Soul Replication, Gantz’s New Use (3K)

"Where did you hear that?"

"Could I have gotten it wrong? Hahaha…"

The bald giant codenamed Sokchakht laughed heartily, but Bai Cangshu noticed that the corner of his eye had remained fixed on him.

This man’s true personality was unknown, but Bai Cangshu guessed it was definitely nothing like the boldness he was deliberately displaying now.

The fellow gave off an air of distortion and affectation.

Sokchakht put away the skeletal material without even showing Bai Cangshu the trait options it could be forged into, then turned toward the items Jia Qi was preparing to trade.

"Jia Qi, what are you trading with Mercenary Tao? Why not let me take a look too?"

Jia Qi frowned. He too found Sokchakht’s behavior strange. He did not seem to be trying to complete a deal, but rather deliberately stalling for time or interfering with the transaction between Jia Qi and Mercenary Tao.

He remained unmoved and had no interest in the undercurrents swirling behind the various gatherings.

As one of the higher-ups of Knight & Knight, he had indeed heard that Mercenary Tao had now become a prized target in many people’s eyes, the focus of everyone’s attacks.

The performance of that Ability User from the Goryeo March Consortium had led many to believe that Mercenary Tao was the mastermind behind it. Mercenary Tao’s ambitions, as well as the changes he had brought to the situation of reincarnators and the real world, had made many gatherings value him highly. This Mercenary Tao was far more valuable than the one who had previously been purely obsessed with slaughter.

"So, do we have a deal, Mercenary Tao? I want to take back Duke’s belt and Bloodline in one go."

You accepted Reincarnator JG20873354's offer.

You lost Item: Unidentified Belt.

You lost Bloodline Item: Bloodline of Bai Shen Prometheus (Modified).

You obtained Ability Scroll: Ten Phoenix Nirvana Art (Special).

Without a word, Bai Cangshu put away the golden feather. He did not even inspect it carefully before turning and leaving the stall.

He left Sokchakht and the others behind, including Sokchakht’s inexplicably mocking expression.

Jia Qi and the others had recovered Duke’s relics and intended to give them to recognized juniors within their gathering. In their gathering, a knight was a legacy.

When one knight died, the others would find a way to recover or obtain another identical Driver, allowing a more passionate and righteous successor to transform once again.

We reincarnators will eventually die, but knights never will.

That was their creed.

With a flash, Bai Cangshu vanished from the public space, disappointing the reincarnators who had come one after another for the Op-Op Fruit. They could only leave offers behind, but reading offers was far too inefficient—especially for someone like Mercenary Tao, who did not seem like the sort to carefully read through them one by one.

As Black Butler emerged from the public space of a large gathering, he suddenly received a spatial message. His expression turned grave, and he quickly requested entry into Mercenary Tao’s Private Space.

With a flash of light, he found himself in an enormous Private Space, now probably exceeding five hundred square meters. Yet the space was utterly empty, without any furnishings.

Mercenary Tao was currently throwing away the low-value items left behind by the former owner of the newly absorbed Private Space.

Mercenary Tao said nothing, and Black Butler immediately sensed an atmosphere of killing intent. He could even see purple-red ripples behind Mercenary Tao, flickering like flames.

That was probably… Satsui no Hado.

Black Butler pursed his lips, thought for a moment, then took the initiative to speak.

"Recently, there really have been quite a few rumors about you in the Space."

Bai Cangshu paused, still saying nothing. Black Butler felt the pressure mounting and could only continue explaining.

"But you know, as your reputation grows, more and more of these true and false rumors will always appear. Quite a few false ones have been mixed in as well."

At that moment, Mercenary Tao suddenly turned around. The movement was so abrupt it looked like a skipped animation frame, startling Black Butler. But to his surprise, Mercenary Tao did not look angry or displeased at all.

He was smiling!

There was a smile on Mercenary Tao’s face that Black Butler could not understand.

"Mercenary Tao, you…"

Bai Cangshu did not explain. Black Butler was weak; he would not understand his state of mind.

He merely wagged a finger and said, "Don’t worry, I don’t blame you. On the contrary, I called you here because I hope you can leak a little more information about me~"

Black Butler’s expression changed, and he hurriedly explained.

"I wasn’t the one who leaked that information before!"

"I have principles. I would never reveal information detrimental to a client!"

Bai Cangshu neither confirmed nor denied it. He did not trust Black Butler all that much, but working with him was indeed convenient. Besides, he would not get angry over a leak of that level anyway. So he waved him off perfunctorily, signaling for Black Butler to settle down.

"Whatever. I’ll pay you a fee, just like during our first collaboration. You can leak information about me and let the outside world know that I’m furious, that I’m angry…"

Black Butler did not understand why, but he still nodded in agreement.

Though such a thing would affect his "image," spreading rumors and insider gossip often did not require him to show himself personally.

Usually, he only needed to "accidentally" say a few extra words, and soon someone would spread them everywhere.

After Black Butler disappeared, Bai Cangshu took out the Black Ball Gantz in his Private Space and placed it in the empty room.

After the Deathmatch Task, he had suddenly developed more ideas about this thing.

He pressed his hand against the Black Ball. It quickly unfolded, and a screen appeared. The screen no longer displayed information about the Black Ball Team members. Instead, it became something like an operating panel.

This was probably Gantz’s original form. It was just that in the Gantz world, those financial conglomerates had turned it into a tool for amusing themselves by toying with humanity.

