For fuck's sake

He opened his eyes, and the familiar screen appeared.

[How was he? The King of Curses.]

Gu Yanzhi's injuries had already healed-that was how the rules of the System Space worked. No matter how badly he was sliced up outside, he returned with a whole body. But the pain of being pierced by those slashes still lingered deep in his consciousness, like a thorn lodged in the back of his head that he could never pull out.

He sighed softly and flopped down in the System Space, his limbs spread wide. The deep-blue void stretched endlessly overhead, so quiet he could hear his own breathing.

"He really was strong." He stared into the emptiness above, seeming to talk both to himself and to the system. "And I don't think Sukuna even used his full strength. I honestly think-even if my domain had been complete, it wouldn't have withstood his attacks." He raised a hand and loosely clenched it in the air. "I used everything, from my previous body's Barrier Technique to everything I accumulated over these lives, and I still couldn't make Lord Sukuna go all out."

On the Shinjuku battlefield, Sukuna's domain dissipated.

The shrine behind Sukuna dissolved into the air, the aftershocks of his slashes still echoing across the ruins.

Tears glistened in Itadori's eyes as he shouted, "Mr. Gu!"

Okkotsu knelt on the ground and slammed his fist into it, murmuring in self-reproach, "Damn it."

The dust cleared. Sukuna still stood where he had been, panting, his four arms hanging at his sides. Gu Yanzhi was nowhere to be seen-all that remained was a puddle of blood and flesh.

In the System Space, Gu Yanzhi smiled helplessly. There was no resentment in that smile, only the calm acceptance of someone admitting defeat after a fight.

"So I still couldn't restrain Sukuna in the end. Malevolent Shrine chopped me straight into mincemeat."

He thought of Hajime Kashimo-the man who had been lying beside him when they woke up on top of the shipping containers, the battle maniac who was always clamoring to duel strong opponents. A hint of self-mockery crept into Gu Yanzhi's smile. "My boy Kashimo, I'll never laugh at you again. In the end, I didn't even go out as gracefully as you. I got turned straight into mincemeat."

The system's voice came as though to comfort him.

Only then did Gu Yanzhi refocus-a results screen had appeared.

[The host died in a domain clash with Sukuna. This transmigration earned a large number of causality points.]

[Drawing your rewards now.]

Gu Yanzhi thought that surely the rewards he earned this time would be better than before.

In this life, he had changed Hajime Kashimo's storyline, killed Brain, imprisoned the cursed spirits that rampaged after Brain's death, used a Barrier Technique to seal away those monsters that would otherwise have scattered and devoured civilians, and even traded several rounds with Sukuna in the end.

A system window appeared.

[Rewards for this transmigration.]

[Option one: increase the host's available slots by one.]

[Option two: receive double the rewards from this settlement.]

"A new option?"

Gu Yanzhi sat up cross-legged, lightly tapping his chin.

Since physique and cursed energy could stack, each would only take up one slot-no matter how many layers of physique he stacked, the slot would only ever display a single physique entry. That meant the remaining slots were essentially reserved for cursed techniques. One extra slot meant he could bring multiple cursed techniques into every future life.

In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, aside from cases like Brain or Sukuna possessing Megumi Fushiguro, every sorcerer had only one cursed technique.

Originally, the system had only three slots. To bring two cursed techniques, he would have to give up either physique or cursed energy.

With an extra slot, there would be fewer restrictions. Being able to possess multiple cursed techniques at once in the future would already put him a step ahead of most sorcerers.

And with the variety of cursed techniques in the jujutsu world, he might even put together a combination that made him the strongest.

The only drawback was that he barely had any cursed techniques right now. His inheritance library was completely empty-he would only save up his first one by choosing the Object Manipulation Cursed Technique from this life, and who knew how long he would have to wait for the next. Choosing a slot was an investment in the future, with practically zero short-term returns.

But Gu Yanzhi still intended to choose it, because this life's original body really had mediocre stats-its cursed energy reserves weren't high, and its physique was only a little stronger than an ordinary human's.

If he chose double settlement rewards, the baseline was so poor that the numbers would still be mediocre after doubling.

"But what would happen if the doubled reward applied to a cursed technique?" Gu Yanzhi asked the system.

[Due to the unique nature of cursed techniques, they cannot be received in duplicate. The system will therefore compensate by improving the cursed technique's performance.]

Gu Yanzhi nodded. Improved cursed technique performance-that sounded tempting, but the system couldn't provide any specific effects. It was a complete mystery box, and a risky one at that.

By comparison, an extra slot was a concrete improvement. Though he couldn't use it in the short term, it had greater long-term value. In the end, Gu Yanzhi decided to take the extra slot.

The settlement concluded. Unsurprisingly, Gu Yanzhi chose the Object Manipulation Cursed Technique.

Four slots appeared on the screen. He glanced at them without lingering, equipped his newly acquired cursed technique, and immediately asked to begin his next transmigration.

Bathed in the golden glow of the screen, Gu Yanzhi's consciousness sank into darkness.

Some time later.

In the System Space, Gu Yanzhi's figure flickered, and he collapsed facedown, gasping for breath.

He braced both hands against the ground, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead and vanishing into the void. "You fucking bastard, system." His voice was hoarse and furious, like someone who had finally snapped after being toyed with countless times.

"Are you Uraume too? All I did was show off in front of Sukuna a few times! Did you really have to make me eat four Furnace: Opens and five Malevolent Shrines?!"

Nearly all the people Gu Yanzhi had just transmigrated into were ordinary civilians caught in the Shibuya Incident. Every transmigration landed him at the exact instant Sukuna unleashed Furnace: Open or Malevolent Shrine.

Four Furnace: Opens and five Malevolent Shrines. Without any time to prepare, he took every attack point-blank and was blasted straight back into the System Space. If he had been Mahoraga, he probably would have adapted by now.

And in those settlements, aside from the one time he transmigrated into someone with some talent for jujutsu but no awakened cursed technique and chose cursed energy, everyone else had been an ordinary person. His only choice had been physique.

Looking utterly done with life, Gu Yanzhi climbed off the ground amid a stream of curses and brushed nonexistent dust from his shoulder, grumbling inwardly, I'm practically a legendary punching bag now. This bullshit system.

"Keep transmigrating!"

Before he had even finished speaking, the confirmation prompt for the next transmigration had already appeared. Gu Yanzhi took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and once again lost consciousness in the familiar golden light.