Li Qingzi and Mercenary Tao

Bai Cangshu needed to spend one E-rank Anomaly Point and 2,500 Dimensional Points to use Gantz to create a Gantz Suit.

The price Bai Cangshu quoted Song Xian was one D-rank Anomaly Point and 5,000 Dimensional Points.

The Anomaly Point cost had tripled, while the Dimensional Point cost had doubled.

Given his current resource consumption, the profit was not much. Of course, East Xia had come with the goal of arming the entire Azure Dragon Department, so overall, the amount of resources Bai Cangshu could obtain was still quite considerable.

Today, he had provided thirty sets of equipment. As for the price of the X-Gun and H-Gun, Bai Cangshu counted it as that Extremely Rare Qi Sword and waived the Dimensional Point cost.

Song Xian and the others could accept this result as well, because these resources were not actually being paid by the Singularity Affairs Bureau, but shared among the official Reincarnators themselves.

This was the most awkward aspect of official organizations: they had no control whatsoever over the resources within the Space.

Thus, they could not use resource allocations to grant benefits to their members.

This was also why, among the countless Reincarnators in the great nation of East Xia, there had never been enough people willing to join official organizations unconditionally.

Those driven purely by fervor and ideals were always a minority. What was more, in a place like the Infinite Dimensional Space, where the pressure of life and death was so immense, it was even harder for Reincarnators to keep acting solely on that fervor and those ideals.

The Singularity Affairs Bureau had naturally considered many supplementary measures, including generous real-world benefits and protection for their families.

But ultimately, such things could not help Reincarnators in those treacherous and dangerous mission worlds.

Therefore, seeing Bai Cangshu willing to use more items to offset the resource costs, Song Xian and the others actually breathed a sigh of relief in a sense.

Not everyone was willing to give as much as he and Tianjie did.

Chu Qi had long anticipated this outcome. He merely waved a hand and left first.

Song Xian and Tianjie left Mercenary Tao’s Private Space carrying all thirty sets of Black Ball equipment, only to see that more than seven or eight teams had already arrived at the stall.

They displayed all kinds of materials, likely hoping to build a good relationship with Mercenary Tao, a future big shot.

A man whose hands were stained with Reincarnators’ blood had instead become someone other Reincarnators sought to curry favor with. It was quite absurd.

Tianjie merely watched the scene coldly. He swore that he would never let East Xia become like this.

He could not accept the collapse of order, with everything submitting to pure bloodshed and violence…

Korea, March Group’s headquarters. The massive screens on the building had begun continuously cycling through all kinds of promotional videos related to Ability Users.

Han Baekho had been positioned as something like a flagship star or an idol. Footage of him transforming into a half-man, half-tiger form could be seen everywhere.

Although similar things had already appeared in all kinds of film and television works before this, Han Baekho’s transformation, which could be filmed in close-up and have every detail captured by cameras, was completely different.

Koreans had an inexplicable fixation on and reverence for the image of the white tiger. Han Baekho had thus been selected to serve as this sort of public face.

March Group now rarely placed advertisements for new smartphones, display screens, or even its chip business, and those products were seldom promoted any longer.

Under Li Qingzi’s iron-fisted rule, all voices within the group swiftly vanished. Some even believed that certain directors had been physically removed.

In short, the massive March Group quickly completed its transformation.

Korea, too, rapidly transformed under March Group’s control. Its citizens fully accepted the existence of Ability Users as a new race.

A peculiar sense of national pride also emerged. They believed that Koreans were the first people to accept and embrace Ability Users, and that Korea would play an even more important role in the course of the future.

In a sense, they were not entirely wrong.

March Group had likewise begun researching Gantz Technology, as well as all kinds of other items and knowledge.

Within the building, Han Baekho—now Korea’s truly unrivaled top star, surpassing every idol celebrity and even baseball player—rode the elevator to the upper floors with a grave expression.

This was the forty-fourth floor, an exceedingly inauspicious level.

After exiting the elevator, Han Baekho found two fully armed Reincarnators wearing Reinforcement Suits. Only after undergoing iris recognition was he permitted to enter the floor.

Inside a huge conference room, everything, including the doors and windows, had been sealed shut with a new alloy.

By the time Han Baekho entered, seven or eight out of ten of the Reincarnators registered with The Agency had arrived.

As a nation that had fully embraced The Agency’s system, March Group had, in a short period, used both threats and inducements to secure the registration and membership of more than fifty Reincarnators.

Their strengths varied. The weakest had entered the Space less than a week ago, while the strongest had already reached the Third Tier.

"Baekho, what is this all about?"

"Yeah, Senior Baekho, did something happen? Why do I keep having this bad feeling?"

Everyone looked uneasy.

Han Baekho had decent character, and many people trusted him, so they all began asking questions.

But although Han Baekho was a major focus of outside publicity, he could not enter The Agency’s center of power. He merely shook his head and said,

"Be careful what you say later. With this kind of setup, it probably isn’t anything good."

The others exchanged looks.

Tap, tap, tap…

Crisp footsteps sounded out, accompanied by a terrifyingly sharp aura and an unusual presence that made their hairs stand on end.

