End of Mad Fantasies, Ye Zi’s Ability

A colossal willow tree seemed to stretch from earth to heaven, its hanging branches casting down both sunlight and green shade from the sky.

Underwood was a large city built amid this very terrain.

"Contestants below Three-Star Authority are probably around the seven-figure or six-figure level. But once you reach Four-Star Authority, formidable five-figure opponents start appearing."

"I estimate that in the highest Seven-Star Authority games, you’d probably need four-figure strength to contend with those twisted rules."

Reinhardt surveyed his surroundings while swiftly organizing the intelligence.

This was also the Professor’s first time joining Azure Sky’s full-team operation. His nerves were taut, and he had already crushed three gemstones in succession to obtain more comprehensive information.

He immediately spoke up as well.

"President, there’s some kind of conspiracy hidden behind this large-scale Gift Game. Someone has concealed dangerous Gift Games among countless others to confuse everyone."

"That person’s true objective is probably that terrifying Demon King [Azdahaka] sealed underground…"

The Professor was somewhat worried. Strictly speaking, this world was more dangerous than the vast majority of Derivative Worlds and Secondary Worlds.

Beneath the peaceful surface lurked countless crises far beyond what Reincarnators could currently handle.

Azure Sky, a team that had effectively already reached the peak of the Infinite Dimensional Space, could still be wiped out at any moment in this world.

Cao Qi waved a hand. He could tell that the Professor was nervous, but he himself was quite relaxed.

He bought a cup of the region’s most famous [Dean Teche] from a passing vendor. It was a local nectar, though in truth it was tree sap.

It was indeed sweet when drunk, carrying the distinctive fragrance of plants.

It was a wonderful experience that could only be found in a fantasy world like this.

"Relax, Ye Kai. You came here to see your sister, didn’t you?"

"Nothing in this world has anything to do with you. Right now, you aren’t the Reincarnator Professor. You’re just that little brother who cried his eyes out after losing his sister~"

His tone was full of teasing as he led the group onward.

Three stars had already appeared inside the bracelet on his right wrist.

For the King of Miracles, most Gift Games were not difficult at all.

But that was not the focus now. After taking two steps, he found that Reinhardt and Sen Xia were still lingering over the various parchment sheets.

Information on many Gift Games had been compiled in this city. Some people even specialized in calculating the difficulty and rewards of different Gift Games, while others sold information on which areas those with high-value Gifts frequented.

These two seemed to place particular importance on this Gift Game.

Cao Qi looked to the other side. Even the usually gentle Loman was speaking with the owner of a drink shop, probing whether the conclusion of this enormous Gift Game would truly bring forth the legendary miracle Gift capable of overturning heaven and earth.

That was the rumor spreading throughout the competition. Its original source could no longer be verified, but the entire South District Outer Gate was filled with such talk.

The community [Dragon Horned Griffin Alliance], led by the [Layer Dominator] Sarah Teldoreck, had also tacitly allowed the rumor to spread.

Even its subordinate communities, such as [Will o’wisp] and [Six Wounds], were participating in this Gift Game.

That was what had allowed this massive Gift Game to sweep across the entire South District Outer Gate and become an extraordinary event.

The smile on Cao Qi’s face faded considerably. He turned and found a tavern to sit in. At this point, only the Professor, Ye Kai, remained at his side.

"People are like this. They can never truly understand one another."

"Yet from their own perspective, they passionately give off goodwill…"

Cao Qi extended his hand. Golden radiance burned in his palm like fire, and specks of golden light spread in every direction.

The scene drew the attention of the others in the tavern, and quite a few immediately recorded it.

A Gift that made people feel happy just by seeing it, as though their entire bodies were bathed in sunlight, had to be worth quite a lot.

Ye Kai took it all in from the corner of his eye. The ugliness of human hearts constantly revealed the truth of the world.

This world was nowhere near as beautiful as the President believed.

"Looks like you don’t agree with my ideals either."

Cao Qi took large gulps of wine. He sounded as though he were already drunk, his gaze unfocused as he stared somewhere unknown.

"Ye Kai, don’t you think these worlds are actually beautiful?"

"Unique ecosystems, idealized living environments, a world-ending crisis that arrives at some point and brings everyone together, followed by a group of people stepping forward without regard for life or death…"

"That is… romance!"

Bang!

