Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

"Yes."

Faced with this unprecedented aura, and adhering to the principle that the more she said, the more mistakes she would make, Chris responded somewhat reservedly, wanting to see what she really wanted to say.

Yumemi paid no attention to Chris's restraint; her eyes, sparkling with gold, showed that she had completely entered her own world.

"Join our club! Join our 'Shining Super Ultimate Support Club'! Join now and you'll receive a free doujinshi book featuring 'Shining,' and maybe even a rare figurine!"

As Yumi spoke, like a fanatical believer preaching, she took out her phone and showed Chris a website with a white and gold and black and red color scheme.

"Oh, well, I'll consider it."

Faced with the other party's attitude, Chris somewhat nervously memorized the website's URL.

"Hmm, Chris-chan, do as you please, but I believe that having already experienced that light, you must... Hey, don't pull me back, I haven't..."

Just as Yumemi was about to press her advantage, her body was pulled away from the earth's grip by forces from both sides.

"Alright, alright, Yumi, we already know you admire her a lot, but you can talk about it after class."

Ando Sosei, who was supporting Yumimi's left arm, said this.

"Anyway, that's it. Class is about to start, Yumi-chan."

As Terashima Saori raised Yumimi's right arm, she smiled and said.

"Guh... Anyway, Chris-chan, we look forward to your joining us."

With this final call, the petite woman with twin ponytails, Yumi, was helped back to her seat by her two friends.

Ring ring ring -

The moment Yumi was carried back, the school bell rang precisely, signaling the end of the break.

Chris noticed that Zero had somehow returned to the platform at the back of the classroom and continued scrolling on her tablet.

【call】

Chris breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, talking to others is a very mentally taxing thing, especially when she has to hide something.

However, I still don't understand what happened to Lingyi. I was determined to investigate it myself.

Chris initially thought she had found some clue, but in the end, she gained more questions than anything else.

No, I can't give up yet. Although the clues are few, I will definitely find the reason myself.

Chris thought to herself.

What cause should be identified?

Just as Chris was brimming with confidence, Lingyi's clear voice rang in Chris's mind like a ghost.

P.S. Goodnight.

Chapter Thirty-Six Information Exchange

吓-

Chris was startled by the voice coming from within her heart and almost fell off her chair.

[Zero? How did you know what I was thinking?]

After calming herself down and regaining her composure, Chris reflexively asked a question. To be honest, this sudden attack while she was thinking was a little scary.

[You don't care about interstellar communication, so why wouldn't I know?]

In response to Chris's question, Zero said it was simply because Chris hadn't turned off her communication.

"Oh, I see... my foot! You never mentioned how to turn off telepathic communication before."

Upon hearing Lingyi's explanation, Chris initially didn't think there was a problem. However, after thinking about it for a while, she suddenly remembered that Lingyi had never told her how to turn off this telepathic communication.

The thought that "Zero had been able to eavesdrop on her thoughts the whole time" made Chris blush, and she quickly reflected on whether she had been thinking about anything private before.

【Um... I'm sorry, I thought you, Chris, would understand. You'd understand that if starting a call involves silently saying 'dial,' then ending it naturally involves silently saying 'hang up.'】

On the other side, after being questioned by Chris, Zero paused for a moment, apologized to Chris in her heart, and then said this.

[If you hadn't told me beforehand, how would anyone know how you set up Lin 6 Liuqi?!]

Chris thought to herself, feeling extremely embarrassed and annoyed.

Indeed, I made a mistake by making subjective assumptions in this matter. I'm sorry, Chris. With this experience, I will prepare a complete instruction manual in advance next time.

Lingyi sincerely apologized again and proposed a solution for the next time.

【Ah... well, Zero, you don't need to do this. Actually, it's just a minor issue and won't have a big impact. It's good that you've said it now.】

Sensing the genuine apology coming from the telepathic communication, Chris found herself at a loss for words.

No, this is indeed a problem because I didn't keep you informed about telepathic communication in time, Chris. And don't underestimate such small problems; in extreme circumstances, they can escalate into major, intractable issues. So, I apologize, I'll prepare a detailed explanation and send it to Chris in a moment.

Liz, it's yours.

Rei said this very seriously, even though Chris seemed unaffected.

She shouldn't have made this mistake. The reason she made this subjective error is probably because the communication system was made in a hurry.

Ah, okay, okay, I understand.

Chris, who was initially embarrassed and annoyed by having her inner thoughts exposed, gradually lost that feeling after a few words from Zero.

[By the way, I should mention that after this period of work, I have initially achieved my work objectives in Lydian, so after class, we don't need to stay here anymore; we can go straight back to the base.]

Lingyi thought to herself.

Is that so? Okay, I understand.

Hearing the emotionless voice within her, Chris responded in kind.

【Okay, Chris, if you don't have anything else, let's talk again after class. I'll use this time to think about what areas of the base's defenses need strengthening.】

Seeing that Chris had no questions, Zero planned to end the telepathic communication and stop communicating with Chris.

[Wait, Zero, I have a question. What's your opinion on the phrase "a golden flash that shattered the darkness with a crimson blade"?]

Chris, finally finding a chance to interject, quickly asked this question.

Although she secretly wanted to use this information to investigate Zero's past, she decided it was better to share the information since she and Zero were now teammates.

After Chris transmitted her previous words via telepathy, Zero seemed to have crashed and did not respond for a long time.

[...Zero Clothes?]

Not receiving a response, Chris asked again, somewhat puzzled.

[I... I don't have any opinion. And is that the name of some anime character? Chris, you actually like watching anime? Haha, haha.]

