Starting from Douluo Continent, I've become a god through daily check-ins.

Chapter 266 The Only Way Left

Time seemed to freeze at that moment, and all was silent. The companions watching from the sidelines were bewildered by what had just happened. Qingxiang also waited quietly to the side, without moving an inch.

"Hey, haven't three minutes passed already?" Future asked.

"Yes, there's no reason to wait any longer," said Yimu, sounding somewhat impatient.

Qingxiang stood up, looked at Cuique who was still kneeling on one knee in front of her, and said with a wink, "Although I'm very sorry, let me finish this."

On the other side...

Zero's body was completely stiff. Ichigo raised her head, her brows furrowed, and looked at the person in front of her. At the same time, she slowly lowered the hand that had been covering Zero's eyes.

"How is it?" Ichigo asked.

"I can't feel anything..." Zero said, sounding somewhat desperate.

Hearing Zero say this, Ichigo was also somewhat shocked. If Zero couldn't feel any hunger even doing this, then was that woman really the only one who could unleash Zero's potential?

A feeling of resentment welled up in Berry's heart, and her body trembled slightly.

Suddenly, a tremor ran through me.

It turned out that Qingxiang had kicked the kingfisher to the ground. Looking at the fallen kingfisher, Qingxiang walked towards it step by step, her eyes still gleaming with mockery: "Hey, you're so weak."

Because of Ao-chan's attack, Ichigo is now lying on Zero's lap. Ichigo props herself up and says to Zero, "Zero, one more time."

Qingxiang walked up to Cuique, looking at it with the eyes of a victor. "As expected, I am the strongest." As she spoke, she raised her weapon high. "Why don't you let me pilot your Cuique?"

The weapon, already raised above his head and about to stab, suddenly became enraged after hearing Wei Mu's words. "What? You still want to flirt in this situation? You better stop!"

As he spoke, Wei Lai also manipulated Qing Xiang to stab at Cui Que, aiming directly at Cui Que's neck.

……

Just when everyone thought the battle was over, Qingxiang suddenly stopped. Her hand holding the weapon was trembling, but no matter what she did, she couldn't stab any further.

The crew-cut man beside him explained, "The trust between partners directly affects operational agility. If this relationship becomes unbalanced..."

"What happened all of a sudden?" he asked, puzzled.

Suddenly, Qingxiang slipped and fell onto Cuique.

Having withstood the impact, Ichigo gritted her teeth and propped herself up.

At this moment, Seventh Sister also connected to Lark's communication: "Strawberry, please report the situation, Strawberry!"

Ichigo did not answer Seventh Sister's call, and gritted her teeth, trying to forcefully drive the Lark.

"Get up quickly!" Mirai said.

He glared impatiently and said, "Shut up, I'm working on it!"

Just then, the kingfisher suddenly moved. Qingxiang looked at the kingfisher in surprise as it slowly began to move.

"No, Mei! It'll be dangerous if you start it alone!" Seventh Sister's anxious voice rang out.

However, Ichigo ignored the advice and, with tears in her eyes, forced the start of the Lark. This was Zero's only chance to become a full-fledged employee, and Ichigo didn't want to give it up.

Suddenly, the larkspur lifted the celosia, its thrusters at full power, and charged directly toward the mobile fortress.

"Damn it!" Future roared, but it had no effect.

Celosia was slammed against the mobile fortress by Lark, and then both FRANXXs fell to the ground.

Thick smoke billowed up, and Seventh Sister looked at the horrific scene and said helplessly, "This is truly reckless."

The crew-cut man nodded. "Since both machines are no longer operational, the simulation battle is over."

Inside the Lark, Zero seemed to have lost his soul, his head bowed as he stared at his hands, the sound of Ichigo's heavy breathing echoing in his ears.

"sorry."

"No need to apologize," Ichigo said breathlessly, tears streaming down her arm.

After resting for a short while, Ichigo propped herself up, covered her mouth with the back of her hand, and said, "That was awful."

Atop the mobile fortress, the mysterious figure reappeared. He looked down at the two immobilized FRANXX below—no, to be precise, he was staring at the Lark. His gaze seemed to pierce through the Lark, seeing Ichigo and Zero inside its cockpit.

After staring at it for a while, the mysterious man raised his head, looked at the few stars in the sky, and seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps to someone else: "This is really terrible. You can't possibly be this bad."

After gazing at the night sky for a moment, the mysterious figure looked down at the larkspur below, and a cold voice slowly drifted out: "If you really can't control it, then let's leave this sad place. The sky is vast, and the world is vast. As long as you're willing to put your heart into it, there's always a place for you, right? Zero..."

……

In the medical examination room

Zero came out of the examination room and happened to see Ichigo coming out at the same time. Ichigo walked to the door, faced it, and asked, "Is it over?"

"Well, they said there's nothing seriously wrong," Zero said.

"Really? That's great." Ichigo's voice was unreadable.

Zero paused for a moment, then said, "Ichigo, you don't need to do that..."

Before he could finish speaking, Seventh Sister's voice suddenly came: "No, get ready quickly."

"Okay." Ichigo replied and ran out of the room, leaving Zero completely bewildered.

Ling took the elevator, ready to return to the dormitory.

Meanwhile, Seventh Sister and the flat-headed man were in the control room watching Zero's physical condition.

"This is the first time I've ever had such minimal injury while partnering with her," said Sister Seven.

"Although the general connection test of the Lark failed, its suitability is evident even when it is unconscious when connecting with the Strelitzia."

"The only thing that comes to mind is..." Seventh Sister said, resting her chin on her hand.

"A special Primarch?" the crew-cut man said.

"That's the only possibility. You can tell from Zero's code name that Zero seems to be in a completely different class compared to those manipulators," said Seventh Sister.

"Code name Zero...?"

……

Manipulator's Living Area

Zero and Goro were walking on the bridge when Goro asked, "What happened in the cockpit?"

"Why do you ask that?" Zero asked.

"Ah, it's nothing. It's just that Ichigo has been acting a bit strange ever since the simulation battle," Goro said.

"Just now too, I seemed a little angry," Zero said.

"She's always been very proactive when it comes to anything related to you," Goro said.

"Starting from the past?" Zero doubt.

Goro said, "You're the only one among us whose code name has only one digit, and that code name is zero. I remember when you first came here, everyone treated you like an outsider and isolated you. Perhaps it was because you were isolated by everyone that Ichigo cared so much about you. It's quite a miracle that the three of us were assigned here together after graduating from the special class."

"Isolation? So, you're one of the people who isolate me?" Zero asked.

"Ah, that's how it is. After all, you came too suddenly, and your codename was too strange," Goro said.

"Goro." Zero stopped and called out.

Goro also stopped walking and turned to look at Zero behind him.

Zero said, "I have something I want to say to Ichigo, but it might be more effective if her partner says it. Just tell her for me that Ichigo did nothing wrong."

"Hmm, that's no problem." Goro asked, "Rei, what are your plans next?"

"I want to ask again to see if I can manipulate things with Zero Two one more time," Zero said.

"Zero, you must have heard the rumors about her, right?" Goro asked.

"You mean no one has partnered with her more than three times? In the end, that's just a rumor," Zero said.

"You saw what happened to her partner who came back with her..."

"I'm telling you, Goro, if I can't control FRANXX, what's the difference between me being here and being dead? And if I can only control it with Zero, then there's only one path in front of me now." Zero's eyes were unusually firm.

(End of this chapter)