After thinking for a moment, Bai Cangshu directly selected Create Human.

You may replicate or resurrect any lifeform you have witnessed. The information cost is linked to the target lifeform's Life Level.

Bai Cangshu pictured the target in his mind, a smile on his lips. Soon, a tall and powerfully built man appeared on the screen. His long black hair fell behind him and gently swayed. His face was handsome, but a cruel smile seemed to hang eternally from the corner of his lips.

Bai Cangshu!

It was Bai Cangshu himself.

The target possesses anomalous information. Only basic information can be replicated.

Replicating the target's basic information requires: B-rank Anomaly Point ×1, 18,000 Dimensional Points.

Bai Cangshu considered it, then made further inquiries through Gantz. He discovered that a target replicated by Gantz could only retain consistent soul and physical information.

The other anomalous information it carried could not be replicated. That anomalous information referred to the abilities, items, and Bloodlines reincarnators obtained through various means within the Infinite Dimensional Space.

It was like a 3D printer, except it could clearly only print the most basic things.

Bai Cangshu frowned. This could not satisfy his needs. After his battle with that reincarnator who possessed Copy Magic, he had thought of creating a copy of himself and fighting a completely identical version of himself. It should have been the most exhilarating battle he could imagine.

But Gantz could not do it.

He thought again. The Bai Cangshu on the screen became thinner, and his hair reverted to neat short hair. It was exactly how he had looked before entering the Space.

Replicating the target's basic information requires: D-rank Anomaly Point ×1, 5,000 Dimensional Points.

Bai Cangshu agreed to pay. The next moment, a new figure appeared in the Private Space, seeming to be printed out as it rapidly formed from the top of its head downward.

Within a few breaths, a new Bai Cangshu had appeared.

This Bai Cangshu wore a hypocritical false smile. Appearing in the empty room, he showed no fear at all as he surveyed his surroundings, then quickly turned to meet Bai Cangshu’s gaze.

His pupils visibly contracted as well before he spoke.

"Looks like I was copied by you?"

Bai Cangshu looked at the fellow he had copied. Those eyes identical to his own were using their peripheral vision to scan the surroundings, clearly searching for information that could allow him to seize control of the situation.

This truly was someone no different from himself.

Bai Cangshu stepped forward.

The replicated Bai Cangshu had already leaped a full step backward. He lowered his body, and the sound of violent heartbeats came from within him as his muscles began to swell.

Clearly, the pressure radiating from the original Bai Cangshu had stimulated him. Sensing danger, he rapidly entered a combat stance.

Bai Cangshu remained unmoved and continued walking toward his copy.

"Since you can’t please me, let me see just what differences remain between you and me…"

Bai Cangshu let his hands hang at his sides. The aura of a Martial Arts Grandmaster was completely incomparable to that of Bai Cangshu before he entered the Space. Yet the other man immediately straightened up slowly as well, lowering his hands as if imitating how he exerted force.

"Mm, he probably has physical control abilities similar to mine."

Bai Cangshu raised his right hand, and powerful qi gathered at his fingertips.

Wooo~

The howl of qi clearly made the replicated Bai Cangshu’s pupils tremble violently. His understanding was overturned once more. He realized that the human before him, who resembled him so closely, was no ordinary creature, and that the coming battle could not possibly be a purely physical one.

Thump thump thump thump…

Violent, rapid heartbeats continued ringing out. Bai Cangshu watched with interest, but the other’s muscles did not continue swelling. Instead, he took an incredibly swift step forward in the next instant.

This step was much faster than the speed Bai Cangshu himself could achieve before entering the Space.

Pfft!

The Dodon Ray suddenly fired. The replicated Bai Cangshu’s hair scattered, every strand seeming to stand on end. His brow and eyes opened wide, and his entire mind focused to the utmost. His body actually froze abruptly, allowing him to evade the Dodon Ray.

Then he took another step forward, his body stretching out as he threw a punch at Bai Cangshu’s face.

Pfft!

The replicated Bai Cangshu remained in the pose of a punch thrown with his feet spread over a meter apart and his body stretched forward, but his upper body was already completely gone.

Like an exploding watermelon, the flesh and blood of his upper body had been smashed apart by Bai Cangshu’s rapidly raised fist.

Buzz~

Li Qingzi, who happened to teleport in at that moment, stared blankly at the grisly scene in the Private Space, having no idea what madness Bai Cangshu was up to again.

Bai Cangshu tossed the Ability Scroll called Extreme of Zero and One Hundred (A-) toward the woman.

"Woman, learn this ability. After that, I need you to do something."

Li Qingzi was baffled.

"I’m about to begin a new deployment."

Bai Cangshu remained unmoved.

"Of course, after you return…"

Li Qingzi realized that Bai Cangshu did not seem to have considered the possibility that she might die in the mission world. This meant he perhaps still had some trust in her.

She nodded. Without asking what the matter was or what had just happened, she entered the public space and began her final training.

Bai Cangshu had spent one D-rank Anomaly Point, but gained some insight into the peculiarities between himself and his soul.

The way his copy used its talent seemed not to be entirely the same as his own.

Then was that where the so-called Heart Light, the place where an individual was truly unique, lay?

Of course, the more important matter now was still those people hiding in the shadows.

Bai Cangshu’s smile was radiant. He did not dislike others trying to kill him. Fighting to the death—that was the most interesting thing of all…

"Let’s see who finds whom first, heh…"