#567Chapter 539: Tao Baibai disappears, the killing operation begins (3K)AI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
Chapter 539: Disappearance of Tao Pai Pai, Start of the White Mask Hunt (3K+)
The dark phantom rose from beneath the blood moon, those phantoms also stretched towards the sky like tentacles, but the surging magical power instantly shattered the phantom.
Then it vanished without a trace.
"No!"
The girl's unwilling voice rang out, Emiya Shirou could hardly believe that the familiar voice belonged to the usually quiet girl.
He turned his head, only to see Matou Sakura slump to the ground, the dark shadow behind her writhing like a living creature.
And her face was still stained with un-wiped blood.
"Sakura…"
Emiya Shirou's voice was soft, but it made Matou Sakura turn her gaze towards him, her eyes filled with an expression so complex that it didn't seem to belong to a girl of her age.
Admiration, joy, pain, sorrow, regret, hatred…
All kinds of emotions converged, finally solidifying into a dark malice.
She frantically reached out to the sky, she was craving, she was craving a world where she wouldn't be so miserable, a brand new world.
A timeline where she could grow up cherished by her father, without suffering the tragic experiences of the Matou family, without encountering scum like Matou Zouken and Matou Shinji, and could simply meet Senior Emiya…
"Mandrake" was sprawled among the people, her Mental power had spread out, beginning to perceive the information from the outside world, her brows tightly furrowed.
"Because of the Human Complementation Project, Matou Sakura has completely blackened, Medusa has probably been devoured by her, and she also has fragments of the Holy Grail in her body, perhaps even Matou Zouken's knowledge…"
"Mandrake" keenly realized that Matou Sakura had deviated from any previously established timeline and was beginning to walk a strange and dark path.
And the battle between the two Reincarnators who had completely disrupted this world had also ended, Tao Pai Pai won… but Tao Pai Pai seemed to have touched the [Root]?!
"Mandrake" confirmed once again that Tao Pai Pai was a complete madman, a monster, an anomaly that could not be measured by the common sense of ordinary humans or Reincarnators.
Touching the [Root] was indeed the dream of many mages in this world, but similarly, almost no one who touched the [Root] ever reappeared.
The [Root] assimilates most individuals, completely obliterating their individual characteristics, which is almost equivalent to killing those individuals.
In [The Garden of Sinners], Ryougi Shiki was once warned by Touko not to overuse her [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception], because the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception itself was peeking into the [Root].
Perhaps, Tao Pai Pai is already dead…
"Mandrake"'s mind became active, she knew that after her return this time, she would most likely become "famous overnight," encountering two madmen, Baimian and Tao Pai Pai, in the mission world simultaneously.
And ultimately survive!
Thinking of this, "Mandrake", lying on the ground, curved her lips into a smile, but the next moment, slippery tentacles came upon her body.
Damn it…
—
In the real world, somewhere in East Xia, amidst misty, verdant forests, a giant moose over four meters tall paced through the woods beside a river.
Amidst the flowers and grass, various colored specks of light danced.
A man in a floral shirt and flip-flops leaned back in a blue and white lounge chair, holding a bamboo-green fishing rod.
This fishing rod was probably made by directly pulling out a thin bamboo, its nodes still clear.
The man hummed a cheerful tune.
Occasionally lifting the rod, changing positions, quite at ease.
Suddenly, a strong wind swept through the forest, trees toppled, and the moose and fairies fled into the deep forest, a beautiful woman with long golden hair flowing behind her descended from the air.
She surveyed the surroundings, a thick smile on her lips.
"The Miracle King is actually so lazy, hiding in a place like this to waste his remaining life, how shameful."
Cao Qi seemed not to hear the woman's voice, he lifted his fishing rod, at the end of the vine-made fishing line was a hook made from the root of a plant.
He saw that he still hadn't caught a fish, clicked his tongue, and cast the hook further away.
The woman's taunt did not yield the desired result, the smile on her lips slowly receded, her face began to change, her golden long hair began to fade, quickly turning into withered white, and further beginning to fall out.
Before long, the woman was completely bald, and her beautiful face became emaciated.
What was even more unsettling was that the highly raised area on her chest had now completely collapsed, and a prominent Adam's apple protruded from her throat.
The old man came to Cao Qi's side and quietly said,
"That Tao Pai Pai, he's not your type, so, it's that guy's doing?"
Only then was Cao Qi willing to glance back at this old and increasingly enchanting fellow, and he sneered twice.
"That kind of half-finished product is naturally not my work."
After he saw Tao Pai Pai, he found that the other party was becoming increasingly empty, he was probably a freak deliberately molded to be most suitable for various actions and growth in the Infinite Dimensional Space.
But inside, it was a blank slate.
The old man could hear Cao Qi's attitude towards Tao Pai Pai, not as indifferent as he appeared, but certainly not friendly.
"Tao Pai Pai has already touched the [Root], even if it's just a branch of the derivative world, but this growth rate is enough to prove that what that guy said back then was not just empty talk."
