stared at the ground beside her rather than look at Yan, then held the books out to him, her voice low and a little nervous:
"An... autograph."
Yan's eyes lit up at once.
His face instantly switched to a "fan service" smile.
Taking the books, he smoothly pulled a pen from his robes and swiftly signed "Zhi Ge" on the title page of each one. He even added a small, simple ink-plum blossom as decoration.
"Here you go. Take good care of them." He handed the books back with a flawless smile.
"Thank you so much for liking my work. Your support is my greatest motivation to keep writing."
Sarugaki Hiyori snatched the books back and quickly tucked them into her clothes, as if afraid anyone might see them.
Then, as if to cover up something, she suddenly raised her voice and shouted at the Shinigami who were still applauding and getting ready:
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and go! The Senkaimon may be stable, but it still consumes spiritual power! Learn to conserve energy, will you? A bunch of baldies!"
After shouting, she ran behind the machine without looking back, hiding herself except for a lock of blond hair.
Yan watched her retreating figure and smiled, then turned around.
The moment he did, the warm, enthusiastic smile disappeared from his face, replaced once more by the aloof, stern mask of a "Soul Society noble."
He looked at no one as he strode steadily toward the slowly rotating black vortex. In a flash, his figure vanished into the shifting light of the Senkaimon.
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