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

"As high-ranking members of the Seireitei, how could you lose your courage before the war even began?! Don't you feel ashamed?!"

The old man from the mountain said loudly, almost emphasizing each word:

"If I ever see such disgraceful behavior again, whoever it is, must be severely punished!"

The meeting room fell silent instantly.

After being reprimanded by the old man, many of the team members who had previously looked frightened felt ashamed. As for the 46th Chamber... well, if they knew what shame was, Soul Society wouldn't be in this state today.

Once the atmosphere had calmed down a bit, Mayuri Kurotsuchi continued to recount the intelligence gathered by the Technology Development Bureau, while the old man began to assign tasks to each squad in a clear and organized manner, and everyone accepted their orders one by one.

................................................

After the meeting, everyone returned to their respective squads with heavy hearts.

The same goes for Mizhen.

Although, logically speaking, he has now "successfully plotted" and should be grinning from ear to ear...

But he couldn't skip the assigned work. The Seireitei was about to enter a state of full preparation, and it was easy to imagine how enormous the workload would be for him as the vice-captain.

Having just escaped the grueling life of a civil engineer on construction sites, he's now going to the front lines to become a human intelligence sifter...

The saddest part is that he knew better than anyone that these efforts were almost entirely in vain.

The real invaders are still lurking in hell right now. Mima does hope that Seireitei's all-encompassing search strategy can find any trace of them, but he knows it's almost impossible.

This means he will have to perform some meaningless work at a high intensity for the next few months to half a year. Just thinking about it makes me so sad that I almost cry.

Oh well... I dug this hole myself, so I have to fill it in, even if I'm crying.

But if this continues, the "lifestyle system" gimmick will become meaningless... With such an exciting life every day, where will anyone have time to fish, cook, drink tea, or play cards? Couldn't the system be a little more sensible and expand its services? Even changing it to fighting bosses for gold coins would be fine...

Wait a minute, it seems like the two bosses we fought before dropped a lot of gold coins...

Mi Zhen shrugged, casually brought up the system screen, shook it a few times, and said in a complaining tone, "Where's the quest? Give me a main quest already!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a pop-up window appeared on the screen.

[Special mission has been issued]

Mission Objective: To uncover the truth behind the disturbances in Hell.

[Success Reward: Counterfeit Holy Grail x1]

[Failure penalty: none]

There is no time limit for this task.

"Really... really exists...?"

Mizhen gasped, staring dumbfounded at the screen, then subconsciously blurted out, "Another mission?"

The system ignored him and didn't even bother to throw a dog at him.

It seems like a coincidence...

Mi Zhen was deflated and reached out to open the prize preview interface.

It was a very luxurious-looking Western-style gold vessel, shaped like a cup, with circles of beautiful patterns engraved on it.

Looks a bit familiar...

Could this be that mysterious thing where seven people fight and six are sacrificed to the heavens, supposedly a wish-granting machine but more likely to scam people?

He lowered his gaze and saw the item description for the [Fake Holy Grail]:

[A unique product of the Fate world, originating from a failed creation of a subspecies Holy Grail War. Although it cannot 'grant any wish', the immense magical power it contains is itself a great treasure.]

[Note: The final product obtained by the host will be localized and transformed into a high-density aggregate of spiritual energy!]

It really is the Holy Grail I was thinking of...

Without much thought, Mijin decided that he absolutely had to get his hands on this thing.

In the Moon World, a single Holy Grail can basically allow a magician to directly access the Root. The imitation of the subspecies Holy Grail War is probably not much different. Even if you don't make a wish, it's still very promising to modify it and turn it into a super bomb.

Given the challenging situation ahead, having as many cards to play is naturally better.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Mizhen stretched and hurried to her courtyard.

Tonight is probably the last time I'll get some rest for a long time to come, so I should make the most of it.

But after stepping through the courtyard gate, he paused for a moment.

The room was lit by candlelight, and a figure wearing a straw hat sat cross-legged in front of the table.

Spring water?

What are you doing here so late at night?

Mima slowly typed a question mark, and then an ominous premonition instinctively arose within her.

—If your boss comes to see you in the middle of the night when you're busy with work, it's obviously not a good thing.

He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged, sighed, and opened his door.

"Captain, what brings you here so late?"

He said in a question without any tone of inquiry, "I think... it's still necessary to maintain a certain distance between colleagues."

"Don't be so resistant."

Chunshui tapped his pipe and said with a smile, "Sit down first, I need to talk to you."

