Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

"It's okay. Besides, there's the medicine that Lingyi gave us. Master and the others are also analyzing the ingredients of that medicine. As long as we can reproduce it, I don't need to worry about this."

Seeing that she couldn't change the subject, Tachibana Hibiki changed her approach to reassure her close friend.

"But that's still not as good as not fighting, right? However, even so, it's impossible to ask Hibiki not to help others."

Looking at her silly best friend, Kohinata Mirai sighed and gave up on trying to persuade her on this point.

"Well, don't worry, I will take good care of my safety in the future, and I will absolutely not..."

Ring ring -

Just as Tachibana Hibiki was saying something, a communicator inside her clothes interrupted her speech.

"Tachibana, we have a new lead regarding Rei and the organization behind her."

Quickly picking up the communicator, Tachibana Hibiki pressed the dial button, and soon, Commander Kazami's voice came from inside.

P.S. Good morning.

Chapter Fourteen: Morning Rising

On the clean bed, free of any clutter, Lingyi, curled up asleep, opened her eyes. Her emerald green pupils were somewhat vacant, as if she had not yet come back to her senses from a dream.

[...as always, a terrible dream.]

After a short while, Lingyi came to her senses, and her dull pupils regained focus.

Get up.

Lingyi thought that she should put the nightmare behind her. No matter how bad the dream was, people still had to move forward and couldn't stay in the past.

I got up, tidied up, and washed up, just like every morning. After completing these actions, my previously sluggish brain gradually started to activate through exercise, and then I began to change my clothes.

She took off her loose, pure white cotton pajamas and put on a pure white lace bra. Then she grabbed a loose white lining hanging on the wall to cover her delicate body.

Immediately afterwards, the buttons of the black coat with gold trim were fastened at the chest, and he put it on, then reached out from the long-sleeved white jacket with black and gold trim to tie a black bow tie.

She squatted down, lifted her soft, slender feet, rolled up her stockings, put them on, and then slowly pulled them up her smooth legs.

After pulling it to the top, I skillfully fastened the outer buttons to ensure it wouldn't slip off, and then put on the black flat shoes that were placed by the bed.

Finally, by hanging the pendant used to observe the world over her right eye, Zero's appearance became no different from her usual work state.

Sometimes, I really feel like my body is amazing.

Standing in front of the full-length mirror, gazing at myself in the reflection, I thought to myself, making sure that my clothes were perfectly neat and without any wrinkles.

She doesn't know when it started, but she found that her body was like it was fixed in place. Injuries would not leave permanent scars after healing, and long-term exercise would not cause calluses to accumulate.

[Phew... Looks like everything's all sorted out. Time for breakfast. Speaking of which, it's almost time for the final security check. Let's see how it goes.]

With this thought in mind, Lingyi looked nervously at the screen in front of her, at Maria who was next to Naztasha, and at Akatsuki Kirika and Tsukuyomi, who were fast asleep.

[With normal physiological indicators and a risk probability reduced to below 0.01%, the safety verification has been passed, and it is safe for consumption.]

After confirming that none of the three people had any problems with their physiological indicators, Lingyi's tension eased slightly.

Then, a hexagonal device appeared, connecting the spaces, and a smooth, seamless, metallic black box was delivered.

He picked up the flashing knife beside him, entered the command, and the black box with red glowing patterns automatically disintegrated, revealing a bowl of stew inside that looked as freshly cooked.

Using dedicated, disposable, sterilized chopsticks, I picked up a piece of white rice smeared with sauce, put it in my mouth, and covered my mouth with my other hand to prevent myself from unconsciously vomiting.

"It's alright, it's alright. The probability of danger is very small. All the food processing steps have been done to minimize the chance of toxins appearing. We've already conducted biological experiments, and they're all fine."

Enduring the spasms in her stomach and the urge to vomit, Lingyi tried her best to convince herself of this.

