Chapter 564: Protector · Mercenary Tao, Meme · Curse Release
"This is... Paradise?!"
Lin Qinfu looked at the city that was completely built in nearly half a day. The streets were paved with thick black stone slabs, the layout quite orderly, and distinguished according to different city blocks.
In the blocks with more shops, the stone slabs on the ground were finer and denser.
Lin Qinfu, leading that group of militiamen with live ammunition, all walked carefully into this new city.
Even holding guns couldn't give these local militiamen the slightest sense of security.
Kaito Shirogane watched Lin Qinfu and the representatives of the other few local families walk in before turning around, leading the few people from the commercial street towards the inner city.
He had reset this real-world city belonging to Reincarnators according to the layout design of the public space.
Arranged in a circular pattern, with the [Tower of Babel] in the center of the city as the core. The shops one by one would be rented or sold as Reincarnators' [Stalls]. Each shop was directly molded by Reincarnators using [Shaping Magic].
And soon, reinforcement magic and bounded fields would be permanently set up.
Kaito Shirogane estimated that over three large bounded fields would be permanently set up within the city, used to repel ordinary people, reduce the destructive power of energy release within the urban area, and massively suppress perception abilities.
Although it couldn't fully realize the functions within the Reincarnation Space, here, the stay time for Reincarnators was... unlimited!
Moreover, the instant everyone entered this city, they would be declared under his protection.
With his fierce reputation now, this would be a powerful attraction.
And subsequently, he would arrange for Jin Yue'an and others to detail the commercial district so that Reincarnators could more conveniently find the things they needed here, and establish patrol units to maintain public security.
Placed at the very center of the city, Kaito Shirogane specifically set up a [Tower of Babel].
The lowest floor of the Tower of Babel would serve as a dueling arena to resolve disputes between Reincarnators. Reincarnators could completely resolve disputes or vent the brutality in their hearts through force there.
As for the higher floors, Kaito Shirogane had his own arrangements. He always wanted to hunt powerhouses everywhere, but here, he could completely use some rewards to attract those powerful Reincarnators to proactively come to this tower to fight with people.
And he would wait on a certain floor inside the tower...
Lin Qinfu no longer had the mind to pay attention to Boss Bai's expression; he was stunned by the scale of this city that appeared out of thin air.
As someone who communicated with various construction units and watched that former city be built bit by bit, and moreover, under the March Consortium's money offensive, built at a speed almost completely exceeding ordinary engineering progress.
But compared to the construction speed of this city radiating a solemn aura right now, it was completely on a different level.
"Boss... Boss Bai, are these people... Ability Users?!"
He also saw the few strangers leaning against the wall. These few people all radiated an aura that made people afraid to approach.
Du Enqin walked over from behind at this time. She wouldn't ask about this kind of obvious thing; she only noticed another matter.
"Boss Bai, do you mean that ordinary people like us can also station in this city?"
She still remembered the terrifying disaster two days ago, but her heart was terrified, while she didn't dare show it on her face. Lin Qinfu perhaps having followed Boss Bai for a long time, had already forgotten that the Boss Bai before him was actually the most terrifying person.
The city was indeed destroyed two days ago, but Boss Bai was completely unharmed!
Kaito Shirogane's gaze swept over this woman who was slightly smarter than Lin Qinfu, reaching out his hand and tapping across space.
Sizzle~
In an instant, a weak electric current seemed to pierce through Du Enqin's body, flowing rapidly through her body.
She felt that in this instant, her body seemed to be activated. As her whole person trembled, she actually felt her mind exceptionally clear and her whole body much lighter.
"Boss Bai..."
Kaito Shirogane stretched out his hand, and Du Enqin immediately stopped talking, just with astonishment and pleasant surprise mixed on her face.
"Times have changed. The two of you naturally have to board the ship of this new era..."
Du Enqin's face revealed a pleasant surprise, while Lin Qinfu still felt baffled, even somewhat terrified. His brain indeed reacted a bit slower.
But Kaito Shirogane completely didn't care about the two's reactions, merely continuing.
"Of course, the waves of the new era are very turbulent... very turbulent..."
"A slight carelessness, and one will be smashed to pieces."
Speaking of this, Kaito Shirogane suddenly looked at the two. Both were instinctively startled.
Kaito Shirogane held that Curse Meme in his hand and said to the two:
"Surviving means the new era~"
Lin Qinfu felt the hairs on his back stinging as if they were about to explode. That intense danger felt almost like a hand grabbing his spine.
"B-Boss Bai... can we not..."
Crack.
Like something being crushed, or an invisible curtain wall being broken.
Lin Qinfu instinctively retreated. He looked at Kaito Shirogane in horror, only to see the few people originally leaning in the distance all change their expressions.
"Releasing a meme at this time, Your Excellency Mercenary Tao, you?!"
The few quickly retreated, but Kaito Shirogane turned a deaf ear and laughed heartily.
