Who are you calling a stable boy?!

Could it be that Aizen made some preparations behind the scenes that she was unaware of?

Thinking this, she saw Zheng Jing scratch his cheek.

"Old Blue wasn't planning on going to Hueco Mundo with me."

"......ha?"

-

Two weeks passed in a flash.

Finally, the Soul Society ushered in the day when the special operations team would travel to Hueco Mundo.

The special operations team set off from the square where the expedition team had gathered before their departure.

On this day, to see off the Special Operations Team, or rather, to bid farewell to Zheng Jing, every captain and vice-captain of the 13th Guardian Squad appeared in this square.

Although everyone knew in their hearts that, given Zheng Jing's abilities, this parting wasn't necessarily a final farewell, it was still a friend being "exiled"...

"Hiyori, now that I'm gone, remember to be mindful of your behavior while you're having fun."

"You... you should mind your own business—"

Clutching at Kiryuu's clothes and burying her face in them, Hiyori responded in a muffled voice, but couldn't hide the slight sobs that welled up inside.

"Little Zheng Jing, take good care of yourself."

Yizhou Tongsheng held Zheng Jing's hand and said softly.

"You too."

Zheng Jing nodded.

After watching Kiryuu return to the group with Hiyori, Jung Kyung-il, who had already said goodbye to most of the captains and vice-captains, looked up and saw Yoruichi walking over with one hand on her hip.

"Hey, Hakiye, here's the jar of wine I'm leaving you. Drink it sparingly, or you'll finish it before I've even settled things here."

"What's the point of saying all this? Why don't you and Kisuke quickly deal with the Transcendental Gate?"

Rolling her eyes, Yoruichi glanced behind Zheng Jing and Urahara.

The ten members of the special operations team, led by Nozomi Omaeda, were lined up neatly there.

These ten members were all handpicked by Yoruichi and secretly approved by Aizen before being recruited into the team.

The leader, Nozomi Ōmaeda, is the current head of the Ōmaeda family and the eldest daughter of Ōmaeda Noriyuki, the current vice-captain of the Second Division. Although she has a habit of being infatuated with handsome men, she is excellent in the operation and management of the organization, as well as in engineering construction.

"I'm leaving them and Kisuke to you."

Ye Yi looked back at Zheng Jing.

"calm down."

Zheng Jing gave a thumbs up.

"Kisuke."

"Miss Yoruichi."

Yoruichi looked at Urahara and patted him on the shoulder.

"Come on!"

"Yes!"

After Yoruichi, the person walking towards Jung Kyung was the only one among the people seeing him off who was neither the captain nor the vice-captain—a Shinigami.

"Old Blue".

Zheng Jing opened his six arms and hugged Aizen, then said with a smile, "I'm going over now."

"Ah."

Aizen responded, hugged Zheng Jing, and gently patted his back.

"Be careful on the road."

Finally, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni and Unohana Retsu came before Zheng Jing.

Neither of them uttered a sound as they looked at him.

Meeting the gazes of these two, Zheng Jing maintained his usual playful and carefree demeanor.

"Once you get there, don't slack off."

The first to speak was Retsu Unohana.

She walked over and handed Zheng Jing a vermilion sachet, embroidered with gold thread, and in the center was a delicate heart character.

"Thank you so much, sister!"

Zheng Jing accepted it without hesitation.

With Unohana Retsu gone, only Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekoku remains standing before Zheng Jing.

"Zheng Jing".

"Please speak."

"...On your journey, do not neglect your duties."

"The student has taken note."

The old man holding a cane looked at Zheng Jing, remained silent for a moment, then suddenly turned around and started walking.

"Old man."

The old man paused.

Take care.

"..."

The old man remained silent.

The only difference was that their steps were a little lighter.

The special operations team assembled in front of the boundary gate.

Team leader Zheng Jing looked around at everyone who had come to see him off.

"Everyone!"

Zheng Jing cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and grinned.

See you later!

Chapter 145: Power is the reason to be king.

"Okay, everyone's here?"

