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

"My name is CHU?, I'm a producer. These two are also my band members."

"PAREO, my keyboard player." She waved her left hand to PAREO. PAREO smiled and waved to everyone: "Yeah~"

"MASKING, my drummer." She waved her right hand towards MAKING. MASKING looked at her helplessly.

"We are," CHU? said with increasing excitement, "RAISE A SUILEN! Although the members have not yet gathered, our music will definitely dominate this era of big girl bands and change the world!"

"Hey, hey." MASKING poked CHU?. "Huh?" CHU? was in high spirits, but was suddenly interrupted. He turned to her with an unhappy look on his face.

"I say," MASKING sounded like a parent, teaching a child a lesson, "at a time like this, we should first introduce our abilities, right? After all, in this world, combat capability is the most important thing." She looked around, and most people indeed showed strange expressions when they heard CHU?'s self-introduction.

"Ah - indeed." After MASKING reminded him, CHU? just remembered this matter, "Then let's demonstrate it."

A golden shadow appeared behind MASKING, with three heads and six arms, holding a magical tool, spitting fire from its mouth, and looking furious.

"Asura!" Yazi shouted.

"This is my ability - a stand." MASKING took back the stand.

"You have all seen my ability, that armor - then, Pareo." Chu turned to Pareo. Pareo stood up and bowed to everyone like a maid: "It is a bit troublesome to demonstrate Pareo's ability directly. Please allow Pareo to describe it to you in as few words as possible."

PAREO

Flesh: 117

Responses: 113

Intelligence: 100

Shine: 150

Mental Power: 162

Ability: [True Self] provides any unit with the [PAREO] status. A unit in the [PAREO] status will consume a small amount of mental energy to generate a temporary simulated personality. The defense and recovery capabilities of the simulated personality are the same as those of the original body. During the duration of the simulated personality, all damage suffered by the original body will be transferred to the simulated personality.

Additional: None

Skills: Keyboard skills Lv8, wilderness survival Lv2.

"Simulated personality..." After hearing PAREO's description, everyone's expression was a little strange, and their eyes were vaguely focused on Shizi. Shizi's expression changed only for a moment, and then returned to seriousness: "A skill of death-substitution... If possible, can you demonstrate it to me? Ah, please don't demonstrate it on me, because for some reason, I don't accept this skill very well, thank you."

"Ah... OK." PAREO felt as if she had accidentally touched Shizi's sore spot. Of course, she was not in a position to ask. A breath flew out of PAREO's hand and landed on top of CHU?'s head. CHU? frowned, and there seemed to be an extra shadow in her right eye. She did not activate the armor. The stand behind MASKING appeared again and knocked on CHU?'s head. The shadow in CHU?'s eyes was instantly shattered, but the real body was not hurt at all.

"If Master Chu hadn't activated the armor [Apocalypse], the limit of the simulated personality would be just this much." Pareo explained, "If the armor is activated, it will be different."

"Hmph~ Looks impressive." Shizi praised, as if the demonstration just now had no effect on her. She clapped her hands: "Then let me start with you and formally introduce myself--"

Everyone introduced themselves one by one. As soon as they finished introducing themselves, Shizi urged everyone to eat quickly. The reason was: if they continued talking, the food would get cold.

During the meal, Kita and Pareo were trying their best to liven up the atmosphere. Ako was making noises as usual, while Shiko was trying her best to play the role of Nijika and adjust the atmosphere.

"Eh... So Pareo is still in junior high school?" Rinko was a little surprised. Pareo looked much taller than CHU?, and CHU? was 13 years old, which was understandable, but Pareo claimed to be the same age as CHU?, which surprised her.

"What are you thinking about? Rin~Rin~" Kita teased her. Rin's face turned red. Her relationship with Ako was obvious to all. And Ako seemed very... cute in many ways, which made Kita have to doubt her fetish. Rin opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything. Fortunately, Ako was happily chatting with Ichiri and didn't notice Kita, otherwise she would probably melt on the spot like Ichiri.

"Pfft!" Shizi laughed barely noticeably. This was what she wanted to say, but unfortunately Hongxia would never joke like that, and she had to maintain her persona now. She held her face and helped Linzi out.

CHU? had been watching Shizi with a vigilant eye. During this period of time, Shizi's changeability left a deep impression on her. Moreover, in her memory, among all the missing girls, this one was the one mentioned the least in the news.

Mysterious and dangerous.

A bowl of salad was placed in front of Chu?. Chu? raised her head, her spine almost breaking. Her eyes met Yukina's.

“Instead of just eating beef jerky all the time, try eating some vegetables, too,” she said.

"Huh, are you a PAREO?" CHU? retracted her head and PAREO immediately rubbed her neck.

You Xina did not leave. She said slowly, "Ms. Wu may not give you a very good first impression, but she is indeed a trustworthy partner." After that, she went back.

