The Fifth Volume: Return from the Other Shore - Chapter 497: Branded with the Name of Extra Weapon (1)
"Enough with the small talk, what did you gain this time?"
"Let me tidy it up..."
As he spoke, Yusuo Zai inserted his fingers into the empty eye socket, poking around. Jili away in disgust and plunged his head into the cold bathwater.
"What a bumper harvest!"
With a sound like a plug being pulled out of a bathtub, Yusuo Zai pulled out—three lumps of flesh.
One has faint patterns resembling musical notes and staff lines, another looks ethereal, and the third bears marks as if it had been slashed by a sword.
The Jili startled.
"Three souls? What's going on? If I'm not mistaken... one is Winsani's soul, and another... is that Celestial Law or monster? Then where did the third one come from?"
"Do you remember Yang Yujie, one of the former Special Class Combatant?"
"I feel like I remember him, but I don't... Oh right, was he the one who defected?"
"That's right, he defected to the Divine Law Cult to become Templar Knight, and then defected again for a woman..."
Get to the point.
"In short, in order to protect someone important from the Heavenly Laws, he exchanged his soul for immortality with me, that's all."
"So you just took his soul? The soul of a mere Special Class Combatant?"
"Have you forgotten what I told you? 'The soul of the strongest is bound to be powerful, but a powerful soul is not exclusive to the strongest.' Although Mr. Yu Jie is not at the high level, his soul strength is comparable to that of the high level. This is truly an unexpected delight."
"Even if you say that, one, two, three... Hey! Isn't that completely unnecessary? It's already more than we need."
"It's better to be prepared."
Yusuo Zai crumpled the three souls into a ball and stuffed it back into the empty eye socket, about to turn and leave—
"Wait a minute!"
With a splash, Jili as big as a small swimming pool. Cold water dripped down his body. The sight of his perfect body being wet would make anyone, regardless of gender, stare in amazement. But Yusuo Zai only glanced at him and didn't look at him any longer.
"What's wrong? If you forgot your towel, I can get it for you..."
"You know perfectly well that's not what I'm talking about! You surnamed Yu, I'm asking you, what's the deal with that woman named Ye who looks so much like Blood Fiend!"
"Her..."
Yusuo Zai shrugged.
"If you were the main villain in a movie, Miss Ye would be a hero with less-than-noble character... No, not noble character is not enough to describe her. She is definitely not a hero, nor is she qualified to be an anti-hero. She rarely cares about the lives of people other than her companions, but she can't be called a bad person either. She doesn't have any lofty ambitions, but she's not decadent either. She is just herself, nothing more."
"I have absolutely no interest in what kind of person she is! I just want to know if she's a substitute you deliberately cultivated for me!"
Faced with Jili's anger, Yusuo Zai remained calm and composed.
"Find someone to replace you? Why would I go through all that trouble? I'm just like an ordinary citizen browsing in a shop, occasionally buying something that suits my taste, nothing more."
"... So, both I and she were just commodities you 'bought because they looked suitable'?"
"Have you heard the saying 'compare prices at three different stores'? After buying one item, who knows if you'll find a better one at the next store? Even if you buy two identical items, you can't tell the difference without comparing them."
"Hmph... reserves, huh? If I don't meet your expectations, you'll just replace me without hesitation?"
"If you insist on interpreting it that way, that's fine too, but..."
Yusuo Zai laughed.
It was a devil's smile that contained all the emotions a human being could possess, but its murky nature made it feel empty.
"... How do you know which of you is the reserve?"
Boom!!!!!!
A terrifying pressure suddenly erupted, causing the entire space to creak under the strain. Grotesque cracks spread through the void, and the ground trembled incessantly. But all of this paled in comparison to the man's fury.
"You dare to say that! You really dare to say that, you surnamed Yu!! I— Jili, the enemy of the world, the shaker of time, the conqueror of death, do you think I would be defeated by an unknown woman? How utterly laughable!!!!"
"Calm down, calm down. This is just healthy market competition. Getting angry over it is no fun."
Yusuo Zai merely shrugged, his body slowly fading away.
"I just want to see which of you two is more likely to be involved."
Leaving behind his last words, he vanished into the void, disappearing without a trace.
"... whispering sound!!"
Jili frustration, then casually put on a bathrobe and left the bathroom, which was comparable to a swimming pool.
"To compete with someone... that's such a hassle. Why bother competing with such ants... No, I can't have that thought. Since he's someone that Yusuo Zai taken a liking to, I have no reason not to take him seriously."
But I already disturbed the World Will last time, and that damned watchdog should be searching for me all over the world right now, right? I absolutely cannot rashly show myself up!
In that case, our only hope now rests on Yu He, who volunteered for the task. If he can't handle it alone, we can send Gustav as well. That way...
In a large room that resembled both an office and a dormitory, three girls were idly sitting around doing nothing.
The most stunningly beautiful girl lay on the sofa, with bright green eyes and long, shimmering blue hair. Every detail of her body was constructed according to the golden ratio. She wore a one-piece swimsuit that combined leather and metal textures, and knee-high stockings of the same texture, all covered with intricate geometric patterns.
Before her eyes, electronic components floated around, repeatedly assembling and dispersing at a dizzying speed, emitting tiny sparks of electricity.
Another young woman was elegantly sipping her tea. She had a delicate, cute oval face, long, black hair with curled ends, and bright, deep blue eyes. She wore a pleated dress adorned with floral patterns, and her shapely legs were encased in semi-sheer white stockings. At first glance, she looked like a wealthy young lady, yet also possessed an approachable, girl-next-door charm.
--If she weren't sitting on top of several burly men who were bound and foaming at the mouth, and crushing their testicles with her toes.
The third girl—or rather, she never showed her face—was curled up in an overturned cardboard box. Only a few strands of dark blue hair and slender, pale fingertips peeking out from the edge of the box indicated that there was a girl inside. There was no sound from outside the box, not even breathing. If one didn't see what was protruding, anyone would think it was just an empty cardboard box.
But if you look closely, you'll notice that the shadow cast by the cardboard box under the chandelier has a strange shape and seems to be floating slightly.
"Uh... I've been so free/bored lately."
"Julia, you must be bored sitting there like an idiot all day. Find something to do!"
"'Standing still' is just a facade. I'm constantly improving and adjusting the system and hardware. The probability of crashes has decreased by one percentage point, and the speed of building weapons is getting faster and faster. /Proud."
"Yes, yes... but you'd better find something more interesting, like--"
Valentina smiled charmingly, lifted her foot,
Click!
"Gurgle~~~~Gurgle gur..."
Sharp heels were deeply embedded in the crotch of a man bound by straitjackets. His gagged mouth could only produce muffled groans, and large tears spilled from his eyes beneath the blindfold, making him look extremely pitiful.
"I can be merciful and let you step on them too! Crushing a man's testicles is really fun, you'll get addicted after just one try!"
"No, that's boring."
"Tch." At this moment--
"Stop lounging around like that, you bunch of Extra Weapon! We have an important mission!"
Yu He's private secretary, Ankri, stormed in angrily.
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The three most normal-looking oddballs from the Extra Weapon have appeared.
Monthly Votes are needed to feed it!