Mi Zhen sat down as instructed, rested her chin on her hand, and sighed, "I'd bet my entire year's salary that it won't be anything good."

"Mizhen, how could you slander your own captain like that?" Chunshui slammed her hand on the table, feigning anger. "Do I look like the kind of unscrupulous boss who enjoys persecuting his subordinates?"

Mi Zhen looked at him quietly: "It doesn't usually seem like that, but I can't say for sure now."

"..."

Chunshui clicked his tongue, picked up his pipe, exhaled two puffs of smoke, and sighed, "Well, it's definitely not a good thing."

"I knew it..." Mima rolled her eyes. "How bad exactly? It's not like the world is going to end any second now, is it?"

The sentence was meant as a joke, but Chunshui actually pondered it seriously for a moment and then gave an ambiguous answer.

"It's hard to say."

"?" Mima almost choked on her saliva. "Really?"

"I'm not sure either. Maybe only the big shots at the top know what's going on."

Chunshui casually pointed upwards, then continued, "Where to begin... You know, I've been out on a secret mission these past few days, and that mission..."

Mima lowered her eyes and solemnly continued Shunsui's words: "Is it related to the Zero Division?"

“That’s right.” Chunshui nodded. “At first, it just said, ‘Squad Zero lost a box, and the box contained something very important,’ and then…”

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Mima suddenly interrupted Chunshui. "Is this something you can tell me?"

"Yes, or rather... you must know."

Chunshui's eyes seemed to hold some deeper meaning, which gave Mizhen some ominous thoughts.

"Stop, stop for a second." Mi Zhen made an X with both hands and said sternly, "Don't say things like entrusting your children to others. Everyone I know who said such things ended up dying. Don't do that to me."

"Huh?" Chunshui scratched his head, puzzled. "I just meant that as the deputy captain of the intelligence team, you need to know more. What are you thinking?"

"That's alright, let's continue."

"In short, I was ordered to go to Rukongai to track down the whereabouts of that box."

In a single sentence, Chunshui revealed a very important piece of information: "Then we found it."

"Huh?" Mima scratched his head. "Since... now that we've found it, that should be a good thing, right?"

“That’s hard to say,” Chunshui sighed. “Because I only found the box, but the contents are gone.”

Mima: "?"

Before he could finish his surprise, Shunsui continued, "Just as I was about to continue my investigation, the Zero Division's 'Oori no Kami' suddenly appeared in front of me riding the Heavenly Pillar Chariot."

"Holy crap? That's amazing?"

“I won’t repeat the exact details of the conversation to you.” Shunsui exhaled a smoke ring and said in a helpless tone, “In short, Shutara Senjumaru told me that ‘the box contains a secret weapon developed by the Zero Division that has self-awareness,’ and the box is the seal. Now that the seal has been broken from the inside out, it’s obvious that the ‘secret weapon’ has grown legs and run away.”

"and then?"

Mima calmed down and asked curiously, "Since you've personally provoked the Zero Squad, that so-called 'secret weapon' must be extremely important, right?"

"That's the problem."

Shunsui's expression gradually became serious: "Shutara Senjumaru told me 'not to interfere in this matter anymore,' and after saying that, he returned to the Zero Division. If they don't have any other plans, they intend to let that secret weapon roam freely in Soul Society."

"Huh?" Mima scratched his head in confusion. "Why?"

“So, I don’t know,” Chunshui replied. “I only know that the secret weapon is a ‘black sword,’ but I have no idea what power it has or what it can be used for.”

At this point, he stared intently at Mima: "For a long time to come, almost all the important intelligence in the Soul Society will be handled by you. If you see any news about that thing, do not act rashly. Immediately notify me so I can handle it, understand?"

The Zero Division's lost secret weapon is active in Soul Society, and the Zero Division forbids anyone from interfering in the matter...

What are they planning?

Chapter 197: The Chicken Soup Master Arrives Online

After dozens of possibilities flashed through her mind, Mima replied a beat late: "Of course, I won't touch anything that's outside my capabilities."

"very good."

Chunshui nodded. "Then there's one more thing—"

In just a few words, his eyes suddenly turned sly.

—It looks like they're plotting some kind of blame-shifting maneuver!

Mizhen suddenly felt a sense of alarm and instinctively wanted to stand up and run away on the spot.

“Such a big thing happened today, it’s not good for the mental health of the newcomers,” Chunshui said slowly. “After all, you were in charge of recruiting them, so it’s up to you to encourage them.”

"..."

In the end, I still took on the job.