"Youxina, you shouldn't throw the vegetables you don't eat to others, right?" When Youxina returned, he met Shizi's gentle face.

"…Are you Lisa?"

CHU? Chewing beef jerky silently without saying a word.

PAREO looked at Shizi worriedly. Shizi stood up, holding the empty cup and was about to go to the bar to get a drink. PAREO saw this and stood up as well, following behind Shizi. Shizi picked one from several beverage machines. PAREO stood beside her: "Shizi, classmate."

"Hmm?" Shizi's voice was not surprised.

"Excuse me," PAREO was ready, "Can you tell PAREO why Shizi-san can't accept PAREO's ability?"

Chapter 24 This is our RAS Producer

Shizi's hands kept moving, and the brown-black drink was slowly poured from the machine into the glass: "Well... you may not believe it..."

She looked into PAREO's eyes: "I really have a second personality."

The two walked slowly towards the dining table, one in front of the other. Shizi briefly explained the story of his other self.

"So there was such a thing..." PAREO showed sympathy on his face, "In other words, the effect of this ability will make Shizi-san have bad associations."

"Another reason is that I'm afraid this ability will affect my dormant second personality." Shizi added.

"Then use PAREO less in the future."

Shizi quickly stopped him: "No, that's not necessary. I'm not a fragile child. Just use it when necessary. Don't worry about me. Just don't use it on me."

As they talked, they returned to the table.

The dishes on the table had been almost eaten. Someone had brought in a bunch of desserts. Shizi saw a plate of banana financiers and was immediately unable to move. He silently chanted the holy name of Nana Ohba three times and solemnly took a piece.

While eating the financier, she was daydreaming: "(There are more and more people here... maybe one day, I can really eat the banana dishes made by Brother Banana...)"

MASKING saw Shizi eating the snacks he made with a slightly disgusting smile on his face.

"What's going on..." She said to herself. She didn't think her cooking was that delicious.

Seeing that the situation was almost settled, Youxina put his elbows on the table and said, "It's time to get down to business."

The scattered chattering and laughing suddenly quieted down, and everyone looked towards Youshina.

"That's right." CHU? responded, "About whether we should join and where to go in the future."

Eh?

Shizi suddenly realized that CHU? and the others had never explicitly said "We will act together with them". It was better to say that she had never thought that the three of them would leave in her subconscious. She looked at CHU?.

However, CHU only had eyes for Yukina: "Then let's exchange our current plans first."

Without pausing, she said quickly, "Of course the three of us have to reach the 'Tower of Babel' as quickly as possible, and then find a way to return to reality from there."

"You don't have any objections, do you? If not, let's get going—"

"Wait." Yukina pressed her. "Indeed, there is a way to return to reality on that tower. This has been confirmed by intelligence. However, before we conquer that 'peak', we have other things to do."

"Other things?" Chuu looked like he couldn't understand what Youxina said, "Is there anything more important than returning to reality?"

"Yes." Youxina explained patiently, "Since you have seen us on the news, the other one should also have an impression of us."

"Which one?"

"Ms. Marina, the head of CiRCLE," Yukina continued, "She was a very important senior to us, and she died in a crisis. We must first find Poppin'Party, another representative band of CiRCLE, and avenge her together, and then we will do our best to conquer that tower."

"Uh... I'm sorry." After hearing what Youxi said, CHU? couldn't say anything to refute. Her tone softened a lot, "Revenge for our predecessors, this is indeed the right thing to do." She sat back on the stool, closed her eyes and thought for a while.

After a second or two, she raised her head again: "It seems that we need to go our separate ways."

"what?"

The one who exclaimed was not only Shizi, but also MASKING and PAREO. The scene immediately became noisy.

"Master CHU?, no matter how you think about it, cooperation will give us a greater chance of winning!" PAREO tried to grab CHU?'s body, but stopped in mid-air.

"Yeah, CHU?, in terms of strength, they are much stronger than us, right?" MASKING also echoed on the other side.

Shizi was halfway up, but she forced herself to hold back and slowly sat back down. Putting aside whether the current RAS had the strength to fight back to reality alone, the fact that they were "leaving" was unacceptable to Shizi.

Either we have never met, or since we have met, Shizi doesn't want to let anyone leave!

Although she was anxious, Shiko still had her reason. No matter what, she shouldn't be the one to keep RAS. She looked at Yukina, waiting for her answer.

Yukina really didn't disappoint her: "Excuse me, what is your current strength?"

"We are still not as good as you guys." CHU? knew that they were not able to launch the carpet bombing-level attacks they had before, "but with our growth rate, when we reach the Tower of Babel, we will definitely surpass you guys!"

Saya covered her forehead and sighed heavily. This made Chu? turn his gaze to her. Saya put down her hand and asked seriously: "If you are so anxious, why haven't you left this area? We discovered your existence a long time ago, but you seem to have been lingering in this basin."