"This is the extra reward I give you. This is good stuff. With your spiritual strength, be a bit careful, and you won't die~"
Perhaps to ease the conflict with Mercenary Tao, or perhaps truly believing Mercenary Tao and he both had the ambition to change the world and could be considered fellow travelers.
Therefore, those sent to rebuild Paradise for Kaito Shirogane were all Title-level Spellcasting-side Reincarnators.
Their Spirit attribute was quite high, not to the point of being easily swallowed by the Meme · Curse (Desire).
Of course, if someone's mental state was indeed too fragile, then this special curse from the [Sweet Home] world could still pose a fatal threat.
Lin Qinfu staggered a few steps, clutching his throat. Clearly, there was no smell, nor any taste, but he just felt that something had entered his body.
He couldn't care less about fearing Kaito Shirogane and started running towards his jeep. He wanted to escape regardless of everything.
Du Enqin, however, touched her body. She didn't feel any changes. Moreover, the ability Boss Bai just used on her made her feel very miraculous, with excellent effects.
She was willing to accept the invitation of the so-called "new era."
Therefore, Du Enqin stayed in place.
Kaito Shirogane took the reactions of both into his eyes. Regardless of what these two chose, actually, for him, it made no difference.
The Meme · Curse had been released. Next, it would continuously spread before dissipating. All infected people would connect with the most urgent desires in their hearts.
And then, they would begin to bleed profusely from the nose, enter the mutation stage, experience auditory hallucinations, and at the same time, begin to produce various special powers based on their own desires.
The more intense the desire, the more violent the change.
Those swallowed by desire would completely turn into monsters, but those who maintained their spirit could maintain their reason.
Monsters whose desires were completely satisfied would spin a cocoon and turn into "New Humans" who had shed all desires.
Kaito Shirogane looked at Du Enqin, who showed no manifestation, but clicked his tongue.
"You don't have that aptitude."
Instead, the timid and cowardly Lin Qinfu had already produced some kind of change inside.
Du Enqin felt a sense of loss but still silently stayed behind Kaito Shirogane.
Kaito Shirogane also said to her:
"Next, the surroundings of this city will fall into chaos. You will be responsible for guiding those Ability Users who successfully enter Paradise, as well as those special infected who maintain their reason, to register."
"The shops in this city can be rented to registered people."
"As long as they stay in this city, they won't encounter danger."
After Kaito Shirogane finished speaking, his figure leaped up. Under Du Enqin's appalled gaze, he flew directly up that high tower hundreds of meters tall.
And those few Ability Users who were still staying here previously had also long disappeared without a trace.
Du Enqin's heart beat wildly thump thump. She knew Boss Bai had probably already done something. Lin Qinfu was affected, and next, many people would be affected!
She took several deep breaths before calming down. Looking at the empty city, she decided to first summon her own team over...
[You suffered the influence of Meme · Curse (Desire)]
[You are immune to this influence]
Kaito Shirogane stood in the highest floor of the high tower, looking at the prompt on the panel, feeling slightly disappointed. He originally also wanted to utilize this curse to make the desires in his body intense.
Although agitated desire wasn't Light of the Heart, it could bring him closer to that feeling.
Almost all the guys who displayed that intense soul pulsation before his eyes were accompanied by intense emotional fluctuations.
Kaito Shirogane sat cross-legged, his body naturally floating in the air.
Zz~
Faint electric light loomed, entering the air from his body surface, and then spread out ring by ring.
In the sky, dark clouds began to roll, and muffled thunder exploded.
[Mantra Lv9] was fully released, and the entire city was completely included in Kaito Shirogane's perception.
Furthermore, at this moment, Kaito Shirogane similarly possessed the ability to directly and clearly perceive the coordinates and thoughts of anyone who mentioned his name. It could be said that within the coverage of Mantra, he was no different from Enel on Skypiea back then.
Rumble!
Thunderclouds rolled downwards, soon pressing over Paradise, echoing with the black high tower.
Kaito Shirogane closed his eyes.
[Magnetic Field Rotation, Current: 20,000 Volts (Rising)]
The lightning accumulated in Kaito Shirogane's body, paired with abilities like Heart of the Thunder Emperor, was still rapidly pushing the magnetic field rotation to rise.
With a thought from Kaito Shirogane, a Sword of Qi appeared above his knees.
This thing probably came from a derivative world of a certain web novel. The offensive ability when commanding the [Sword of Qi] was quite good, able to injure people from a distance.
But for Kaito Shirogane, whose martial arts techniques had now entered the [Peak of Technique] realm, he had long looked down on this level of energy release and condensation.
As long as the energy value was sufficient, he could completely release [Qi] and [Magnetic Field] much more freely.
[Wild and Obscure EX051, you are absorbing the energy of Item · Sword of Qi. This operation will irreversibly lower the quality of Item · Sword of Qi and ultimately destroy it]
Kaito Shirogane ignored the Space's prompt. In his hands, intense Qi and magnetic field appeared simultaneously, enveloping this Sword of Qi.
