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Chapter 15 is out on patreon
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(NOTE: SORRY A PROBLEM OCCURRED AND I POSTED ANOTHER NOVEL CHAP INSTEAD OF THE ORIGINAL ONE, NO ONE COMMENTED OR WARNED ME SO IT TOOK ME HOURS TO REALIZE THE MISTAKE, I CORRECTED IMMEDIATELY AND REPOSTED THE CHAPTER, HOPE U ENJOY READING AND SORRY:)
Nefer watched the scene unfold with a sickening cocktail of shock and pure terror. Instead of having his limbs violently torn from their sockets, the man was actively pulling the massive mechanical arms inward toward his chest.
"What is happening?! Increase the output!"
Her first instinct was to blame a mechanical failure. Otherwise, how could Lu Li possibly still be alive, let alone staring down the entire execution plaza with that mocking smirk?
The apparatus strapped to Lu Li utilized the Heaven-Shaker Mark II robotic arms. As the newest generation of industrial exoskeletons on the market, they boasted a standard output of eight hundred kilograms per arm. Pushed into overdrive, they could easily exceed a full metric ton of pulling force.
Historians had calculated that the ancient Eastern execution method of being drawn and quartered by horses generated roughly 375 kilograms of sustained force, with instantaneous tearing force peaking around 600 kilograms. But the sheer mechanical torque of the Heaven-Shaker was on an entirely different level. With eight hundred kilograms ripping at each limb, Lu Li should have been reduced to a shower of gore the second the switch was thrown.
"It... it's already maxed out!" the executioner stammered, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. He had pushed the throttle to the absolute limit. The mechanical arms were beginning to overheat and smoke, yet the man strapped to the table remained perfectly intact.
This completely defied modern science. When they first captured Lu Li, they ran comprehensive scans on his biology. X-rays confirmed he was a pure, baseline human from the Old Era without a single cybernetic enhancement or subcutaneous bone lattice. How could flesh and bone withstand this kind of tension?
Nefer knew there were records of Old Era strongmen who could hold back the collapse of three-hundred-kilogram stone pillars with their bare hands. But those men were hulking titans of fat and muscle, weighing three times as much as the prisoner.
Stripped of his straitjacket, Lu Li wore only a pair of shorts. His physique was lean, heavily scarred, and perfectly proportioned—a far cry from the bloated mass of a traditional strongman.
Slowly, methodically, Lu Li contracted his limbs. Like a massive winch reeling in industrial steel cables, he drew his arms and legs inward. The metallic claws dug deeply into his wrists and ankles, drawing a steady stream of blood, but the pain didn't slow him down in the slightest.
He was born with terrifying, monstrous physical strength.
When he told Nefer about the manga earlier, she had fundamentally misunderstood him. He wasn't the fighter who lacked strength and relied solely on superior technique. He was the one who relied on overwhelming, absolute brute force.
The robotic servos screamed in a metallic whine. Thick black smoke began to billow from the overheating joints. Seeing the machinery fail, the surrounding guards finally realized the gravity of the situation. They didn't know how Lu Li was surviving, but they couldn't afford a botched execution.
A cacophony of safeties clicked off as dozens of assault rifles aimed directly at the execution bed. If the machine failed, they would execute him via firing squad.
"Hold your fire!"
A middle-aged executive in a sharp suit roared from his vantage point on the high wall. His face was flushed with manic excitement. "I can't believe it... So this is the truth! This is the real secret!"
Staring down at Lu Li with the fanatical zeal of a cultist witnessing a miracle, he gripped the railing. "It's genetic evolution! He must have been injected with a perfectly synthesized genetic serum! My god, someone actually succeeded! Subdue him! I want him alive for biological sampling!"
Hearing the executive's rant, Lu Li could only laugh internally. He knew the truth better than anyone. There was no underground resistance backing him, and there was certainly no genius scientist pumping him full of experimental serums. He was just born this way. He had never used a single drop of modern technology.
Snap—!
With one final surge of explosive force from Lu Li, the front-right robotic arm finally reached its breaking point. Unable to withstand the opposing kinetic pressure, the mechanical joint shattered.
His right arm was free.
Lying flat against the bed, it was incredibly difficult to generate leverage. If the machine had remained completely static, even with his monstrous strength, he might not have been able to rip it apart. But because the machine was actively pulling against him, he used its own immense torque to snap its joints.