Cao Qi suddenly slammed the table. The sound was so loud that the entire tavern shook. Ye Kai was startled as well, only to discover that he was merely ordering more wine. He became somewhat at a loss.

That the President was an unreliable guy had already become common knowledge within Azure Sky.

The so-called Three Supreme Kings and King of Miracles were merely lofty filters imposed by those who did not know him.

The real President was a hoodlum who laughed, cursed, raged, and joked, even lazy and shameless at times.

He loved drinking, and he would deliberately use the [Law of Miracles] to let any fine wine get him drunk.

Most days, no one could find him. Other than fighting, he was completely useless.

Yet it was precisely someone like that who made Ye Kai feel an intense sense of vitality.

If Mercenary Tao was the person he had met who most resembled a Reincarnator, someone who possessed every quality a Reincarnator should have and brought each of them to the utmost perfection—

Then President Cao Qi was the complete opposite, the Reincarnator least like a Reincarnator.

He was carefree and unrestrained, utterly unconcerned with missions, with no desire to pursue power or any manner of reward.

Instead, he treasured the peaceful, everyday moments of mission worlds.

Ye Kai had heard that President Cao Qi had once taken Loman and the now-dead Roland to some One Piece World long ago. To board the Straw Hat Kid’s ship, he had deliberately stuffed himself into a treasure chest and disguised himself as a "treasure chest man."

But…

Such things were ultimately just the leisure afforded by having power.

Ye Kai’s gaze shifted from Cao Qi back to the table before him as he recalled his own experiences in mission worlds.

For those lacking strength, it was impossible to remain so relaxed in the face of dangerous missions.

Every Reincarnator struggled to survive.

Therefore, the optimal path for a Reincarnator was inevitably to become ruthless, to stop at nothing for power, to kill for milestones, massacre for strength, and destroy everything. That was the fastest way to grow stronger.

Just like… that person.

"Yeah, the President has always been having those impractical, illusory dreams."

A slightly husky female voice rang out. It was much deeper than that of an ordinary woman, yet there was a magnetic quality to its rasp. If such a voice spoke gentle words, it would probably make people feel incredibly warm.

Ye Kai shuddered. He could no longer remember how long it had been since he last heard that voice.

He turned back in astonishment and saw a woman standing beside his table. Her long black hair cascaded behind her, black-rimmed glasses rested on her face, and she wore a long dress woven from blue and white.

The woman reached out to touch Ye Kai’s head. He instinctively leaned backward, evading her hand.

Her hand paused in midair. Her expression froze for a moment, then a smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

"Not bad. You’ve grown too. You’re becoming more and more like a Reincarnator, Ye Kai~"

Cao Qi propped himself against the table with one hand. He was not surprised by the woman’s appearance. His face was already flushed red, and the miracle of [Miracle That Lets Any Wine Get Me Drunk] had manifested.

"You really did show up. Not bad at all. You’ve been doing so well even in this world, and you’ve stirred up such a huge commotion."

The woman pulled out a chair and sat beside Ye Kai, facing Cao Qi.

The others around them seemed completely unable to see her. Without the slightest hesitation, she picked up Ye Kai’s wooden wine cup, drained its contents in one gulp, then smacked her lips a few times and spat to the side.

"If I only looked at your expression, I might have actually believed this was some fine wine."

"You’re still as hypocritical as ever, President."

Ye Kai had never expected that the person he had been searching for all this time would appear so abruptly before him.

His first reaction was that she was fake, some kind of mental illusion. But that tone, that scent, and that habit of casually taking his drink were exactly as he remembered.

"Ye Zi…"

Like most siblings close in age, they only called each other brother and sister when speaking to outsiders. Between themselves, they always used each other’s full names.

The woman named Ye Zi turned her head and looked at the shut-in younger brother from her memories, the one who spent every day watching anime. He had now become a Reincarnator too, and had begun accepting the Reincarnators’ cruel logic of banditry.

The warmth and nostalgia in her gaze after so long apart gradually turned into sorrow. At last, she slightly raised her head, her pupils looking coldly down from above her lower lids at her younger brother.

"So you’ve become one of those lowly things too, my… little brother~"

Contempt began to fill Ye Zi’s eyes, as though she were looking at something utterly filthy.

Crackle—

Black lightning spread before the woman. It merely grazed Ye Kai’s body, but he felt his mind go blank and his skin sting with unbearable pain.

An intense will nearly rushed straight into his brain, threatening to utterly destroy his thoughts.

