The roars of the Void Rangers echoed from deep within the station’s passageway, growing closer with each passing second.
March 7th’s arrows flew true, each one accurately piercing the crimson cores of the advancing monstrosities.
Dan Heng’s spear danced in a seamless blur of afterimages, a storm of emerald light that effortlessly knocked back the swarming enemies.
Qiong’s bat whistled through the air, and with every brutal swing, she smashed a Void Ranger into dissipating fragments of antimatter.
Chen, meanwhile, shrank behind the formidable trio, occasionally darting out to deliver a swift, opportunistic finishing blow to a staggered foe.
“Done!” March 7th announced, lowering his bow.
He dusted off his hands, a purely theatrical gesture, and let out a long, satisfied sigh.
Now that the brief, intense battle had subsided, the curiosity he had been forcibly suppressing began to bubble to the surface once more.
His gaze swept over Dan Heng, who was cautiously inspecting the residual energy left by the defeated monsters, then to Qiong, who was staring blankly into space while leaning on her bat.
Finally, his eyes landed on Chen—currently in the form of Herta—who was pretending to study data from the Void Ranger fragments but was actually just catching his breath.
“Ahem, I say…” March 7th sidled up next to Chen and nudged him gently with an elbow.
Given Herta’s diminutive height, the gesture looked more than a little comical.
“That… ‘March 7th Limited Edition Skin’ from earlier… it was actually pretty convincing.”
Chen, still wearing Herta’s face, shot him a wary glance.
“What do you want now?”
“Hehe,” March 7th chirped, rubbing his hands together with an expression that practically screamed, ‘I’m about to suggest something fun and possibly stupid.’ “Look, we’ve fought side-by-side now, right?
And we’ve all seen a little of what you can do, haven’t we?
So… as an important part of deepening our mutual understanding and promoting team harmony…”
He drew out the last words, his eyes darting toward Dan Heng and Qiong, his voice laced with mischievous instigation.
“Why don’t you try transforming into Dan Heng and Qiong?
Just for a peek!
We’re all pretty curious!”
As if to seal the deal, he shot a conspiratorial wink at the other two.
“Right, guys?
Don’t you want to know what you’d look like as the opposite gender?”
Dan Heng, who had been poking a cooled Energy Core with the tip of her spear, paused.
No emotion registered on her cold, beautiful face, but the slow way she turned her head betrayed a flicker of interest she wasn’t entirely willing to admit.
Qiong’s reaction was far more direct.
Hearing her name, she looked up, her gaze shifting from Chen to March 7th.
Then, with a simple, honest nod, she said, “…I do.”
Chen, in Herta’s form, looked at the three pairs of expectant eyes—well, two and a half, given Dan Heng’s reserved curiosity—and sighed internally.
It seemed he was being put on the spot.
“Hmph.
A boring request.
But… since you all insist on obtaining such useless visual information…” He paused, his gaze landing on Dan Heng first.
A faint light began to rise around him, enveloping his petite body.
The silhouette within the glow stretched and warped.
The curly brown hair vanished, replaced by short, raven-black locks.
The delicate, feminine facial features sharpened, becoming more rugged and defined.
His figure grew tall and straight, the soft curves of a young girl giving way to the lean, powerful build of a young man.
The complex little dress Herta wore dissolved and reformed into a simple, sharp, dark-colored uniform.
A phantom image of a spear, similar in design to the Cloud-Piercer in Dan Heng’s hand but radiating a far colder, sharper aura, flashed into existence beside him before fading.
In Herta’s place now stood a male Dan Heng, his expression one of cold detachment, his eyes filled with a deep-seated vigilance.
He—the Chen-controlled version—subconsciously adjusted his stance, falling into the wary posture the original Dan Heng always took, ready to face an attack from any direction at a moment’s notice.
March 7th gasped, his eyes wide with amazement.
“Whoa… that, that’s way too similar!
I mean… uh, the gender’s different, but that look, that aura… it’s like a carbon copy of our Dan Heng!
It just feels… a bit fiercer?”
The real Dan Heng watched the male version of herself in silence, her face still an unreadable mask.
Her fingers, however, tightened their grip on her spear, as if she were performing some extremely rapid internal comparison and assessment.
Finally, she let out a soft, almost inaudible ‘Hmph’ and looked away.
But was that a faint, imperceptible blush coloring the tips of her ears?
Whether it was from embarrassment or something else entirely remained unclear.
The male Dan Heng swept a cold, silent glance over March 7th, his gaze perfectly capturing the spirit of the original.
Then, before anyone could react further, the light around Chen shifted once more.
This transformation was even more striking.
The cold, sharp aura belonging to Dan Heng receded like a tide.
His figure adjusted again, growing slightly taller but losing the tense, coiled readiness.
In its place was a handsome elegance, a build that rested somewhere between a lanky boy and a well-defined young man.
The black hair lightened into a stylish, short gray cut, and the sharp facial contours softened, revealing a natural innocence and an almost ethereal quality between his brows.
The severe uniform transformed into a mix-and-match set of clothes that looked both casual and impeccably neat.
Most notably, a baseball bat, almost identical to the one in Qiong’s arms, condensed in his hand.
He casually shouldered it.
A youthful, male version of Qiong had appeared, with gray hair and golden eyes filled with pure curiosity and a hint of detached amusement.
The movement was fluid, carrying a hint of Qiong’s own unconventional, street-brawling style.
“Oh…!” This time, even Dan Heng couldn’t help but let her eyes widen slightly.
Qiong stared at the male version of herself, stunned for a long moment.
She then took a step forward, cautiously approaching him.
She even reached out a hand, as if wanting to touch his cheek or his hair, but hesitated, letting it hover in mid-air.
She tilted her head, her own golden eyes full of pure, unadulterated curiosity, as if she were observing a strange and fascinating reflection in a mirror.
The male Caelus smiled at her—a clean, charming, yet subtle smile—and spoke, his voice a smooth baritone.
“So, how is it, ‘me’?
Satisfied with what you see?”
Qiong blinked, considered the question with utmost seriousness, and then nodded, delivering her concise evaluation.
“…Handsome.”
“Pfft—!”
March 7th burst out laughing, pointing a finger at the transformed Chen.
“Qiong, you… that evaluation is way too blunt!
But it’s true… he is pretty handsome, huh?” He rubbed his chin, affecting the air of a connoisseur.
“It’s just… well, not as cute as you are now!”
The Caelus look-alike seemed to have had enough of the spectacle.
His form dissolved in a shimmer of light, and in his place, the petite Herta reappeared, arms crossed, a ‘satisfied now?’ look plastered on her face.
“So, seen enough?” Chen’s voice, filtered through Herta’s vocal cords, was high and imperious.
He raised his little chin.
“Is your boring curiosity satisfied?
Can we go back to focusing on the low-efficiency collective activity known as the Cleanup Mission?”
March 7th just chuckled and slapped Chen on the shoulder, a friendly gesture that nearly knocked the petite Herta off her feet.
“Alright, alright, you’re amazing!
But seriously, your ability… it’s really convenient.”
His eyes darted around, and one could practically see the gears turning in his head as he cooked up his next mischievous idea.
Dan Heng, for her part, had already returned to her usual cold, distant demeanor, her spear held ready as she scanned the path ahead.
[Elysian’s Note:
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