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

“I don’t understand the nature of this thing, but ‘breaking out of the cocoon with external force’ sounds like a very dangerous thing. Are you sure the things inside won’t be affected?” Mi Zhen asked. “The power of the void is quite important to me, and I can’t afford any mistakes.”

But Shigure Uesugi nodded firmly: "No, it's precisely to influence her."

Mima was very curious: "Why?"

"The nature of emptiness."

In less than fifteen seconds, Shigure Nizuki had neatly altered his appearance, leaving no trace of his former self except for his slightly bloodshot eyes.

“A bloodthirsty, destructive urge.” She said bluntly as always, “She is no exception. Her current quietness is only because she has not been fully born yet. If she were born under natural conditions, she would be like that too.”

"A copycat of Xu Bai, huh..." Mi Zhen raised an eyebrow, but quickly noticed another key point, "Wait, her?"

"If we're talking about gender, that's certainly true... Hmm, the term 'hollow' should probably refer to females."

"Wait, why?" Mima asked, puzzled. "It's already strange that you two are women, but why is the Hollow born inside me also female? Does that make sense?"

"Uh... well..."

Since Shigure Nizuki entered, Ryugetsu, who had been keeping quiet and acting as if he were just a roadside stone, suddenly coughed: "You'd better not pursue this matter, because..."

"There's nothing that can't be said."

Nizuki Shigure glanced at her, and she immediately stopped talking, shrinking back into the corner to stand as punishment.

“The reason is simple,” Shigure Nizuki said bluntly, “because that’s what you expect.”

"what?"

“Essentially, I, she, and she are all fragments split off from your ‘main consciousness.’ Our appearances depend entirely on your subconscious expectations—it’s because you thought about ‘what my Zanpakuto would look like after it materializes’ that I was born with this appearance. The same goes for this Hollow. You once imagined ‘what it would look like if there was a Hollow inside you’ and gave an answer, and she decided on her appearance according to that answer.”

Mima: "..."

Chapter 185: The Story of My Defeated Opponent Appearing Inside My Body

If we round this up a bit... it seems to be roughly equivalent to me being a pervert?

Mima hissed, immediately ceasing her self-reproach and instead convincing herself of another concept.

Isn't it good that the sword spirit is a girl? What decent person wants to talk to a guy in their inner world? —Besides, I'm not a decent person either. I amassed a warehouse full of erotic novels at the end of the 19th century. What's wrong with being a little perverted?

In this way, Mima changed her expression several times, and then returned to normal in a short time, turning her gaze back to the bed.

"Just break it open?"

Mima asked a question, and then Shigure Goku nodded in response: "If you want to wait until she develops to adulthood, that's not impossible—that would make her Hollow power much stronger, but correspondingly, it would be more troublesome to control. Releasing her now would make her easier to control, but weaker. It's up to you to choose."

There's no need to choose; it's definitely the latter.

If something cannot be controlled, no matter how powerful it is, it is meaningless.

"You seem to know quite a lot," Mima smiled. "You knew all along?"

"It was an accident, I suppose." Ni Yue Shi Yu glanced coldly at the large cocoon on the bed. "This thing was born when you swallowed a part of the Ancient Void Fragment—I sensed it as soon as it appeared. But from my perspective, a violent consciousness that likes to smash things isn't a good thing for this place. You wouldn't want to be disturbed by this kind of inexplicable reason in the middle of a battle someday, would you?"

“That’s true.” Mi Zhen sighed. “When I was watching, I thought Xu Bai was cool, but if it happened to me, I’d rather not.”

"But her birth was inevitable. I tried to suppress the process, but with little success. She still seized the opportunity during her rest period and appeared in a concrete form—humph, she's clearly still a newborn who doesn't understand anything, but her instincts are quite excellent."

At this point, Shigure turned her head slightly and glanced at Ryugetsu. Although her eyes were complicated, Mima understood—it roughly meant, "If I hadn't spent so much energy training you, I wouldn't have had to sleep last night."

"Instinct? That sounds quite fitting for Xu's style."

Mizhen opened her palm, conjured a dagger, and then carefully aimed it at the center of the large cocoon, making a gentle slash.

A gentle breeze began to swirl around the room.

The cocoon wasn't particularly tough, and it was easily pierced by the dagger that Mi Zhen had hastily made. However, this thing was clearly not a proper material either; it just broke open and began to disintegrate into wisps of pale blue light from the damaged area, which drifted around the dormitory and stirred up gentle breezes.

Then, its contents were revealed.

"What the hell?"

Mima exclaimed in surprise for the umpteenth time today.

Curled up inside the cocoon was a little girl of about seven or eight years old, with white hair and white clothes, and a slender figure. She had her eyes closed as if she were asleep—to use a more old-fashioned way of describing it, she was "exquisitely beautiful like a high-class doll," giving off an unreal feeling.

But that's not what surprised Mima.

Well, this little guy's appearance is like taking fifty percent of Anzang Mitsu and fifty percent of Mima's looks, piecing them together, and then turning them into a female version. He's good-looking, but there's something just off about him.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Mima slapped herself in the face.

It's one thing to have a mini version of Shihouin Hyakugetsu in the next room, but why did Ansou Mitsu also come in to join the fun...?

So, people I kill get reborn inside me? That's a bit too twisted...

"It's not an accident."