Lingyi's voice still seemed as emotionless as before... No way, that feeling of about to move to Bengbu had completely reached Chris's mind through telepathic communication.

Stop running away from reality, Lingyi... Can you convince yourself of this?

Chris understood that Zero, who had always appeared very intelligent, couldn't possibly not have understood who was being referred to in those words.

Or are you hiding something, Zero?

After realizing this, Chris asked this question.

I'm not hiding anything. By the way, Chris, where did you hear this... well, this strange saying?

In response to Chris's question, Zero only said this, and then turned to ask Chris about the source of her information.

"...Okay, actually I heard this from a student. According to her, she seemed to have been saved by someone she called that. Lingyi, do you have any clues?"

Chris thought for a moment about Zero's question, which was clearly an attempt to change the subject, and decided not to delve any further. Even if she got the information from Zero now, it might not be true.

"Well, let me think... it might be influenced by the cases I took before. You know, Chris, I've taken all sorts of cases to obtain heretical technology, some of which involved kidnapping and rescue."

Upon hearing Chris's answer, Zero thought for a moment and replied in kind, while also throwing the script she had prepared in her mind for how she would react if Chris pressed her for answers into the trash can.

I'll take this as fact for now.

Chris only expressed reservations about Zero's answer. She trusted Zero's abilities, but did not believe Zero's account of her past.

"...Do whatever you like."

Lingyi's voice came from within my heart.

[Also, that student gave me a website for communication, which seems to be a gathering place for many people who were also saved by that 'golden flash'. I haven't looked at it yet, but I'll send the link to you, Lingyi, first.]

Ignoring the voice in her head, Chris continued to speak in her mind, then copied the URL onto her phone and sent it to Zero, with whom she had previously exchanged contact information.

To be honest, Chris felt that explaining things to others and outputting information was quite nice; she felt that Zero had probably felt the same way when she faced her before.

[Website address... Okay, I'll check it right away.]

Zero's voice echoed in Chris's mind, and Chris sensed a hint of urgency in it.

【Yeah, I'll take a look too. I'm a little curious about what you did before, Lingyi, that made those people even build a website for it.】

After sending the URL to Zero, Chris also turned her attention to her phone, intending to see what this valuable information, obtained from sources other than Zero, contained.

P.S. I'm experiencing some writer's block.

P.S. If someone finds out I'm writing yuri (lesbian) stories, I probably won't be able to live on this planet anymore (looking up at the sky).

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Website

[Hang up. Okay, as Lingyi said, this way she can't hear my inner thoughts.]

Before browsing the website, Chris turned off her mind communication, not wanting Zero to hear her thoughts while browsing.

So, let me see what's on this website...

Chris, who was ready, hid her phone in the drawer, copied and pasted the URL given to her by Yumi into the address bar, and soon saw the full picture of the website.

【Ugh, what is this thing?】

Chris exclaimed inwardly upon first seeing the website.

What amazed her so much was the splash screen that appeared when she entered the website.

To put it simply, the opening screen features a two-dimensional character wearing underwear that is even more embarrassing than what she is wearing, and has a very similar appearance to Zero.

Is this really a legitimate website? Can I really find any useful information on a site that uses such offensive images?

Looking at the animated character art, Chris rubbed her nose and pondered these thoughts.

But before she could think about it for long, the website's splash screen ended, and Chris's phone screen redirected to another page.

[Well, I've already looked, and I can't be fooled by appearances. What if it's just a splash screen and the content inside is perfectly legitimate?]

After hesitating for about three seconds, Chris made the decision and then began to carefully browse the website's homepage.

[There are also sections, let me see what's inside: a public chat area, a fan fiction area, a game download area, a video and animation area, and an illustration and comic area... Phew, it's actually quite proper inside. But with so many sections, are they all related to Zero?]

After viewing the homepage and finding it to be a typical anime video website, Chris breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, she was still wondering if she could find any information about Zero.

Let's just browse through this first.

With that thought in mind, Chris no longer hesitated and decided to start by looking around randomly.

However, just as she was about to place her finger on the screen with this thought in mind, a pop-up window interrupted her action.

[What is this? "Have you reached the legal age of adulthood in your country? If so, please continue; if not, please leave." Why is this suddenly becoming so inappropriate?!]

Looking at the text on the pop-up window, Chris felt uneasy again. Would a legitimate website really pop up such a strange pop-up?

I remember the legal age of adulthood is 16, and I just turned 16 this year, which means I'm old enough to watch, right?

After thinking about her age for a moment, Chris clicked 'Yes' without any further verification. The pop-up disappeared, and the page returned to the homepage without any further verification procedures.

This is such a perfunctory response. Oh well, I'm an adult anyway, and I didn't lie.

Chris inwardly scorned this perfunctory verification for a few seconds.

[So next, register an account. Hmm, I remember Lingyi processed my personal information for this identity... Okay, registration is done. That was really difficult.]

After a few minutes of operation, Chris finally obtained her entry ticket to the website.

So, where should I begin? Shall I start with the novels section...? So many?!

Chris thought for a moment, then opened the fan fiction section and was slightly shocked by the amount of content.

The fan fiction section is mainly serialized in the form of posts, with 20 posts per page. Chris saw a maximum of 53 pages, which means that the website has collected more than a thousand novels.

[I don't understand. Anyway, I'll take a look at the content first. Okay, I guess I don't need to look anymore. No, why are my hands out of control? I'm so curious. No, Chris, I can look at this kind of thing when I get home tonight. I need to gather information first.]

Looking at the various strange labels attached to those novels, Chris spent a great deal of effort to escape from the black hole constructed by words.