You said mechs were going to fight monsters, but instead you're destroying stars with your bare

Chapter 195 The Ship Girls Return!

Li Zhe's body suddenly stiffened.

His eyes, which had long been somewhat empty due to endless reincarnation, suddenly burst forth with an unbelievable gleam the moment he heard that voice!

This voice...

This voice, filled with coolness and rationality, yet carrying a subtle, almost imperceptible warmth unique to her...

It's a star!

"star?!"

Li Zhe's voice became somewhat hoarse with excitement.

He practically tumbled out of bed and stumbled toward the secret room leading to the maintenance hangar via a specially configured system.

When he pushed open the futuristic alloy door, the sight before him instantly filled his numb heart with an indescribable warmth.

In the center of the spacious and bright hangar, two exquisitely beautiful figures, one in gold and one in red, floated silently.

They radiate an energy more brilliant and powerful than ever before.

Like two stars awakening from slumber, they illuminated the entire hangar as if it were daytime.

Xing still had that aloof and stunningly beautiful appearance, her long silver-gray hair flowing like moonlight, gently cascading down to her waist.

But her golden eyes no longer held the absolute rationality and calm of before; instead, they held a deeper, more intelligent dynamism.

It seems to contain the secrets of the entire universe.

Kazuko was still dressed in her dashing shrine maiden attire, her long, glossy black hair tied into a neat low ponytail at the back of her head.

But in her obsidian-like eyes, the naivety and arrogance of the past had faded, replaced by a more composed and determined look.

His entire body exuded a sharpness and killing intent, like a drawn sword, enough to terrify any enemy.

They have all become stronger.

He became stronger than he could ever have imagined at any moment.

"commander……"

Hoshino and Kazuko looked at the man in front of them, whose eyes were red and whose expression was agitated, and their hearts were filled with mixed feelings.

They could clearly sense that the commander carried an air of weariness and vicissitudes that they could not comprehend, an air that was filled with the weight of time and experience.

It was as if, during the time they were in seclusion, he alone had endured countless hardships and tribulations.

"How...how could you..."

Li Zhe opened his mouth, but found that his throat felt as if it were blocked by something, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

He had so many questions, so many grievances, so much longing, and he wanted to confide in them.

But in the end, all those words were reduced to a simple greeting filled with joy and relief.

"Welcome back."

"We're back, Commander."

The star's translucent energy body slowly floated in front of Li Zhe.

She reached out her slender hand and gently wiped away the moisture from the corner of his eyes.

Her fingertips were cool and silky, carrying a reassuring energy fluctuation.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Not long, not long..." Li Zhe shook his head, a smile more like a grimace appearing on his face. "Didn't you say... it would take three years?"

“Yes, Commander.” Xing nodded, a hint of confusion flashing in her golden eyes. “According to my core clock, from the time we entered seclusion to our awakening, it was exactly… 1,095 days.”

“One thousand and ninety-five days…” Li Zhe murmured to himself, “Three years…”

He suddenly realized a problem.

"Zero, retrieve my system log immediately!"

【Yes, Commander.】

Zero's voice rang out, presenting Li Zhe with a detailed record of the passage of time.

【自危机纪元1年8月20日至今，您共计经历了107次，每次持续11天的“时间重置”】    【总计流逝时间为……1177天】

[Equivalent to... three years and eighty-two days]

Looking at this number, Li Zhe finally understood.

original……

This damned cycle is not absolutely "closed".

It can reset time in the outside world and reset everyone's memories.

But it cannot be reset; the passage of time exists within his "independent space-time" of maintaining the hangar!
In other words, while he was trapped in this endless cycle of reincarnation.

Hoshi and Kazuko also completed a three-year-long, arduous retreat in that "time" that belonged to them!
"I see……"

An unprecedented glint flashed in Li Zhe's eyes.

He finally found the most crucial "variable" that he had been overlooking all along, the one that could break the cycle!
It's not that elusive [World Tree Seed].

It was not the knowledge and skills he had already mastered.

But...

he himself!
And these two beside him, his most loyal partners who grew up with him!
"Commander, what... what happened?"

Looking at Li Zhe's expression, which was filled with excitement and understanding, Kazuko couldn't help but ask.

Li Zhe took a deep breath and told them about his experience of being trapped in this endless cycle of reincarnation, as well as all his speculations about this cycle, without reservation.

Upon hearing Li Zhe's account, even Xing's brain, which was comparable to a supercomputer, experienced a brief malfunction.

Kazuko was completely dumbfounded, her obsidian-like eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

"More than a hundred cycles? Three years?"

Looking at Li Zhe's young face, which was etched with the marks of time and weariness, she felt a surge of indescribable heartache.

She couldn't imagine how the commander had managed to endure such endless loneliness and despair all by himself.

"commander……"

Her voice trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly.

"Thank you for your hard work..."

"It's in the past."

Li Zhe shook his head, a confident smile returning to his face.

"Now is not the time for sentimentality."

His gaze became incredibly sharp.

"Now that you've emerged from seclusion, it's time for us to break free from this damned cycle."

"Yes!"

Hoshi and Kazuko answered in unison, their eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

"Commander, during our seclusion, we have successfully fused and refined the [Edo Tensei Amaterasu no Heart] with the hull of the [Yamato]."

Xing's voice carried a hint of barely suppressed pride.

"The Yamato of today is no longer just a battleship; it has evolved into an ultimate mothership with 'ship equipment'!"

"Oh?" Li Zhe's eyes lit up instantly. "Show me."

"As ordered!"

Kazuko stepped forward, her obsidian-like eyes gleaming with confidence.

She stretched out her slender arm and pointed to the massive ship behind her, quietly moored in the hangar, a ship imbued with a profound sense of history and the spirit of steel.

"Yamato——"

She gave a sharp shout, her voice filled with queenly authority.

"Deploy ship equipment!"

(End of this chapter)