I said you are all war criminals

"Yes, you didn't do anything."

Yili said lightly, turning his back to the night view of the city.

"You are talented, Toyokawa Shoko. If you were willing, you would have become the Prime Minister of Japan by now, transforming the world bit by bit into a world suitable for half-demons to survive... If you had done that, Nana Ohba would not have died."

"What nonsense! I'm just a band member..."

Xiangzi subconsciously covered up.

But at that moment, Yili appeared in front of Xiangzi again.

Yili put his forehead against Xiangzi's.

She looked into Xiangzi's eyes with her own.

"My words are visible, they belong to your [future]"

The warm touch was not the softness of human skin, but something hard and cold pressed against his forehead. Xiangzi felt dizzy, as if he had been sucked into a huge whirlpool, as if he had been sucked into Yili's pupil.

The surrounding landscape began to twist and distort. The dilapidated image of the tenement buildings gradually faded, replaced by a blood-red sky and cracked, burning ground. That's right, she was no longer in a cluttered apartment, and her feet were no longer sticky with beer stains. Instead, there was a cold, hard metal floor, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood. Deafening explosions echoed one after another, truly...

Makes people miss it.

"Have you seen it? This is something you can do."

Behind Toyokawa Shoko, Goto Ichiri said this.

Xiangzi did not turn around, but kept moving forward.

Broken walls, blazing ruins, and... corpses. The bodies of humans and monsters piled up in a jumbled mass, forming mountainous peaks. The stench of blood was so thick it clung to Xiangzi's face like a damp, hot towel. A novice to war might have found this horrifying, but for Xiangzi, it was a familiar sight.

Just the dead.

——Compared to two billion people, it’s nothing.

"If you can kill two billion people, it means you can save two billion people."

Yili walked down from the towering mountain of corpses.

Her voice was more expectant than condescending.

Xiangzi stepped forward, crunching on the broken bones. The air was filled with the sickening, sweet smell of blood, but she seemed completely numb, not even a frown. Yili's voice buzzed in her ears like an annoying fly, but she ignored it. Two billion, so what? It was just a number.

She wandered aimlessly among the pile of corpses, her gaze empty, as if searching for something, yet seemingly finding nothing. Suddenly, she stopped. Amidst the pile of twisted limbs, she saw a familiar face. Nana Ohba.

Nana's head was pierced by a Japanese sword, the blade came out from her left eye, and the blade was covered with dark blood.

Nana's "resurrection" wasn't like in zombie movies, with the rustling of rotting flesh and the grinding of bones. Instead, it was silent, as if she had simply slept for a moment, then slowly opened her eyes. Her left eye was empty, the blade still piercing it, the dark blood already congealed, like a strange black gem.

"Nana..."

Xiangzi called out her name subconsciously, his voice as dry as sandpaper rubbing against wood.

Nana tilted her head, and looked at Xiangzi with both her left eye pierced by the knife and her intact right eye.

"Long time no see, Xiangzi."

Xiangzi stared at Nana blankly, his lips trembling slightly, but he couldn't make any sound. That familiar face, those familiar eyes, even though the left eye was pierced by the blade, was still the most beautiful image in Xiangzi's memory.

Nana tilted her head, a faint smile on her lips, "Shoko, long time no see. Don't worry, it's just an illusion, a trick of Goto."

"Hallucination?"

Xiangzi repeated these two words dryly, his eyes fixed on Nana.

She hoped this wasn't just a dream.

Almost immediately, Xiangzi's mind was filled with memories of herself and Nana. She remembered how Nana, a frontline NCO, disregarded military discipline and rushed directly into the Prime Minister's office, just to confront her head-on and correct her mistakes. She also remembered the days when the two of them fought side by side, solving the incident of the half-demons being endangered, supporting each other, and going through life and death together. Also, they swore to fate together that they would never betray each other. The scene of visiting Karen's grave on Nana's behalf and silently crying in front of the tombstone also emerged clearly in her mind. Of course, there was also the joy and nostalgia of seeing Nana again. Finally, there was the heart-wrenching pain and almost crazy memories of losing Nana.

Memories.

