Chapter 134: Well, I Can Reverse Time, After All

How should we deal with the Zodiacs of Stage Five?

No, this question should be rephrased.

What agreement did Jia Ji make with them that prompted them to come to his aid willingly?

"Indeed, it's incredible."

Mokari, Sei Tenshi, Muroto Sumire, and others had gathered together—summoned by Jia Ji—and now stared at each other, all wearing expressions of doubt.

After obtaining the 【Seven Stars' Legacy】, each of them had seen what was inside, and after Jia Ji explained, they understood why a broken bicycle could summon a Stage Five.

"A girl modified after being captured by an evil force."

"A monster modified after being captured by the Shocker organization."

Enju and Jia Ji spoke in unison; though their phrasing differed, the analogy was apt.

The Stage Fives were originally girls like today's Cursed Children, perhaps retaining their own consciousness at first, but after absorbing thousands or tens of thousands of biological factors, their mutated bodies became filled with chaotic impulses and instincts, leaving them unable to fully control their actions.

Driven by inner rage, they went berserk and caused the world's destruction.

Yet during these ten years, why have humans managed to cling to survival behind the Great Stone Monolith?

Although advancements such as Kurogane metal weapons, Initiators, and Ghouls-virus inhibitors have emerged, humanity—even in its prime—could not defeat the Ghouls. Now, huddled behind the Great Stone Monolith, they would still be wiped out in an instant if any of the Zodiacs of Stage Five so desired.

Thus, it seems the berserk Zodiacs, having vented their inner rage, regained a sliver of reason and deliberately avoided human settlements, allowing humanity to survive.

Afterward, Jia Ji communicated with them using the 【Ring of Solomon】 and gained their assistance.

"So that's how it was… how tragic!"

Though they endured suffering at the hands of the Ghouls, ultimately, it was not the Zodiacs' fault—it was humanity's own doing.

When this theory emerged, Enju nearly shed a tear; she felt deeply for the Zodiacs' plight, so much so that it was as if she had lived it herself.

Jia Ji knew that in the original timeline, the vacant position of Cancer meant at least one person would fill the Zodiac gap… and had he not intervened, Enju—as the world's heroine—would likely have been captured and modified by some evil organization, becoming the final Zodiac.

"Just thinking about it makes me blush."

If Enju became a Ghoul, Jia Ji would have no qualms about destroying this world himself.

But now, there was no need to worry.

He had already dispatched Zhiziyingyin to every corner of the world to kill anyone seeking to trouble him or harboring ill intent toward the newly established city—along with the researchers who had escaped death years ago—putting the useless man to some use.

"I made a promise with them—that one day, I would turn them back into humans."

Because the communication was direct, a spiritual and mental exchange, it was easy to detect deception; after high-frequency mental collisions, the human consciousness guiding the Zodiacs ultimately chose to trust their instincts and believe him—the man who seemed utterly alien to this world.

They felt no lie in him, only compassion and sympathy, sorrow for these ugly Zodiacs.

Now, from any part of the Tokyo District, one could see the nine Zodiacs.

They lay in slumber, encircling the former Mount Fuji, their massive bodies curled into a single motionless mass, minimizing energy consumption, as still as corpses.

Yet everyone knew what would happen if they were awakened—so merely their presence alone served as the greatest deterrent to any malevolent soul.

"Mount Fuji is such a dull name. Let's call it Silver Mountain instead."

Jia Ji despised and would never do things like "kill the messenger after the task is done" or "break one's word." If he promised, he would fulfill it.

Turning the Zodiacs back into humans—though difficult—was not impossible.

Regarding the method of "I want to become human again," Jia Ji already had many ideas, which could be broadly categorized into three types.

First: Reconstruct the body and transfer consciousness. A classic of advanced civilizations—luckily, someone in the group excels at this.

Second: Reverse the Zodiacs' state using the boundary between human and non-human, akin to traditional yokai cultivating to take human form—a xuanhuan technique.

The third method is the simplest and most brutal: find someone with time manipulation abilities and rewind time for them.

Yet none of these three methods are currently within Jia Ji's reach—he must rely on Yuyu Zi or Youki to come to this world and test their feasibility.

And that requires increasing the group's membership to ten to unlock the new feature of the 【Myriad Reflections】.

Thus, Jia Ji had the Zodiacs enter deep slumber in advance, to prevent further accidents.

Speaking of which, though he had accomplished many great deeds in this world, the actual time elapsed was surprisingly short—still one-third of the "three months unique to xx" remained.

Jia Ji had originally planned to stay a few more days in this world to accumulate enough energy to recruit the next group member, when suddenly, the 【Myriad Reflections】 gave him a notification.

…

【Xia Na: When will we get the next new member? @Da Mengshen】

【Forever Seventeen: I thought it required the group owner to have spent a hundred days in a world to add one member. What's up?】

【Xia Na: Nothing much… I just feel like it's been forever without new members. The efficiency is too low. When will we ever get to visit everyone's worlds?】

【Xia Na: I have an idea—why don't you go to Zi's world first, then close the group for two or three years, and add eight new members all at once? That'd be far more efficient.】

【Ice Queen: The efficiency is indeed too low. It feels like this guy is deliberately delaying something, avoiding letting everyone meet too soon… Don't play dead, speak! @Da Mengshen】

【Forever Seventeen: Don't play dead, speak! @Da Mengshen】

【Angel After Death: Don't play dead, speak! @Da Mengshen】

Jia Ji had just received the @ reminder when he opened the chat interface—and was met with a row of perfectly synchronized repeats.

【Da Mengshen: Wow, even Xiao Zou…】

【Angel After Death: The "+1 after that" was too tempting, I couldn't help it…】

【Da Mengshen: That's too cruel! You've broken my heart! I'm blocking you!】

【Yinyang Eye: There's no block button in group chats. This person is talking nonsense again. pg】

【Xia Na: So, are you doing it or not?】

【Da Mengshen: That'd be fast, but wouldn't I age faster than all of you? I just turned 18—I'll be an old man in a blink? Xia Na, you don't age at all, so you don't feel the pain. How can you say such things? Why not just let me use Heaven's Acceleration?】

【Forever Seventeen: Are you implying I age quickly? (`へ´)】

【Da Mengshen: Say what you want. I'm not going to your world now—not because I'm afraid of you…】

【Yinyang Eye: You're scared, aren't you?】

【Da Mengshen: Wait, something's odd… Xia Na seems unusually eager today. Has something happened? @Xia Na】

(End of Chapter)