Why play in a band if you don't form one for life?

"Thank you everyone!"

The four of them bowed in thanks and waited for the result.

Marina didn't let them get nervous for long.

"You still have some shortcomings in terms of skills, Goto-san. I've also watched the Guitar Hero videos, and your performance on the spot is still far from the level in the videos. The same goes for Kita-san. The lead singer is the face of the band, and he can't always look down at his feet. Nijigasaki-san tried too hard, and Ryo-san was too immersed in his own world." Marina, who was in working mode, pointed out the problems mercilessly, "But overall it's not bad, and it really looks like a band."

After the review, Marina became their friend again. She smiled kindly again and turned to Shiko: "What do you think Shiko-san?"

Shizi's eyes sparkled.

"Shine!" She had no other thoughts! She was able to watch the band's live performance, with only two people in the audience! Great, no need to say more!

If I had to say the only drawback... "Guitar, Loneliness and the Blue Planet" is different from its previous life, that's all.

Seeing Shizi's excitement, Marina also smiled: "Indeed."

She looked back at the four people who were waiting nervously on the stage. Her expression suddenly became unusually serious.

"One last question. Did you guys try your best?"

Shiko turned to look at Marina. This question is often asked by an important senior in Bang Dream, Kaname Rakuna's grandmother, and the owner of Livehouse SPACE, Tsuzuki Shifune.

The four who finished the band looked at each other and answered, "Yes!"

Marina returned to her normal smiling self.

"Then you have passed!"

Passed.

...We succeeded? Endless joy surged through Yili's body.

Kita-san rushed over and shook Ichiri's shoulders like a little kid. Ichiri no longer cared about being shy.

"Success." "Success!" It seemed like everyone was shouting.

Yes, we succeeded. This was the only thought in my mind. All the pressure and anxiety were overcome.

After I relaxed, stomach acid suddenly came up.

Yili only had time to say "sorry" before he ran to the corner and started vomiting.

While everyone was in a mess, Marina took out a camera: "Everyone, do you want to take a picture?"

"Ah, then little Pochi, come quickly, I'll clean up the floor later... one, two, three,"

"eggplant!"

That night, the six of them held a celebration party. There was no limit on drinks, fried chicken, or trendy desserts. You could eat as much as you wanted.

All the lights that can be turned on are turned on! The hall is as bright as day. Streamers, balloons, banners, and signs are all ready.

At the dinner table, Marina first gave a simple congratulations: "Congratulations on passing the CiRCLE audition!"

"Oh--"

Several glasses filled with different drinks collided in the air, and the drinks splashed out of the glasses and fell into other people's glasses.

Kita suddenly thought of the topic and blurted it out: "I heard that the custom of toasting was originally intended to prevent others from poisoning."

"Huh?" Hong Xia took a sip of orange juice, "How can we prevent it?"

"Look, the drinks are splashing into each other's cups. If there is poison in it, wouldn't the person who poisoned it also drink it?" said Kita.

"Actually, I just added something." Liang's face suddenly darkened.

"Huh?" Kita took it seriously. Her face turned green and she tried to spit out what she had just drunk.

The dinner table was as noisy as usual. In fact, the only difference between today and the past was the atmosphere.

Looking at the people who had already started eating and drinking, Marina found an opportunity to interrupt the conversation: "Although you have passed my audition, you still can't live now. After all, there are no audiences. When the reality comes, I will apply for this matter to the boss."

"Thank you very much." Hong Xia put down the cup and encouraged everyone, "Okay, we will continue to work hard on the next new song!"

"Oh!" are three different responses.

Then, Hongxia turned to Shiko and Marina, looking solemnly: "Before that, we would like to thank you both for your help."

Eh? This was something that neither Shiko nor Marina had expected.

"Ms. Marina helped me design the band's peripherals, and Xiao Shizi helped me make them." Hongxia said.

"Ms. Marina also taught me guitar! The housework has always been done by Ms. Marina and Mr. Wu!" Kita added.

"Shizi gave suggestions for the song." So did Ryo.

“And, you even helped me change the lyrics…” Yili shrank his head.

Hong Xia clapped her hands together as a summary.

"To thank you two, we made something ourselves!"

She reached under the table and pulled out two gifts that she had hidden long ago.

Two palm-sized stone statues.

"Is this... us?" The two were quite curious when they saw their Q-version images placed on the table.

