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

Sayo looked at her dully: "No, I don't need you to do such a dangerous thing."

Shizi sighed in boredom: "I just wanted to say this. Anyway, I need an attitude. As long as you want, I will help you."

"Then," Saya's eyelids began to open gradually, "Please save Hina, save her from this twisted emotion that hurts others and herself..."

Saya opened her eyes and saw Hinata in front of her, holding breakfast and looking at her with a complicated expression.

"Hina..." Saya suddenly came to her senses and instinctively shrank back.

"So... Sister still can't accept me?" Hinai put down her breakfast, "Sister still thinks that common sense and a normal life are better than being with me forever?"

Sayo sat up and closed her eyes in despair: "Yes."

Hina placed her hands on Saya's shoulders.

"Then..." Hina's voice was intermittent. Sayo felt the hands on her shoulders shaking violently, "Sister is... my enemy..."

Saya's vision fell into darkness again.

Shizi couldn't bear to watch any longer and cut off the connection with Saya.

She did not communicate with Saya, because if she did so, she would be discovered by Hina, which would raise her alertness. What Saya saw just now was just Hina's disguise.

However, just because she can't actively talk doesn't mean she can't passively eavesdrop.

She did hear and feel Saya's request.

"Saya... I don't think I have the qualifications to 'save' Hina..." She looked out the window with melancholy, "But I will do what I should do, and I have already done it."

Chapter 19: Let's start the game

It will take some time for MASKING to get here.

Shizi dozed off in the room for a while. The usual morning exercise was over, but she didn't want to find anyone else now. No matter who it was, Hina's eyes were hidden behind them. It wasn't that Shizi didn't want to, but she still felt a little uncomfortable.

Just as she was thinking, she heard the wheels of the dining cart and the sound of a wooden fish. She heard the sound of a door opening and closing, and someone talking in a low voice. She staggered to her feet, poured a glass of ice water on her face, and immediately sobered up and went to open the door.

The sound of the car wheels stopped just at the door.

"Eh?" When opening the door, MASKING saw Shizi's face full of water droplets, his back hunched, and his expression a little ferocious. "Are you the type who washes your face casually?"

"Hmm?" Shizi made a sound from deep in his throat.

MASKING was not frightened at all: "This is not cute at all. Come, have some strawberry cake to replenish your cuteness."

Shizi returned to her normal expression with dissatisfaction, and took the plate of cake handed to her by MASKING: "Isn't this the expression you made when you said to me 'very cute'... Are you having cake for breakfast today? Freshly baked?"

She thought of Ricai's condition and wondered if she might be able to come out for lunch, so she wanted to remind her.

However, after taking one look at MASKING's right eye, which was still light green, he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

Forget it, MASKING is also a careful person, don't worry. She said goodbye to MASKING as usual. When MASKING turned around, she pulled out a piece of jade slip that she had prepared long ago from her pocket and pushed it into MASKING's body.

The jade slip seemed to be nothing, merging into her body. MASKING paused for a moment, but then pushed forward normally again.

The "tap, tap" sound of the wooden fish gradually faded away.

Shizi's expression didn't change at all, and he carried the plate into the room one mile away.

Kita and Ichiri were already waiting there, and they had breakfast together.

After dinner, under the gaze of one blue eye, one yellow eye and two green eyes, Shi Ziwan declined Yili's invitation to play together and left the room.

She was just hanging out. Just hanging out, seemingly at her own leisure.

MASKING pushed the cart around, delivered breakfast to every room, and was now on his way back to the kitchen.

The soul of MASKING stands in the brain, watching another consciousness controlling its body through a screen in the endless darkness.

"Hey, what are you doing all of a sudden?" She put her hands on the screen, trying to return to her original perspective, but to no avail.

She was covered in golden light and tried to summon her substitute, but at this moment, another voice sounded in the darkness: "I'm sorry, but please calm down."

It was Shizi's voice, but it seemed a little inorganic.

MASKING barely suppressed his hostility and tried to communicate: "Is it Shizi? You did it?"

The colors gathered in front of MASKING, forming a figure, which was indeed Shizi's appearance, wearing a white summer uniform, black tights, and small leather boots. Her eyes were full of mechanical texture, her face was expressionless, and there were a few circuit lines.

"Is she cute?" Shizi didn't answer MASKING's question, but turned around first, "From 1 to 10, how many points would you give her? If she's cute, I'll use the same method in front of other people."

MASKING narrowed his eyes and looked at it carefully: "Hmm, very cute. 10 points. But is there anything else?"

Shizi nodded mechanically and changed into a new outfit in the blink of an eye. This time it was a stage costume, with sky blue and white as the main colors, and her hairstyle also changed to an "∞" shape.

"Yeah, this is cute too... No, that's not right." MASKING was almost addicted to the dress-up game, "Shizi, explain quickly. What do you mean in front of other people?"

"Yes." Shizi stood up with standard etiquette, his lips opening and closing, but it didn't look like he was making any sound with his mouth, he was just simulating speaking, "No. 10003 reports to you: Operation Caesar."

MASKING felt a little uncomfortable: "Wait, are you really Shizi?"

