Chapter 24: Zhang Jie's Way Out — Prison Nine Gates
“You agree, don’t you, my dear Central Continent Team leader?”
Zhang Jie could confirm he hadn’t misheard a single word.
He could also confirm that in Resident Evil, he hadn't exposed any ‘weaknesses’; at most, there was just a tiny bit of strangeness…
This was far from enough to guess his ‘enhancement’ and ‘identity’.
Since he was identified as the leader, what about that deeply buried identity he didn’t want to admit? Did Fang Ge know that too?
“I know everything.”
The man answered Zhang Jie’s deeply buried question with a calm tone.
“…”
Zhang Jie didn’t know how to deal with this situation. He wasn’t a logic freak like Chu Xuan, but encountering such an illogical situation still made one feel like collapsing.
And due to the Guide's restrictions, if he actively moved against this potential new star in the Main God's eyes, it would be equivalent to… initiating the ‘Leader Assessment’.
But that was clearly impossible; everything was so illogical. How could he be sure that Fang Ge wouldn't pass the assessment?
“Do you have telepathy? Impossible. Even with telepathy, you’d need mental suppression to peek into someone else’s mind.”
Zhang Jie gave a bitter laugh, too many questions and doubts. This man had lost his composure a bit.
“Could it be an innate precognitive ability? Did you see the future? That’s right, your performance in the last mission was like you had ‘foreknowledge’.”
Fang Ge remained noncommittal, saying softly, “Aren’t you going to invite me in for a seat? Or do you hope… everyone knows about this?”
“…Please come in.”
The moment Zhang Jie turned his back, Fang Ge saw a hint of desolation in him.
With Zhang Jie’s body no longer blocking, his creation—the classical beauty Na'er—also came into Fang Ge’s view.
—Zhang Jie and Xie Na… except this Brother Jie had a raspy singing voice, and this Xie Na was overly quiet and gentle.
Na'er was Zhang Jie’s anchor of humanity, just like Loli was to Zheng Zha.
“Na'er, prepare some tea for Fang Ge. He and I have something to discuss… It’s nothing major.”
Zhang Jie smiled as he spoke, sending away his worried companion, and brought Fang Ge and Jin Xi alone to the living room.
Then, this big brother seemed to have adjusted his mindset. His experienced gaze swept over the Little Dragon Girl, and he joked to Fang Ge:
“So you like this type, kid. You have pretty good taste, on par with mine.”
Jin Xi always carried an unhurried elegance. Hearing this, the young girl revealed a faint smile.
“The time for the meeting and discussion about exchanges is approaching. Let’s skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point.”
Sitting on the sofa, Fang Ge rested his elbows on his knees, propping his chin with his hands.
“Of course, I’m not here to eliminate you. If it came to a real fight, I’m not your match right now. Of course… you also can’t strike first. Before I make a move, you don’t have that ‘authority’.”
Zhang Jie narrowed his eyes, cautiously saying, “You seem to know a lot about the Main God Space, and a lot about people like us.”
Seeing that Zhang Jie hadn’t yet expressed his stance, Fang Ge’s tone deepened slightly:
“Brother Jie, I’m here to help you this time. In the vast Main God Space, only I can help you, and you also need to show some sincerity.”
“Do you mind if I smoke a cigarette?”
Zhang Jie’s question seemed casual, but it actually carried a hint of weakness.
He had never asked if he could “smoke” before.
Only after Fang Ge nodded slightly did he take out a Main God brand cigarette from his pocket, skillfully light it, and take a deep drag.
He exhaled a light puff of smoke before carefully replying:
“…That requires you all to ‘see’ for yourselves. Oh, come on, we’re teammates; it’s normal for family members to visit each other, isn’t it?”
“Tell Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan to come over and sit with me more often. You can try Na’er’s cooking; it’s absolutely top-notch!”
Fang Ge smiled upon hearing this.
Zhang Jie’s greatest value to him was the ability to provide intelligence for the next horror movie.
Now, by simply paying attention to his recent activities, he could likely deduce which specific horror movie it would be.
Since the team battle monument had appeared, the next horror movie would likely have 'score-farming' elements… but the difficulty would certainly be greatly increased.
Even a twenty-person difficulty wouldn't be surprising.
A high rating was beneficial for Fang Ge; the higher the rating, the more difficult the reincarnation world, and the more potential could be squeezed out of the team members after passing.
Most importantly, there would be more things that could be utilized in the reincarnation world.
If he really encountered horror movies like Shu Mountain or Lord of the Rings, wouldn't the Reincarnation Army quickly grow to a considerable scale?
As for being unable to defeat them… under his speedrun master's operation, there was no horror movie that couldn’t be cleared!
Even Fang Ge had to admit that the Reincarnation Army and Orthodox Cultivation were a terrible system if only exchanged for, but if backed by suitable reincarnation worlds, their operability was still very strong.
Golden Core level orthodox cultivators, if they had enough runes and magic treasures, would have the ability to shine brightly in the final battle, or even turn the tide of the war.
Since Zhang Jie had shown his ‘sincerity’, it was Fang Ge’s turn to show his ‘sincerity’.
Thanking Na'er, who handed him tea, Fang Ge took a small sip and calmly said:
“Do you know there’s an enhancement called ‘Zanpakuto’?”
One of the Prison Nine Gates that masters the Mind Light—Zanpakuto!
“I have some impression… Do you want to exchange for it?” Zhang Jie asked, gesturing for Na'er to sit beside him.