Kita began to introduce their origins. These two gifts were made of rocks from the wilderness. Kita was responsible for melting, Liang was responsible for shaping, Yili was responsible for cooling, and Hongxia was responsible for making the calls.

Shizi looked at the stone statue given to him.

To be honest, it doesn't look like it at all.

But this is a gift to itself by the band ending.

Shizi suddenly felt his vision blurry.

So happy. I have never been so happy before.

Happiness overflowed from his eyes, and Shizi quickly covered it, but it was still seen.

"Shi Zi..." Yili was a little panicked.

"It's definitely okay, Shiko-san is just too happy." Marina smiled and patted Shiko's head. Facing this scene, she was also very relieved, but as an adult, she had the ability to control herself so that she didn't show it too obviously.

Shizi wiped his eyes, turned his back quickly, and took out four cheering sticks from the bag behind him: "I also have gifts for everyone who has finished the band... to celebrate everyone passing the audition... Although the materials were transformed by my ability, I did all the assembly myself... I can only use fluorescent powder to light up, because I don't understand circuit components so I can't make it..."

Four cheering sticks, pink, yellow, blue, and red, clearly showed the naivety of the craftsmanship of the makers. The four people were speechless for a moment when they received this simple gift.

Marina also stood up: "So, I also prepared some things, although not as good as you guys..." She went into the cafe and brought out a big cake with the words "Celebrating the band's passing the audition" written on it with jam.

The five of them quickly cleared the table to make room for the cake.

"There were still some ingredients left in the cafe, all brought from reality, so I made a cake."

This was the most shining day in Shizi's life so far.

At night, several people were lying on adjacent beds. Shizi heard Kita and Hongxia discussing something in a low voice. This is good, she thought. Even in this world, the band girls can happily pursue their dreams, and then one day...

The earth is shaking.

"Boom!" An ominous sound came from underground.

Shizi climbed up skillfully, but this time there was no one standing at the head of her bed. Everyone stood up and huddled together in the darkness.

"Earthquake?" Kita fumbled on the wall for the light switch.

“Will there be earthquakes here too?!”

It was Marina who first stabilized the situation: "The vibration is not big, don't worry, I'll go check the situation."

"I'm going too!" Shizi responded first.

"I'll go too!" Others also took action.

Finally, everyone gathered in front of the door leading to the roof. Through the glass of the door, several people saw a vague huge black shadow in the distance. Under the high tower that cut off the starry sky, the black shadow did not encounter any obstacles.

They are in CiRCLE.

The shadow is still in the distance.

CiRCLE has always been good at hindering the monsters' perception.

However, everyone held their breath and dared not make a sound.

The shadow was so huge that it made them despair.

After an unknown amount of time, the shadow disappeared from sight, and the vibrations gradually faded. The few of them returned to their beds in silence, the excitement of having passed the audition gone.

Chapter 10 Gurgle Gurgle Gurgle Gurgle

The next day, everyone got up early.

"You've never seen this thing before, right?" Shizi's scalp numbed slightly as he looked at the deep hole in front of him.

Several people have reached the place where the shadow passed by last night. This is the foot of a snowy mountain, which they have never crossed. The original landform at the foot of the mountain has completely changed, and there are traces of dragging and cracking everywhere, like a disaster area after an earthquake. The most obvious is the cliff in front of them. There were only rocks here originally, but under the influence of the strong earthquake, a cave was exposed.

"Do you want to go in?" Hong Xia turned around and asked a few people, "Or should we go back and discuss it first?"

"We don't need to guess what Ms. Marina is thinking..." Shizi sighed.

"No!" As expected, Miss Marina didn't hesitate at all.

To everyone's surprise, it was Shizi who retorted first: "But this is our only chance to make further progress. Because of what happened last night, all the monsters nearby ran away, and we didn't see even one today! Before those monsters come back, searching in this cave is the only way at present. Moreover, although we can maintain a normal life by hunting alone, we have not made any progress in how to get closer to the tower and how to return to reality! We have never encountered this kind of cave before, this is our only chance!"

Previously, several people had tried to get close to the tower, but even after walking for a day, there was no sign of getting closer. If they spent several days or months on the long journey, it might be possible, but that would mean giving up CiRCLE, an excellent base.