The ingredients are purchased in multiple portions, but only one portion is used as the pre-cooked ingredient. The pre-cooked ingredient undergoes testing and animal experiments, and is then stored in a sealed safety cabinet.

The ingredients that have been removed and cooked must undergo human testing to confirm that they are non-toxic. Only after this process can a dish be considered safe.

Although the process is very troublesome, if it is not done, Lingyi's mind and body will not be able to accept it and will have a severe sense of rejection.

"Woo, woo, gurgle-ha."

Finally, after a while, Lingyi forced herself to swallow the food in her mouth, and it went into her stomach. She let out a long breath.

Once you've taken the first bite, you don't need to go through that agonizing process anymore. The process of eating gradually becomes smoother, reaching the speed of normal eating.

In a short while, the dish was eaten clean, with very little food left in the bowl.

I feel a little better now. Sure enough, I can't use nutrient solutions for too long. Although they're safe, prolonged use can make me forget the taste of normal food.

Lingyi put down her chopsticks and thought to herself.

Because preparing a normal meal takes a lot of time, she usually uses standardized nutritional supplements synthesized at her own base to maintain her body's energy.

Hmm, this recipe could be improved slightly in terms of taste and texture. I'll see if I can refine the recipe later.

After wiping the sauce from the corners of her mouth with a wet wipe, Lingyi cleaned up the dishes and pondered the taste of the dish.

Da-da da

"Lingyi, are you awake? There's something going on in the place you asked me to keep an eye on."

Just as Rei was contemplating what to cook, Maria knocked on the door and said this from outside.

"Wait a moment, I'll be right there."

Looking at the words displayed before her, Lingyi snapped out of her eating and, while responding, got up to open the door for Maria.

"So, what has changed?"

Upon opening the door and seeing Maria standing outside, Lingyi calmly inquired.

"In the areas you asked me to pay special attention to, I noticed a number of armed men in black suits starting to appear when I watched the video today."

"Could it be that the government or our own pursuers have discovered our intelligence and started hunting us down?"

Maria explained her findings to Zero and expressed her concern.

"That's impossible. I've laid out enough bait. If someone hadn't provided the general direction, they couldn't have found it so quickly."

Lingyi quickly denied Maria's speculation and explained her own opinion.

In the previous operation, she was the only one who participated in the battle and did not expose the information of others, which gave her the opportunity to spread false information.

"So, it was just a coincidence?"

Maria breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Lingyi's words.

“It’s no coincidence, Maria. Think about it for a moment. How did Naztasha find my location?”

Lingyi reminded him, a hint of joy in her eyes.

"What do you mean... Zero, are you referring to the Bavarian Light Society?"

After a moment's thought, Maria quickly came to this conclusion.

She knew that it was a force that Mum was cooperating with, and that they were supposedly trying to incite conflict between them and Zero to achieve some goal.

And now that Mum is not cooperating with them, they are the only ones who know that Zero has cooperated with their organization.

"It must be them. Only they would be so persistent in being my enemy."

Lingyi calmly made this analysis.

P.S. Good evening.

P.S. I slept in the wrong place a couple of days ago and just recovered.

Chapter Fifteen: The Society of Light

At the temporary headquarters of Section Two, as the door opened, Hibiki Tachibana, Chris, and Tsubasa Kazanari appeared at the entrance.

"Master, is it true that there's news about Zero-chan?"

Hibiki Tachibana walked in and asked Genjuro Kazanari, who was in the center of the control room, with great interest.

"Tachibana, that's right. It has been confirmed that the organization Zero is currently working for is an organization formed by defectors from the American Relics Research Center, and we also know that their goal is a heretical technological creation called Territory."

Kazanari Genjuro confirmed Tachibana Hibiki's statement and then shared the information they had obtained with the three who had entered.

"So fast? How did you guys manage that? Has Zero-chan regressed?"

Chris was surprised when she heard Genjuro Kazanari's answer.

