Destined Death, the Three Most Mysterious Cards

"Uh, thank you so much, sir. Your act of killing this brutal villain will definitely be commended. We’ve already reported it to the National Police Agency…"

Several police officers cautiously stepped forward. Only after confirming that the brutal villain was truly dead did they repeatedly express their lingering gratitude to Bai Cangshu, as though he were some great benefactor.

You killed DD30677540. Purge Mission progress updated.

Purge Mission completed.

Special Reincarnator EX051, you may choose to return while out of combat, or return after a maximum of 25 days.

Bai Cangshu waved a hand and put away the Scarlet Drop Card glittering with golden motes. His pace did not seem fast, yet in the blink of an eye, he had gone several hundred meters. When the police officer calling headquarters turned around, Bai Cangshu’s figure had already vanished around a corner.

Bai Cangshu recalled the thoughts he had read from that Reincarnator’s mind.

The man had not been bluffing, nor had it been a dying curse. He had truly seen Bai Cangshu’s death date through the Multi-Faced Star People.

And Bai Cangshu also knew that the Multi-Faced Star People’s ability was not prophecy, but something akin to seeing through the dimension of time.

In certain scientific concepts, time was not a river in the conventional sense. Time was not linear, but something counterintuitive in its structure.

The so-called past, present, and future were merely human illusions.

Thus, "seeing through" time and "seeing through" the future were not mystical or prophetic abilities at that dimensional level. It was science—a systematic understanding obtained by the Multi-Faced Star People after reaching the pinnacle of scientific dimensions.

His Destined Death would come sixty days from now?

"Interesting…"

By now, Bai Cangshu was well aware that there was something abnormal about him compared to other Reincarnators—or rather, compared to other humans.

He had no reverence for life.

Not for others, nor for himself.

Some Reincarnators slaughtered Plot Characters wantonly because they believed themselves to be true humans with noble, free souls, while Plot Characters were merely NPCs, mere data. As such, they felt no empathy for Plot Characters and could kill them as they pleased;

Some Reincarnators slaughtered other people in the real world, even other Reincarnators, without restraint. Such Reincarnators were known as murderers, because violent genes lay hidden in humanity’s bones. These murderers had merely fully unleashed that innate brutality and disregarded all law and morality;

But Bai Cangshu did not kill for pleasure, nor because he considered himself nobler than others. He simply… needed to kill.

Killing was the simplest and most efficient path for him to gain power and complete missions.

Killing was the indispensable pause that allowed him to enter and end battles.

Plot Characters, ordinary people, and Reincarnators were all no different to Bai Cangshu. He fought everyone equally, and killed everyone equally.

Likewise, Bai Cangshu was utterly indifferent toward his own life.

Just as tens of thousands of souls lurked inside his body, ready at any moment to seize his consciousness, yet he did not find it problematic at all. Whenever something went wrong with his body, he even enjoyed fighting those tens of thousands of souls for ownership of the Throne of the Heart.

Bai Cangshu was obsessed with battle and power, but not with his own life.

Now that he knew the Multi-Faced Star People had seen his death sixty days in the future, he felt neither fear nor confusion.

Bai Cangshu was merely curious what realm he would reach sixty days from now, given his current rate of growth.

And what sort of power could kill him then.

"Ha… I’m really… looking forward to it…"

Beep, beep.

As Bai Cangshu walked, the satellite phone Sugahide Hito had specifically arranged for someone to provide him before departure rang.

Nominally, the phone was meant to let Bai Cangshu contact them directly whenever he needed to, but in truth, it was a contingency Sugahide Hito had prepared to seek Bai Cangshu’s help if a special incident beyond the Black Ball Team’s capabilities occurred.

After Bai Cangshu answered, Sugahide Hito’s fearful voice came through.

"Mr. Mercenary Tao… something has happened here…"

Through the phone, Bai Cangshu could hear screams. Something seemed to have already breached the official residence. Considering that the Japanese Government currently controlled multiple Gantz teams, this meant the intruders possessed power beyond Gantz technology.

Bai Cangshu looked up and saw a full moon.

"You people are not worthy of wielding Gantz’s power at all…"

Bai Cangshu heard Kei Kurono’s voice, filled with fury, followed by another burst of screams.

Bzzzt—

Static sounded. The next moment, the satellite phone changed hands, and a woman’s voice reached Bai Cangshu’s ears.

"Mercenary Tao, I’ll take revenge on you. I definitely will…"

Crack.

The call cut off.

Bai Cangshu smiled and shook his head. The next moment, his figure shot into the sky. Bolstered by the Sky Dancing Technique, Bai Cangshu broke the sound barrier, pierced through the sea of clouds, and then a blue-and-white single-person craft appeared beneath his feet.

Amid the screech of lightning, Bai Cangshu stood with his hands behind his back, his pink robe fluttering wildly. Riding the single-person craft, he sped above the sea of clouds toward Japan.

Sure enough, Fatalism and Destined Death were far too dull. This kind of imminent slaughter was far more captivating.

That was why he loved being a Reincarnator: endless conflict, endless hatred… endless slaughter.

Inside the temporary Prime Minister’s residence, Sugahide Hito’s face was pale. Clutching his broken left wrist, he curled up beside his desk and watched the woman whose body crackled with electricity. She exuded an aura completely unlike that of the other Black Ball Warriors.

