Anime Crossover: My Part-Time Job as a Giant of Light While Studying Abroad in Chiba

Shinjo looked puzzled, then nodded seriously, only to be tapped on the head by Zongfang next to him.

Horii turned to look at Nozue in front of the control panel.

Ye Rui immediately understood and started typing on the keyboard.

"More than a decade ago, someone claimed to have seen a large number of floating, transparent, ionized organisms during a thunderstorm."

He called those creatures "Lightning Men," beings that live in the ionosphere, but they didn't cause much of a stir at the time.

"But in the following days, more and more people reported seeing the Lightning Man deep in the clouds, and without exception, they all heard sounds like a baby crying."

"However, due to the lack of substantial evidence, the scientific community has treated this as a rumor of collective delusion."

Horii nodded after hearing this, and then explained to everyone.

"To verify this view, we installed an acoustic recorder on the reconnaissance aircraft, but the files were all corrupted due to electromagnetic interference."

"The documents were corrupted, but the reconnaissance plane returned unscathed?"

Deputy Captain Zongfang astutely grasped this point and crossed his arms.

"Does this mean that the other party possesses intelligence and is simply using this method to prove its existence to us?"

"Since they have intelligence, there should be room for discussion. According to Ye Rui, they should be creatures of this earth just like us."

Daigo's eyes trembled slightly as he recalled the topic they had discussed in the coffee shop.

"Since they are Earth creatures, can't they just stay in the ionosphere? Why do they suddenly come down here to cause trouble?"

Xincheng, standing to the side, was furious, clearly still lamenting his sprained leg.

Horii gave a wry smile: "That's something we can't know for sure; the investigation is still ongoing."

"Perhaps it is our increasingly intensive use of electromagnetic wave communication that has robbed them of their originally peaceful skies."

…………

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Kyoto, at the Sakata Repair Shop.

“Brother Xiang, I heard it very clearly. The strange noise was coming from the back of this car.”

Marina Kazama pointed to the RC213V-S on the landing gear and described to Hideki Go what had just happened.

"Okay, leave it to me."

Hideki Go picked up a wrench, squatted down, and began to carefully inspect the race car.

Hayasaka Ai stood quietly to the side, her palms sweating slightly.

As she watched the man's retreating figure, a strong sense of unease grew within her.

Seemingly sensing the tension in the girl beside her, Marina gently patted her shoulder to reassure her.

Hideki followed the rear wheel bearing and finally stopped at the gap in the rear swingarm.

"Found it, the problem is with the rear wheel bearing."

Hideki pointed to the rear wheel and said slowly, "The seal here is loose. It's okay if you ride a little slower, but once you accelerate or bend, the lubricant inside will seep out and stick to the rear wheel, causing it to slip."

"See, I told you it wasn't a technical problem!"

Marina breathed a sigh of relief, turned to Hayasaka Ai and smiled, then clasped her hands together and bowed to Hideki Go.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Xiang, to replace the sealing ring! Thank you so much!"

"Thank you so much..."

Hayasaka Ai also bowed her head to thank him. She subconsciously wanted to lift her skirt to give a maid's bow, but then realized that she was wearing a motorcycle outfit and withdrew her hand.

Marina noticed this strange little action, but didn't ask any further questions.

"Perhaps the car wasn't properly maintained and something went wrong."

Marina said casually.

"...A minor problem? It's hard for a car in this price range to have this kind of malfunction."

Hideki Go was still repairing it when he said something that made Ai Hayasaka pause slightly.

"..."

Hayasaka Ai began experiencing pupil-wide seismic activity.

[Isn't it a mistake? Then what's the reason? Is someone deliberately sabotaging this?!]

While Hayasaka Ai was lost in thought, Go Hideki had already deftly replaced the parts and patted the seat.

"Alright, the potential hazard has been eliminated. Let's get in the car and take it for another spin."

Marina nudged Hayasaka Ai's back to encourage her.

"Let's go! Hasaka, let's go for another run! Don't let that little accident ruin our mood!"

"Ah...oh...um..."

Hayasaka Ai, like a puppet who had lost her soul, mechanically put on her helmet and mounted the motorcycle.

…………

The roar of engines echoed once again on the training track near the repair shop.

But this time, Hayasaka Ai could no longer find the frenzy that tore through the night like last night.

[Was someone really sabotaging things? Who could it be? Was it someone from the family?]

Will the young lady be implicated because of this?

The recent motorcycle crash and the irrational thoughts about that last sentence made it impossible for Hayasaka Ai to drive properly.

Every time she faces a bend in the road, Hayasaka Ai's heart tightens uncontrollably.

She dared not lower her center of gravity as she should have, and timidly released the accelerator.

The locomotive slowly and awkwardly shuffled around the corner.

Hideki Go stood by the starting line, arms crossed, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes.