She knew very well that Lingyi was extremely persistent in keeping intelligence secret, and she didn't know how she managed to determine the information so quickly.

"Yukine, you have some faith in us, don't you? Although we've made many mistakes before, we're still capable of providing intelligence support. At least this time we found a lead very quickly."

Seeing Chris's implicit surprise, Kazami Tsubasa corrected her.

"No, Yi, that's not the case. The fact that we were able to find their trail so quickly this time was mainly due to the help of another organization."

Regarding Kazanari Tsubasa's confidence, Kazanari Genjuro helplessly stated the following facts.

Their investigation into Lingyi's mission, whose purpose was unknown, was not entirely fruitless, but it was certainly fruitless. If they hadn't received the unexpected contact, they would probably still be investigating like headless flies.

"Ah, is that so? This... indeed, on this battlefield, she still follows the unpredictable and mysterious path as always."

Upon hearing Genjuro Kazanari's explanation, Tsubasa Kazanari's expression froze for a moment, and finally, as if he had gotten used to it, all his emotions turned into a helpless sigh.

"Master, what is that other organization you mentioned?"

Having caught what Kazunari Genjuro said, Tachibana Hibiki asked him in confusion.

"The Bavarian Light Society, which is said to be an organization hiding in Europe that has mastered a heretical technological system called alchemy, suddenly contacted us and shared information when we couldn't find a direction for our investigation."

Kazanari Genjuro answered.

"The Bavarian Light Society... Indeed, I heard Zero mention it before. She has an irreconcilable conflict with that organization, and she seems to have used alchemy as well."

Faced with Genjuro Kazanari's explanation, Chris quickly recalled the name.

"Alchemists, what are their motives? Why would they provide information for no reason?"

Kazemyou asked cautiously. What Zero was doing was of concern, but to her, who knew some things, this hidden, heretical technology organization was equally suspicious.

"In that regard..."

"Commander, we seem to have found a lead in area B2!"

Just as Kazanari Genjuro was about to answer, he was interrupted by the words of the Second Division analyst behind him.

"Never mind, I still have work to do. For any specific questions, ask the messenger sent by that organization first... What did they discover?"

Hearing the call from behind, Kazanari Genjuro pondered for a moment, gestured to the three of them, and then turned around to join in the command.

"messenger?"

Hibiki Tachibana looked in the direction Genjuro Kazanari had indicated with some confusion, and soon noticed an unfamiliar child in the control room.

She had short, slightly wavy, yellowish-green hair, soft blue eyes, and wore only a huge cloak with purple lace trim, with no other outer clothing.

"Huh?"

Upon seeing the other person's appearance, Tachibana Hibiki subconsciously looked away.

"Hello, um... Boku, Elfnein, is an alchemist and a messenger of the Bavarian Light Society."

Ignoring Tachibana Hibiki's actions, the girl, Elphne, introduced herself to the three in a very weak and hesitant voice.

"Why are they children... Never mind, so why are you helping us?"

Upon seeing the messenger's true form, Kazemiya was somewhat puzzled, but still asked the question again.

"This... Our Bavarian Light Society is a liberator organization dedicated to resisting the Dominators and fighting to liberate humanity from their domination. We are here to help you because we hope you can work together to prevent humanity from falling into the catastrophe of the Great Domination... *sigh*"

Seemingly extremely nervous, the girl from Elfnein rattled off a long string of words in one breath, as if she were memorizing a foreign language text.

"What, what?"

A long, complex sentence without punctuation completely burned out Tachibana Hibiki's CPU.

"I think I understood."

Rubbing his temples, Feng Mingyi finally understood the meaning of those words.

"The Dominator, could it be related to what happened back then?"

After listening to what Elfnein said, Chris thought of the incident during the Moon Shooting event, where Zero controlled the entire city for a moment to generate string enhancement.

"That's it, that's all I know."

After catching her breath and finally recovering, Elfnein said this.

"So what does that mean?"