It was she who had broken into the residence in an instant and killed more than a dozen warriors wearing Reinforcement Suits, allowing this group to breach the residence so easily.

"Was it really okay to say that? Someone like Mercenary Tao will probably rush back from Germany immediately…"

Though Lotus questioned her, his gaze was gentle. He understood Bonnie’s pain very well.

74960 Team sounded like a team that concentrated resources and combat power in the hands of a few people, but bluntly put, it was merely a second-rate team that had been sustained entirely by Bonnie’s power.

And in such a team, kind-hearted Bonnie had borne immense pressure. This time, with all of them dying in battle, Bonnie would surely blame herself deeply.

He did not spout empty words telling her not to avenge him. Such words could not comfort Bonnie at all.

Bonnie’s eyes were sharp. Ever since her last encounter with Mercenary Tao, when she had fled desperately and Ama, whom Gantz had resurrected, was killed by Mercenary Tao once again, her temperament had grown increasingly cold.

Bonnie had realized her previous weakness. She would no longer leave herself a way out. She wanted to become Mercenary Tao’s enemy. Only that pressure could keep her, all alone, from losing herself until death.

Kei Kurono’s skin was deathly pale, but his entire body had become much straighter, and even his temperament had changed considerably.

This made Reika Shimohira, who had once been deeply infatuated with him, feel unfamiliar with him.

Although Kei Kurono now seemed more handsome and colder, she inexplicably felt that he carried a far more sinister air.

Masaru Kato was the same. Looking at the corpses scattered across the floor, he had no idea what the point of this operation was.

"Didn’t the Prime Minister already say it? Because the conglomerates feared Mercenary Tao, they voluntarily handed over control of Gantz. From now on, there won’t be any activities in Japan where Gantz hunters slaughter for entertainment…"

Masaru Kato was somewhat agitated, but Kei Kurono could no longer be bothered to look at his close friend.

He merely pushed open the window and waved outside. The next moment, a boy with pale skin, as though his entire body had been frozen in ice, led another girl frozen in ice through the window.

The boy’s eyes were a pure icy blue. He walked before Sugahide Hito, then began drawing and writing on the floor together with his younger sister.

The dark-blue writing was completely unreadable, but cold air began to spread.

Masaru Kato felt even more uneasy.

"Kei! What exactly are you doing?!"

At that moment, Kei Kurono turned to look at Masaru Kato and the others. He suddenly raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

"Don’t make a sound. Someone is watching us… Those people have always been watching us…"

"Like… lab rats."

Kei Kurono’s eyes flickered with barely restrained madness. His fangs unconsciously extended as a thirst for blood arose within him.

Under the guidance of that Ancient Alien God, he had seen the true secret behind Gantz and learned the source of this world’s suffering.

As long as things like Gantz continued to exist, so-called Reincarnation Star People would keep entering this world, turning everything utterly unrecognizable…

Only when this world became a place of utter deathly silence would those self-proclaimed superior observers lose interest in it…

Reika Shimohira took two steps back, and Masaru Kato immediately shielded her behind him. In that instant, they were certain they had not been mistaken—Kei Kurono had felt the urge to drink Reika Shimohira’s blood.

Kei Kurono looked at his friends, who could not understand him, but did not explain. He merely turned back to the contract drawn upon the ground.

It did not matter. As long as this Prime Minister signed the contract and made that god’s teachings the state religion of this country, everything would eventually turn bitterly cold.

"Winter is Coming…"

Within the Infinite Dimensional Space, there was a pitch-black Private Space without gravity or ground.

Reincarnators could only drift freely within it, unable to see its boundaries.

Shiyu had drifted here for quite some time. He greatly disliked this kind of twisted amusement. Just like his previous Eternal Destiny crown, this type of power always struck him as troublesome.

Finally, he saw a beam of light in the darkness, and his body drifted toward it.

Shiyu landed in the light and his body steadied. A voice then sounded.

"It seems you and I are fated to meet today."

Shiyu curled his lip, thinking that the rules of a Private Space were still designed by the Reincarnator himself.

He did not want to discuss philosophy with this mysterious person, so he spoke directly.

"Last time, I investigated Tumi Flower Blooms’ true strength for you. You promised me one condition, and now I’ve come to claim it."

"I want the answer to one question."

"Is Mercenary Tao one of the three most mysterious cards that you people hid away back then?"

Shiyu had returned in utter defeat from the B711 Secondary World. Faced with rumors throughout the space that he was already dead and had suffered greatly at Mercenary Tao’s hands, he was not angry.

Instead, he had become deeply curious about that special Reincarnator.

Fatalism should have been one of the highest concepts, comparable to concepts such as the Causality Law paradox. Why could such a supreme concept not encompass Mercenary Tao’s fate?

When he used his rudimentary authority to observe, he discovered that Mercenary Tao possessed the possibility of transcending Fatalism.

As one of the most powerful Reincarnators, Shiyu knew many hidden secrets.

For example, he was certain that the true leader of the Destiny Organization before him was a remnant of the previous Reincarnation era.

"Yes, and no."

Having received his answer, Shiyu’s eyes lit up. The next moment, he was teleported out of the other party’s Private Space. He frowned and considered that answer. Before long, a guess arose in his mind.

He felt that he had to seek confirmation from Azure Sky. After all, there were probably only three people in the space who knew the faces of those three cards and their final destinations.