Old God

Cleaner Authority

Quality: Special

Description: A special form of identification granted by the Space to certain Special Reincarnators, possessing purge privileges.

Effect 1: The holder will always be recognized as a Scavenger. (Regardless of the Reincarnator's style or changes in strength, when a Purge Mission is triggered, the holder will always be near the front of the queue, with a rank no lower than 5.)

Effect 2: In each mission world, you may designate one Reincarnator as a purge target. The Space will assess them, and if they fail the assessment, a special Purge Mission will begin. (The assessment will be based on the Reincarnator's actions in that mission world, item usage, contact with special Plot Characters, and so on.)

Bai Cangshu looked at his right palm. A glowing triangular symbol had appeared there. As long as he focused on it, he could see the detailed description of the Cleaner Authority.

Simply put, it was a form of identification. In the future, whenever a Purge Mission was issued, even if Bai Cangshu did not meet the requirements, he would still qualify to enter the sequence.

The information Bai Cangshu had previously learned from Li Qingzi was that Purge Missions mainly had two requirements. The first was strength. Only Reincarnators capable of purging other Reincarnators would be listed by the Space as Scavenger candidates.

The second was a Reincarnator’s conduct in mission worlds. This was an implicit condition. Based on a Reincarnator’s attitude toward other Reincarnators, Plot Characters, ordinary humans, and so on in mission worlds, the Space would judge their style and eventually deem them a Scavenger at an appropriate time, sending them to carry out Purge Missions.

To Bai Cangshu, however, the more important effect of this authority was clearly the second one. In every mission world, he could designate one person as a purge target. After the Space’s assessment, once it passed, he could kill that person to obtain a Cleaner Scarlet Drop Card with a designated reward draw.

Combined with the Scarlet Great Sin effect of his current Omen of the Evil God: Third Stage, he could gather resources quickly and efficiently.

As for the assessment’s success rate, Bai Cangshu had yet to test it because he had not found a suitable target.

"Um… Mr. Tao…"

The Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary, who had been mediating from the center of the conference room, was poised halfway out of his chair without fully standing.

The Japanese had always been almost excessively particular about such trivial matters.

They believed it was disrespectful to remain seated when speaking to a superior, but standing tall before Mercenary Tao was not appropriate either.

Thus, this powerful cabinet official appeared almost fawning.

But the Prime Minister had no objection. This Mr. Mercenary Tao before them had already been revered as a living god by those old fools of Shintoism.

He did not believe such claims, but the footage of Mercenary Tao killing the giant beast that could ignore a nuclear blast filled him with fear.

Moreover, though he had not been born poor, he was unlike politicians from powerful clans such as Abe and Koizumi. He had his own concerns and worries about the rumors circulating within the government regarding the apocalypse and alien technology.

Bai Cangshu was pulled from his thoughts. He raised his eyes, glaring displeasedly at the Japanese politicians who regarded him as some powerful force to be fought over.

Boom!

Without warning, a black-and-crimson Conqueror’s Haki erupted.

The overwhelming aura swept across thousands of meters like a raging sea. The politicians nearest Bai Cangshu instantly went pale and began trembling all over.

Mori Keiya, the Chief Cabinet Secretary who had just spoken and interrupted Bai Cangshu’s thoughts, rolled his eyes back and collapsed limply to the floor. Foul-smelling urine spilled out uncontrollably.

The various bodyguards secretly stationed behind them and the guards outside the conference room had no time to react. They too were swallowed by the Conqueror’s Haki.

Thud, thud…

Within moments, only three people in the conference room remained conscious.

One was Sugahide Hito, the current Prime Minister of Japan seated across from Bai Cangshu. Another was an old man seated some distance behind him.

Sugahide Hito’s limbs trembled. What kind of power was this? He stiffly turned around. There was no sound left anywhere around him.

Bai Cangshu rose and opened the conference room window. From here, he could see one corner of Mount Fuji. These people had moved the Prime Minister’s residence out of Tokyo, yet they had still chosen a place where Mount Fuji could be seen.

"Let’s make this simple and straightforward, humans~"

Bai Cangshu was growing accustomed to calling these weak ordinary people humans. Unconsciously, he had begun to view himself as another species.

At this moment, the gap between him and these powerless ordinary people was already several times greater than the gap between them and monkeys in a zoo.

"I need you to find the lists and locations of the financial conglomerate families in your country that control those black-clad warriors."

Leaning by the window, Bai Cangshu gave his order.

Sugahide Hito did not turn to look at the Emperor’s representative. The two exchanged glances, and neither objected.

The black-clad warriors who wielded special weapons, fought Giant Beasts, and had even appeared in the major incidents in Tokyo and Osaka had long since drawn the government’s attention.

What unsettled them was that this power was not controlled by the government—or, rather, by themselves.

Certain families had secretly taken control of that power for themselves.

Bai Cangshu’s objective in this world was to gather as many resources as possible. This world’s difficulty was clearly lower than his rating.

Besides hunting those Reincarnators, he naturally had to dig as much as possible out of the plot.

To Bai Cangshu, the technology related to the Black Ball was this world’s greatest extra reward.

Moreover, one of the two purge targets seemed to still be in Germany, at an extremely distant location. The Multi-Faced Star People had not directly sent that person back as well. Bai Cangshu guessed that this was also connected to the Multi-Faced Star People’s plan.

Based on the current signs, the reason the Reincarnators in this world had triggered a Purge Mission was because they had coveted Gantz and thus come into contact with the Multi-Faced Star People.

Bai Cangshu believed this was a hint from the Multi-Faced Star People, suggesting that he could ultimately find the last purge target by tracing Gantz’s technology. Furthermore, that was where the Multi-Faced Star People’s purpose in contacting him lay.

"We will give you a definite answer within three hours."

After saying that, Sugahide Hito left the conference room to arrange the necessary actions. Only after stepping outside did he see that all the security and guards around them had lost consciousness and collapsed on the ground. Forcing himself to stay calm, he used his phone to call the Tsuchimikado Clan.

He was beginning to believe what those old fools had said. A creature like this truly did not seem human.

"Mr. Tsuchimikado, that great one is currently at our temporary official residence. Yes, please receive Him properly."

Bai Cangshu heard everything clearly from inside the conference room. He had already torn apart the conference table and some documents, intending to use them as firewood to roast the giant beast meat he had brought back.

Before long, flames rose within the conference room…

"Hanako, hold on. Big brother found something good~"

Inside a blood-soaked, ruined building, a ragged little boy with blood and all kinds of dust smeared across his face had bright eyes. He leaned his sleeping little sister against a pillar that had been gouged open with a massive hole by something.

Then he walked to the center of the building. Though this place was made of steel and concrete, within the ring of red patterns on the ground stood a strange, sinister tree, its crimson leaves trembling as it radiated an inexplicable pull.

The little boy walked beneath the tree, knelt devoutly, and began to pray.

"I hope we can find Mom."

"I hope Hanako can open her eyes."

"I hope… those bad people… can pay the price…"

The sinister tree kept swaying. Something seemed to emerge from beneath the ground, and the little boy immediately stepped forward and began feeling around.

The tree’s movements grew more pronounced. At the same time, several identical sinister trees were swaying their branches elsewhere in Tokyo.

Many people had gathered beneath every tree. They were all ragged and covered in blood, but at this moment, satisfied smiles spread across their faces, as if their prayers had been answered.