Chapter 329: Welcome to Hueco Mundo
With the feeling of having screwed Komamura, Satoru looked up at the large display screen at the Satoru Heaven entrance.
There, Ulquiorra stood in a suit, his gaze profound and serene, as if looking toward his distant homeland or perhaps longing for a girl in his heart.
Suddenly, the handsome man in the suit turned abruptly and sat down on a sofa.
The moment he grabbed the controller, a smile curled on the lips of this icy handsome man.
On the screen, various LSP4 game interfaces appeared one after another.
Next came a massive promotional poster of the LSP4 console. Ulquiorra tugged at his tie and recited the advertisement slogan in a cool, charismatic voice—
"Ultimate gaming platform, endless joy for you."
Finally, Ulquiorra removed his suit jacket, sat at a table drinking coffee, with an LSP4 placed on the desk.
The scene looped back to the beginning.
Satoru: "..."
What the hell is all this?
Hadn't he sent Ulquiorra to the human world to work in sales?
Why would a sales employee openly appear in the promotional advertisement for the new console?
Satoru was furious.
Bringing Suì-Fēng along, he entered the office building and arrived at a special room.
If any ordinary employee of Yūtendo were to come here, they'd probably faint from shock.
The room contained rows of beds.
Lying on them were "corpses."
One of them belonged to their boss, Satoru.
These were gigai that Satoru had prepared for himself and other friends who frequently visited the human world.
Gigai were like intimate clothing.
If possible, it was more comfortable to use one's own exclusive set.
Satoru approached his gigai and threw himself into it directly, much like Jack merging with Hideki Gō.
The next second, the gigai jolted awake.
Sitting up, Satoru stretched slightly and headed straight for the executive office area.
Watching Satoru's retreating figure, Suì-Fēng chuckled softly, shook her head, and slipped into her own gigai before following him.
...
...
Seeing Satoru burst through the door, a young man with silver short hair was slightly taken aback.
"Lord Mikami?"
He stood up, setting aside the documents he had been reading.
"Ryūken, explain to me clearly—what's the deal with the billboard outside?"
The young man's name was Ishida Ryūken, son of Sōken Ishida, leader of the Quincy faction in the human world.
Under Sōken's arrangements, he had begun working at Yūtendo while still attending university.
Thanks to his exceptional work ethic, serious personality, and handsome looks, he quickly rose to become a department head at Yūtendo.
Once, when Satoru visited the human world on a whim, he directly appointed Ishida Ryūken as the general manager's secretary.
Noticing this, the general manager tactfully stepped back, leaving the main stage to Ishida Ryūken.
Oh, and by the way, the general manager was Sōken Ishida.
"Billboard?"
Ishida Ryūken frowned slightly, as if pondering the meaning behind Satoru's question.
A few seconds later, understanding dawned on his face.
"You mean the one you sent to the human world to work as a sales department employee?"
Under Satoru's intense gaze, Ishida Ryūken explained:
"Initially, I did follow your instructions and assigned Mr. Ulquiorra as a sales department staff member."
"I must say, your judgment in personnel is remarkable. Many difficult negotiations were successfully handled once Mr. Ulquiorra stepped in."
"Especially with female business partners—sending Mr. Ulquiorra almost guaranteed success."
"Not long after joining, he was promoted to section chief."
"Coincidentally, around that time, the LSP4 launched and required advertising shoots."
"The director from the advertising agency I hired spotted Mr. Ulquiorra passing by during a casting meeting and insisted he was the only one for the role."
"The results have proven that since Mr. Ulquiorra became our brand ambassador, LSP4 has achieved groundbreaking success in market expansion."
"According to market research, many female users who previously showed no interest in gaming products have become loyal LSP4 consumers after watching Mr. Ulquiorra's commercial."
"Despite never being involved in the entertainment industry before filming the LSP4 ad, Mr. Ulquiorra has already amassed a large fanbase in the human world. Many are writing letters asking when he'll officially debut..."
As Ishida Ryūken delivered his report, Satoru grew increasingly furious.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"When we promoted LSP3, didn't I appear in person too? There was no such effect back then!"