"To be precise, it's just a simulated personality," the other person replied. "So is the person who controls your body outside."

"Please let me start from the beginning: your memory was tampered with by Hina."

Yili looked through the screen and saw Kita's light green right eye outside.

Shizi 10005 said from behind her, "Do you remember that we have another companion? She is Roselia's guitarist and Hinata's twin sister."

Shizi No. 10007 calmly waited for Kita to recall. Kita thought for a long time: "I seem to have heard that Hikawa Hina has a twin sister... but I don't remember her mentioning it."

"So, in your memory, did the members of Roselia mention that they were not all present now?"

"No..." Hong Xia replied.

Shizi 100011 reminded: "Back in CiRCLE, we all watched a lot of Roselia's performance videos, right? It wasn't Japanese food that was standing on the stage at that time."

"..." Liang fell silent.

"You mean, Saya has always been by our side, but Hina deliberately concealed her existence?" Yukina didn't believe it immediately, "What's the proof?"

"I can't take it out." Shizi 10001 answered, "So I used coercive means. Each of you is stuffed with two virtual personalities - one is put on the outside, and it completely plays the role of you from thinking to action mode, so as to deceive Hina's sight. She can check and control them at will, but the real body can also control them at will, and under this shell are you and me. I was just arranged to explain it to you, to see if there is any hope that you can remember it, and to accompany you to relieve your boredom."

"Even thinking has to be played... can it really be done?" Hua Lian expressed deep doubt, "I can't do it. The best I can do is to play the emotional level."

"Please rest assured. The virtual personality was born from the original body. We are good at whatever the original body is good at." Shizi 10017 raised his hand. "It's hard to say about other things, but in terms of music and performance, my talent is definitely not weaker than that of Hina. I have observed your way of thinking for a whole night, and combined with my usual memory, it will be no problem for me to deceive Hina."

"And then? What should we do next?"

"I will find an opportunity to put her in a similar state to yours before, that is, completely infected by filth and unable to use her abilities."

"How to do it?"

"Hina can jump between souls at any time. It is definitely ineffective to attack her directly." No. 10017 replied, "We can only attack her suddenly when she is most relaxed and at a very close distance. She can't not come out during meal times. She is surrounded by her dolls, so she won't be very wary. Use this to attack her then." Shizi took out a paper dagger with scriptures written all over it.

"This is the scripture I made with filth. If I detonate it and turn it back into filth, it will be enough to seal her ability." No. 10017 said, "That's why it's called Operation Caesar."

"So, you want to replace all of our puppets from Xiao Rinna with puppets that you all share?" Hua Lian nodded, "Is that still the case, Xiao Shizi."

No. 10017 was speechless. Although she was just a virtual personality, her memories and emotions were the same as Shizi's.

"Hua Lian, if you want to hate me... just hate me." The smile on her face did not change. "I want to do something that will make you agree with me, but it seems that my luck is bad. I can only show the side of myself that will do anything to achieve my goal."

However, Hua Lian shook her head: "No, I won't hate you without permission before I can think of a better way. You are doing this for your partners, right?"

"But..." she whispered, "It seems that the real little Shizi is not as cute as I first saw her."

Shizi turned around.

“…Is that so?”

"I really don't hate you. It's okay to be upset about something like this."

"……Thanks."

Hinata sat on the bed and ruffled Sayo's hair. Sayo lay on the bed with her eyes closed and her breathing even.

"Hey, sis," Hina said to herself as she looked at the sleeping Sayo, "what do you think Shiko-chan is doing?"

Chapter 20 Audience vs. Fortune Teller

The curtains were closed. In the dim light, Hina looked at her sister's sleeping face and continued to talk to herself: "I don't want to always doubt Xiao Shizi, but there is nothing I can do. Who says she is the only special one?"

"Even if I don't want to, I'm still wary of her. I've been observing her for so long through other people's eyes, but I haven't seen any problems. But is that really the case? Before, I couldn't hear anyone's inner voice, nor could I understand others, so I didn't care about it. But now, I can know other people's thoughts at will, and when someone I can't see through occasionally pops up, I feel so scared."

"Hmm~ Why is that? Why can Xiao Shizi block me?" Hina thought seriously, "From other people's perspective, Xiao Shizi has four special features: one is her identity as a double time traveler, one is that she has received an inheritance, one is that she has a dual personality, and the other is that giraffe that has never been seen but has been indirectly proven to exist through the map."

"The second point can be ruled out, because that inheritance has little to do with the spirit. Xiao Xiduo, who received the inheritance in the same place, is no different from other people. Besides, as for inheritance, everyone has basically experienced it."

"A double time traveler? This seems the most special, but this information is only reflected in her confession to the End Band. The End Band believed it, but is she really a double time traveler? She has mental problems to begin with, and she has not shown any special characteristics as a double time traveler in other places. Let's put this aside for now... The giraffe is too mysterious, so I'll keep it..."

"So, the most likely reason is dual personality?"

Hinata stood up and paced back and forth on the ground barefoot silently. "Although the second personality is asleep, can it still block my ability?"