"Is this girl... running away? Why is she so wavering in her resolve?"

In the end, after just four laps, Hayasaka Ai had fallen a full ten car lengths behind Marina.

"laugh--"

Marina stopped at the end of the track, looking back at Hayasaka Ai with a complicated expression.

Hayasaka Ai noticed the idol's scrutinizing gaze and panicked instantly, turning her head away guiltily, unable to look directly at her.

"Hasaka, you messed up your route completely. Why were you afraid to turn?"

Marina frowned and asked, "Is it because the crash just now left a psychological scar?"

Just then, Hideki Go also walked over, puzzled.

He looked at Hayasaka Ai's pale face, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate her soul.

"Child, are you backing down because you're afraid?"

Hideki Go's voice wasn't loud, but every word he uttered was piercing.

"Your body is trembling. Is something troubling you, preventing you from staying true to yourself?"

"If you ride your bike with these kinds of distracting thoughts... you won't be able to hear the wind calling you."

Hayasaka Ai lowered her head, her golden bangs obscuring her expression.

She clenched her hands tightly, her eyes filled with doubt, fear, and a deep sense of powerlessness in the face of her fate.

In her mind, the gaze of Shinomiya Un'taka before she left home this morning flashed through Hayasaka Ai's mind once again.

"I...I was just scared because...because we almost had a car accident."

Hayasaka Ai bit her lip and told a lie that even she didn't believe.

"Perhaps... someone like me isn't suited to racing."

"Perhaps all of this... is just my imagination."

Hearing these disheartening words of self-abandonment, Hideki Go's eyes instantly turned stern.

This isn't the truth; this child is hiding something... This can't go on.

On the other side, Marina clenched her fists nervously. She knew all too well the pain of being afraid to speed things up because of fear.

…………

Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, a red Aston Martin stumbled along and crashed into the yard of the Sakata Repair Shop.

"Mr. Hiratsuka, I told you to slow down, but you wouldn't listen! Now look what happened, the engine exploded!"

"...Shut up! You annoying brat! You must have brought bad luck to my car!"

Amidst a commotion of bickering, Hiratsuka Shizuka stepped out of the car with a dark expression and said somewhat apologetically to the people in the repair shop.

"Hello, it seems there's something wrong with our car. Could you please take a look?"

Just then, Duan Zilian, who was in the passenger seat, poked her head out and looked at the three people standing in the yard.

Duan Zilian and Xiang Xiushu exchanged a glance, both sensing a look of astonishment on their faces.

Immediately afterwards, Duan Zilian noticed the familiar golden hair, and her gaze suddenly met those blue eyes.

Their eyes met, and Hayasaka Ai's pupils dilated instantly, sensing something was wrong.

[Duan Zilian?! What's he doing here?!]

In a fit of extreme panic, she tried to rush over and cover the boy's mouth, but it was clearly too late.

"No..." Hayasaka Ai reached out her hand in despair.

"Haasaka-san?!"

"Shouldn't you be at the Shinomiya main residence right now? What are you doing here?!"

"........."

Chapter 250 The True Name Beneath the Mask

Half an hour later, under a towering ancient tree outside the Sakata auto repair shop.

"So that's how it is."

Duan Zilian leaned against the tree trunk with her hands in her pockets, her eyes revealing a sense of "I knew it".

He looked at Hayasaka Ai and Marina in front of him, sunlight filtering through the leaves and scattering dappled gold across the ground.

At this moment, Hayasaka Ai had taken off her motorcycle outfit and was only wearing a simple white vest and blue denim shorts.

Freed from the constraints of disguise, the girl's fair and beautiful legs shone like warm, lustrous jade in the sunlight, exuding the most authentic youthful energy of her age.

"Where...are you looking?"

Hayasaka Ai's blush hadn't faded yet. She glared at Duanzi Lian with embarrassment and annoyance, instinctively trying to cover it up.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just lost in thought."

Duan Zilian snapped out of her memories of last night's phone call with Kaguya, looked away insincerely, and gave an apologetic smile.

"Humph……"

Hayasaka Ai crossed her arms and turned her head away, a lingering gloom still lingering between her brows.

"The reason you feel powerless is not only because of the crash, but also because of the pressure from the Shinomiya family."

Duan Zilian looked at her stubborn profile and revealed the secret in one sentence.

"The desire to chase the wind as a race car driver is coupled with the worry about one's fate as a maid, leaving you caught in the middle and feeling conflicted."

“Hmm…” Hayasaka Ai bit her lower lip, unable to refute.

"Hayasaka-san, if you wear a mask for too long, you'll forget who you are."

Upon hearing Duan Zilian's words, Hayasaka Ai coldly retorted.

"I know these kinds of profound truths without you having to tell me."

"But what if you trap yourself inside and die if I don't tell you?"