"This must be because LSP4's quality speaks for itself! That's the real reason for these results!"
Ishida Ryūken remained silent for two seconds.
Though young, he was already highly professional in business management, rivaling veterans in the field.
In the crucial area of advertising, he naturally understood the importance of data analysis and comparisons.
The sales boost after Ulquiorra's endorsement was undeniable.
Incidentally, recalling the LSP3 commercial featuring Satoru himself still made him cringe internally.
Their boss wasn't bad-looking—a proper commercial could have worked well.
But the content Satoru filmed was just too abstract.
Wearing strange yellow leopard print clothes and sunglasses, holding LSP2 in one hand and LSPP in the other, pressing them together to weird music until they became LSP3...
Just remembering that commercial gave him the urge to strangle Komamura.
Seeing Ishida Ryūken sitting there spaced out, Satoru's anger boiled over into malicious intent.
He grinned viciously and leaned close to Ishida Ryūken:
"Little Ryūken, do you know Ulquiorra's true identity?"
"True identity?"
Ishida Ryūken looked puzzled.
Then, as if remembering something, he explained: "Lord Mikami, I'm not a child anymore. I'll be graduating from university this time next year."
"Ridiculous! A mere twenty-something brat saying such things before this Shinigami?"
Satoru waved dismissively. "Never mind that... back to our topic."
"Ulquiorra is a humanoid Hollow—an invader who's infiltrated our ranks!"
"He's a powerful Menos Grande who shattered his Hollow mask, a human weapon that transcends the limits of Hollows!"
Hearing this, Ishida Ryūken showed some surprise.
"An Arrancar?"
"?"
Satoru was baffled.
He'd deliberately used all those explanations to describe Arrancars, yet this kid summarized it in one word?
Seeming to guess Satoru's confusion, Ishida Ryūken adjusted his glasses:
"My father once told me records about such Hollows, though he'd never seen one. I always thought they were just legends."
"No wonder... I occasionally sensed something strange about Mr. Ulquiorra. I thought it was my imagination, but this explains it."
Seeing Ishida Ryūken's calm reaction, Satoru looked puzzled.
"Wait, why are you so unfazed?"
"He's a Hollow, you're a Quincy—you should be outraged!"
"Go fire him immediately! Replace all his advertisements with mine!"
"Oh, and for record-keeping purposes, just credit all his previous sales data to me!"
Ishida Ryūken looked at Satoru.
"Why should I fire him?"
"?"
Satoru stared wide-eyed, frozen in place.
Ishida Ryūken spoke slowly, "Although Quincies and Hollows were once mortal enemies, my father has already signed an agreement with Soul Society to no longer participate in conflicts between the two sides."
"If an unidentified Hollow invaded Karakura Town, of course I wouldn't stand by idly. But since Mr. Ulquiorra was personally brought here by Lord Mikami, I presume there are no such issues."
"???"
Seeing that Ishida Ryūken didn't seem to be joking, Satoru felt completely unsettled.
He slammed the table with a sharp smack:
"Damn it! Do you still have any pride as a Quincy left?!"
"Quincies and Hollows have been mortal enemies for millions of years!"
"And with the Shinigami, we have the grudge of war—how could you forget that?!"
"If it weren't for those bastard Shinigami, why would we Quincies live so repressed, unable to even increase our population?"
Ishida Ryūken: "..."
Watching Satoru grow more and more agitated, he felt too exhausted to even retort.
Taking off his glasses, he rubbed his temples.
"Lord Mikami, you are a Shinigami, not a Quincy. There's no need for you to be angry about this."
"As for that war between Shinigami and Quincies... I've studied the issues carefully."
"Although the Shinigami's methods were overly harsh and the treaty is unpleasant, we have to admit that, from the perspective of Reishi circulation across the Three Realms, Quincies no longer meet the needs of the times."
"If Quincies were allowed to develop unchecked, the soul balance between the human world and Soul Society couldn't be guaranteed. Eventually, the two realms would collide and be completely destroyed."
"Unless one day, someone steps forward to resolve the potential collision caused by the imbalance of souls among the Three Realms, the current state of the Quincies is the best outcome possible."
