I'm really not the number one slacker in Soul Society.

Chapter 214: Aizen, look at him!

Red-clad Mi Zhen drew a wisp of red mist from the wooden plaque he called the Prison Token, played with it in his hand for a few moments, and then let it drift away in the air.

“We’re all sensible people, so let’s be direct,” he said, raising his ashen hand and clenching it into a fist. “Spirit King, the original nothingness and the Lord of Hell both have something similar, except that the Lord of Hell placed it directly outside, giving most people the opportunity to come into contact with this ‘beyond matter’.”

The drama "Mimi's True Heart Shocks" is truly awe-inspiring.

As expected of me, I dropped a bombshell right off the bat.

After the dream that night, he learned that there was a super being in Hell similar to the Spirit King, but he didn't know who it was, what it was, or what stance it took, even after searching through all the available books.

But... it seems my future self knows the answer.

Just as Mizhen was expecting Li in red to utter a few more astonishing remarks, the screen suddenly froze a few times, and then went black with a snap, like a projector that had been powered off.

—The information recorded on this fragment has been fully released.

"*……%()*)!!!!"

He could swear that he hadn't felt such direct anger from such a cruel and inappropriate remark in many years.

After repeatedly checking until he realized that the fragment contained no more information, Mizhen kicked it to pieces and then suppressed his anger to find other fragments.

And the result...

No, no, still no.

After dozens of fruitless searches, just as the executioners outside had finished restraining Shindou Ryuga and the group was about to head back, Mima finally found another fragment containing clear information.

I immediately started watching with great anticipation.

After the familiar snowy screen, the image gradually became clearer.

Red-clad Mima walked with her hands behind her back in a deserted wasteland, followed by a woman whose figure was so thin as to be almost bony.

"This is……"

Mima raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He knew that woman's face all too well; he saw her almost every day—although she was so thin she was almost unrecognizable, he could still recognize her; it was Liu Yue… or Ni Yue Shi Yu.

No... there's a slight difference in temperament between him and Nigetsu Shigure... it should be Ryugetsu!

She materialized? Why did it turn out like this?

Unlike the comedic character she often saw, the Liuyue in the picture... to put it bluntly, was like a child whose entire family had died overnight, her expression full of numbness and indifference. If it weren't for some details in her movements, Mizhen wouldn't have dared to conclude that "she is Liuyue".

Combining this with the deathly gray hand seen in the previous image... no matter how you look at it, your future self doesn't seem like it will be living a very comfortable life.

A strong chill spread from behind Mi Zhen.

Nothing can trigger a person's sense of crisis more than "seeing their future self looking miserable," and what's fatal is that... they have no idea why they would become like that.

Mima took a deep breath, instinctively placed her hand on the hilt of the sword, and whispered, "Can you see me?"

"...I can see it very clearly."

The sound of Nigetsu Shigure echoed in his mind.

"Do you have any idea?"

"I don't have enough information to give a definite answer."

A rare hesitation appeared in Shigure's voice, "But one thing... is certain."

"What is it?"

After Mima finished speaking, Shigure Gyou didn't answer immediately. Instead, Ryugetsu took over the conversation and said in a complicated tone, "If I were to become like that... there's only one possibility."

"..."

At this point, Mima naturally understood what she meant.

This is an answer that touches upon the essence of the sword spirit, yet is extremely simple.

What does the sword spirit care about?

Normally, the answer would be "the master," and only the master.

However, Liu Yue's situation is slightly special.

Together with Shigure Gyou, she forms the complete Zanpakuto, Ryugetsu. Although their relationship was not very friendly before, it did not change the fact that they had a special relationship that was like sisters and mother and daughter. Even if Mima did not mediate, the conflict between them would be resolved sooner or later, and their feelings would become familiar again.

Unlike the Grim Reaper, the psychological structure of a sword spirit is very simple yet very fragile. Most changes in the outside world are irrelevant to them, but that's only because the changes don't involve anything important to them. In other words, once the master suffers irreparable damage or even death, the sword spirit's mental state will immediately undergo a huge change, possibly leading to madness, self-destruction, or other extreme situations.

For Ryugetsu, the truly important things are, and only, Mima and Shigure (playing games is just a hobby).

In the scene... although the situation of the woman in red, Mima, doesn't seem quite right, she is at least still alive and appears to be mentally sound.

So, the answer is...

"I will die."

Nizuki Shigure said calmly, "We can't rule out other possibilities, but this should be the most reliable guess."

“But this is simply impossible… You old hag, you and I are one, how could one be separate…” Liu Yue said anxiously, “Besides, this is just an image whose authenticity cannot be confirmed, it has no reference value at all, you couldn’t possibly…”

"Don't make me repeat the importance of staying calm." Ni Yue Shi Yu interrupted Liu Yue's almost incoherent panic and said in a deep voice, "The future is not a straight line. Even if I die in the future for some reason, it is only a possibility, not a certainty."

“There’s no way around it, this possibility is truly frightening.” Mima sighed. “You know my personality. People like you, Lisa, and the captain, who are important to me… let alone if they die, even if they just suffer irreversible damage, I’ll go crazy.”

