this infinite world

"So, this slime that appeared in our main god space at some unknown time is actually a member of the reincarnation team from 18,000 years ago, and has even become Zhang Heng's Pokémon?"

The next day, when the Arctic team gathered at the Main God Plaza, the first thing they saw was a puddle of herb slime lying on the ground like green jelly, unable to even maintain its basic spherical shape. Its translucent body had a dull luster, and even the slime on its surface appeared somewhat dried.

After Yang Yun explained the whole story, everyone looked at Varo with a strange expression, who exuded an aura of disappointment. He looked like a down-on-his-luck nobleman who had just woken up from a hangover and suffered a major blow in his life, radiating an air of dejection that seemed to say, "Let me be alone."

"...I won't go into the specific details, but there's only one thing I want to say."

Chu Hao, as expected of the captain of the Arctic Continent team, had already accepted this illogical reality while the others were still looking at each other in bewilderment. But even he couldn't help but rub his temples and complain in a tired yet knowing tone, "Zhang Heng... why is it always you who causes trouble?"

"What are you saying! What do you mean 'it's always me'?!"

Upon hearing Chu Hao's words, Zhang Heng jumped up like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on, gesturing wildly and raising his voice eight octaves with excitement: "How can you blame me?! I didn't do anything at all, I'm the complete victim!"

As he spoke, Zhang Heng pulled down his collar and pointed to his neck, saying, "How was I supposed to know he'd suddenly throw some Master Ball down my throat? What's even more outrageous is that this damn ball can actually reverse things and subdue the caster?! What kind of devilish setting is this?!"

Faced with Zhang Heng's self-justification, the members of the Arctic team all showed expressions of being used to it. Nian Xikong even took out another bucket of popcorn from her storage item and just watched Zhang Heng's self-justification... There's a saying that flies don't land on eggs without cracks. Given Zhang Heng's conspicuous style, it's really not unjust that he was chosen as Varo's target.

On the other side, Zhang Heng became more and more excited as he spoke. He turned to Chu Hao, who had a helpless expression on his face, and said, "Chu Hao, you know me. I have very picky taste. I would never choose this type of Pokémon."

"No, I don't know anything about your hobby, and you've never mentioned it to me."

Chu Hao said expressionlessly, "Don't lump me in with you."

"No normal person would like Pokémon like Pikachu, Eevee, and Gardevoir, right?"

Zhang Heng completely ignored Chu Hao's rebuttal, seemingly immersed in his own world, and began to steer the topic in another direction: "No normal person would like green Grimer. Putting aside everything else, it doesn't look cute at all, and it doesn't seem very strong either... Since it's neither strong nor good-looking, why would I choose such a thing as my Pokémon?"

"You even picked one..."

"Glug! Glug glug!"

Before Chu Hao could utter a single word, the enraged Varo shot out like a green lightning bolt. Despite having already consumed the Translation Konjac, it now emitted an unusually primal "glug-glug" roar, as if its rage had breached the dam of reason. Its body precisely smeared onto Zhang Heng's face, instantly enveloping his head completely. "Ughhhh!!!"

Zhang Heng frantically scratched at the slime on his face, as if he were tearing apart a clump of sticky jelly. But each pull only caused Varo's body to deform briefly before returning to its original state... Putting everything else aside, just seeing this scene was enough to tell that even without considering the secret gadgets he had exchanged as a reincarnator, Varo already possessed some fighting power.

"Has this former reincarnator always been so... energetic?"

Seeing Varo and Zhang Heng "fighting it out," Chu Hao couldn't help but feel speechless. The young man's brows twitched slightly, his gaze shifting back and forth between the noisy Varo and Zhang Heng. Finally, he couldn't help but ask Yang Yun, "If everything you just said is true, then even if his actual age isn't over ten thousand, he should at least be two or three hundred years old."

"But why are his personality and behavior patterns so...pure?"

As he uttered the last word, Chu Hao's Adam's apple bobbed, as if he were swallowing an inappropriate word. It seemed he had gone through a fierce internal struggle before finally finding a word from his vocabulary to describe Varo's current state... Presumably, the word he initially wanted to use was something like "goofy" or "childish."

"Yes, I asked him about that too."

Yang Yun nodded, not surprised by Chu Hao's question, and patiently continued to explain: "The level of battle that Varo experienced was far beyond your imagination. In that battle, his soul was severely damaged, and even many details of his memories have become blurred. In this herbal slime state, it is normal for his personality to change to some extent... These are the problems I will solve for him next."

"Of course, if he returns to his original state, none of these problems will exist." At this point, Yang Yun smiled again and said, "Do you plan to meet him in another state?"

"No, no need. I'm afraid Zhang Heng will get a beating from him."

Chu Hao glanced at Varo, who was still wrestling and fighting with Zhang Heng and was clearly enraged, and quickly waved his hand to refuse.

The fact that someone could get along so well with Zhang Heng, this comedic assassin, and would be spending a long time with him in the future, speaks volumes about their true nature. Chu Hao silently labeled Varo a "human troublemaker" and decided to include "keeping a safe distance from him" in the Arctic team's latest operational guidelines.

However, looking at Zhang Heng, who was battling a herb slime and looking disheveled; Nian Xikong, who had already started receiving food from Chef Gangluer and was eating non-stop since early morning, with her cheeks bulging; and Sterry, who was standing on the periphery of the team and seemed to have a distance between himself and the other members of the Arctic team, Chu Hao could almost imagine that the future Arctic team would obviously not become a "normal" and "qualified" reincarnation team as he had imagined...

...The future looks bleak. (End of Chapter)