[You absorbed 1 point of Qi. Energy Attribute · Qi increased by 1 point]
[You absorbed 1 point of Qi. Energy Attribute · Qi increased by 1 point]
[You absorbed 1.1 points of Qi. Energy Attribute · Qi increased by 2 points]
...
Incomparably pure innate Qi submerged into Kaito Shirogane's body bit by bit like sweet dew, nourishing the increasingly thick Qi in his body!
Kaito Shirogane seemed to feel his cells being nourished, a continuous stream of Qi constantly appearing. That feeling was extremely comfortable, making Kaito Shirogane's aura increasingly intense.
Rumble!
The thunderclouds rolled downwards, almost touching the black tower.
Suddenly, Kaito Shirogane opened his eyes. Amidst shooting electric light, his line of sight broke through a distance of nearly a hundred kilometers, landing in a dense forest on the periphery of Paradise.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A figure continuously flashed, from time to time splitting out several shadow clones flying in all directions.
But intense freezing air appeared from the river. Soon, a person slid down the ice on the river.
"Yang Yan, this ends here. Hand over all your items and Singularities, and I can consider letting your family go."
The newcomer had a head full of white hair, his whole body surrounded by freezing air. Taking a few steps, the surrounding dense forest was completely frozen.
The man called Yang Yan had quite a lot of bloodstains on his body. He wore a gray uniform. Hearing the man's words, his face showed pain.
"Using family to threaten, are all of you from the [Far East Magic Association] this despicable?!"
The white-haired man was unmoved, still stepping forward. Driven to a dead end, Yang Yan looked at that black high tower and rolling thunderclouds extremely far away. He suddenly shouted loudly:
"Your Excellency Mercenary Tao!"
"I want to join Paradise, please grant me protection!"
His voice, bolstered by chakra, continuously rolled. The white-haired man's expression changed slightly, no longer bothering with the other party's items and Singularities.
He reached out a hand, and intense freezing air immediately swept towards the man.
Yang Yan inverted his figure, stepped on a tree with one foot, and violently leaped out of the forest, fleeing forward again from the air. But a huge ice pillar crashed straight out from the forest, like a huge spear, stabbing towards Yang Yan in the air.
Sizzle!
A bolt of lightning abruptly fell from the air, crashing and shattering the ice pillar.
"Within the borders of Paradise, Reincarnators are not allowed to kill each other."
A cold voice, accompanied by rolling thunderclouds, fell from the air.
Yang Yan landed from the air, staggering a bit, with frostbite on his ankle. He looked at [Deep Freeze · Yun Wujiu] landing opposite him, grinned, and smiled with some lingering fear.
"Haha... I've arrived, I've arrived at Paradise!"
"You can't touch me. Your Excellency Mercenary Tao will grant me protection!"
Saying so, Yang Yan directly turned around and ran wildly towards the direction of that high tower.
Yun Wujiu frowned, looking at the rolling thunderclouds in the sky. Mercenary Tao's momentum was too terrifying; he didn't dare to strike again for a moment.
After thinking for a moment, he similarly walked towards the black high tower.
Mercenary Tao promised to grant protection, but didn't say he couldn't go in.
He decided to also go in and take a look himself.
But after taking only a few steps, suddenly a new prompt appeared.
[You suffered the influence of Meme · Curse (Desire)]
[Testing in progress...]
[Check failed. You have been affected by Meme · Curse (Desire)]
Yun Wujiu paused in his steps. Many past scenes began to inexplicably appear in his mind.
When he was young, being pressed into an icy lake by that group of people, the feeling of imminent death as if he was about to freeze to death in the next second appeared again.
Drip, drip...
Thick blood began to drip from his nasal cavity.
Yun Wujiu shook his head, feeling an abnormal spirit beginning to appear in his mind, intense malice constantly spreading.
Crack, crack.
Chilling freezing air naturally began to spread from beneath his feet...
Yang Yan ran rapidly, stepping on the treetops. He soon left the dense forest and came to an open area.
The black high tower and that huge and majestic [Paradise] completely appeared in his field of vision.
He was about to continue hurrying over and ask Your Excellency Mercenary Tao for a way to save his family. If necessary, he could also sell that secret to Your Excellency Mercenary Tao.
At least, if Your Excellency Mercenary Tao knew that secret, that group from the Far East Magic Association probably wouldn't have an easy time.
Roar!
A roar like some kind of beast appeared. In the next moment, Yang Yan saw a guy with four limbs on the ground, having a seemingly human head but a beast's body, charging towards him.
That thing was blue-gray all over. While running, it roared again, its eyes pitch-black.
Yang Yan's whole body shook, feeling his body sway.
Not good, infrasonic waves?!
He touched his ears; his eardrums were already ruptured, and his balance was also affected.
He immediately formed mudras with both hands, releasing clones again.
Bang bang bang...
The monster crashed directly through, shattering the clones one by one.
Yang Yan, however, hid underground. His brain was dizzy, and his heart was full of doubt and uncertainty.
What's the situation? There are monsters in the real world too?!
(End of Chapter)
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