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

"But!" Ichiri raised his voice, "After spending more and more time together, after Kita-san asked me to teach him guitar, after Kita-san played on stage for the first time, and after seeing Kita-san practice alone to sing the lyrics I wrote! I understand!"

"Kita-san works really hard! Kita-san is mostly practicing when he's alone!"

"It's the same for me!" Ichiri said without any modesty, "When I'm alone, I'm also practicing! I practice for 6 hours every day! My efforts are the same as Kita's! Since they are the same, I feel that one day I will be able to shine like Kita!"

"Stars are signposts. Kita-san... no, Kita-chan has become my star!"

After shouting these words, Ichiri gasped for air. In her palms, Kita's hands kept shaking.

What's going on? Saying that he is already her star... Such words... Kita clenched his teeth.

Are you comforting me?!

Unexplained anger rose up from Kita's heart.

[Corrosion degree…97%]

"I said I've let it go!" She pushed Yili away, flames rising from her feet and entwining around her, "Why do you have to remind me again and again!" She shouted at the two of them at the top of her lungs. "If you want to live alone, just go! If you have the guts, kill me! Is it fun to keep a loser?!"

[Corrosion degree…99%]

[Corrosion degree…100%]

The anger filled my body. I couldn't hold it in any longer... I had to release it... all of it!

The flames gathered in Kita's hands and gradually formed into a guitar. Golden white, with red cracks all over it, as if hot emotions were about to burst out of it! On a hidden panel, the value marked [Corrosion] began to drop wildly from 100%, 90%... 80%... 70%...

[Corrosion degree…0%]

At this moment, the guitar constructed of flames revealed its complete form.

[Corrosion Armament: Unsatisfactory]: Filth Resistance +10, Electric Guitar Technique +Lv1

"Let's fight!" She shed a string of tears and declared war on Yili.

A black and gold guitar appeared in Ichiri's hands. A chill spread from her body. She responded to Kita with her notes!

Naturally, the melody of "If I Could Become a Constellation" sounded from the two guitars! The notes were constantly colliding and arguing, and passionate emotions burst out from them! The two people's thoughts were fighting fiercely through the guitars, just like the eternal struggle between ice and fire!

But this is not enough! Kita thought. The melody of "If I Could Become a Constellation" was too gentle to convey her overwhelming emotions at the moment. What else...

Shizi took a shoulder-mounted keyboard from Hongxia. The sound of the keyboard immediately joined the ensemble of the two guitars, leading them to a higher level! The gentle melody completely collapsed and was torn apart at this moment. A new monster was born from the wreckage of the song, as if it was going to devour the entire world! Yili immediately followed suit, and the notes of the two merged into one at this moment, forming a magnificent tide that covered Kita from all directions. Kita's piano sound became more and more intense. This was no longer "If I Could Become a Constellation", this was a new piece of music that had never been played before. In the brand-new melody, Kita completely released her heart and faced the joint attack of the two head-on!

The notes collided and annihilated in an instant.

It was as if something had completely ended, and something else had begun.

This is the echo of the years, the countless days we spent together.

I don't know when the music ended. Shiko put down her hands, her soul still immersed in the performance. She looked at the two people in front of her. Kita and Ichiri were both in tears. She wiped her own face and found that it was also covered with tears.

"What...what's going on..." Kita said while crying, "It's so twisted...I still..."

"Even if it's twisted, we have to be together." Ichiri looked straight into Kita's eyes.

"Do we have to maintain this relationship for a lifetime?" Kita asked.

"A lifetime is just a lifetime, what does it matter?" Shizi answered without hesitation.

"Woo... wooooaaaaaaaaaa..." Kita cried and hugged Ichiri. The two guitars collided with each other, each disintegrating into ice and fire, annihilating each other and becoming invisible. Shiko couldn't help but hug them together. The three of them just hugged each other and vented their feelings happily. Others had come to them without knowing when, all with relieved smiles, and some even secretly wiped tears.