"Because..." Chu? blushed and clenched her fists, but she couldn't explain. Pareo explained for her: "Because the mountains around the basin are too steep to climb, only Lady Chu? has the ability to fly among us, and she can't fly up such a high cliff with two people, so she has been trapped here."

Then, everyone's eyes were fixed on CHU? again, and this time, there was silence in their eyes.

How do you have this confidence?

Shizi held her aching stomach. Although she knew that CHU? was such an arrogant person, she still couldn't help but want to complain.

Faced with so many eyes, CHU? became a little exasperated: "I'm definitely not strong enough now... Damn it! I will definitely become stronger anyway! Change the world!" She was so anxious that she even took out the band's slogan.

Shizi went up and pointed in the direction of the stage, saying in a tone that seduced a child: "If you join us, you can use any of the instruments over there. You haven't practiced for a long time, right? If we separate like this, even if we return to reality, your performance level will surely decline a lot, right? Then how are we going to change the world?"

"Gu...!" CHU?'s eyes moved. The musical instruments and equipment on the stage were all carefully selected from the remains of CiRCLE. The quality was impeccable, making CHU? jealous.

PAREO and MASKING couldn't help but look over there. After all, they were also members of a band, and they would feel itchy to play instruments after not playing for a long time.

Seeing that the situation was almost stabilized, Youkina asked Shiko: "How long will it take to leave the basin?" They were still hovering over the lake.

Shizi estimated from the map in his mind: "About a day and a night. Also, before I brought them up, I told you that the light spot on the map is still there, so it's best to observe it for a while longer. And the airship also needs to be repaired."

PAREO understood, and he and MASKING supported CHU? on one side with one hand: "Then let's go discuss it first, please give us some time."

Yukina nodded. The three of them disappeared through the door.

Youxina looked past the leftovers on the table and looked at Shizi: "Ms. Wu, can they be trusted?" Although she had a good impression of the three people, she still wanted to ask out of caution.

Shizi nodded without hesitation: "I guarantee it with my character, yes."

Saya tilted her head slightly, not understanding why she could be so sure. Shizi had only spent a few more hours with the three of them.

But Yuki didn't seem to have any doubts. "Then let's think of a way to change that child's mind." She closed her eyes.

Since Yuki had no problem with that, Saya put aside her doubts: "That's right, letting them leave in their current state is an irresponsible behavior." Not to mention anything else, just the "Thunder Curse Ganon" that they just dealt with, Saya didn't think that the three of them had the ability to deal with it.

Shizi stood up and said, "I'll do it. I guarantee it will be solved." She patted her chest confidently, holding the jade slip and chased in the direction the three people left.

Everyone suddenly had a bad feeling. But Shizi was gone.

Shizi walked in the darkness. The only sound in the corridor was her footsteps. But soon another person's voice appeared. She followed the voice, and the other person also came towards her -

"Oh." The two people bumped into each other.

Shizi raised his head and looked at the other person's face.

It's MASKING.

ps: I was still reviewing zoology, but when the hen card pv came out, I was still reviewing for nothing. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep for half the night. When the alarm sounded and the mask fell, I knew that I must write fan fiction for hen card in the future, together with mygo and gbc! I have always been a giraffe, always been gop!

Chapter 25 They Have No Objection

MASKING and Shizi said at the same time: "Sorry."

Then, the two fell into a brief silence.

Shizi first asked, "Where are the two of them?"

MASKING pointed in the direction of the accommodation area: "In your room."

"Thank you." Shizi bypassed MASKING and was about to go over there.

"Wait." MASKING called Shizi. Shizi turned around and saw MASKING holding his head in distress: "Ah... I'll be frank. I prefer to stay. Although our strength is not as good as yours, we will definitely not be a burden. CHU? is also a little hesitant now, but she is embarrassed to say it. PAREO is the same as me, but she will give priority to CHU?'s opinion."

"I hope you can accept us and make CHU? completely change his mind." She bowed solemnly to Shizi.

Shizi finally found one of the sources of the discomfort. Before, MASKING always intentionally or unintentionally got between CHU? and Shizi, and before at the dinner table, she had always corrected CHU?'s various inappropriate remarks.

And now, she even bent over to a person she barely knew for CHU? and the others. Although due to cultural differences, Masking's feelings about bending over were different from Shizi's, but...

The current MASKING, compared to the MASKING she knew, has a little more of a "parental" feel.

Noticing Shizi's gaze, MASKING stood up again with some embarrassment.

"You don't need to ask me. Although I can't tell you the reason, I will definitely help you." Shizi turned around and stood in front of MASKING. "But, can you tell me why you said that? It's very uncomfortable, right?"

A hint of gloom appeared on MASKING's face.

"I'm the oldest," she said. "I don't treat them like children anymore in terms of music, but at times like this, being older brings with it the responsibility of being older."