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

Chapter 290 The Agreement

"Why did humans abandon their homes on the ground?" Zero asked as everyone sat around the campfire.

"Ah, what Zero Two just mentioned?" Miku said.

"Asking why... there must be some reason, right?" Goro said.

Zero still didn't understand and said, "But this place is so big and has such beautiful scenery. I was really surprised that such a place exists in the world."

"Is it because of Mister Ting?" Tai asked.

"And there are dragons outside," Mirai chimed in.

Zero proposes a hypothesis: "If humans didn't extract magma energy, would the Klaxosaurs never have appeared?"

"Are you questioning the fathers?" Man continued, "Isn't it a great thing that humans chose to live in the Great Eco-Fortress to keep out the Klaxosaurs?"

Zero didn't say anything more, and turned to look at Zero Two, who was still swimming in the sea.

Suddenly, Wanmu stood up, excitedly exclaiming, "Wow! Dads are really amazing! The adults who used to live here have now moved to that dazzling city!"

Tai also chimed in, "How admirable!"

"And we're the ones guarding that place right now, so we're helping the adults, right? As long as we keep taking down the Klaxosaurs, we'll never have to worry about food or clothing. Dad's definitely watching over us. And one day, we'll become adults too!"

After hearing Hibiki's words, Tai also became excited. Hibiki jogged up behind Zero, put a hand on Zero's shoulder, and said, "Hey, Zero thinks so too, right?"

"Eh... um." Zero paused for a moment, then came to her senses and said.

"What? You're being so formal." Heimu was clearly not satisfied with Zero's reaction. "We're good partners, aren't we?"

"partner……"

"Huh? Did I say something strange?" He looked puzzled, thinking he had said something odd.

Everyone looked at Hime and Zero. Mirai said smugly, "Never mind what Hime said, you're newcomers to the team, so work hard!"

Xin also said, "If you ask me, I have even more confidence with you all joining me."

"After all, we received a lot of help from 02," Tai said.

"That's right," Goro said with a smile.

Ichigo stood up, looked at Zero, and said, "Zero, I wholeheartedly welcome you and Zero-Two to the Thirteenth Squad as new members. From now on, as the captain, I will strictly discipline you, so be prepared."

Hearing Ichigo's words, Zero smiled and nodded in agreement. Looking around at all her companions, Zero said, "Everyone... thank you. I'll do my best."

……

Zero Two slowly surfaced, lying on its back and tilting its head slightly to look at the beach. It stood up and watched the movements on the beach.

It seemed that they had found a crab. Upon hearing that there was a crab, Tai immediately thought of eating it. The campfire was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.

Jing Chen appeared beside Zero Two, sitting in mid-air with a lollipop in his mouth. After glancing at the commotion on the beach, Jing Chen took the lollipop out of his mouth and asked, "Are you envious?"

Ling Er turned her head and saw Jing Chen sitting in the air next to her, then turned her head back to look at the beach.

"Just say you're envious, no one will hear you anyway," Jing Chen said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I'm envious." Zero Two nodded.

Jing Chen ate her lollipop without saying a word. Ling Er turned to Jing Chen and asked, "What about you? Aren't you envious?"

"Envy? What's that? Can you eat it?" Jing Chen took out the lollipop from his mouth, pointed at Zero Two, and then at the people on the beach, saying, "Actually, there's no use in you being envious. You know very well where the gap is between you and them. Right now, the only one who can accept you is Zero. There's only one reason: because you're his partner. As long as you're there, he can pilot the Strelitzia."

"In the previous battle, you were actually manipulating the Strelitzia, right?" Zero Two asked.

Jing Chen snapped his fingers. "Right. If I hadn't intervened back then, you and Ling would both have died. Rather than let you both perish, I might as well lend a hand."

"For someone like you to lend a hand, the price must be high, right?" Zero Two asked.

Jing Chen smiled. "You usually seem so innocent and cheerful, I never expected you to think so much. But don't worry, I've already received the price."

"Did you receive it?" Zero Two asked, puzzled.

Jing Chen pointed at the crowd, or more precisely, at Ling, who was sitting in front of the campfire with his back to them.

Upon seeing the number zero, Zero Two immediately panicked, grabbing Jing Chen's collar and demanding fiercely, "What did you do to my Darling!?"

Jing Chen remained calm and slowly removed his mask. Upon seeing Jing Chen's face, Ling Er froze. Her hand involuntarily released Jing Chen's collar.

Jing Chen straightened his clothes and continued sitting, explaining to Zero: "Actually, I am him, and he is me. My purpose in doing this is singular: to make Zero fully awaken. You should know best how powerful the Strelitzia was before. But what I want to say is that that was only one ten-thousandth of Zero's strength after awakening. In other words, if the awakened Zero so desires, then there will be no more Klaxosaurs in this world."

"So what's your purpose?" Zero Two hummed in response.

"My purpose? Didn't I already say my purpose? I'm helping him awaken. Because I am him, and he is naturally me. Oh, by the way, don't tell Zero about our conversation, or if something happens to Zero, don't blame me." After saying that, Jing Chen disappeared.

Looking at the spot where Jing Chen disappeared, Ling Er was a little confused, and turned to look at Ling by the campfire with a bewildered expression.

……

Night fell, the campfire died down, and everyone drifted off to sleep. Ichigo, however, remained awake, seemingly distracted and lost in thought. Suddenly, she heard a noise, turned around, and saw that Zero had woken up.

Seeing that Ichigo had gotten up and was looking at her, Zero said apologetically, "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

The two were walking on the beach, Zero walking ahead and Ichigo following behind. As if to break the silence, Ichigo spoke up, "I just can't seem to fall asleep."

"Me too, I feel like it would be a waste to just sleep like this," Zero replied.

Watching Zero's retreating figure, Ichigo smiled with some satisfaction. Looking down at the footprints Zero had left, Ichigo's playful side was piqued, and she stepped into Zero's footprints, following in Zero's footsteps.

Ichigo looked up at the sky and exclaimed in delight, "Zero, look! The stars are so clear from here!"

Zero looked up and was surprised to find the starry sky above so clear and beautiful. Suddenly, Ichigo noticed something in this starry sky and pointed to a spot, exclaiming, "Ah! It's Orion!"

Zero also found Orion. Looking at Orion, Zero slowly said, "In the past, Orion was the constellation that represented winter."

"Huh?" Ichigo was a little surprised, not expecting Zero to know so much about constellations. "When we were little, you often talked to me about the stars."

"Really?" No doubt.

"Yes! Even though I'm an idiot, I remember everything Zero told me!" Ichigo said.

After saying that, Mei puffed out her cheeks and pretended to be a little angry. And you have to admit, Mei was actually quite cute when she looked like that.

Ichigo seemed to have thought of something else, "So, what about that star...?"

"Strawberry's Star?" Zero said.

"Huh?" Ichigo was shocked.

Zero continued, "Orion 15, the star of the Ichigo constellation. It's so faint that it's difficult to see with the naked eye. Although that's what the books say, you really can't see it. We promised to go see it together when we leave the facility, right?"

Hearing Zero mention their promise, Ichigo was still happy, but she deliberately put on a haughty look, "What? You still remember?"

Jing Chen floated in the sky, watching Ling and Mei walk further and further away, chuckled softly, and then his body disappeared.

(End of this chapter)