As the last member emerged from the unstable passage, Zheng Jing nodded and pulled Urahara, who was also observing the Hueco Mundo environment like the other members.

"Suke, take attendance."

"what?"

"What do you mean 'ah'? Don't forget, you're the vice-captain of the special operations team now!"

"Oh, you're right."

Scratching his head, Urahara stepped forward and loudly called out to the team.

Although everyone present, except for Zheng Jing, was a first-timer in Hueco Mundo, including Urahara, they were all trained in the Execution Army, so their ability to obey orders was not a problem.

"Captain, including myself, all eleven team members are in position."

"it is good."

Urahara wanted to ask Zheng Jing about the next steps.

The strangeness of Hueco Mundo's environment was beyond his imagination.

Urahara had learned some information about Hueco Mundo from Zheng Jing, so he was mentally prepared for the desolation and bizarre nature of Hueco Mundo's environment.

But now that he's actually in Hueco Mundo, Urahara can't help but sigh in his heart, "Seeing is believing."

The only saving grace is that the concentration of spiritual particles in Hueco Mundo's atmosphere is much higher than that in Soul Society.

This not only greatly enhanced their abilities as Grim Reapers, but also effectively reduced the frequency of their hunger, and would be helpful for many of his future studies.

Therefore, in his opinion, the most urgent task is to find a suitable location to build a base.

Of course, how exactly to do it depends on how Zheng Jing, as the team leader, gives the orders.

"Let's go then."

With that, Zheng Jing lifted his foot and walked away.

"Captain, where are we headed?"

Urahara quickly asked.

"Let's go to our team's base in Hueco Mundo."

Zheng Jing answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Urahara seemed somewhat bewildered by the answer.

However, he quickly realized what was going on.

Yes, our captain has been in Hueco Mundo for over a year, so it's perfectly reasonable for him to have one or two safe spots there for long-term use.

The special operations team could indeed consider establishing its future base at such a secure location that has withstood the test of time.

Thinking of this, Urahara didn't say much and caught up with Zheng Jing's footsteps.

After a brisk march, including Urahara, none of the eleven team members fell behind; they followed Zheng Jing in an orderly fashion.

Before long, all the team members could see in the distance that a small, gray-white hill seemed to emerge from the edge of the white desert.

Team members with good eyesight could vaguely make out that it was a building.

Urahara naturally saw the building as well.

He was somewhat surprised.

If his judgment of distance was correct, Urahara estimated that it would be a massive building.

If it were a building of that scale, it would be hard for Urahara to believe such an absurd claim that Zheng Jing built it all by himself in Hueco Mundo in just over a year.

Therefore, that building must have existed before Zheng Jing arrived in Hueco Mundo.

Has our team captain ever used that building as a safe spot?

Surprised, Urahara was filled with doubt.

Not only was he puzzled by the appearance of that building, but he was also perplexed by the smooth journey.

Hueco Mundo can be considered a virtual world.

But along the way, they were not attacked by any Hollows, nor did they even see a shadow of a Hollow.

Is it that the number of virtual entities in the virtual world is inherently small, or—

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted. Urahara turned his gaze, looking at the distance in front of him, and then at Zheng Jing.

Seeing that Zheng Jing showed no intention of stopping, he remained silent.

After a moment, several of the ten team members behind Urahara also showed slight changes in their expressions.

They exchanged glances, then looked at Zheng Jing, who was still walking ahead with a relaxed expression, so they remained silent and simply followed.

A short while later, the white sand sea ahead of the rapidly advancing group suddenly surged with waves.

"stop!"

A giant Adjuchas, over eight meters long, emerged from the depths of the sand. Resembling a giant serpent, it led a dozen or so smaller, oddly shaped creatures that also leaped out from beneath the sand, raising their heads high in a triumphant display.

"That's my king's palace ahead! You—hmm? Humans?"

Noticing that these little ones in front of him were not fake, Adjuchas lowered his head and moved closer to Zheng Jing and the others.

"grim Reaper?"

It moved even closer.

Then his whole body suddenly straightened up.