Research and Development Bureau, third basement level, Laboratory 12.
The acrid smell of formaldehyde mixed with fermented blood filled the air with a suffocating stench.
A young man stood in front of an impressively sized machine, his fingers moving with astonishing speed.
A roar echoed from a capsule not far from him, but the man in the white coat ignored it nonchalantly.
[Extraction of unknown energy in progress…]
[1% … 4% …]
The lights from the screen reflected off the man's glasses, but he paid them no attention.
All his focus was on the announcement from AI Babylon II after verifying every margin of error in his prototype.
'50… years… it's been 50 years since I arrived in this world, and finally…' he thought, before a display panel interrupted the loading.
The young man clicked his tongue in annoyance but followed protocol.
[Automatic extraction activated]
[Babylon II has taken over]
[You can leave everything to me, Master]
The young man nodded before quickly leaving the premises in long strides.
He activated various security measures upon departure to seal any trace of his activities, or even the existence of his true laboratory.
Barely had he arrived in his office when a chilling voice rose from the entrance door.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi had entered the room without authorization.
"Damn it, this guy really is a pain," he thought inwardly.
However, the young man adopted a "submissive" posture and advanced to meet him.
The director of the Research and Development Bureau tilted his head toward him, his golden pupils reflecting the disheveled appearance of the young man under his gaze.
"Explain to me, Jin," he began, leaning closer.
"Why the hell has a Hollow I placed under your supervision disappeared from its sealed container?" Mayuri articulated each word with inhuman coldness.
Unconsciously, Jin stepped back under the passive spiritual pressure emitted by the captain.
"It was an experimental subject I trained for three months…" Mayuri continued, staring into his eyes in search of a flaw in his acting.
"I… I don't know…" Jin replied, nervously adjusting his glasses, his trembling voice perfectly simulating a helpless employee.
"Thirty minutes ago, I went to get some reagents, and when I came back… the sealing capsule was already empty," he finished his explanation.
The mad scientist knew Jin was the culprit. However, Mayuri had no proof for the moment.
The captain of the Twelfth Division could not punish a subordinate without concrete reason: he risked unnecessary trouble.
"You don't know?" Mayuri leaned even closer, his nose almost brushing Jin's.
An eccentric attitude Jin had already grown accustomed to.
"You are the last member of the technical development office in charge of monitoring experimental subjects, and now you tell me you don't know?" Mayuri continued in a mocking tone.
Jin lowered his head even further and simulated a slight trembling of the shoulders.
Mayuri observed his pitiful performance for three seconds before sniffing coldly and stepping back: "No point wasting my time on this ridiculous game," he declared, looking away.
He scanned the room for the slightest clue, then spoke again:
"Half of this month's research budget will be deducted to compensate for your irresponsibility. If a similar error occurs again, you will be transferred to the Fourth Division," he announced before turning away from Jin.
"Understood, but I'm… truly sorry for this embarrassing situation, Captain Mayuri," Jin said, bowing.
Mayuri paid no attention and left the office without another glance.
Once the door closed with a dull thud, Jin finally let out a sigh of relief.
Silence returned to the room.
Jin slowly straightened up, adjusted his glasses, and his gaze became icy calm once more, devoid of the slightest trace of panic.
Jin was fed up.
'50 years putting up with this guy,' he thought inwardly.
Jin had arrived in the Bleach universe after a fight that went badly.
Back on Earth, he was an ordinary office worker, passionate about manga and creepy online stories.
In that somewhat blurry memory, Jin remembered watching an online video about the scientist Geoff Ernstmann.
After enjoying the video, he walked in on his wife in the middle of cheating with a colleague from the accounting department.
A fight broke out between the two, but Jin died from a knife in the back inflicted by his wife.
Fortunately, he received a second chance for unknown reasons and also inherited the knowledge of Doctor Geoff Ernstmann.
"I just have to hold on a little longer," he said quietly while returning to his secret laboratory.
Jin quickly reached the control panel of the machine invented by Doctor Geoff Ernstmann using supernatural knowledge.
The Angel Engine.
A machine capable of harnessing the near-unlimited energy of a true angel to perform various miracles, depending on the desired use.
Jin didn't have an angel on hand.
That was why it had taken him 50 years of study in the Twelfth Division to acquire an advanced understanding of spiritual energy.
He wanted to adapt the Angel Engine so it could consume the supernatural energy of Hollows and Shinigami instead of that of angels.
A blasphemous experiment.
Yet Jin did not shy away from his dangerous projects.
[Extraction 100%]
[Energy extraction successful]
"Can you use this energy to perform any miracle?" Jin asked after verifying the details.
[Negative response]
The AI's answer did not surprise Jin.
The angel Uriel was a divine entity that the real Doctor Geoff Ernstmann had sealed in his machine to create any miracle.
It was impossible to obtain such a source of energy through ordinary means from a regular Hollow, like the one stolen from Mayuri.
However, Jin hoped to perform limited miracles until he found an energy source equivalent to Uriel.
[It is possible to purify the energy of the Hollow entity and adapt it to the physical characteristics of the Master], the AI began while analyzing the data.
Jin remained silent, observing the information before his eyes through his glasses.
[It has even been detected that the Master could inherit certain traits from the Hollow, or even refine those traits into abilities with sufficient energy.] the AI concluded after a few minutes.
"Go ahead, I give you permission," Jin declared once he had finished studying the data provided by Babylon II.
The spiritual pressure of an ordinary Shinigami rapidly rose to the level of a Third Seat.