Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - The Root of All Evil

"That's easy, but how are you going to do it?"

"I have a friend named Lucy, who is a scholar at the Central United Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. The manufacture and cultivation of in vitro embryos is her main research project."

"I see... By the way, what is that baby you're holding?"

You mean her?

Who else could it be?

From the moment the two met tonight, Wu Liu has been holding a baby girl in her arms; she looks to be just over a month old.

"Don't worry about it too much. I've had a man before, but it was a failure."

"A failed product? Wait a minute..."

Gustav placed his hand on the baby's head, closed his eyes as if sensing something, then opened his eyes in surprise.

"This fluctuation... does this child have the blood of the Moon People?"

The Moon People, remnants of the first generation of humans, fled to the Silver Moon to escape the purge of the Planet Will, eventually forming an independent race. This race possessed a hereditary "rune ability," which was versatile, multifaceted, extremely rare, and powerful. However, the Moon People became extinct long ago, and it is said that a few survivors still live in seclusion on the Spirit Star, but this cannot be confirmed.

"You know so much."

"Not only do we know, but when our Leader built the headquarters on the far side of the moon, he encountered resistance from the Moon People. In a fit of rage, he exterminated their entire race. Only a few survivors escaped to Spirit Star, where they eked out a living."

"So that's how they declined... Actually, what I initially considered was using the genes of the Moon People. I went to great lengths to find the last Moon People in the world and created this child using my and his reproductive cells."

"But you said it was a failure."

"Initially, I hoped to obtain a powerful hybrid with both Demonic Power and runic abilities, but she only inherited runic abilities and not my Ghost Clan bloodline. Although she is very powerful, she does not meet my requirements."

"I see. So you've been planning to get rid of her all this time?"

"There's no need to kill it, just abandon it normally... Hmm, this is the place."

Wu Liu stopped in front of a rather large villa, which seemed to belong to some prestigious family in the capital. Wu Liu placed the baby on the ground, as if putting a pile of cardboard boxes into a trash can, her movements were not careful.

"Oh, right, and this too."

Wu Liu took out a long, thin package.

"This is... a sword?"

"The sword I obtained from the last Moon People seems to be a treasured heirloom of their race. It might be the oldest Saint Artifact in the world... Unfortunately, I don't like using swords. Do you want it?"

"Weapons are just a burden; I haven't relied on anything external for a thousand years."

"That's great... If you don't want it either, then you can leave it for her."

With that, Wu Liu placed the longsword, Snow Moon, next to the baby, and the two left the villa with the sign that read "Tartaglia" without ever looking back.

"--No, wait a minute."

Wu Liu suddenly stopped and picked up the baby and the sword again.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm thinking that it wouldn't be too late to compare the two after the new hybrid is born before making a decision. Let's wait and see for a year before making a decision."

"If you're still not satisfied, should you just abandon her?"

"Yes... when you're sure you want to abandon her, then leave her in front of this villa. Maybe she's destined to be here."

Wu Liu, of course, had no idea what kind of chain reaction her actions would have more than twenty years later.

Even if she knew, she wouldn't care.

Gustav used the most concise language to give Haoyue a general account of the whole story, naturally omitting unnecessary details—such as the little episode about the abandoned baby.

Father?

Biological father (in terms of genetics)?

Am I my mother's greatest masterpiece?

Xiao Wu was completely confused. She felt no joy or emotion at seeing her family again; instead, she felt an inexplicable aversion.

Gustav was her father?

Rather than a father, he was more like a stranger who held the title of father in name only, despite their father-daughter relationship.

There was no familial affection, no romantic love involved. Gustav was interested in Mai's experiments, so he provided her with genetic material, nothing more. There was no romantic involvement between them. He never intended to care for Xiao Wu or raise Xiao Wu; he simply wanted to see if Mai could successfully create the so-called perfect warrior. It was like an irresponsible farmer who planted seeds in the ground and then left it to others to manage, only checking on the crops much later when he happened to remember them.

That's all.

And what about Xiao Wu Mai?

She was raised by her mother from birth and had never met her father. She had no concept of "fatherly love" and therefore did not crave it. Although she was curious about who her father was, it was nothing more than curiosity; she was too lazy to investigate. Before knowing this fact, Gustav was a major enemy of the opposing organization; after knowing this fact, it was simply adding the additional identity of "biological father" to his basic identity as a "major enemy."

Nothing has changed in essence.

The moment she realized this, Xiao Wu calmed down considerably. She took several deep breaths, her heartbeat gradually subsided, and she regained her composure.

Gustav observed all of this, nodded slightly, and said, "Your mental fortitude is decent, and you adjust your mindset quickly. I'd say you pass."

"I hate being judged by others; it makes me feel very uncomfortable."