All the luggage was carried onto the airship, and everyone had chosen their own rooms on the second floor. However, no one stayed in their rooms now. Everyone gathered in the command room. Shizi had returned to her original appearance, looking out the window at the scenery that had accompanied them for several days and nights, with both hands on the useless putter.

"I suddenly remembered that the name of this airship has not been decided yet." She was about to push it down when she suddenly remembered this.

"It doesn't matter what happens," Yukina said. "We'll think about it after we take off."

"Oh..." Shizi felt a little regretful, but quickly recovered, "Then get ready... drive Kyushu! Forward four!" She pushed the putter to the bottom in an instant, and at the same time, issued an order in her heart.

Without a single shake, the airship slowly left the ground. The grass, the ground, the treetops, everything on the ground began to slowly fade away, gradually shrinking and blurring in everyone's eyes.

Then, what came into view was the scenery in the distance that had not yet been seen.

Chapter 6: Ancient Greek Gods in Charge of Cute People (Happy Birthday Chuhua!)

The airship gradually stabilized in the air.

"Wow - it's so dark, let me light a fire." Kita's energetic voice came from the darkness. A second later, a flame appeared in the air, and Kita and Ichiri's faces appeared behind the flame.

"Thank you, Kita-chan." Ichiri said. The two of them walked towards the command room step by step, groping their way.

"If possible, I really don't want to walk by touching these things on the wall." Kita carefully avoided a realistic spider leg on the wall.

Ichiri seemed to have adapted to this environment very well, like a fish in water, while Kita seemed a little uneasy.

In this way, they followed their memories and walked around in the dark corridor. Apart from the flames floating in the air, the occasional oil lamp on the wall was the only light source. In the darkness, the footsteps were particularly obvious. The footsteps of the two people echoed in the space and gradually merged with the sound of their heartbeats.

"I always feel like I'm back to the original [Xingtian]." Kita shrank back, "Ah, we're finally here." She saw the door handle on the wall.

A faint argument could be heard from the door. Kita turned the doorknob, pushed it in, and the voice became clearer: "Think about it, Ako, why don't you understand, 'Jia Kyushu'! What a heroic name! So majestic! So powerful that it can swallow up mountains and rivers!"

"But, but, Ako finally turned this place into the style of the Demon King's Castle..."

"Hello!" Kita's greeting interrupted their argument. She and Ichiri walked in, and the light from the outside world dazzled their eyes for a moment. The two quickly covered their eyes.

Ichiri wilted instantly, while Kita's energy quickly recovered.

"Oh, the lighting system doesn't work, sorry." Shizi spread his hands, "That circuit... I tried my best. Physics is the same as mathematics. If you don't know how to do it, you just don't know how to do it."

After the airship took off, the wind power generation circuit system did not work as Shizi expected. As for what went wrong... Shizi gave up the research from the beginning. She simply locked herself in the command room full of natural light for a whole day.

"Has Shizi been here all this time?" Yili noticed the dark circles under Shizi's eyes. It was obvious that she had stayed up late.

"Yes, I still have to control the airship. After all, if I can't work day and night, there is no point in building this air fortress." Shizi picked up a cookie from the plate beside him and ate it. The black around his eyes seemed to fade a little. "Using various methods, it is still possible for me to not need sleep. Now I am just testing my limits."

Next to Shizi, Yazi placed her hand above Shizi's head, and a faint purple light emanated from her hand. She came not only to chat with Shizi, but also to check on her condition.

"Well... it should be fine for another two or three days," Ayako put down her hand and said goodbye to the three people, "but you can't participate in battles. Then I'm leaving~"

Kita followed him: "Do you need lighting? Ah, he's gone."

"She can see at night, it's okay." Shizi said. Then she yawned again.

Kita turned around and said in a calmer tone, "Drowsiness driving?"

"In fact, I didn't really drive it." Shizi explained, "I just had to be careful not to hit anything. This airship is pretty smart."

"?" Yili looked outside. This place was thousands of feet high in the sky. Although it was still far from the clouds, it was still much higher than the highest mountain nearby. A monster with half a wing flew over and hit the shield. There was a flash of fire, and nothing happened. What could have hit it?