...It is often said that people cannot live on memories alone. But without memories, are we still human?

"Nana...I..."

At this moment, Yili slowly walked out from behind Nana. Her slender fingers gently stroked Nana's cheek, as gentle as if she were handling a precious piece of porcelain, or playing with an interesting toy. "Toyokawa Shoko, to you, who is Nana?"

Yili's fingertips drew a bloody mark on Nana's face.

"...She's probably not that important to you."

"Don't touch my Nana in that way!"

Xiangzi rushed over subconsciously.

In an instant, her body grew several times, dozens, hundreds of times larger—as a "ghost," Xiangzi's strongest and simplest ability was to change his size. Along with his size, Xiangzi's strength naturally shifted as well. The massive pile of corpses, as fragile as building blocks at her feet, collapsed with a loud bang, stirring up a cloud of dust.

"Goto Ichiri—"

Xiangzi, who had become taller than the mountain, swung his fist.

"I'm so disappointed."

Before this almost catastrophic attack, Ichiri stood in Xiangzi's shadow, grasped the Japanese sword from Nana's head with his slender fingers, and pulled it out of Nana's head.

The moment the blade left Nana's head, there was no expected gushing of blood, nor any sound. Nana's body swayed, and her head, no longer supported, drooped limply, revealing the horrifying hollow of her left eye. The dark, congealed blood was particularly glaring against her pale skin.

...Xiangzi's huge fist stopped in mid-air.

And Yili, holding the samurai sword that was too convenient for him to use, coldly commented on Xiangzi's hesitation.

"It's just a woman who died. You're being too fussy, Xiangzi."

Yili said coldly, "You should be fighting for more important things."

131

Chapter 131: Soul Society.

Shoko Toyokawa lay on her back on the ground, motionless, like an expensive carpet - but who could use such a huge carpet?

Yili was floating in the sky, looking down at Xiangzi who was standing still.

Compared to Xiangzi, who stood tens of meters tall even when lying down, she was very small. However, victory or defeat was not determined by size.

"Do you understand the fundamental gap between us, Xiangzi?"

Yili's voice was gentle, yet it carried unquestionable authority.

"Nai... Nai..."

Xiangzi uttered the name with difficulty, his voice as hoarse as a dying beast.

However, an invisible force held her captive, preventing her from moving. Yili hung in the air, like a god high above, looking down at Xiangzi, who was a hundred million times larger than herself but resembled an ant.

She didn't even smile.

This is the most hurtful thing.

Xiangzi gritted his teeth and asked, "What...what do you want?"

Ichiri replied, "Save the world."

She spoke lightly, as if she was talking about a trivial matter.

"In today's world, humans and half-demons hate each other, and war and killing never end. Only I can establish a new order where humans and half-demons can truly coexist in peace."

"Peaceful...coexistence?"

Xiangzi forced a cold laugh from the depths of his throat, breathing heavily like a broken bellows. "After seeing this world, don't you understand? Half-demons and humans can't coexist peacefully—even if they can coexist peacefully for a while, they'll only kill each other in the end! Your so-called 'salvation' is just another joke!"

Yili listened quietly without interrupting Xiangzi's roar.

When Xiangzi finally stopped, Yili sighed softly, "I really can't do it. No... no one else in this world can do it."

This sudden frankness left Xiangzi stunned. She had prepared a belly full of more vicious sarcasm, but it was like a punch on cotton, making her feel uncomfortable.

"what?"

After a long while, Xiangzi finally found his voice, his tone full of mockery, "What? Finally admitting that you were daydreaming? I thought you would continue to pretend."

"but,"

Yili's voice remained calm, "Perhaps you can."

Xiangzi's body gradually began to shrink.

"I?"

She repeated the word, her tone filled with disbelief and absurdity.

"Me? You let a butcher... create peace?"

As her body shrank further, the corpses around her began to surge up like a tide, submerging her ankles, calves, and thighs... The fishy smell filled her nostrils. The corpses that were once like ants under her feet were now slowly devouring her.

"You killed two billion people."

Ichiri stated, "This is a talent."

