At 5:45 AM, Seireitei was still shrouded in a thin layer of mist, a mixture of night dew and the faint, shimmering glow of reishi.
Deep within the long-standing mansion of the Shihōin Clan, the bedchamber of the clan head, Hiroki, was peaceful.
The thick, expensive spirit-wood floorboards silently caught the faint light filtering through the cracks in the window lattice, and the air was filled with the lingering scent of calming incense designed to aid sleep.
Hiroki was "awakened" by a voice, or rather, the voice abruptly pierced the boundaries of his deep slumber.
"Ding, system update complete."
This voice did not come from the outside world; instead, it resonated directly deep within his consciousness, carrying an inorganic yet undeniably clear sensation.
Hiroki furrowed his brows within the bedding, which was soft enough to sink into, his consciousness slowly surfacing like it was rising from the deep sea.
"Hmm... what sound is that?" Hiroki mumbled vaguely in his throat, his eyelids feeling as heavy as lead.
The chaotic feeling of a hangover had not yet fully faded—his energy expenditure last night had been immense.
Out of instinct, his long, powerful arm groped around his side.
His fingertips touched a patch of warm, smooth, and surprisingly elastic skin.
"Oh, it's Yoruichi."
Hiroki's muddled thoughts cleared for a moment, and his tense nerves relaxed accordingly.
That's right, she had run back again last night.
Hiroki still remembered how she had kicked the door open last night: her long purple hair slightly disheveled, her amber eyes shimmering with a mix of mischief and exhaustion in the dim light. The two hadn't spoken many words before an intense "warm-up" of Hand-to-hand combat immediately replaced all greetings, and they eventually fell asleep in each other's arms, exhausted and sharing a tacit understanding deeply hidden in their bloodlines.
Confirming that the warm presence beside him was Yoruichi, the last trace of irritation Hiroki felt from being woken up dissipated.
He turned slightly, looking at the person beside him on the pillow through the faint light entering the room.
Yoruichi's sleeping face held a rare, defenseless serenity and laziness, her breathing long and even, like a beautiful black panther napping in the sun.
A few strands of purple hair stuck playfully to her smooth forehead and cheeks, adding a touch of softness to her wild, untamable temperament.
Only after confirming that Yoruichi was still fast asleep did Hiroki's consciousness fully return, and he truly began to process the "notification sound" that had dragged him out of deep sleep.
"System... update?"
Hiroki's thoughts turned with difficulty, like rusted gears.
An indescribable feeling welled up in his heart—absurdity? Helplessness? Or the numbness of having long since gotten used to it?
It had actually updated "quietly" without him noticing or giving consent?
The corners of Hiroki's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and a strong urge to complain surged in his heart.
The feeling was all too familiar, just like those apps on his phone in his previous life that had auto-update features you could never turn off, always using up your data and filling your storage without your knowledge, then pushing a bunch of useless new features or annoying ads.
"You updated?" Hiroki tried to communicate with the system in his mind.
His tone carried heavy sleepiness and the annoyance of being woken up; heaven knows if this crappy system update would cause some new trouble, like deducting his points?
The system's emotionless, electronically synthesized voice immediately responded in his mind: "Yes."
"..." Hiroki was silent for a few seconds, but in the end, he couldn't help it, and asked the question he cared about most, gritting his teeth: "My points are still there, right?"
Those points were the little nest egg he had worked hard to save over the years; although only 100,000 were left, they could save his life at a critical moment.
"Your points were not used," the system answered concisely.
"Oh, that's good." Hiroki let out a long sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
As long as the points weren't missing, everything was fine. As for what the system updated, he didn't really care for the moment.
He had survived over a decade without missions, hadn't he? He was now a man of great status and wealth, the head of the leading clan among the Four Great Noble Clans, the captain of the Sixth Division of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, and the newly minted Grand Kido Master, with talented people under his command (Uchiha Clan, Shihōin retainers).
However, the system seemed dissatisfied with the host's Buddhist-like attitude. After a brief silence, the cold electronic voice sounded again, this time with a hint of what could almost be ignored... urgency?
"...Aren't you going to ask about the new features?"
Hiroki was just about to roll over and go back to sleep when he was asked this by the system, and his movement paused. He sighed silently; fine, fine, considering you didn't use my points.
"You have new features?" Hiroki responded with a tone of "Why didn't you say so earlier," full of exaggerated surprise, fully expressing his previous skepticism.
This was purely habitual bickering; after all, having "lived" with this taciturn and occasionally troll-like system for so many years, one had to find some amusement.
"..." The system seemed to choke for a moment, or perhaps it was performing complex logical operations. After a brief pause, it spoke again, its tone still steady, but the content was like dropping a depth charge into Hiroki's calm lake of a heart:
"This update has added a Mission Dispatch Mode."