As if understanding Yili's thoughts, Shizi said, "Haha... I also think it's nothing to worry about. Maybe I can go back now. I haven't slept in my room yet." After finding a room, Shizi simply put down his luggage and came over.

"Why don't you go back now?" Kita asked casually, "I've already made your bed."

"Thank you... I'll stay for a while. I want to see how long I can hold out. Besides," Shizi grinned, conjured up a military cap in his hand, and put it on his head crookedly, "I feel very handsome here, like a commander."

Ichiri was about to say something, but Kita had already sat down in the corner: "It's up to you. I'll practice guitar here for a while." Flames gathered in her hands, and a platinum guitar covered with red cracks appeared. "You missed the band practice these two days, remember to make up for it later."

Kita started playing the piano by herself. It was obvious that her level was much higher than before.

"Wow." This was the first time Shizi saw Kita take out this guitar since the day before yesterday. "This is..."

"【Corrosion Armament·Undertaking】." Kita played a melody casually. Although there was no speaker connected, the guitar did make the sound of being plugged in. While playing, the timbre kept changing, bringing a wonderful listening experience.

In this respect, Kita's guitar has the same effect as Ichiri's.

"It doesn't sound like part of the capability."

"Yes. On the panel, this guitar is classified in the [Additional] column." Kita opened the panel and showed it to Shizi. As for the description of this guitar, the first thing that caught Shizi's attention was naturally the words "dirt resistance".

It looked so familiar, as if I had seen something similar before? It seemed that Ms. Marina mentioned before that they had been "polluted by filth" or something like that inside [Xingtian]. What exactly is "filth"? Dirt? She glanced at Kita's body. Her whole body was clean, and there was a pleasant smell when she smelled it up close, but this was probably just because she had taken a shower before coming here...

"Wait, what are you doing?" Kita pushed Shiko away with disgust.

Shizi sat down in front of Xiduo, crossed his arms, and looked a little unhappy: "I felt it just now. Xiduo, is your attitude towards me a little bad?"

Kita turned his head away: "I hope some people are a little more aware of this kind of thing~"

"Well, um... don't quarrel..." Yili stood nervously between the two of them, looking left and right, not knowing what to say.

"Woo~" Shizi curled up like a wounded animal, with even a few tears in the corners of his eyes.

Seeing her look, Kita sighed, but still reached out and touched Shizi's head: "Okay~ I'll try to speak properly, don't be like this."

Shizi's expression suddenly changed, and he put on a sly smile: "Xiduo, do you want to participate in the competition? It's really cute. You should have no problem getting into the top four now."

Kita made a noticeable "tsk" sound and immediately withdrew his hand. "Don't say things that others can't understand."

Yili interrupted weakly: "I can understand a little bit, because Shizi told me that it's very cute..."

Kita's expression immediately changed, and he looked at Ichiri with sparkling eyes: "I see, can you tell me about it if it's convenient?"

"The next generation of pro-Wang candidates!"

Kita ignored her and listened to Ichiri's explanation. It was pretty cute. To put it simply, it was a cute battle to compare the girls' gravity, distortion, and tragic attributes. As Kita listened, his expression gradually became weird, and he looked at Shiko with contempt: "Using the pain and tears of girls as food... That's too bad!"

Shizi looked as if she had heard the compliment.

"(Yōkaku's version of Riki... Kita, I wouldn't be surprised if you perform a 'Setsuna Scarlet Storm' someday.)" Her brain automatically filtered out all the aggressiveness in Kita's words.

Yili quickly said: "If Shizi likes it, I can understand it..."

"Hey! Goto-san, don't let this guy teach you a lesson!"

There was a lot of noise in the command room, and at the door, Hongxia and Liang were peeking through the crack of the door, watching the scene inside.

"It's good to be able to get along well."

"It's still more exciting than before."

"You might have a lot in common with Shiko-chan in this regard, Ryo."

"Thank you for the compliment."

“…I’m not complimenting you.”

Chapter 7 Socially anxious Party A is also Party A

In the room, the conversation continued.