The moment his arm was free, Lu Li ignored the agonizing tearing of his flesh. He viciously twisted his torso, grabbing the severed, jagged heavy-duty mechanical arm, and violently smashed it down onto the restraint holding his left side.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A rapid succession of deafening explosions rocked the platform, kicking up a thick cloud of smoke and electrical sparks.
From within the haze, a lone figure stood up. The sickening crack and pop of realigning joints echoed across the plaza as Lu Li rolled his shoulders. The high-tensile straitjacket had been a nuisance, but when it came to a raw contest of strength against rigid industrial steel, it was never going to be his bones that broke first.
He dropped into a low crouch. Sprinted. And leaped.
It felt like flying.
Stepping directly onto the helmet of an armored guard, Lu Li vaulted through the execution grounds with the lethal grace of a dancer. Covering dozens of meters in the blink of an eye, his pitch-black gaze locked onto the robed elder standing atop the high wall.
In his right hand, he gripped the jagged, severed mechanical arm, pulling it back like Odin hefting the spear of destiny.
"Shoot him! Open fire!" the robed elder shrieked, totally losing his composure. He grabbed the suited executive by the collar, mentally cursing the man's absolute stupidity.
Take him alive? Hesitating for even a second against a monster like this meant everyone in the plaza was going to die. The elder finally understood exactly how those ten martial arts grandmasters had been slaughtered. A martial arts prodigy armed with this level of god-like physical strength? Of course the grandmasters relying on clunky commercial exoskeletons were torn to shreds.
Before the elder could process another thought, the deafening shriek of torn air ripped through the plaza.
Then, his thoughts stopped entirely.
The fanatical excitement froze on the suited executive's face as a splash of hot, crimson liquid painted his cheek. Staring at the headless corpse of the elder beside him, he let out a terrified, guttural scream. "Kill him!"
A relentless barrage of automatic fire lit up the plaza, but the figure down below moved like a vengeful ghost.
He was fast. Too fast.
The muzzle flashes illuminated the courtyard like the sweeping scythe of the Grim Reaper, yet the bullets only managed to chase the afterimages of their prey. One by one, the heavily armored guards collapsed, their exoskeletons shattered. It slowly dawned on the survivors that the man named Lu Li was the true Reaper in this plaza.
Ear-piercing sirens wailed. Hidden panels along the perimeter walls slid open, revealing automated defense turrets. A grid of high-intensity surgical lasers swept across the plaza, instantly bisecting any surviving guards caught in the crossfire. Nefer, who had completely lost control of her bladder and collapsed in a heap of terror, barely managed to avoid being sliced in half.
Trembling, she looked up, desperately hoping to see Lu Li's severed corpse. Instead, she saw him at the absolute apex of his jump, hovering in the air.
For a fleeting fraction of a second, their eyes met. All she saw in his gaze was a profound, utter boredom toward killing.
In the very next second, Nefer watched in despair as eight streaks of white-hot exhaust plummeted from the sky above.
Up on the wall, the suited executive had been retreating to the safe zone with a cruel, relieved sneer. But that sneer morphed into absolute, irrational horror as he realized one of the automated missiles—supposedly locked onto Lu Li's landing zone—had veered entirely off course and was heading straight for the observation deck.
A world-ending roar of fire and concussive force swallowed the entire facility...
...
[Explorer, welcome to the Terminus Space.]
A low, indifferent female voice echoed in his ears, prompting Lu Li to snap his eyes open.
He looked around in total bewilderment. He was floating in an endless expanse of absolute darkness. Reaching up, he cautiously patted his head. Didn't I get blown to pieces by a missile?
I'm not dead?
[Explorer, do you wish to sign a contract with the Terminus Space?]
The voice chimed again. This time, accompanied by a translucent, ethereal blue text box floating directly in his line of sight.
The Terminus Space? What the hell is this place? Did the resistance actually break me out? He quickly dismissed the thought. He didn't know a single soul in the resistance, and there was no way a ragtag group of rebels possessed the firepower to infiltrate corporate headquarters and extract him from a black-site prison.
"Where am I?" Lu Li asked aloud, his muscles tensing defensively. His immediate suspicion was that he had been captured alive and plugged into a simulation.
Over the last few years, the Corporation had perfected VR neural-link technology. Rumor had it the newest generation of optical-brain engines could achieve 95% sensory realism. Was he currently submerged in a deep-dive virtual state?
[Explorer, your life in your original world has reached its absolute end. The Terminus Space has granted you a rebirth.]