"Evaluation is necessary. When meat dishes are served, people will rate the tenderness, texture, and taste of the meat; when vegetable dishes are served, people will evaluate their nutritional value, color, and preparation method."

"... I don't quite understand what you mean."

"That is to say... before food is even ingested, people make predictions and assessments about it, experiencing it mentally before experiencing it physically."

"...?"

Xiao Wu was stunned for a moment before realizing what Gustav meant.

"Hey, you mean, to you, I'm 'food'?"

"Oh..."

Gustav's lips curled slightly upward, revealing a cold smile.

Where do you see the distinction between strength and weakness? What exactly is the difference between the weak and the strong?

"... strength?"

"No, it's food."

"Food?"

"The most direct example is the food chain in nature, where the strongest creature is the one that can prey on everything. What if we apply this to Human Society?"

Gustav took a step forward, releasing an even more terrifying pressure. Xiao Wu gritted her teeth, suppressing the urge to retreat.

"The weak feed on rice, on the dregs of the lowest strata, eking out a living in the shadows... while the strong feed on the weak. But feeding on the weak only weakens oneself; to become strong, one must feed on the equally strong."

They plunder the property of the weak, possess their bodies, enslave their spirits, until they devour everything the weak possess.

But... that's not enough, it's far from enough.

If a strong person wants to truly maintain their status as a strong person, or even become stronger, they must prey on strong people of the same level or even stronger than themselves. Only by feeding on beings no weaker than themselves can they maintain their strength.

The larger the animal, the more food it needs to survive.

The more powerful a person is, the more powerful individuals they need to hunt in order to maintain that power.

This creates a contradiction, the contradiction of the "strongest".

The moment a person becomes the strongest, everything else becomes weak in comparison.

In other words, from the moment he reached the summit, the food supply that would allow him to maintain his foothold there ceased to exist.

They continuously devour other powerful beings to reach the pinnacle of strength, but once at the top, they inevitably decline.

"--So, this is my solution."

So said the strongest creature on earth.

"My appetite is enormous, so enormous that no amount of enemies could fill it. I must ensure a stable food supply, and preferably food that is just as delicious as my own."

Therefore--

"That's why I agreed to Urahara Mai Ryu's suggestion: if I can't find the food I want, I'll make it myself. Could a hybrid created using my genes become a second me? Could it give birth to... a powerful being on par with me?"

"You..."

"I am truly delighted to see you grow so strong... From my observation just now, the color and aroma of this dish are both satisfactory, but the most important aspect, the taste, can never be known without actually tasting it."

For the first time, Gustav pulled both hands out of his pockets at the same time and let them hang naturally at his sides.

Sensing that terrifying fighting spirit, Xiao Wu immediately assumed a fighting stance.

"I have been starving for thousands of years, so come on, Urahara Sakura Dance, use every trick in the book, show your full value, unleash your full power, and fill my stomach!"

"Ye should be facing off against Yu He. Neither of them should be able to truly defeat the other, so let's leave that aside for now."

The Jili pressed down on its ring finger.

"Tartaglia and the Planet Will has returned to its original state... Hmph, there's simply no comparison between them."

He pressed down with his middle finger.

"Let's leave Urahara Sakura Dance to Gustav. Although I don't know what 'private matters' he has, annihilating a mere Urushihara is naturally a piece of cake for him. Once he's dealt with the outer Urushihara, he'll immediately join forces with Yu He to completely wipe out Ye."

Finally, press down with your index finger.

His fist clenched tightly, then opened again, as if trying to grasp something in the distance.

Then, he gave a disdainful smile.

"See that? The one surnamed Yu?"

He spoke to the empty void.

"You said Ye and I are rivals, but is that really true? Even if I'm restricted from leaving the Void Space, she's still doomed to defeat! When she sees her companion's corpse, when she realizes there's no way to turn the tide, when she finally realizes she's just food for me, a stepping stone for me, what kind of expression will she have? At that point, will you still utter such idiotic statements as 'she's a formidable rival'?"

There was no response.

Yusuo Zai, who should normally appear immediately, didn't suddenly pop up from some blind spot this time.

"... Tch, what an annoying guy."

Jili smacked his lips in disgust, turned around, and walked into the material storage room.

Let's wait here for their good news.

Victory was already assured, without any flaws. Yu He, Gustav, and the Planet Will will could not fail... In fact, even if Yu He and Gustav were to fail and be killed, it wouldn't have much of an impact.

Everything is unfolding according to the script.

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Two sources of all evil: Blood Sister & Dancing Mother

Blood Sister: Flirting with girls is so much fun!

Dancing Mom: Giving birth is so much fun!

Nier-chan: Insect rape is so much fun!

Blood & Dance: Who are you?

Nier-chan: Don't mind it.