Xiangzi was completely buried in the mountain of corpses, with only her head exposed. She looked up at the tiny figure floating in the air, a smile uglier than crying appeared on her face.

"Talent? Is there talent in killing people?"

"You can kill more people than anyone else, which also means you can save more people than anyone else."

Goto Ichiri descended from the sky.

She did not touch Xiangzi's face, but continued to look down at Xiangzi Toyokawa.

The foul-smelling liquid dripped down Xiangzi's chin, spreading deeper stains on his tattered clothes, whose color was no longer discernible. She struggled to crawl out of the pile of corpses, like a maggot emerging from a pile of rotting meat, disgusting yet possessing a strange resilience.

"You're really good at making nice words..."

Xiangzi wiped her mouth and the sticky liquid stained her hand. She didn't care and just stared at Goto Ichiri.

"I can give you a perfect world."

Yili's calm voice echoed amid the stench of corpses, like the red spider lily blooming in hell, beautiful but deadly, "A world without war, without killing, where humans and half-demons live in harmony."

She paused, her eyes falling on Xiangzi's filthy face, "Nana can also be reborn there, and no longer have to endure all the sufferings of this world."

Xiangzi squeezed out a dry laugh from his throat, like two pieces of rusty metal rubbing against each other. "The dead cannot be resurrected. Do you think I will believe this nonsense to fool children?"

She struggled to support herself on the pile of corpses with her hands, trying to stand up, but the rotten corpses were too slippery. She failed after several attempts and could only struggle in vain like a stranded fish.

Yili didn't argue, just waved his arms.

There was nothing behind Xiangzi - and the world changed.

"Our Shinō Spiritual Arts Academy is a six-year school. I don't need to elaborate, but according to the Shinigami internship system established two years ago, starting in the summer of your fourth year, you will be assigned to the Gotei 13 for internships, gaining experience as Shinigami in a real-world environment."

The pungent stench of corpses vanished, replaced by a faint herbal scent, mingled with the distinctive sweaty odor of young students. Xiangzi stumbled a few steps, nearly falling. The lingering sensation of decay on her fingertips made her feel nauseous.

Before the swaying Xiangzi could regain his balance, he heard a strong voice coming from somewhere.

"Today we have invited Mr. Aizen Sosuke, a graduate of our Spiritual Arts Academy and captain of the Fifth Division! He will be here to talk to you about the mentality that a Shinigami should have."

She looked around and found herself in a huge auditorium, crowded with students in black uniforms. Their childish faces made her feel as if she had returned to her school days, but what immediately came to her mind was an endless sense of absurdity.

At the podium, a bespectacled man spoke eloquently, his gentle smile warming the heart. He was dressed in a white uniform, holding a book, occasionally flipping through the pages. His every gesture exuded the aura of a superior.

"The Shinigami are the guardians of Soul Society. Our duty is to maintain the balance between the two realms, guide lost souls, and protect peace in this world..."

Aizen's voice was deep and magnetic, and the students in the auditorium were mesmerized.

Xiangzi was completely confused. Death? Soul Society? What the hell?

"what the hell……"

She cursed under her breath.

Xiangzi tentatively extended her hand, her fingertips passing through the student beside her without any obstruction, as if piercing a thin layer of mist. She tried passing through other students, but the result was the same. They were like phantoms, visible but intangible.

She walked quickly towards the podium. The "students" ignored her and she passed through them easily, coming straight to Aizen Sosuke.

The man continued to chatter away, a gentle smile on his face that seemed to read people's minds. He occasionally flipped through the book in his hand, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with wisdom. Looking closely, Xiangzi realized he was indeed a good-looking man, with regular features and an elegant demeanor. If you ignored the strange white uniform he was wearing, he looked like a university professor.

"Death God... Soul Society..."

Xiangzi repeated the words that Aizen uttered in a low voice, her heart filled with doubt. These words were completely unfamiliar to her, like something from another world.

She reached out, wanting to touch Aizen to see if he was also an illusion like those students - but her hand passed directly through his body without encountering any obstruction.

"really……"

Xiangzi withdrew his hand, his brow furrowed. What on earth was going on? Was this also an illusion?