He looked at Cao Qi.
"As a senior who has mastered the [Miracle Method] from the [Root], what [Magic] do you think he will obtain?"
Cao Qi was silent for a moment, then chuckled.
He avoided talking about the [Miracle Method] and the Root, and instead laughed,
"Don't you think that guy is about to lose control?"
"Heh, this is already the second time Tao Pai Pai has obtained a [Power Seed] beyond his plan, isn't it? [Limiter], [Root]…"
"The Spirit King he wants to cultivate will probably soon become a grotesque form that even he cannot recognize, hahahaha, just thinking about that guy's face, it's really refreshing."
The emaciated old man now changed again, his body rapidly rejuvenating, and before long he had transformed into the appearance of a small child.
His voice also became childish.
"Cao Qi, I hope you can tell me, will the [Root] change Tao Pai Pai's fate?"
Cao Qi lowered his head, dropped his fishing rod, and deliberately kneaded the transformed child's face.
"Haha, who knows about such things, you, the King of Fate, can't see it clearly, how could I know…"
His tone was casual, not sounding like he was telling the truth.
The child frowned, not knowing if he was unhappy about being pinched or dissatisfied with Cao Qi's perfunctory attitude, he emphasized,
"Don't you understand that as soon as you die, the so-called iron law of the order side will completely collapse, and this world, this country, these secret gardens you have sculpted… will soon be wantonly trampled by the Reincarnators."
"We can try again…"
"Try my ass!"
Cao Qi rudely interrupted the other party, then lay directly by the river, closed his eyes, and refused to continue the conversation.
—
Infinite Dimensional Space public area, East District, explosive news quickly spread.
"In a certain Type-Moon derivative world, Tao Pai Pai and White Mask had a fierce battle, White Mask was killed, and Tao Pai Pai is suspected to have entered the Root and disappeared!"
"As proof, the Black "Mandrake" team only has Captain "Mandrake" returning, while the team where [Ice Demon Chrollo] was located was completely wiped out, with no one returning!"
Black Butler looked at the young man before him, who resembled a Golden Boy, the dark great sun behind him was somewhat terrifying.
At the same time, the price he offered was also exaggeratedly high.
But Black Butler still shook his head.
"Sorry, I temporarily don't know if Tao Pai Pai is alive or dead. His stall is still there, but there's no sign of him returning to the space."
Every time Tao Pai Pai returned from a mission world, he would ostentatiously display various scarlet drop cards and earnings at his stall in the Slum.
This had almost become common knowledge.
Now, more than an hour after "Mandrake" returned from the derivative world, Tao Pai Pai still hadn't appeared.
More and more people began to believe that Tao Pai Pai had probably indeed met with some misfortune.
In contrast, White Mask being killed by Tao Pai Pai in that world was not particularly surprising news; it only served as another strong piece of evidence to prove the authenticity of this information.
After all, many people knew that Tao Pai Pai was indeed preparing to hunt White Mask before the deployment began.
Jin Yue'an watched various information circulate with cold eyes, then turned and left the public area.
Meanwhile, in the real world, in Teng City, a young man with a clean face and tall stature looked somewhat surprised at the man and woman waiting for him.
"Officer Luo, Officer Song, I didn't expect you to come and pick me up personally…"
Officer Luo actively stepped forward and took the bag from the long-unseen Student Bai's hand. She rarely did such a thing, causing Officer Song to cough twice.
"I also had some business in Myanmar, so I came to pick you up along the way."
Officer Song explained thus. He looked at this young man; the vitality and life force in his body were indeed far beyond ordinary people.
His eyes darkened slightly, he hadn't expected himself to make such a decision, to find a way to lead a promising young man into such a dreadful place.
Officer Luo was in a very good mood, she actively introduced Bai Cangshu to the benefits of his future job, not only did it have official prepared by (official staff status), but the salary was also excellent.
She was not clear about Officer Song's specific arrangements, and thought it was a job similar to hers, at this moment, she was beaming with happiness.
There was no awkwardness from not having seen each other for several months.
Bai Cangshu also lowered his eyes and followed the two into the car.
In a resort hotel in Teng City, a man opened his eyes and withdrew his perception, he immediately dialed a certain number.
"Target has appeared, Tao Pai Pai is suspected to be returning to East Xia, with [Hunter Dog Song Xian] accompanying him."
"What do you say, is the operation canceled?"
The voice on the phone also hesitated for a moment, seeming to be communicating with someone, but finally said,
"The operation continues, they said we don't need to make a move, you just need to follow them and lock onto their whereabouts."
After thinking for a moment, perhaps not reassured, he specifically added,
"Remember, do not release any offensive abilities towards Tao Pai Pai, his perception is very strong, don't die in vain!"
The tall, thin man responded dully, recalling the strength of that group of people, he finally chose to get up, pick up his backpack, and prepare to return to East Xia first.
Multiple Reincarnators of high-level and above joining forces to ambush Tao Pai Pai, he just hoped he wouldn't get dragged into it…
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