Hinata's gaze was cast upon the only dim patch of color around.

Shizi has been out of her room all day today. This is normal. After all, there is nothing to do in her room.

After Shiko said goodbye to MASKING, she went to have breakfast with Ichiri and Kita. After breakfast, she met the duo of Hongxia and Liang who happened to walk by in the corridor. They each held a cup of milk tea in their hands, so Shiko asked about the source of the milk tea. She came to the kitchen and found Lisa experimenting with various flavors. Shiko helped for a while, took a small cup of the test product and left, just in time to run into Yukina who was doing voice exercises alone. A little further away, it was Tae who was teaching Karen some basic chords. Shiko listened for a while and then returned to the door of the room where she had done the experiment yesterday. Arisaki, Kasumi and Ako were already waiting there.

The experiment really worked. After one night, the originally turbid air became fresh, and even breathing it felt healthy. So they discussed the specific arrangements for the greening of the airship. Yazi was not very satisfied, she felt that this would destroy the original atmosphere of the Demon King's Castle. But Shizi still understood her.

"Ya Zi, think about it, the airship is full of mutated vines that have been corroded and corrupted by the miasma..."

"oh oh!"

"The tree roots are soaked in a pool of dragon blood, and the werewolf's claws are ground into powder as fertilizer..."

"oh oh!"

Anyway, when the four of them finished discussing the plan and temporarily disbanded, Arisaki looked very unhappy. Hina could hear her constant complaints and resentment in her heart. However, the moods of the other three were completely opposite. The moods of Kasumi and Ako could be seen directly, while Shiko at least seemed very happy in her performance.

After doing this, Shizi walked leisurely to the library and kept reading. In the meantime, Yili came for a while and asked Shizi for Chinese lessons, and left soon. After a while, Linzi also came in, and the two read books together for a while, and Shizi seemed to feel bored and left.

A hint of doubt suddenly arose in Hina's heart.

There was no basis for this, and I couldn't see anything unusual. But it just felt wrong, just like the intuition that always saved me a lot of effort when doing other things.

There was a knot in her heart that prompted her to take action.

A golden light flashed in Hina's eyes, and after that, everyone unconsciously avoided Shizi. Shizi wandered around in the airship for a long time, but did not meet anyone. She seemed to be indifferent, walking and stopping, and no one knew what she was doing.

This way she can't be monitored through other people's eyes.

"(Little CHU?, I'm sorry, I'll borrow your body for a bit.)" She closed her eyes, her consciousness shifted, and when she opened her eyes, she was already inside CHU?'s body. The latter was originally lecturing the other members of RAS, but when Hina raised her hand, the other members of RAS were all blurred-eyed and unconscious. Hina looked around and found a ventilation duct opening. Her small body was just big enough to get in.

Shizi held up the cyan-gold jade slip, and walked and stopped, like a child who had just got a toy, taking it out from time to time to try it out. Suddenly, she held up the jade slip, looked through the wall beside her, and looked at a piece of color buried in the wall.

"..." Shizi waved his hand speechlessly, carved out a door frame on the wall, opened outwards, revealing a ventilation duct.

There was nothing inside, and the color I had just seen had disappeared.

"..." Shizi couldn't help laughing, closed the door, and let the wall return to its original state.

The armored CHU returned to her original position, and Hina controlled her to remove the armor, then withdrew her consciousness and released the control of RAS. The five continued the previous lecture as if nothing had happened.

Hinata smiled instead.

"It's really an interesting ability. I played with it for a long time at the beginning." Hina said. She just used CHU?'s mecha to detect external vibrations, sound waves and other data through the wall, and then used AI calculations to infer Shizi's actions.

She was not surprised that Shizi copied her ability. Rather, if Shizi had deliberately concealed this fact, she would have been suspicious.

However, the intuition deep in my heart has not dissipated.

Hinata closed her eyes again. This time, she did not enter someone's perspective, but just gave PAREO a hint. Then, PAREO silently left the other people of RAS, and the others seemed to ignore her.

PAREO came to Shizi silently with an elegant manner, as if he knew where the other party was from the beginning. Shizi had his back to her, holding the jade slip and looking around.

"Student Shizi." Pareo called out. Shizi shuddered and quickly hid the jade slip as if he was guilty. He turned around and said calmly, "What's the matter?"

PAREO's hair color at the moment is blue and white, and her eye color is bright blue, the same as Hina's support color. She has always been wearing this look since Hina joined. She was very polite and didn't ask what Shizi was doing.

"CHU? Master wants to talk to Shizi about something." As she spoke, she took a step forward and approached Shizi.

"Oh..." Shizi was caught off guard.

At this moment, PAREO's eyes suddenly turned green. She raised her hand, and the colorful light on her hand gathered, almost condensing into substance, aiming at Shi Zi, ready to be emitted!

There is nowhere to hide!

Since Shizi's specialness is most likely due to her dual personality, let's use a large number of PAREO's virtual personalities to blow up her head and see what changes will happen!

However, contrary to Hinata's expectations, the colorful light on PAREO's fingertips froze for a moment and began to slowly dissipate.