The scent was extremely pungent and deeply unpleasant.

Han Baekho was quite familiar with it. He knew it was Demonic Qi!

It was a special scent emitted only after someone had strengthened a monster bloodline.

Nor was it merely a scent. Demonic Qi was also a form of energy. When it was strong enough, simply releasing it could kill other living beings over a wide area.

The mechanical door opened, and a woman with waist-length hair and a white suit jacket draped over her shoulders walked in on heels over ten centimeters high.

Han Baekho lowered his head. He felt that even those heels radiated a sharp aura, as though they could pierce him to death at any moment.

Killing intent… such intense killing intent!

Today’s meeting was truly dangerous!

His scalp tingled. Their brief contact over the past week or two had made him clearly realize that March Group’s new leader was a woman far more cruel and resolute than Li Xianhou.

Moreover, she was strong—stronger than everyone present!

Jin Yue’an, with red hair and black-rimmed glasses, also made a rare appearance.

Han Baekho had previously been Jin Yue’an’s captain and had discovered her. Thus, he looked toward her now, hoping she might give him some information through her gaze or a mental hint.

But the woman who once wore thick lenses now revealed her edge completely. Her gaze was equally sharp, and her pupils even glimmered with a yellow gemstone-like luster.

Those were… Mystic Eyes!

Crack!

As her heels came to a stop, fine sword light spread from beneath Li Qingzi’s feet, drawing startled cries from the others.

Only Cha Hyun-tae, seated in the front row, remained calmly seated. He was the only Reincarnator in The Agency to have entered the Third Tier.

Though he was over fifty, age was not a problem at all for Reincarnators.

"Chairwoman Li, with such immense killing intent, what exactly are you planning to do?"

Li Qingzi swept an indifferent glance over this Old Geezer who thought too highly of himself. She said nothing, merely signaling Jin Yue’an with her eyes.

Jin Yue’an stepped forward, took out a tablet, and said,

"Unfortunately, someone within The Agency has betrayed us, seeking profit by selling information about their own people."

"We will witness the fate of traitors here together."

Jin Yue’an then began calling names.

"Kim Jun-ho, Park Min-young, Lee Cheol-hyeon…"

She named six people in a row, more than one-tenth of The Agency’s members. Since March Group possessed all their information, they were addressed by their real names within The Agency.

The few rose to their feet with panicked expressions and began to defend themselves.

"No, I didn’t betray The Agency!"

"I only described that Mr. Bai’s characteristics. That guy isn’t a member of The Agency, is he?"

One man shouted, and then another curly-haired woman chimed in.

"That’s right. What’s wrong with giving out information on someone like Mercenary Tao? If someone else can kill him, wouldn’t that be a good thing for us—"

Buzz!

Emerald sword light flashed in an instant. Cha Hyun-tae’s hand tightened around his staff reflexively, but before the light of magic could appear—

A woman’s head flew through the air amid a fountain of blood, then hit the ground with a thud and rolled away.

Such a fast sword! Cha Hyun-tae’s heart tightened.

Li Qingzi plunged the Nano Combat Blade in her hand into the ground and stared coldly at the others.

"Betraying him is the same as betraying me."

"Do you have anything else to explain?"

Han Baekho’s face turned pale. Like him, Shin Hye-jin was one of the Reincarnators March Group had put forward for publicity, and she had considerable fame outside.

Yet even a Reincarnator who served as a public face had been cut down by Chairwoman Li without the slightest hesitation…

Any thought he had of pleading for the others faded considerably at that moment.

Seeing that the others offered no defense, Li Qingzi raised her sword again. The few exchanged glances, then erupted into action at once, rapidly unleashing all kinds of abilities.

But as terrifying sword light flared, all that remained was the pungent stench of blood and mutilated corpses sprawled across the floor.

After completing the purge, Li Qingzi left directly, leaving Jin Yue’an behind to deal with the aftermath.

Li Qingzi took her private elevator back to her office. She closed the door and stood by the window, looking down at the magnificent scenery of Korea’s capital.

The smell of blood left by the killings still lingered in her nose, yet she did not change her clothes.

She clutched the white suit jacket and even took a deep breath.

That unfamiliar yet familiar scent of blood gave her an unusual sense of comfort.

She clenched her right hand, and the Gantz Sword immediately extended its nano blade. Li Qingzi gently stroked the sword, her eyes seeming both wistful and nostalgic.

She admitted that she actually missed the days she had spent with that man.

Those days of turmoil, fear, and bloodshed intertwined had made her feel more alive than ever before.

And now, was she to be shackled by the affairs of this tiny country…

Beep beep, beep beep.

Her phone rang. Li Qingzi’s heart stirred as she picked it up. Seeing the familiar number, she felt as though even her spirits had lightened somewhat.

She cleared her throat softly, lowering her voice completely until it became cool and detached.

"Hello?"

"Woman, I want to turn Paradise into a public space in the real world. Go promote it for me. All Reincarnators can come to Paradise to trade."

"And I, Mercenary Tao, will provide them with protection."