"That's right. Although there's nothing wrong with living like this, I still want to return to reality and be with my sister," Hongxia agreed with Shizi's point of view. When she mentioned her sister, a rare hint of bitterness appeared on her face. "And only in reality can we make further progress by ending the band. What about you?"

The remaining few people also expressed their agreement. Several pairs of eyes stared at Marina.

The two sides confronted each other for a long time.

"Alas," Ms. Marina finally sighed, her expression somewhat complicated, "Tomorrow."

"Huh?" several people asked in unison.

"We'll set off early tomorrow morning. This is the bottom line." Marina collapsed on the sofa, covering her forehead, "Be prepared, you too, me too..."

Everyone cheered a little. "Marina-san is reluctant to leave us, so we need to prepare ourselves mentally~" Kita joked.

Now, several people put on their backpacks and stood at the entrance of the cave. There was still no change in the vicinity. The road here was also calm and there were no monsters. The backpacks were stuffed with emergency food, water, and a series of necessary tools, which were to deal with the situation when Shizi was not around. A biting cold air came out from the depths. Looking deeper, nothing could be seen, and the sunlight only illuminated a shallow area.

Like the throat of a wild animal.

"Like I said before, Liang will explore the inside first, and I will illuminate it after we enter. Shizi will use fluorescent powder to mark it, so be careful." Hong Xia reminded at last. Her expression was more serious than anyone else's.

"Yes." Everyone responded in unison.

Taking a deep breath, Shizi stepped into the cave.

Hongxia's light illuminated the stone wall in front of him. This place looked like a natural cave, without any trace of man-made things. Liang plucked the strings lightly, and the visible sound waves reflected off the narrow cave wall, forming multiple echoes.

"It's very deep inside." Liang warned, "But I haven't seen anything moving yet. The slope here is not too steep, so you can go up and down."

As they walked, the sound of footsteps became more obvious. Liang stroked the strings of the zither to suppress the sound.

"Here, I am the strongest." Liang said the words of the scumbag expressionlessly.

"Okay, okay, I got it. Lead the way quickly." Hong Xia dealt with her casually and slowly moved the light forward, worried that a ghost would suddenly jump out.

In the place where the sun cannot shine directly, who knows what is hidden. Hongxia's light can only illuminate a small area near the few people, and the larger area is shrouded in fear. The few people took a step forward, and a block similar to the previous one appeared in their field of vision, and the road they had walked before returned to darkness. In this environment, even Kita didn't say much, but nervously pulled the corner of Ichiri's clothes and used the flame to assist in lighting the back of the team. Gradually, everyone became quiet, and only the sound of footsteps echoing between the cave walls surrounded everyone.

There was only one passage, which was very wide, but the road became increasingly rugged, and several people had to hold on to the rock wall as they walked. The rock wall was very dry and felt cold to the touch. Occasionally, minerals could be seen exposed. There was no evidence of the existence or past existence of any living organisms.

"Woo——" A sharp scream was suddenly heard.

"What's that sound?" Kita almost bumped into Ichiri.

"It must be the sound of the wind, don't be afraid." Shizi comforted Kita from behind.

"Boom!" There was a vibration coming from the rock wall.

"Is this also the sound of the wind?" Kita asked tremblingly.

"It shouldn't be..." Liang answered for Shizi. The next second, she let go of her hand holding the rock wall and grabbed Hongxia: "Hide!"

The next moment, the rock wall on the left exploded. Liang instantly erected a sound wall to block the flying debris and smoke. Ichiri's water waves immediately followed, and with Liang's assistance, all the water turned into mist, which quickly settled the smoke. Under the light of the fire, a huge arthropod separated the five people. Beside Liang was Hongxia who fell to the ground. On the other side, Shizi pulled Ichiri and Kita and fell on a ball of sponge. Several people quickly got up and looked at the attacking enemy.

The whole body is white, and its body is a round sphere covered with a smooth shell. Slender legs randomly grow from the shell, just like the legs of countless spiders were broken off and inserted into the body of a spider, and then its head was removed. From the outside, it was impossible to tell how this thing would move, but the next second, it flexibly moved countless legs and ran towards Kita and others.

"Dang, dang, dang!" As a result, it crashed into several iron pillars, and several of its limbs were stuck in the cracks, temporarily unable to move. The fire snake immediately followed and roasted the enemy until it smelled delicious.

"Are you okay?" Seeing that the enemy was completely wiped out, several people did not bother to check and hurriedly reunited.