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

Chapter 267 First Battle

Zero bid farewell to Goro and arrived at the training ground alone. It was the same familiar training ground, and the same familiar training machine. Zero piloted the training machine, wielding something resembling a paddle while performing various high-difficulty maneuvers.

Zero's skill in operating the training machine is unparalleled. Therefore, for this level of training, Zero always increases the difficulty for himself.

Standing in front of the glass window above the training field, Zero-Two, with a lollipop in his mouth, watched Zero training below.

……

Zero finished training and left the training ground. As soon as he entered the hall, Zero saw Zero-Two leaning against a pillar, asleep with his legs drawn up to his chest.

Rei walked up to Zero Two, bent down, and stared intently at Zero Two's horns. For some reason, Rei felt like he had seen those horns somewhere before.

However, it doesn't make any sense in theory.

First of all, he and Zero-Two had met less than once a month, and their relationship was practically that of acquaintances. However, looking at Zero-Two's horn, Zero felt a sense of déjà vu, as if they hadn't seen each other for a long time. This feeling was strange.

Zero searched his memory more than once, trying to find out if they had met before. However, no matter how Zero thought about it, he had absolutely no memory of ever meeting Zero.

"Darling, you're such a pervert." Zero's sudden remark sent a shiver down Zero's spine.

Zero Two looked up at Zero and said, "Don't stare at me."

"Ah, sorry," Zero said, taking a step back.

"It's alright." Zero Two smiled. "I heard from the Doctor that it's more suitable for the pilot to be a little lecherous."

"So why is it 'color'..." Zero asked, his face darkening.

Zero Two stood up, stretched, looked at Zero, and said, "I'm exhausted from waiting. Let's go."

"Huh? Where are we going?" Zero followed Zero Two with a bewildered look.

Upon entering a passageway, you'll find a special scanning screen that scans the IDs of passersby to verify their authorization status.

Zero Two walked past without any hindrance, but before she had gone far, there was a beep behind her. Zero Two stopped and looked back.

Zero stood in front of the door, looking at Zero Two inside, and said, "There are restrictions on where our children can go; almost all of this area is off-limits."

Zero Two turned around and opened his left palm. Zero was shocked when he saw what was in Zero Two's palm.

"An S-rank ID!?"

While Zero was still in shock, Zero-Two ran up behind Zero, pushed Zero forward two steps, then put his right arm around Zero's waist and held Zero's right hand with his left. "This way, the two of you can go through together." After saying that, Zero-Two led Zero through the door.

Zero was quite shocked. "It passed..."

Zero Two released Zero, walked up to Zero, turned to look at Zero, and said, "Teaching you is simple, right?"

Zero Two led Zero to a platform overlooking the entire inner city of the mobile fortress. Zero was completely shocked by the golden city before him.

"That's amazing!"

Zero and Zero-Two stood together in front of the fence, looking at the scene before them. Zero asked, "How do you know this place?"

"Everywhere is pretty much the same, it's not very interesting," Ling Er said.

A gentle breeze blew by, and Zero looked at the dazzling city before her and asked, "I see. But this is my first time in a city, and all we know about are birdcages and a few other facilities."

After speaking, Zero glanced at Zero Two beside him. Zero Two's face was expressionless, seemingly uninterested in such a dazzling city. But that made sense; Zero Two himself had said that all places were built pretty much the same, so he must have seen this scene many times before.

Zero Two glanced at Zero, then looked away and asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I've been wondering why your codenames are all three digits, while mine is only one digit," Zero asked, shifting his gaze away.

"Who knows?" Zero Two said.

Ling Er gripped the fence, flipped over, and jumped over it, walking slowly towards the distance.

"Be careful!" Zero quickly reminded Zero Two.

"Hey, Darling, why do you think they want a name? We're all going to die anyway, so names don't really matter, right? Look, this city looks like it's dead." Zero Two walked forward until he reached the end, looking down at the desolate city below.

"There are no blank spaces or seas here, no connection to anywhere, just a city that ends at the end," Ling Er said.

"It's really dangerous, come back quickly!" Zero shouted, stretching out a hand.

"Hey Darling, let's run away together? I can take you out," Zero Two suddenly asked.

"Escape? Where can I escape to?" Zero said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Just then, a strong gust of wind blew by, causing Zero Two's body to tilt to the left. Zero was shocked, thinking Zero Two was going to fall. However, Zero Two jumped back a step, performed several backflips, and quickly retreated, finally landing lightly behind Zero.

"Just kidding," Zero Two said with a laugh.

……

In the operations conference room

Everyone except Zero has changed into combat uniforms.

"Headquarters has issued operational instructions."

"Huh? Are we going to have a real battle so soon?" Tai asked.

"Don't be so nervous, we won't let you fight something like the last one right from the start," said Seventh Sister.

"That's great..." Mirai said with a sigh of relief.

"I originally wanted to spend more time, but we can't go on like this." After Seventh Sister finished speaking, a holographic projection suddenly appeared in front of everyone.

Judging from the appearance of this holographic projection, it should be a drilling site.

"The Klaxosaurs are called Conrad-class, and they're a size smaller than FRANXX. They're attracted to magma energy reactions and recently appeared at the deepest part of the eighth level excavation site in the suburbs. They've caused damage, and the automated fortress system can't connect to them."

After Hatch finished speaking, Seventh Sister added, "Also, Strelitzia won't be attacking this time. From now on, it will be up to you to protect this thirteenth city. If we can't drive away the Klaxosaurs this time, we definitely won't be able to fight other Klaxosaurs in the future. Please keep that in mind during the battle. Command on-site will be handled by Ichigo and Goro."

Zero was slightly shocked to hear Seventh Sister say that Strelitzia wouldn't be attacking. However, it was mostly expected. After all, Strelitzia's strength was too great, coupled with the rumors surrounding Zero, and now she had no partner, and most importantly, she didn't have the authority to use it.

"All aircraft, prepare for boarding."

……

Standing at the observation window of the boarding gate, looking at the six FRANXXs parked at the check-in counter, I felt completely at peace.

To be honest, from the moment Zero arrived at the conference room, he had already given up any hope of actually boarding the Strelitzia. Zero quietly watched as his companions boarded the FRANXX one by one.

The three FRANXX units—Delphinium, Celosia, and Golden Finch—have all been connected, but the Crane Orchid has yet to connect.

"What's wrong, Zhe Helan?" Hachi asked.

With a completely expressionless face, he said, "Ikuno doesn't seem to be doing well."

Yu Nai was still working hard, saying to Man and Hachi, "It'll be ready soon, just wait a moment."

Hearing Yu Nai's words, she said with a look of utter disdain, "It's no longer possible."

Meanwhile, in the command center, a staff member looked at the data for Zhehelan and reported to Hachi: "The data capacity for Zhehelan is insufficient and is still decreasing."

Hatch looked at the data, seemingly talking to himself, "Is it not working?" Then he pressed the call button and said to everyone, "Zhe Helan will stay and be handed over to the other three stations."

"I understand," Ichigo replied.

In the conference room, the seventh sister tightened her grip on the file slightly, "This is getting a bit tricky."

(End of this chapter)