"Speaking of 'not getting what you want', that is one of the Eight Sufferings in Buddhism - I think it's the fifth suffering." Shizi said.

"What are the eight sufferings?" Yili sat down and asked Shizi.

"Birth, aging, sickness, death, failure to obtain what one desires, meeting with enemies and those one hates, separation from loved ones, and the five elements burning fiercely." Shizi's eyes lit up. "Xiduo, since you have already figured out 'failure to obtain what one desires', why don't you work hard and collect all the eight sufferings? Maybe there will be a set effect! Look, a guitar has raised your skills by 1 level. If other equipment can do the same, then I would say this speed is much faster than normal practice..."

Please, put together a set of "Eight Bitterness" series legendary equipment, it sounds super cool!

Xiduo was furious when he heard this: "Yes, yes, I can't compare to a certain genius. Even with a seven-year gap, your skills should have reached Lv7, right?"

Shizi proudly made a “V” sign and said, “By the way, [Music Production] has been upgraded to Lv8. That was the day before yesterday.”

Seeing that the two seemed to be about to quarrel again, Yili was sweating all over and racking her brains to find another topic. "That...that!" Both of them turned their eyes to her. Under pressure, she suddenly had an idea: "That, that song the day before yesterday...can it be made into our new song?"

The two's attention was diverted. Kita nodded his chin and tried to play the guitar: "That song... seems to have been forgotten..."

Yili tried hard to recall the melody, but in fact she didn't remember it very clearly.

Shizi directly took out a piece of music score: "This is it."

"Ah?" The two looked at her blankly. Shizi scratched his head: "Oh, this was originally another one entrusted to me before I fell asleep. Because I didn't tell you that it was not finished yet, I played it the day before yesterday... The guitar and keyboard parts are completed, and I gave the bass and drums to Liang directly. In this case... Yili, the lyrics are left to you?"

On the other side, Liang sat in his room, biting the pen, thinking hard about the unfinished music in front of him. The room was spacious, full of subculture atmosphere, but at the moment it was a mess. The clothes he designed were thrown everywhere, mixed with a pile of crumpled manuscripts. The only neat thing was the few musical instruments hanging on the wall, some of which were from CiRCLE's collection, and some were just models that could not be played. Several CDs brought from CiRCLE were also stored on the shelf, although there was no equipment to play them. The laptop was damaged in the disaster.

She expected Hongxia to come over and help tidy up the room at some point. Before that, she would never consider the matter of "tidying up". Liang had always lived like this.

There was a soft knock on the door. Liang did not move, but loosened his teeth and let the pen fall out: "Come in."

The door was carefully pushed open, almost without any sound. All the doors on the airship were unlocked, firstly because Shizi was too lazy to design a lock, and secondly because she didn't want to. "How could I do something like invading my privacy!" She said.

The footsteps were very light, and one could sense that the owner was a little nervous. From the footsteps, Ryo determined the identity of the person: "What's the matter? Rinko."

Rinko didn't answer. When she saw the messy room, she was a little surprised, but she still walked lightly behind Liang and saw the music score on the table: "What is this...?"

"Ah." Liang lowered her head and looked at the sheet music. "Shizi commissioned me." She recalled what Shizi said when he handed the sheet music to her: "Now when I see this sheet music, I think of the previous scene. It's hard to add bass and drums when I think about it... So please, I'll let Yili work hard on the lyrics!"

It's so easy to say... After knowing who this sheet music came from, even Ryo couldn't treat it casually. If she was unlucky, this song would be another Shizi's posthumous work. So, even though she had another song assignment at hand, she could only give priority to this song.

However, Rinko didn't know the importance of this song. She asked carefully: "In that case, our song..."

Ryo turned around in shock and stared at Rinko's face. Although she didn't say a word, Rinko seemed to read something like "I finally met a socially anxious client and thought I could relax a little, but this guy actually had the guts to rush the progress?"

Faced with such an expression, Rinko took a step back like a frightened rabbit: "If something happens... I'm not in a hurry... Just like that..." Unlike when she came, she left in a hurry.

The door closed. Liang shook his head: "How about...think about that song during your break."