Liu Yue added from the side, "The power that constitutes her was originally a fragment of ancient void taken from An Cang Yu Shou's body, so it's normal that she inherited part of his appearance."

"...I was just sighing."

Mima rolled her eyes, suppressing the urge to lash out with sarcastic remarks. She waved her hand in front of the young girl, whose name she didn't even know yet, but the girl didn't react.

It's like a mannequin.

"Well……"

After all, this is his own mental world, and he doesn't have to rely on Ni Yue Shi Yu for everything. To be honest, he actually has a rather vague "intuition" that allows him to instinctively sense what kind of situation to handle.

And this one in front of me...

Mi Zhen wasn't sure if this description was appropriate, but he vaguely felt that this little girl could be described as an "engine lacking fuel." Perhaps because she was "premature," she didn't even have the spiritual energy to power her own activities and needed him to provide some.

This sounds a bit perverted...

“Her ‘growth’ has been temporarily halted. If you intend for her to start moving around now, give her some spiritual pressure.”

The words of Nizuki Shigure confirmed Mima's deduction, and naturally there was no need for him to hesitate. He immediately placed his palm gently on the top of Hollow's head and released a little bit of spiritual pressure into it.

The flow has changed.

He originally intended to test the waters little by little, and the amount of spiritual pressure he output was not even enough to construct a No. 1 Hado. However, this tiny bit of spiritual pressure, after landing on Hollow, suddenly "magnified" a thousand times, turning into bursts of azure light that flowed around her.

Hmm... it seems the guess was not accurate. What she lacked was not "fuel", but "ignition device".

As the blue light gradually dissipated, the small, motionless figure, like a doll, finally seemed to come alive, showing signs of breathing and heartbeat—then, her eyelids trembled slightly, and she opened them.

It's a beautiful blue, similar to the sky or the ocean.

Even Ryugetsu, who was huddled in the corner, couldn't help but peek in—although that description might not be quite accurate, Mima couldn't help but feel that the three of them looked like family members waiting outside the delivery room…

After quickly shaking off certain terrifying associations, he watched as the illusory eyes gradually became "lively," as if the doll had finally been infused with life.

And the first emotion she expressed was...

Be wary; there may be hostility!

Surrounded by Mima, Ryugetsu, and Shigure, Utsuki jumped up like a startled feline, tumbling and rolling onto another bed, then landing on all fours in a fierce, beast-like stance.

Mi Zhen frowned, sensing that something was amiss.

"you……"

Xu mumbled a few words, his gaze constantly shifting between Mima and Shigure.

Judging from this, if it weren't for the fact that it wasn't hairless, they could probably see a furry ball baring its teeth.

...Unfortunately, it really doesn't have much of a deterrent effect.

Her spiritual pressure was comparable to that of an ordinary Adjuchas, but for Mima, that level of power was something he could easily suppress, so there was no need to be afraid. Shigure also kept her usual poker face, making it difficult to read her expression, but she didn't show any hostility either.

Only a world where Liuyue is injured can achieve this.

"what does it mean!"

Two veins immediately bulged on her forehead: "Do I look that weak? Not even worthy of being warned?"

"As the saying goes, comparison is the best way to judge a book... cough, that's not what I meant."

Mi Zhen said briefly, then, ignoring Liu Yue's stern protest, took a step forward with her hands raised and whispered to Xu, whose face was full of vigilance, "In short, do you know who you are?"

"I……"

She seemed to subconsciously intend to answer, but got stuck after saying only one word.

A hint of pain appeared on his face: "I am... Lan..."

"Your name is 'Blue'?"

Mizhen blinked. "How about I call you 'Void Blue'?"

The one who called himself Lan Xu did not answer, but looked around at everything with a wary and bewildered gaze, and kept retreating until he was in a corner.

Mi Zhen moved forward a tiny bit—he could swear, really only a tiny bit.

But even this slight advance caused Xu Lan to react extremely aggressively.

Her left eye suddenly lit up, like a focused crystal, gathering a large amount of blue light, which then swept out in the form of a light cannon!

But she didn't seem to have anyone in mind; instead, she fired randomly in a circle.

As for its power, I can only say I'm very sorry, even Liu Yue could easily slap away the blue light that shot in front of him.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xu Lan jumped backward.

After smashing the window, he jumped directly from the 20th floor.

It's not that no one could stop her; after all, forced relationships are never happy. Anyway, she can't run far, so it's fine to let her be for now.

Mima sighed, "Is it that intense...?"

“Premature birth always comes at a price.” Nizuki Shigure grasped a wisp of blue light that formed a holographic flash in his hand, then gently crushed it away. “According to my prediction, if she were to be born after she had fully developed, she would probably fight with you the moment they met. In comparison, this kind of animalistic anxiety is much easier to deal with.”

"In short... let's chase after them and see what happens."

Mi Zhen scratched his head, sensed the direction Xu Lan had fled, and then jumped onto the windowsill and leaped towards the green belt at the edge of the community.

After a few leaps and bounds, he stood under a sycamore tree and sighed at Xu Lan, who was perched on the treetop: "I'm not going to eat you, come down and let's talk."

"I...hate...the way you look."

She stammered out a strange sentence: "You... shouldn't have become like this."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mima's spiritual pressure perception suddenly experienced a "gap"—the blue figure that was on the treetop just a second ago had vanished along with his spiritual pressure. It wasn't something like Soten or Shunpo; he simply disappeared.