A black shadow passed through the lab door. After the shadow faded, Sora's figure was revealed.
Mayuri was in the middle of a pile of lab equipment.
Sora walked over and saw an infant embryo developing in the incubation tank in front of Mayuri.
"Is this 'Nemu No. 6'?" Sora looked at the embryo. He could sense a faint Spiritual Pressure fluctuation. "It looks to be in good condition!"
"Nemu No. 6?" Mayuri's eyes were bloodshot. He pointed to some chunks of flesh on a nearby table. "That's her over there."
"So, you're raising 'Nemu No. 7' now?" Sora glanced at the dissected remains on the table. 'Nemu No. 6' had only grown to be two or three years old and clearly had defects.
"That's right! She is 'Nemu No. 7'!"
"I've found a solution that might solve the short lifespan of artificial souls!"
"I embedded a forced cell division accelerator in her pituitary gland to push her cells past their limit! It will definitely break the theoretical limit and let 'Nemu No. 7' keep growing!"
"Of course... this might cause random growth, so I also modified her basal ganglia to connect directly to the parietal lobe for control."
"According to my calculations, this plan has a very high chance of success!"
Mayuri excitedly explained his theory and practice to Sora.
"It sounds like 'Nemu No. 7' has a good chance of breaking the limit." Sora nodded.
He remembered that Mayuri's daughter and lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi, was 'Nemu No. 7'.
Mayuri's 'Nemu No. 1' through 'Nemu No. 6' had all failed, but it wasn't a total loss. Each version brought him closer to success.
"I am on the right path!" Mayuri was very confident in 'Nemu No. 7'. The embryo's stats all met his expectations.
"Captain, did you need me for something?"
Mayuri remembered his captain's personality and figured he must be here for a reason.
"I just came to check on you. You've been in the lab for so long, Akon is worried."
"You also blocked spiritual perception, so no one outside could sense what was happening," Sora smiled. "Akon is an excellent assistant researcher. You should trust him more!"
"Hmph... useless worrying."
Mayuri looked annoyed, but he pressed a button on the desk, and the lab door opened.
Akon came in from outside. He sighed in relief when he saw Mayuri was fine.
Reishi technology research wasn't without risks. He was worried when Mayuri didn't come out and he couldn't sense anything inside.
"The embryo needs a new nutrient solution. I'll leave it to you." Mayuri tossed a file to Akon. "The data is all here. Read it. I'm going to rest."
"Go get some rest. I'll handle everything else!" Akon nodded, taking the file.
...
Sora returned to Hueco Mundo with the 'Spiritual Perception Amplifier'. He was going to use it to find Stark.
He spent a few minutes adjusting the device and turned it on.
"Ten times... I can sense Nelliel and the others." Sora's perception expanded.
He was far from Las Noches and normally couldn't sense them.
The amplifier could expand his range by thousands of times, but the higher the setting, the worse the precision.
At max amplification, he could only sense Lieutenant-level Spiritual Pressure and above.
"Fifty times... a hundred... five hundred... The number of Hollows is growing fast."
"No wonder the Soul Society has to send expedition forces to Hueco Mundo to control their numbers."
Sora kept increasing the amplification and sensed many Hollows.
The Shinigami had wiped out a large number of Hollows over twenty years ago, but the population had recovered.
Hollows repopulated quickly. A Gillian Menos is born every time 100 or more Hollows eat each other.
"Three thousand times... the number dropped a lot. I can't sense the weaker Hollows anymore."
When Sora set it to 3000x, the precision dropped. He couldn't even sense normal Gillians.
"Five thousand times... Hm? That Spiritual Pressure fluctuation!"
Sora found a captain-level Spiritual Pressure and it got his attention.
This level of Spiritual Pressure wasn't common. Even Grimmjow hadn't reached this level.
It was very likely his target, Stark!
Sora put away the amplifier and headed for the location.
After a long time, Sora arrived at a place extremely far from Las Noches.
A human-like Hollow was sitting on a sand dune.
Half of the Hollow's head was covered by a white, wolf-like skull, and his body was covered in gray fur.
Sora looked at the Hollow's panel:
[Coyote Starrk]
[Talent: S]
[Spiritual Pressure: lv90]
[Affinity Level: Stranger]
[Status: Calm]
It really was Stark!
Sora looked at Stark's mask. The wolf skull mask was incomplete.
But with Stark's strength, the missing piece wasn't broken by another Hollow. It must have fallen off naturally.
He was evolving into a Vasto Lorde!
"Stark hasn't evolved into a Vasto Lorde yet?" Sora was happy.
If Stark hadn't fully evolved, he had a chance to get a big experience reward.
The Hōgyoku had been created early, so Sora was making Arrancars much earlier than in the original timeline.
Under Sora's training, Nelliel and Harribel had grown much faster and had already surpassed Stark.
"Shinigami?"
While Sora was observing Stark, Stark was observing him.
Sora was wearing his Shihakushō and captain's haori, so he was easy to identify.
"That's right." Sora landed in front of Stark.
"This place is pretty far out..." Stark sighed. He thought the Shinigami was here to fight. "I don't want to waste energy on meaningless things."
Stark's personality was a bit like Kyōraku Shunsui's. He was lazy, had no fighting spirit, and wasn't interested in battle.
This was why he stayed away from Las Noches. Too much conflict there.
"There are no other Hollows here. Isn't it lonely?" Sora asked with a smile.
"Lonely?" Stark raised an eyebrow. This Shinigami wasn't what he expected. It didn't look like he wanted to fight. "Of course it's lonely. But... comrades are hard to find."
"Then, do you want comrades?" Sora asked softly.
------------
Unlock 400+ chapters across 7+ different novels on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/c/LEYI396