March 7th glared at him, puffing out her cheeks.
"Clearly, there's something wrong with your aesthetic sense!"
"My aesthetic sense has a problem?" Aidan pointed at himself. "Where's the problem? It doesn't look out of place at all, okay?"
"How is it not out of place! It's out of place everywhere, okay!"
"But I think it's sacred "( – ⌓ – )."
"You're not thinking of putting a swimsuit on Mr. Yang's Arahato, are you? (˶°ㅁ°)!"
"I wouldn't go that far. Arahato is Mr. Yang's treasure, and Thunderbolt is my masterpiece. When Thunder takes to the battlefield, it's definitely the most reliable partner."
He spoke sincerely, and March 7th's expression finally softened a bit.
"That's more like it..."
"But then again, if we ever encounter a situation where we need to distract the enemy, a swimsuit might actually come in handy."
"You still haven't given up on that idea!"
Aidan walked to the other side of the observation room, where there were several holographic projection buttons on the console.
"Want to see the other functions of the Hyperion?"
"What else is there?" March 7th asked warily. "It's not swimsuit-related again, is it?"
"No, the Hyperion isn't Love Nikki..."
He turned and walked toward another side of the observation room, where there was a metal door that wasn't open.
"Follow me, I'll take you somewhere fun."
"Somewhere fun?" March 7th followed him suspiciously. "That's what you said when you took us to see that giant robot in a swimsuit."
"This time is different." Aidan entered a string of commands on the panel by the door. "This time it's actually fun, and... very practical."
Behind the door was a spacious circular hall. The surrounding walls were made of countless hexagonal crystal panels, and complex patterns were etched into the floor, faintly emitting a pale blue light. The center of the hall was empty, with nothing in it.
"Where is this now?" March 7th poked her head in and walked inside. "It's empty, there's not even a chair."
"This is the Holographic Simulation Training Room, or you could call it—the Stigma Space Simulator."
Aidan walked to the center of the hall and snapped his fingers.
"Ai-chan, start the system and load Homu Land."
"Received! Homu Land is loading, please wait~"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the originally empty hall underwent a world-shaking transformation.
Countless light particles surged from the crystal panels around them, rapidly constructing in the air. In just a few seconds, the cold metal hall vanished, replaced by a colorful amusement park.
A giant Homu statue stood in the center, surrounded by a carousel, a roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, and Homu plushies running around everywhere. Cheerful music rang in their ears, and the air was even filled with the scent of popcorn and cotton candy.
"Wow! This is too realistic!"
"Actually... forget it, don't overthink what this is. Just understand that this is a simulated space, but it's realistic in every aspect," Aidan said. "Are you ready? Everyone. The next guests might not be very friendly."
A faint smell of blood gradually thickened in the air, and several shadows emerged from the corners.
March 7th wanted to step back to create some distance, but with a thud, she bumped into an invisible air wall.
"Simulated Stigma Space Training System, Combat Mode activated. Current simulation targets: Honkai Zombies, Rush-class Honkai Beasts. Difficulty level: Normal. Environment fidelity: 100%."
Those shadows completely solidified.
They were several distorted humanoid creatures wearing tattered clothes that looked like sailor uniforms, with their exposed skin showing a deathly pale grey. They held giant scythes, and their eyes were covered by black blindfolds or some substance, revealing only the lower half of their bloodless faces.
And behind them, several large, entirely white floating creatures slowly rose into the air. Those were Honkai Beasts, their giant wings resembling the limbs of some crustacean, with tips shimmering with a pink-purple light.
"Wh... what are these monsters?"
"Honkai Beasts and Honkai Zombies."
Himeko froze, then frowned.
She stared at the slowly approaching white floating creatures, then at the humanoid figures holding scythes. A strange sense of familiarity lingered, yet she couldn't grasp the specific source.
Extremely familiar?
March 7th had already drawn her bow, aiming an arrow at the nearest Honkai Zombie. "These things look so creepy... Do they move?"
As if answering her question, the Honkai Zombie at the front suddenly lifted its head, revealing two points of crimson light.
Of course they do.
"Watch out!"
Dan Heng reacted the fastest. His spear shot out instantly, the tip piercing the Honkai Zombie's chest. However, the monster only staggered, the scythe in its hand still swinging toward March 7th.
March 7th dodged to the side, releasing her bowstring at the same time.
An Ice Arrow froze the Honkai Zombie, and Dan Heng shattered its body in one fluid motion.
That distorted figure finally fell, dissipating into points of light in the air.
"Phew—that gave me a scare." March 7th patted her chest.
"Mr. Yang is an expert at dealing with them."
Aidan shrugged.
But Welt was still busy playing with Arahato right now.
Those Honkai Beasts also dissipated under the combined attack of Dan Heng and March 7th.
"Phew—" March 7th stowed her bow and let out a long breath. "That gave me a scare. I thought they'd be tough, but they're just like this... Eh? By the way, why aren't the monsters attacking you?"
"In the system's judgment, I'm a friendly unit or in an untargetable state. If they were to attack me, that would be a bug. The pain you feel from their attacks is just a simulation; it's not real."
"Oh, no wonder." March 7th realized. "I was wondering, when that big mosquito bumped into me just now, I clearly felt the pain, but there wasn't a single scratch on me."
Dan Heng put away his spear.
"The attack patterns of these monsters are very simple," he commented. "But if they appear in large numbers, it could be troublesome."
Dan Heng, in his normal state, wasn't very good at dealing with large numbers of enemies.