Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

Standing up, Dr. Will made this assurance with absolute certainty.

"I don't understand the point of what you're doing. Please explain."

In response, Lingyi immediately asked her why she did this.

It's important to understand that, regardless of the specific product, standardized mass production is always cheaper than custom-made products that require specialized testing. Dr. Will's point is to create a custom project at a cost comparable to mass production.

Lingyi didn't quite understand why he was suddenly working so hard. In her opinion, the current situation was not at all at the point where he needed to risk his life.

"Of course, it's to become a hero!"

Dr. Will loudly and shamelessly proclaimed his ideas.

"Following the steps, following the steps, indeed, this is a very reliable way to save the world. However, if we do it this way, I will have no way to leave my name, and all the glory will be stolen by you, Miss."

Dr. Will then added.

“I know very well that your talent surpasses mine. If it weren’t for the fact that you don’t focus your main efforts on this, I probably wouldn’t be able to take the lead.”

"Therefore, if things continue to develop like this, my journey to save the world will remain unknown as a nobody."

“How can this be? This is absolutely not allowed. A hero is someone who makes a greater contribution to saving the world. So, I want to highlight my role here.”

Dr. Will quickly explained his ideas to the two of them.

"I won't comment on your idea. I don't think you have the ability. Stability is the prerequisite for success, and I won't take that risk."

Although Dr. Will said that, Zero agreed with the idea. Publicly, she didn't want the current situation to deviate from its course. Privately, she was now only thinking about how to find a suitable reason to send Kohinata Mirai home.

"72 hours, oh no, I only need 48 hours to make a linker that this lady can wear, as long as I can get your little bit of support."

Dr. Will bowed before Zero-kun and Yang Qierling, and made this promise.

"Zero, at least give me a chance to try. If it really doesn't work, I'll give up on my own."

At the same time, Kohinata Mirai also made the same request.

She didn't quite understand the technical issues the two people were discussing, but she sensed from their conversation that this might be her last chance to persuade Lingyi to let her stay temporarily.

"Ha--I understand. 48 hours. If there are no results within this time, I will give up immediately. And Dr. Will, no one who is good at boasting will stay here."

Lingyi glanced at the two people beside her and felt a surge of annoyance.

But she understood that this might be the best solution at the moment, and after this, she would never give the other party any legitimacy to stay.

"Understood. I'll take the lead from here on out. The first and most important point is that I'll need your cooperation a little..."

After speaking, Dr. Will looked a little more relaxed and began to explain his plan.

As time went by, the expressions of the two people who were watching his plans gradually became strange.

"Dr. Will, are you kidding me by suggesting this plan?"

This is Zero's question.

"No, I think the doctor's plan is indeed reasonable, although I don't quite understand it."

This is Kohinata Mirai's perspective.

"Miss, please don't misunderstand. These are genuine theories that I came up with after research. Although they are more controllable, they can indeed greatly speed up the production of the linker."

This is Dr. Weil's defense.

However, given that the agreement had already been reached and that the plan did not cross Lingyi's bottom line, the plan was steadily implemented.

Before long, as the cool Mid-Autumn Festival breeze gently blew down the leaves on the city streets, the red and yellow withered leaves of the roadside trees landed on the screen in front of Lingyi.

[Does this plan really have a theoretical basis? Oh well, no matter how things develop, this unexpected event can be handled in the best way.]

With a sullen expression, Lingyi thought to herself as she used her non-dominant left hand to remove the leaves from the screen.

The reason why Lingyi thought and acted this way was very simple: she was being led by the hand with her right hand by the smiling Kohinata Mirai, as they strolled through the city streets.

The reason for doing this is that it is also part of the plan.

The linker works by connecting to the area of ​​the brain that governs 'love' emotions; therefore, generating enough 'love' can enhance the linker's effectiveness.

[From my observation just now, I've noticed that when this young lady Hinata talks about you, Rei-san, her emotions lean more towards the kind I need.]

Therefore, I hope that you, Ms. Rei, will cooperate with me and have a relaxing day date with Ms. Kohinata Mirai in the city.

[I will place a brainwave detection device on this Hinata Mirai. As long as I can capture that intense emotional shift in a single moment, I can use my talent to immortalize that moment.]

Therefore, we kindly request that you set aside one day for relaxation and entertainment.

In this way, Dr. Will explained his theory and hoped that Zero could help him complete it, which is why Zero found it funny after knowing the whole plan.

"Ha, how can such a purposeful approach possibly yield results?"

Although Dr. Will said so, Zero did not approve of this approach.

She has always believed that maximizing human emotions requires natural relaxation, and that doing emotionally-related things with a purpose often backfires.

If you keep thinking about what to do, your thoughts will inevitably wander further and further away from the intended purpose, unless you can completely eliminate distractions and stop thinking about what task to accomplish.

"Ryo, that okonomiyaki place over there is one of my favorite restaurants. I often eat there. Want to try it together?"

Just as Lingyi was lost in thought, Kohinata Mirai suddenly clenched her fist tightly and pointed to an okonomiyaki restaurant, saying happily.

The sudden question left Lingyi speechless for a moment; she felt that her understanding might need to be revised.

Judging from her expression alone, Rei didn't seem to have any sense of tension about carrying out a mission; instead, she exuded a relaxed feeling of hanging out with friends.

"No need, I don't like eating out."

After a moment's hesitation, Lingyi shook her head slightly and declined Kohinata Mirai's invitation.

"Really? That's a bit of a shame. The okonomiyaki at Grandma's is delicious."

[She doesn't want to eat out anymore. So, it's because of the psychological trauma she suffered back then.]