Fang Ge shook his head without speaking.
“That’s right, you’ve already gone the internal force route…”
Zhang Jie stroked his chin, carefully recalling what deeper meaning the Zanpakuto might hold.
【Zanpakuto, from Bleach, the sword used by Soul Reapers. Its shape, state, and abilities are formed based on the Soul Reaper's own soul. Soul Reapers gain power by knowing the name of their Zanpakuto and communicating with it telepathically. Requires 1 B-rank side quest, 5000 reward points.】
A very ordinary enhancement, one could even say garbage.
Although it also came with a free D-rank 【Basic Spiritual Power Enhancement】, spending a B-rank side quest just for an ordinary sword… Release? Who knows when that would happen.
In Bleach, those who mastered Shikai were all seat officers, which corresponded to B-rank 【Advanced Spiritual Power Enhancement】, and even had certain requirements for the Gene Lock. Without a third-order Gene Lock, who would dare say they could prematurely draw upon a small portion of the Mind Light’s power?
Not to mention Bankai! There wasn't even a shadow of one!
“You don’t understand?”
Seeing Zhang Jie frowning deeply, almost rubbing his chin raw, yet still not grasping the meaning, Fang Ge thought that the NPCs' intelligence needed further optimization. This was truly disappointing.
“I don’t understand.”
Zhang Jie gave a mischievous laugh, helplessly saying, “Give me a hint! Just a little hint!”
“The Main God’s problems, of course, must be solved by the Main God,” Fang Ge offered a hint.
“You mean…”
Combining it with his own problem, Zhang Jie finally found a corner of the answer from the Zanpakuto.
“The Zanpakuto is forged from the Soul Reaper’s own soul.”
But did he, the Guide, have a soul?
Perhaps, probably, most likely… he didn’t.
Fang Ge saw Zhang Jie’s concerns and answered first:
“I know what you’re worried about. But as I said, the Main God’s problems must be solved by the Main God. If the Zanpakuto is forged from a Soul Reaper’s soul, then it will definitely be ‘forged from a Soul Reaper’s soul’.”
Zhang Jie, however, kept shaking his head, bitterly saying, “Not enough, this isn’t enough. The Zanpakuto’s capacity isn’t enough; it’s still insufficient to completely separate the ‘bad part’ of me.”
He felt very disappointed… though he hadn’t had much hope to begin with. But Fang Ge was different; Fang Ge had truly found a path.
It was just that the possibility of success for this path was extremely, extremely low, not enough to allow him to escape the Main God’s control.
“You’ve got it backward… Well, yes, mortal wisdom only goes so far.” Fang Ge smirked disdainfully.
“You better watch your mouth…”
Zhang Jie, true to being a strong contender for the worst-tempered person in the Central Continent Team, couldn’t help but retort when he heard a taunt.
Backward?
How backward?
Backward!
At this moment, a flash of insight struck Zhang Jie’s forehead!
He understood, but not completely.
“You mean I’m supposed to turn into a Zanpakuto and leave behind a ‘bad shell’? If I turn into a sword, I’ll survive, but what’s the point of surviving?”
Let the ‘bad shell’ flirt with Na'er? What kind of hentai plot is that!
“I know you’re in a hurry, but don’t be,” Fang Ge waved his hands repeatedly, signaling the emotional Zhang Jie to calm down.
“A Soul Reaper’s Zanpakuto does not disappear upon the Soul Reaper’s death; instead, it waits for the next ‘master’ to appear… In fact, the same Zanpakuto can even be owned by multiple people.”
“Next master? What does that have to do with me?”
“…I think even if you get cured, you’ll still be drooling. Just give up on treatment.” Fang Ge rubbed his forehead helplessly.
—How is it so hard to promote a “Prison Nine Gates”!
“No, we’re buddies, understand? Buddies!”
Zhang Jie slung an arm over Fang Ge’s shoulder, his eyes gleaming, “Help a brother out here, and my life is yours!”
“When the time comes, if you tell me to go east, I’ll never go west!”
Poor Zhang Jie was being played in Fang Ge’s palm.
Fang Ge then spoke eloquently:
“In the Main God Space, there are many methods of resurrection. But they can often only be used on ‘Reincarnators’.”
“And you… you only possess a small part of ‘Zhang Jie’, simply because the original subject didn’t have a complete personality. Zhang Jie’s memories and cognition occupied the main body, which is why you believe yourself to be ‘Zhang Jie’.”
“…You’re right.” Zhang Jie nodded with difficulty, admitting that he was not Zhang Jie himself.
Seeing this, Fang Ge continued:
“This means that the true ‘Reincarnator Zhang Jie’ died long ago in A Nightmare on Elm Street. And as a former teammate of ‘Reincarnator Zhang Jie’, you, my dear ‘Central Continent Team leader’, have the authority to resurrect him.”
“At that time, the Zanpakuto, which hosts ‘Zhang Jie’s soul’, will return to ‘Reincarnator Zhang Jie’s’ hands. Since both originate from the same source, they will naturally connect and merge into one.”
“In a sense, the Zhang Jie accidentally separated by the Main God will be reunited. The Soul Reaper and the Zanpakuto are inseparable; he will have your memories, your experiences… yet he will still be the original ‘Reincarnator Zhang Jie’.”
“And your ‘bad part’, that Guide without a clear personality, that empty husk…”
“Will be personally slain by me!”
This counts as the update for the 22nd; the second chapter will be posted at 12 o’clock.