That boundless fury and resolve to slaughter everyone did not resemble the will of his gentle older sister at all.

Terrifying Conqueror’s Haki spread from the woman, expanding outward in ring after ring.

Thud, thud, thud…

The people in the tavern collapsed one after another. The bartender, who had been wiping glasses, rolled his eyes back and crumpled to the floor.

Cao Qi sighed. Even amid the black lightning entwined with Conqueror’s Haki, he remained slumped over the table.

He possessed the [Miracle of Immunity to Intimidation], so neither dragon might, Haki, nor other similar abilities could affect him.

It was a miracle Cao Qi had deliberately placed upon himself after fighting another King.

At the same time, he knew that Ye Zi was not displaying her power for his sake. She was displaying her determination and her stance.

She had completely positioned herself in opposition to the Infinite Dimensional Space, the Reincarnators, and her own kind.

Having witnessed too many miserable timelines, her sympathy had drowned out her reason, turning her into what she was now.

"If you want to show me your resolve, why not unleash your Heart Light Pulse?"

"Something like Haki is far from real enough!"

Cao Qi slowly rose to his feet. The Conqueror’s Haki around his body was directly repelled. He took a step forward, and the table before him naturally slid to the side.

The [Law of Miracles] was the [magic] Cao Qi had gained by delving into the root of all things. It was true magic.

He could do almost anything.

Cao Qi walked step by step to the other side of the table. The woman’s Conqueror’s Haki had already been forced back against her body.

Ye Zi’s long black hair curled backward, her brows tightly furrowed. Her black-rimmed glasses shattered beneath the collision of terrifying pressure.

Cao Qi reached forward, and with a snap, the woman’s figure instantly shattered.

A great mass of smoke appeared, and the woman’s body exploded into a sheet of parchment.

Cao Qi had long known that she would not come in person, but seeing this still disappointed him somewhat.

Because it meant she no longer trusted him at all. She feared that if her true body appeared, he would choose to seize her directly and end this conspiracy.

Snap!

Cao Qi snapped his fingers. Everyone within a thousand meters who had been knocked unconscious by the Conqueror’s Haki immediately woke up. The bartender looked at the wine cups on the floor, casually picked one up and wiped it twice, then filled it with wine and served it to the next customer.

Ye Kai slumped in his chair, still unable to recover from what had just happened.

"She… what exactly is Ye Zi…"

He had no idea what had happened. Although the members of Azure Sky had previously referred to his sister as a [traitor], he did not know what had occurred between her and the others.

From the looks of it now, the matters involved were a thousand times more serious than he had imagined.

The drunkenness slowly faded from Cao Qi’s body, and a desolate look appeared on his face.

"In the war between the Space and the planes, she chose to stand with the planes. That’s all."

"To achieve that goal, she would probably kill every Reincarnator without hesitation. Mm, in her words, kill all the pests…"

Cao Qi looked at Ye Kai, who still could not understand, and added,

"Including you."

Ye Kai shuddered. He had just lowered his head and picked up the parchment scroll.

It depicted a red-haired man with three scars on his face, standing on a ship with Conqueror’s Haki wrapped around his entire body.

[You have obtained special item · End of Mad Fantasies (Fragment)]

[End of Mad Fantasies (Fragment)]

[Quality: World's Rare Treasure]

[Description: A special item born from someone's prayer through extremely powerful Nen Ability and magic. It possesses the wondrous power to record everything.]

[Usage Requirements: Possess ability system · Nen; possess ability system · magic]

[Effect 1: Inject Nen Aura and magical power simultaneously, aim at any scene or person, and the page will record the phenomenon.] (Only blank pages can record.)

[Effect 2: Inject Nen Aura or magical power to release the phenomenon within the page.] (Only non-blank pages can be released.)

"This is Ye Zi’s enhancement?!"

His sister’s power far exceeded Ye Kai’s imagination.

"Hey, everyone, come look! Someone has challenged [Luos Pasus]!"

Someone shouted outside the tavern.

"Who is it?"

"No idea. They say it’s a crazy Martial Artist with half-white, half-black hair!"

A crazy Martial Artist?!

Ye Kai instantly realized who it was.

Mercenary Tao really was nearby, and someone like him would certainly not miss this Gift Game.

Cao Qi also walked outside. Far away, fireworks rose into the sky—the sign that someone had launched another Four-Star challenge.