Upon hearing Lingyi's words, a hint of understanding and sadness flashed in Kohinata Mirai's eyes.

"Speaking of which, Lingyi, is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

No, I can't dwell too much on the past. I need to do everything I can to help her now.

But then, Kohinata Mirai, having considered this, changed the subject and shifted the conversation to something very ordinary.

"There's nowhere I particularly want to go. Rather, I'm not in the mood until I've finished what I need to do."

With her cold words, Zero killed the conversation that Kohinata Mirai had started, just like a conversation killer.

"In that case, let me decide where we go today, okay, Zero?"

Faced with Zero's uncooperative attitude, Kohinata Mirai pondered for a moment, then smiled slightly and moved closer to ask a question.

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, this operation is to find your emotional comfort zone. I have no objection to putting you first."

Naturally, Rei gave a rather uninterested answer to Kohinata Mirai's question.

"Then, no matter where you go, Lingyi, you must not run away."

Upon receiving this reply, Kohinata Mirai was even more delighted and said this with great joy.

"You can't run away... Fine, as long as there are no threatening elements, I won't try to escape."

Rei quickly realized that Kohinata Mirai seemed to have some ideas about this request.

However, confident in her self-control, Lingyi did not disagree, but simply stated her bottom line.

"Okay, I've decided on the first place. Let's go together, Zero."

The time was ripe, and Kohinata Mirai felt relieved and prepared to carry out her plan.

Chapter 41 Mutual Thoughts

Although she had some thoughts in mind, Kohinata Mirai still needed to keep some distance before asking that question.

This was partly to calm herself down so that she could remain composed no matter what answer she received, and partly to reduce any resistance Lingyi might feel when questioned.

The place she chose was an aquarium located in the Tokyo Sky Tower.

The clear, transparent blue light shone through the glass, casting shadows that reflected the two figures.

Aquatic animals float within the glass curtain wall, bobbing up and down, making one unconsciously sway and relax along with their movements.

After silently gazing at the glass curtain wall for an unknown amount of time, Kohinata Mirai turned her gaze to Rei, who remained silent beside her, and tightened her clasped hands.

"If that hadn't happened, things like this would probably be commonplace now."

As if sighing, Kohinata Mirai asked softly.

"Such a possibility exists, but this assumption is not worth discussing. The past cannot be changed, and what you should do is accept this reality."

After a moment's reaction, Lingyi kept her eyes fixed on the glass curtain wall, coldly stating the fact.

"Really? Or do you just not want to talk to me anymore?"

Upon receiving this response, Kohinata Mirai realized that the other person did not want to discuss this topic.

"Well, I wasn't really planning on talking about these things anyway. Speaking of which, the aquarium was the first place you took me here on your own initiative, so, do you like places like this?" Kohinata Mirai then shifted the topic to their current location and asked, guessing.

"...it was just a coincidence and for convenience."

After a long silence, Lingyi replied as follows.

"We usually call this kind of coincidence and convenience something we like."

Looking at the girl beside her who was so sparing with words, Kohinata Mirai smiled and said this.

"Think that way if you want."

Lingyi did not argue with this, thus ending the topic... Of course, that was impossible.

"So, Zero, which type of marine life do you prefer?"

Turning around to face Rei, Kohinata Mirai casually started chatting.

"I don't have any particular favorites."

Lingyi continued to use her usual, generic answer.

"So you like the atmosphere of aquariums, so Rei, do you prefer marine environments?"

Kohinata Mirai gave this definition and then asked further questions.

Faced with these words, Lingyi remained silent and did not reply.

"If you remain silent, I'll take that as your agreement, Lingyi. Also, when we discussed this before, we agreed to cooperate with me as much as possible, right?"

Kohinata Mirai said this, taking a step forward, closing the distance further, getting very close, with a questioning tone.

"I'm not good at this kind of thing, and I don't know what to do."

Looking at Kohinata Mirai who was very close to her, Rei frowned slightly, took half a step back, and gave herself this reason for her actions.

"This isn't like the Lingyi I know. She's not the kind of person who would back down in the face of difficulties."

Taking a half-step forward, maintaining a very close distance, Kohinata further expressed this view.

For a moment, the atmosphere between the two became somewhat heavy, and they seemed to be able to feel each other's breath.

"Fine, since you don't want to, I won't force you. At least, I understand what you're thinking now."

In the end, Kohinata Mirai took a step back. She had already achieved her goal and had roughly figured out Rei's current thoughts.

"Ring, nowadays, no matter what I do, as long as it doesn't cross the line, you won't refuse in your actions, right?"

Kohinata Mirai tentatively asked Rei if that was true.

"You can guess whatever you want, I still stand by my opinion."

It was not acknowledged that Rei did not intend to reveal any more information to Kohinata Mirai.

"I understand. Can you accompany me for a while?"

Ignoring Zero's slightly nonchalant attitude, Kohinata Mirai naturally pulled her still intertwined hands and walked to the side.

Lingyi did not object to Liu's intention, but her body still followed Kohinata Mirai's guidance and began to move.

[This is a difficult situation. Although I understand her reasons for doing this, I don't have a suitable reason to refuse right now. If I forcefully refuse, it will expose more information, which is not good.] Kohinata Mirai was right. After the code was upgraded, the balance of the situation had shifted in a direction where Zero would find it difficult to make a choice.

For Lingyi to force herself to do something too impulsive is unacceptable right now.

[Can I only try to minimize my mistakes and slowly steer things in the direction I want? But can I really do that...? Kohinata isn't someone who's easily fooled.]

Having thought this through, although her expression remained unchanged, Lingyi felt a surge of irritation and couldn't think of a solution for the time being.