“I understand, but you don’t need to worry too much.” Shigure’s voice became completely calm: “The ‘future’ that has not yet happened is essentially a network structure. Any change in the ‘now’ will push the actual future in a different direction. If I die in the future and you go back to the past for some reason, then the act of ‘going back to the past’ itself will change the future.”

"In the future, I will take action. Now that I know you might die, I will also take action. So, will the future change because of this...?"

Mima shrugged: "That does sound like a relief."

"There is another possibility."

Shigure Goku then proposed another theory: "The you in the picture did not return from the 'future,' but jumped from a 'parallel world'—however, this argument has no practical significance, and it can probably only be verified when you see him in person."

What she said makes a lot of sense.

Given Shigure's personality, if she really felt the situation was bad, she would just say it directly and then try to find a solution. She would never try to comfort her with nice words like she is now.

After suppressing her restless unease deep within her heart, Mima took a deep breath: "Looks like there's another problem that urgently needs to be addressed..."

While they were communicating, the images on the screen continued to move forward.

Red-clad Mizhen crossed the wasteland and arrived in the boundless forest. She moved forward in a very clear direction and soon found an old house that was almost rotten.

"arrive."

He casually said something to Liuyue behind him, then casually drew his knife, stepped forward, gently cut the rusty padlock, and then pushed the door open and entered.

The furnishings in the house were quite simple, consisting of only a table and chairs, a narrow bed, and a large number of books neatly stacked.

—And a mummified corpse wearing a captain's haori.

Judging from the three-character embroidery on the back and the square-framed glasses hanging over the mummified corpse's face, this seems to be... the remains of Yan Yuanjinle.

Red-clad Mima stood in front of the corpse, looked it over, then chuckled softly and gently sliced ​​open the shihaka suit on the left chest of the corpse with the tip of her knife.

A subtle, rhythmic sound suddenly rang out.

The shriveled membrane undulates with a specific rhythm, about once every five seconds.

The conclusion is obvious—the "corpse's" heart is still beating!

"As expected of Mr. Yan Yuan, he managed to maintain his life even under such circumstances."

Red-clad Mizhen shrugged, gestured around the living corpse (which sounded somewhat contradictory) a few times, then turned to another Liuyue and said, "We came to the right place, let's take the things out."

"it is good."

Liu Yue nodded and responded softly. Then she rummaged through the bag at her waist and took out a piece of... a bright blue luminous crystal that looked like a fragment knocked off a small spherical object. She handed it to Mi Zhen in red.

Mima, watching from off-screen, felt a sudden jolt in her heart.

This thing looks so damn familiar... Should I ask Aizen to claim it?

In the scene, the woman in red, Mima, is holding a blue crystal that looks like a Hogyoku in her left hand.

He said casually, "Time to get to work—this job is simple: heal this person's injuries."

The next instant, a burst of blue light erupted!

A mysterious, eerie blue light illuminated the entire house, and the resulting breeze stirred up the accumulated dust, and coincidentally lifted the hood of the red-clad Mijin.

A lifeless, deathly gray face, its left cheek split in two by a huge knife wound, its left eye replaced by a strange black mist—it looked extremely horrifying, yet still recognizable… This was Watanabe Yama's face.

"..."

This is finally confirmed...

Although he didn't know why his future self had become like this, or why he had ended up in hell, he clearly had some kind of meticulous plan and had made arrangements in various places.

Chapter 215: Indeed, calling for help is the key.

From Saito's immortal words, we know that the red cloak in hell appeared thirty-six years ago—even a pig would have enough time to come up with a plan aimed at overthrowing the world. He felt that no matter how he changed, he would never become a madman who wanted to destroy the world, but who can say for sure?

Just by looking at his future self, he already exudes a villainous aura. Who knows if he can even be considered a good person?

In short, we still need to be careful.

In the scene, under the blue light, Yan Yuanjinle, who was neither dead nor alive, underwent a startling change.

The shriveled body slowly swelled up like an inflating balloon, and the rotten flesh was repaired at a visible speed. In just over ten seconds, this body, which looked like it should have been buried long ago, was restored to the state of being no different from an ordinary person.

In contrast, there was the red-clad Mi Zhen. Although his face could not get any worse, the violent trembling of his body still proved the immense pain he was enduring. His skin was cracking, he was covered in sweat, and thick, black blood, like sludge, slowly flowed from the corner of his mouth. When it fell to the ground, it acted like strong acid, corroding several bottomless holes in the wooden planks.

After Yan Yuanjinle finally looked like a normal person, the blue crystal held in the hands of the red-clothed Mizhen turned into dust and drifted away with the wind, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Red-clad Mi Zhen slumped her shoulders with a sigh of relief and began to cough violently.

He almost collapsed, but Liuyue immediately stepped forward to support him.

“If this continues, you will also…” she sighed, “What’s the point of doing all this? You can’t change anything.”

“But this is all I can do.” Mi Zhen, dressed in red, wiped the black blood from her mouth, straightened up, looked at Yan Yuan Jinle, whose vital signs were gradually returning to normal, and said with a bitter smile, “Even if it’s meaningless, this is all I can do.”

Liu Yue pursed her lips, lowered her eyes, and remained silent.

"After waking up Mr. Yan Yuan, we should find a way to sneak into hell," Hongyi Mizhen said to herself naturally. "I hope things go smoothly... Well, I knew it wouldn't be that easy."