Starting from Douluo Continent, I've become a god through daily check-ins.

Chapter 260 Joining Ceremony

"Name, what's your name?" Zero suddenly asked.

"Name? Do we manipulators have names?" The woman stopped and looked at Zero from the side.

Zero then realized that their names were given by Guang, and others referred to them by code names.

"That's true, my code name is 002, everyone calls me Zero Two." Zero Two finished speaking and left.

She said, "Isn't that just like me?"

At that moment, guards arrived and took Zero away. As she was being pushed along by the guards, she continued to think. Compared to the blow of her lying to me about not having a partner, the lingering hope deep down made me seem pathetic and laughable.

As Zero was being led away by the guards, he was shocked to see a dead bird at his feet. This bird was the same one from before.

Indeed, a bird that cannot fly has no home.

……

In an open space, six people stood on a red carpet. In front of them, a huge mechanical door slowly opened. Behind the door was a short staircase, and at the top of the staircase were many people. There were many people, including guards in black uniforms standing on both sides, and people in white sitting in the audience seats at the back.

"Look, it's adults," said one of the brown-haired boys.

"Yes, so many people have gathered here for us."

"You are chosen beings," my father told me. In the end, I didn't know what they were, nor did I know who my biological parents were. From the time I could remember, he and the other children lived in a place that resembled an observation room.

The room had walls on all four sides, with only one pane of glass. Adults dressed in white would occasionally pass by the window or observe their growth through the glass.

Since we can remember, we have been assigned numbers and have been assigned to ride weapons called FRANXX, which can only be operated by men and women in pairs. Fighting is our only mission.

I don't know why, but my number is different from everyone else's. Everyone else's number has three digits, but mine only has a zero. And that zero is also my name.

The induction ceremony is underway, and the person wearing white clothes and a gold mask is giving a speech to the six people below.

Here, children who cannot drive FRANXX have no value, which is why I decided to leave.

"Strawberry, focus, Dad and the others are watching," the boy next to Strawberry said to her.

Mei looked at the boy beside her, and after he finished speaking, she turned her gaze back to the boy in front of her.

……

That concludes the explanation regarding the facilities. Do you have any further questions?

In a room, Zero sat here, and not far in front of Zero, a man sat behind a table.

"There's nothing else to ask," Zero said.

"Code name 0. As an exception, headquarters is allowing you to stay. Do you really have no intention of staying any longer?" the man asked.

"No," Zero said.

"I see, I understand."

Zero left the room and followed the corridor to the hall. The hall was planted with a moderate number of plants. As soon as Zero reached this point, she noticed a girl sitting to her left, weeping with her face covered. Hearing the girl's cries, Zero felt, for some reason, not a ripple of emotion.

Looking at the girl, Zero inexplicably recalled the previous test, and this girl was the one he had tested with. Back then, no matter how hard Zero and this girl tried, they couldn't connect.

In the end, the girl was deemed unqualified, while Zero, for reasons unknown, was kept on.

"Even if it's just Zero, I'm glad you could stay. Are you even considering my feelings?"

At the bottom of an outdoor staircase, Zero and a girl stood side by side, the girl holding a bag in both hands.

"No. Even if I stay, it won't make any difference," Zero said calmly.

"Zero always does this. Isn't this just escapism? Escaping from his partner, escaping from himself. Have you seen it? The companions who disappeared in the facility. We don't know when we'll become like that too. Stop pretending! Even if we're being taken care of here, as long as we can stay, isn't that enough? We finally got here, I want to stay even if I die!" The girl's voice became agitated, and the bag in her hand fell heavily to the ground.

Zero turned around and stared blankly at the girl in front of him.

"Stop whispering!" a guard said to the two men.

"Why are you my partner?" The girl covered her face and cried, then squatted down, sobbing very sadly.

Zero stretched out his hand, but not knowing what to say, he withdrew it and looked at the ground to the side.

……

The girl, carrying her bag, walked towards a spherical vehicle waiting for me outside the bridge. Zero followed her, as if to send his partner off on his final journey.

As she reached the door, the girl suddenly turned around, looking at Zero behind her. "Well then, Zero, take care. Although we'll never meet again, there's nothing I can do."

Zero was shocked when he heard what the girl said.

"But you still have potential, you don't need to worry about my feelings."

The spherical vehicle issued a warning as soon as the girl finished speaking.

"Wait!" Zero seemed to have thought of something bad and ran towards the girl. However, the girl threw her bag at Zero, causing him to fall to the ground.

"I don't need this anymore, let's share it," the girl said.

"Wait a minute!" Zero shouted.

However, the girl ignored Zero's words. "I really like my current name." As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, her sadness finally becoming undeniable. "Zero, I hope you can find your partner."

After speaking, the girl took a step back and entered the vehicle, the door slowly closing behind her. Zero wanted to rush over and pull the girl out, but the guard behind him held him back.

"Stop! We can catch up by taking the boat behind!" the guard said, pulling Zero back.

Zero could only watch helplessly as the door closed and the spaceship started up.

……

Soon, the next spaceship stopped in front of Zero. Looking at the spaceship before him, Zero didn't move, but stood still, quietly observing it.

Seeing that Ling Chichi hadn't moved, the guard next to her asked, "What's wrong? Hurry up and go up."

Zero lifted her foot, but for some reason, she pulled it back. It seemed she was thinking about what the girl had just said; Zero didn't want to leave now.

Zero turned to the guard behind him and said, "Well, I guess I still..." Before he could finish speaking, a strong tremor interrupted him.

Zero looked up and saw a spaceship crashing in the distance. Zero was shocked; his partner was on that spaceship…

However, Zero was not shocked by the spaceship, but by the enormous monster in front of it.

"What is that? It wasn't there just now."

(End of this chapter)