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

Chapter 323 She doesn't like you, and neither do I.

Zero Two sat in the courtyard, holding a file, carefully modifying his horns. Ikuno stood in front of Zero Two, holding a mirror in both hands to make it easier for Zero Two to trim his horns.

Seeing Zero Two repeatedly grinding against the edges, Ikuno couldn't help but ask, "Doesn't it hurt?"

"Not at all." Zero Two stopped, looked around to see where it still needed polishing. After looking left and right, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Are you ready for the future?" Zero Two asked, turning his head.

With her hands behind her back, Mirai pulled something out of her clothes when Ikuno and Mirai looked over. It was a headband. This headband wasn't for tying her hair up; it was a decorative piece to cover the diagonal limiters on Zero-Two's head. Once on, it perfectly concealed Zero-Two's pure white limiters. Zero-Two glanced at it, then smiled and asked Ikuno and Mirai, "How is it?"

"It suits you perfectly, Jingchen will definitely be happy," Wei Lai said with a smile.

Zero Two smiled contentedly. Suddenly, Wanmu appeared and said to the three girls, "Hey, something terrible has happened!"

Everyone stood at the entrance, looking as if facing a formidable enemy. Alpha greeted them warmly from outside. Not only Alpha, but 9 and the others also arrived.

"Why...are you here?" Ichigo asked.

Alpha said, "Dad told us to come here and check out the situation."

As α was speaking, Jing Chen came out of the kitchen. Seeing 9's appearance, Jing Chen didn't seem too surprised. After all, it was all within his expectations.

Upon hearing that it was "Dad" who sent them to check on the situation, Goro asked in shock, "Dad and the others? So we weren't abandoned after all."

At that moment, Hime, Zero Two, Ikuno, and Mirai returned from the yard. Hearing Goro's words, Alpha smiled, "How could that be? Rather, Dad cares about you all very much."

Hearing Alpha's words, Mirai seemed finally relieved, her eyes shining as she said, "That's great, that's wonderful."

Heimu also breathed a sigh of relief and said, "What? You should have said something sooner."

Seeing everyone's relieved expressions, Alpha smiled slightly. Jing Chen, however, didn't feel the same way. Did he care about them? Those old fogies only cared about the Great Crack.

"Speaking of which, here..." the 9' blue-haired boy said, turning around to look outside.

Another person added, "It doesn't look like an environment a child should live in."

Hearing the two team members' words, Alpha smiled noncommittally and said to the still-happy members of Unit 13, "Hey, could you prepare some accommodations for us?"

"Are you going to stay here?" Ichigo asked.

Alpha smiled and said, "I've already told you, I'm very interested in you."

Jing Chen walked up to the five people, looked at Captain Alpha, his eyes flashing, and threatened, "Interest is fine, but don't do anything too outrageous, or I'll dismantle you all one by one, just like I did when I cut down the Klaxosaur a month ago. Of course, I'll allow you to pilot the Type-9, but the result will be that you'll dismantle the Type-9 along with it!"

9' was startled by Jing Chen's words. They didn't believe Jing Chen was just talking casually; they were all present when he went on his killing spree that day. With Jing Chen's strength, even if he tore them all apart, he wouldn't be hurt at all. α smiled helplessly and said, "Okay, I promise."

The group led all of 9's to the cafeteria. Listening to the information 9's brought, Ichigo asked in shock, "Huh? So the surviving squads have been gathered in one place?"

Alpha said, "Yes, they're all in the containment facility. All the FRANXX were sent there for treatment as well."

"I see... But why are we the only ones who didn't go there?" Ichigo asked, sounding a little down.

The boy with 9's magenta hair said, "What's certain is that it wasn't the fathers who instructed them. However, Seven or Eight should have known, so why didn't they tell you?"

The girl with light green hair, sitting across from her and crying, asked, "Hey, why are you crying?"

With a forced smile, she said, "Hearing you say that makes me feel much more at ease. I've been very uneasy, thinking I'd be stuck here indefinitely."

The man with the blue hair, who was also very outgoing, put his arm around the shoulder of the 9' blue-haired boy and said, "I didn't expect you guys to be so nice. Have a bite." He then held up a pancake. "Thank you for bringing us the good news. Don't mention it."

The blue-haired boy simply held out his hand, indicating that he didn't want to eat. Ichigo, glancing at the commotion at the other table, turned back to Alpha and said, "I thought you guys were here to take Zero-Two away."

The purple-haired boy smiled and said, "We're not her guardians, we're just friends. But she doesn't seem too welcoming of us."

Zero Two and Alpha were alone in the woods. Alpha smiled and asked Zero Two, "How long are you planning to keep pretending to be human? You can't possibly become like them. Although they are special, strictly speaking, they are only flawed products. They are fundamentally different from you and me, I."

"Zero Two," Zero Two said.

"What did you say?" Alpha clearly didn't understand what Zero Two meant.

Zero Two said, "My name is Zero Two."

Alpha said, "Are you going to abandon the codename your father gave you for the Royal Guard?"

Zero Two paused for a moment, closed his eyes, and then looked directly at Alpha and said, "This is a very important name that Darling gave me."

Hearing Zero Two's words, Alpha paused for a moment, then chuckled, before bursting into laughter. Zero Two ignored him and turned to leave. Alpha said to the departing Zero Two, "You can struggle on and on, I."

After Ling Er left, Jing Chen suddenly emerged from behind a tree. α was momentarily stunned to see Jing Chen appear, but he quickly recovered.

"Zero, you used to be a member of the Royal Guard too, won't you help me persuade I?" Alpha asked.

Jing Chen stared at Alpha and said, "No matter what she does, I will always support her. But you, instead of wasting your time on this kind of thing, why don't you think about how you can completely replace me in 'Dad's' heart?"

Upon hearing Jing Chen's words, Alpha could no longer laugh. He stared intently at Jing Chen, who, in turn, also kept staring at Alpha.

After a long pause, Alpha said, "Zero, remember what you said today."

Jing Chen said, "Of course I'll remember that. And of course, I also hope you remember one thing I said: From now on, you're not allowed to contact 02, or I'll tear you apart!"

Alpha chuckled and asked, "Why?"

"Ling Er doesn't like you," Jing Chen said, pausing before adding, "I don't like you either. You're very annoying, don't you know that? As a person, you should at least have some self-awareness. Even though you're not human, you should at least have some self-awareness."

After speaking, Jing Chen ignored Alpha's expression and turned to leave. Alpha clenched his teeth, his hands gripping tightly. His main purpose in coming here was for Zero Two; saying he was just checking on things was a lie. But why did Zero seem to have known his purpose all along?

(End of this chapter)