Chapter 2: A Premonition of Misfortune
[The Hunter has selected a derivative world. The derivative world Bleach is opening. This world has no anomalies. Time-space power consumed: 0.021 ounces…]
[Based on the time-space power consumed, the contractor's minimum overall evaluation in this world must reach B-Rank.]
[Derivative World Contact Platform activating… Activated. Remaining speech count: 3 times.]
[The Hunter has entered the world. The world is beginning…]
In the exclusive room, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu almost simultaneously took a deep breath, their movements eerily synchronized.
The money-loving cat Beini looked puzzled. Bubu Wang, holding its breath, glanced at her, conveying the message: "There's a surprise in 10 seconds."
Beini tilted her head, her gaze even more confused.
"Meow?"
It had to be said, Beini in her cat form looked quite adorable. But in the next moment, Beini felt a chill at the back of her head.
Bang!
"Meow!"
After a cat's miserable shriek, Su Xiao's vision went dark.
He didn't know how long passed, but his eyes suddenly snapped open. A strong gust of air brushed past his cheeks, and the sound of wind whistled into his ears.
Su Xiao saw a cluster of old, dilapidated houses before him, covered with tiles that looked weathered with age.
More importantly, Su Xiao was getting closer and closer to these tiles, and he was facing them head-on.
Su Xiao looked down at his feet. Below him were blue skies and white clouds. In other words, he was falling headfirst in freefall!
A Counter Shield appeared around Su Xiao as he crashed into one of the houses.
With a loud crash, broken tiles flew everywhere, and the sound echoed far into the distance.
"Meow, meow meow, meow meow meow!"
A cat's miserable cries followed one after another. Beini fell through the hole Su Xiao had made, her limbs spread wide, her tail spinning like a propeller. Unfortunately, it was utterly useless. This was clearly the result of spending too much time with that fool Bubu Wang, getting 'assimilated' by the idiot.
Just as Beini landed inside the house, a loud bang came from the wall. She crashed through the wall and finally tumbled onto the grass.
Beini shook her head, her cat face full of confusion, as if asking: 'Who am I? Where am I?'
The moment before Beini hit the ground, Su Xiao grabbed her and threw her sideways to reduce the impact force.
After a few bounds, Beini leaped back into the house.
"Meow."
After greeting, Beini disappeared in a few more bounds, off to find treasure. The next meeting might not be until the end of the derivative world. If Su Xiao died in this world, they would never see each other again.
Su Xiao sat in the crater inside the house, stretching his limbs. The height he fell from wasn't too high, so he wasn't injured. However, this bizarre way of entering gave him a premonition of misfortune.
The first time he entered the Hunter world, Su Xiao had encountered a similar situation.
[Entering World: Bleach]
[World Difficulty: Lv.?? (Large Open World)]
[World Source: 0%]
[World Introduction:]
Bleach: Shinigami usually appear in the Human World and the Soul Society. As lifeforms with extremely high spirit particle concentrations, Shinigami possess abilities beyond those of humans. They fight Hollows to maintain the balance between the Human World and the Soul Society, and they guide or evolve relatively friendly souls to safely enter the Soul Society. The Shinigami also rule the Soul Society.
Zanpakutō: The weapons of Shinigami. Their forms and abilities are mostly constructed based on the Shinigami's own soul. Shinigami gradually develop their abilities by learning the name of their Zanpakutō.
Hollow: When the dead in the Human World become souls, their inner desires corrode the soul, transforming them into Hollows. Hollows also have the potential to evolve. From a fundamental perspective, Hollows and Shinigami are just different paths of evolution, each with its own strengths.
Quincy: The opponents of Shinigami. Shinigami purify Hollows, while Quincies completely destroy them.
[Main Quest: Faction Choice (First Ring)]
[Hunt Quest: Eliminate Violator No. 10073 (Death Omen)]
[Hint: This Violator is extremely dangerous. Has killed two Hunters.]
[Hint: When the Hunter enters within one kilometer of the Violator, the tracking function will automatically activate.]
[World, Begin!]
…
Su Xiao closed the world introduction. He had received a long-awaited Hunt Quest. Not only that, but this Hunt Quest was very dangerous. Reincarnation Paradise had not only directly marked this Violator's code name but also warned Su Xiao that two Hunters had already died at their hands.
Su Xiao had known for a long time that there were other Hunters, but he had never met one. Or rather, the chances of him meeting another Hunter in a derivative world were slim. In most cases, one Hunter per derivative world was enough.
This Violator, named Death Omen, had successfully counter-killed two Hunters. No matter what method they used, they had their own unique skills and should not be underestimated.
Su Xiao opened the mission list to check the two tasks.
[Main Quest: Faction Choice (First Ring)]
[Difficulty Level: Lv.??]
[Quest Description: Join any faction: Soul Society, Aizen's Faction, Kisuke Urahara's Faction, Vizard, etc.]
[Quest Info: The choice of faction will affect subsequent missions and the final battle.]
[Quest Duration: 6 natural days.]
[Quest Reward: 20,000 Paradise Coins.]
[Quest Penalty: Summary Execution.]
…
[Hunt Quest: Eliminate Violator No. 10073.]
[Quest Description: Use any means to eliminate the anomalous Violator.]
[Quest Info: The Violator Death Omen is extremely dangerous. They have killed two third-rank Hunters.]
[Quest Duration: Before leaving this derivative world.]
[Quest Reward: Gold Honor Medal × 10]
[Quest Penalty: None]
…
The first stage of the main quest was relatively simple. In most cases, it involved choosing a faction to join, which would affect subsequent developments.
However, a certain phrase in the main quest caught Su Xiao's attention: "The choice of faction will affect subsequent missions and the final battle."
The final battle. Su Xiao couldn't yet determine the meaning of this phrase. If it was the battle against Aizen, that was manageable. If it was the battle between Yhwach and the Soul Society, then the joke would be on him.
Based on Su Xiao's understanding, Bleach could be divided into three stages. The first stage was when Ichigo Kurosaki broke into the Soul Society.
During this stage, the captains' strength was at a normal level. Although they were difficult to deal with, they weren't impossible to handle.
The second stage was the Aizen battle period. At that time, the captains' combat power had noticeably increased. One particular spiky-haired brute was especially unpredictable, sometimes strong, sometimes weak, or rather, stronger against strong opponents and weaker against weak ones.
The third stage was the collapse stage, from Aizen's defeat to the final ultimate boss Yhwach's appearance. The captains' combat power skyrocketed. Some underachievers also had their moment, and although they were still underachievers, from an individual combat perspective, they had indeed become much stronger.
In other words, if the final battle referred to Aizen vs. the Soul Society, things were still within control. If not, Su Xiao would have to consider deliberately failing the main quest midway to use the Main Quest Failure Exemption to leave the Bleach world.
Of course, no matter how the final battle developed, Su Xiao would try to reap benefits in the derivative world before things got out of hand and find a way to deal with that Violator.