"Mission Dispatch?" Hiroki chewed on the term, his sleepiness instantly vanishing for the most part. This sounded... interesting? It was different from the mode where he passively waited for the system to issue missions and then completed them himself.
"Yes," the system explained, "you can dispatch your subordinates to execute missions in various worlds, with mission difficulties ranging from E-rank to S-rank."
"Dispatch subordinates?" Hiroki narrowed his eyes slightly, his brain spinning rapidly.
The advantages of this mode became instantly clear in his mind: he no longer needed to do everything himself and could fully utilize the vast and elite power of his subordinates.
He could sit in Seireitei and handle more important matters (like scrolling through his phone or slacking off), while letting his subordinates go to other worlds to expand territory and acquire resources (points, technology, talent)!
This was a feature tailor-made for a "hands-off manager" like him!
Moreover, the risk of subordinates executing missions was relatively controllable, and he didn't have to put himself in danger every time.
Most importantly, this greatly broadened the channels for obtaining points!
But Hiroki's excitement lasted only a moment before being doused by a bucket of cold water from years of "troll" experience.
He asked back with strong skepticism: "You only released one mission in over a decade; no matter how many or how strong my subordinates are, if there are no missions to dispatch, what is the use?"
The system seemed to have anticipated his question and immediately provided key information: "After the update, the system will connect to more worlds, so there will be more missions."
"More?" Hiroki's heart stirred, but he remained vigilant. This crappy system's understanding of "more" was often not on the same dimension as his. He decided to confirm it himself: "Then what missions do you have now? Show me the list."
The next second, a translucent screen shining with a faint blue light, visible only to Hiroki, unfolded in his field of consciousness. On the screen, mission information rolled by like a waterfall, dense and layered:
S-rank missions: 150
A-rank missions: 2800
B-rank missions: 10,000+
C-rank missions: 100,000+
D-rank missions: 1,000,000+
E-rank missions: ∞ (Infinite)
Looking at the strings of dizzying zeros following that, especially the glaring "∞" symbol, Hiroki felt his eyes and mouth twitching violently at the same time.
A strong sense of absurdity and being played surged in his heart.
"..." He gave a silent scream in his heart. This is what you call "more"? This is jumping straight from "single-player" over "LAN" and directly connecting to the "cosmic internet," right?!
After holding it in for a long time, Hiroki squeezed a sigh out through his teeth, full of the style of internet complaints from his previous life: "Is the village connected to the internet?" The metaphor was incredibly apt.
For decades, he had been like an information island, and now he was directly connected to the World Wide Web, with information (missions) exploding.
"That is one way to put it." The system seemed to approve of this grounded metaphor.
"..." This time it was Hiroki's turn to be completely speechless.
So for the past few decades, he had been playing a single-player version of "Shihōin Son-in-Law Simulator"? And the so-called "update" was just the server finally being set up and formally connecting to the multiverse mission platform? This latency was way too touching!
After a brief moment of shock and speechlessness, Hiroki's strong will quickly accepted this setting.
After all, being able to connect to more worlds meant infinite possibilities and resources, which had immeasurable value for his long-term planning (whether it was guarding everything he currently had or dealing with future crises).
"Fine," Hiroki calmed down and decided to first understand the core operations. "How are missions dispatched? What are the requirements and limitations?"
"The dispatch rules are as follows:" the system clearly listed:
"1. Summoned Units: All subordinates brought through the system's summoning function (including initial summoning and subsequent summoning permissions that may be obtained) (e.g., Uchiha Clan) are eligible for dispatch by default.
2. Native Units: Characters from the Shinigami world require a 'loyalty' rating of over 90 to be dispatched on cross-world missions.
3. Dispatch Format: After the host confirms the mission and personnel, the system will open a temporary cross-world channel to send the dispatched personnel to the mission world. After the mission is completed or failed, the system will bring them back. During the mission, the host can perform limited remote observation and information transmission through the system interface (requires consuming a small amount of points).
4. Risks: Unknown dangers exist in mission worlds, and dispatched personnel face the risk of injury, death, or being stranded. Mission failure may result in no rewards or penalties (depending on mission requirements). Deceased personnel can be resurrected through points.
5. Rewards: After a mission is successfully completed, rewards (points, special items, etc.) will be issued to the host. The host can choose to use them personally or distribute them to the subordinates executing the mission in proportion/fixed amounts (to increase loyalty and motivation)."
"Loyalty?" Hiroki keenly grasped this newly appeared, seemingly very important quantitative indicator.
"How do I see this?" This involved which "native" forces he could use.
"This is a new feature provided by this system update: 'Eye of Insight (Beginner)'," the system explained,
"The host can consume a very small amount of mental energy to view some basic attribute information of characters within the line of sight in the Shinigami world, including: name, identity, core ability level (e.g., spiritual pressure level), and three relationship indicators: loyalty (towards the host), favorability (personal emotional inclination), and intimacy (depth of special relationship)."
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