Lu Li fell silent, deeply analyzing the physical feedback of his own body. He had used the Corporation's commercial VR headsets before. No matter how "immersive" the games claimed to be, there was always a distinct, uncanny valley separating digital sensation from true reality.
He clenched his fists. The resistance of his muscles, the steady thrum of his heartbeat—he was certain this was his real physical body. The Corporation's tech simply wasn't advanced enough to replicate this flawless sense of self.
Which meant... he had actually crossed over into another dimension.
"Sign a contract? What do I have to do? And what exactly can you give me?" Lu Li asked, forcing his voice to remain steady. Despite his outward calm, a strange, rhythmic anticipation was building in his chest. He was actively experiencing a supernatural phenomenon.
If he really had been thrown into the multiverse, could he finally achieve the one thing that was impossible in his era of decaying martial arts?
[Upon signing the contract, the Terminus Space will dispatch you to various world planes to execute assigned missions. You will accumulate World Exploration Rate, and final rewards will be distributed based on your mission performance.]
A feral grin crept onto Lu Li's face. "Sounds interesting enough. Will there be actual opponents worth fighting?"
The Terminus Space fell silent for a few seconds before generating a response:
[You will encounter unprecedented challenges.]
Lu Li nodded, deeply satisfied. "Good. I'll sign. So as long as I become one of these 'Explorers,' I get to fight my way through different universes, right?"
[You must first survive a Trial World to attain the status of an official Explorer. Based on your performance evaluation in the Trial World, your contractual benefits within the Terminus Space may be upgraded or downgraded.]
"Sounds fair. What happens if I die in the Trial World?"
[You simply die.]
Four simple words. Lu Li instantly understood the nature of this place. It was just as brutal and unforgiving as the world he left behind. But unlike his old world, this place could actually give him what he wanted.
[The Trial World is about to commence. Explorer, please prepare yourself...]
Lu Li opened his mouth to ask another question, but the Terminus Space had already initiated the transfer. A profound weightlessness seized his body, immediately followed by an intense, disorienting sensation of the world spinning violently out of control.
...
When Lu Li opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting on the decaying wooden steps of a ruined shack. The streets were wide, empty, and blanketed in dust, save for a few emaciated figures dressed in filthy rags shuffling in the distance.
The harsh summer sun beat down on his skin, the oppressive heat feeling like it wanted to evaporate the world itself.
[Explorer, please review your assigned missions.]
After taking a moment to confirm his immediate surroundings were secure, Lu Li mentally called out to the system. "Terminus."
A semi-transparent holographic interface instantly materialized in his vision, neatly displaying a stream of information.
[Task World: Bleach]
[World Type: Derivative]
[World Difficulty: Lv. 3 ~ ???]
[World Synopsis: The Soul King has fallen, the Three Realms are established. A millennium of grudges culminates in a final trial.]
[Soul Reapers: High-density Reishi lifeforms residing in the Soul Society. They battle Hollows to maintain the balance of souls across the Three Realms.]
[Zanpakuto: A combat system forged by Oetsu Nimaiya. Upon communing with their Asauchi and learning its true name, a Soul Reaper can continuously develop their abilities and elevate their combat power.]
[Hollows: Corrupted souls of the deceased from the World of the Living. Consumed by their own inner desires, they mutate into monstrous entities possessing their own unique evolutionary paths.]
[Quincy: A bloodline faction established by their progenitor, Yhwach. Their core philosophy is the absolute eradication of Hollows, placing them in direct opposition to the Soul Reapers.]
[Current World Exploration Rate: 0%]
[Current Location: Soul Society, North Rukongai, District 80]
[Prompt: The Terminus Space has granted the Explorer free mastery of this world's common language for the duration of the trial.]
[Warning: The Explorer must not leak any information regarding the Terminus Space in any form. Penalty for violation: Eradication!]
Lu Li skimmed the world synopsis, a genuine wave of surprise washing over him. This so-called "Derivative World" was actually a manga from his old reality.
In his hyper-industrialized era, very few people still read comics. He only knew about them because, as a child, he would sneak into his master's dusty storage room after brutal training sessions to dig through his hidden collection.
His master hadn't owned many books, but by pure coincidence, Bleach was one of them. He had a solid understanding of the lore and power systems, but looking at the world around him, he had absolutely no idea what point in the timeline he had been dropped into.
Calming his breathing, Lu Li shifted his focus and opened his mission logs.