As he spoke, he put his glasses back on and began processing the documents in front of him.
Watching the serious expression on Ishida Ryūken's face, Satoru scratched his head.
Why does this kid feel different from his original personality?
After thinking for a moment, he figured it must be because he'd been influenced and reformed by his own kindness.
Hmm, another day of doing good deeds.
Satoru showed a smug smile.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something:
"Wait, no—how did you skip over the most crucial topic?"
"The advertisements! The ones with me in person! Hurry up and reshoot one—I've thought of an even more catchy idea this time!"
Ishida Ryūken raised a hand to his forehead.
Even after all that effort, he still couldn't steer the conversation away?
...
...
Shinji Hirako slowly opened his eyes.
In a daze, he felt as if he were submerged in some viscous liquid.
The moment he realized this, he instinctively held his breath.
But then, he was surprised to find that he could still breathe.
What the hell was going on?
Through the pale green transparent liquid, he looked around.
He seemed to be trapped inside a cylindrical glass container. Outside were large screens continuously displaying various data and images, along with a few chairs.
Several people in white lab coats were pacing back and forth, occasionally jotting something down.
Shinji Hirako was puzzled.
He activated the Reiatsu within his body, intending to use it to shatter the container and escape.
However, the moment his Reiatsu surged out, several tubes attached to him swiftly sucked it all away.
The suction was so intense that it even drained some of the Reiatsu still inside him.
Shinji Hirako's face turned pale.
As if hearing the commotion from his side, the researchers glanced over.
Then, they walked to the control panel, pulled over a microphone, and said something.
After a while, a figure entered.
Seeing this person, Shinji Hirako widened his eyes.
"Aizen!!"
"You bastard, what have you done to me?!"
Under his furious gaze, Aizen stepped closer step by step.
Looking at Shinji Hirako, Aizen revealed an amused expression.
He pulled over a microphone:
"Captain Hirako, did you sleep well?"
"Bastard! Aizen, let me out! Do you even know what you're doing?!"
"Hmm, of course I do."
"Right now, I'm punishing a certain thief who was secretly lurking near me and eavesdropping on my conversation."
Shinji Hirako was momentarily speechless.
Aizen curled his lips into a smile:
"I must say, Captain Hirako, your expression when I dispelled the optical camouflage was truly spectacular."
"It's a pity I couldn't record it."
Shinji Hirako gritted his teeth.
Kurotsuchi screwed me over!
That damn scientist clearly said Aizen wouldn't notice!
At this thought, something suddenly flashed through his mind.
Right... back then, when he was hiding there, Aizen really hadn't noticed him.
The problem was, Satoru had noticed him!
What the hell difference did that make?!
Shinji Hirako couldn't help but feel as frustrated as if he'd been screwed over by Komamura.
He glared at the man before him.
"What are you going to do with me?"
"Kill me?"
"If that's the case, I suggest you do it quickly. Because if I ever get out of here, I'm going to beat your ass on behalf of your mother."
He grinned, threatening in a voice filled with killing intent.
But Aizen remained completely unfazed.
He maintained his smile and said:
"Captain Hirako, haven't you always been curious about what I really want to do?"
"Considering your insatiable curiosity might bring you unnecessary dangers, as your vice-captain, I've decided to simply resolve these doubts for you."
"Today, what we're going to do is simple: take you on a tour to see the results of all the efforts Satoru and I have put in over the years."
As he spoke, under Shinji Hirako's bewildered gaze, he pulled over a nearby controller and pressed a few buttons.
Soon, accompanied by the sounds of various machinery operating, the glass container encasing him separated from the wall behind.
A wheeled metal frame several meters tall moved over, and the glass container was embedded into it.
Then, this giant "cart" pushed Shinji Hirako's glass tank and followed behind Aizen as they exited the laboratory.
Before long, under Aizen's lead, the two emerged from the building and arrived at an open area outside.
Witnessing the scene before him, Shinji Hirako widened his eyes in shock.
Aizen turned his head back and smiled at him.
"Captain Hirako."
"Welcome to Hueco Mundo."