Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Engrave into the DNA and a Video for Himeko
The battle at the containment chamber entrance was still one-sided: and since there weren't any elite units here, the enemies were frozen by March 7th after being lured by Pei Guang.
"How was I? Super amazing, right?" March 7th asked as she approached Pei Guang and Stelle.
Pei Guang gave a thumbs-up, "With you here, no doubt, you're the MVP of our team!"
Hearing this compliment, March 7th beamed with satisfaction, "Great! My favorability towards you +1 +1 +1~"
Stelle was looking at the frozen enemies, ready to smash them with her bat. But just as she was about to act, both Pei Guang and March 7th shouted to stop her.
"Stop!"
"Hold it!"
March 7th grabbed a camera, "How can we not take a picture with them?"
Pei Guang said, "Come, come~ Let our MVP stand in the center! Men on the left, women on the right, I'll stand on the right."
Stelle added, "Exactly! Men on the left, women on the right! I'll be on the left."
March 7th: "???"
March 7th was full of question marks, but she didn't care about these things anymore. She raised the camera and said, "Enough talking, get closer, closer!"
"Coming~" x2
Up until now, everything was quite normal.
The three of them took a few nice selfies, and even Asta, watching them, felt a bit envious. They teased each other, joked around, fought together, and shared the joy after the battle.
But then, things took a bit of a turn.
March 7th was looking at the camera, while Stelle picked up the bat, preparing to smash the ice. Just as she was about to move again, Pei Guang called out to stop her.
Pei Guang: "Stelle! Don't you feel like there's something familiar about this scene?"
Stelle: "Familiar?"
Pei Guang: "Wait a moment, let me get ready!"
As an excellent player, one must always find joy in the game. The joy of fighting is only temporary; true joy is discovered in exploration.
Pei Guang found the ice sculpture with the largest head, took out a wooden sword, and chopped off its head. At the same time, he asked March 7th, "March, how long can this ice last?"
March 7th, still looking at the photos taken during their action, replied, "About ten minutes? It will completely melt in about ten minutes. I put in a bit more effort this time, so it lasts longer."
Pei Guang glanced at the time and said, "That's enough time."
March 7th then looked up at Pei Guang and asked, "What are you going to do?"
With a deep, serious look, as if he had made a major decision,he replied, "I'm going to do something that will be etched into our DNA. Such a beautiful scene would be wasted if we didn't do something memorable with our bodies."
Pei Guang inserted the wooden sword into the ice head, and Stelle, watching this, didn't know what Pei Guang was up to, but she decided to also knock off another head and stuck her bat into it.
After inserting the wooden sword, Pei Guang took out two large objects from his storage backpack to prop up the sword. Noticing that Stelle was following his lead, he also helped her secure the bat.
Thus, their two weapons were symmetrically placed in the middle of the corridor, and atop the weapons, the two Antimatter Legion heads looked ridiculously comical.
After setting all this up, Pei Guang took a music player he had scavenged earlier from his backpack and found a good song he had discovered. Without saying much, he believed that Stelle, being a player, would somewhat understand what he wanted to do.
And Stelle? She had no idea what Pei Guang was about to do. She just had a vague feeling that whatever Pei Guang was planning, it would be fun, and it would be fine to just go along with it. As for March 7th, she was still looking at the photos, picking out her favorite shots, and considering whether to take another group photo. Just then, the music player that Pei Guang took out started playing music.
It was a song with a rhythmic beat: the music was fine and had a catchy rhythm, but the people were the problem.
Pei Guang rewound the music to the beginning and pressed play.
As soon as the beat dropped, Pei Guang moved to the middle between the two heads and started dancing. He closed his eyes, arms extended in one direction, hands naturally relaxed in fists. His body leaned slightly forward, and he began with a sliding step to warm up.
He raised his arms to shoulder level, tilting his head to the right while following the rhythm, his wrists moving in the opposite direction.
"Ah~ I'm dancing like Dawei!" Note: (He's referring to Dawei performing the Ayaka dance)
With the music, Pei Guang happily sang along. His body moved to the left in time with the beat, then he extended his arms forward, leaning back as his head moved back freely with his body. Then, he spread his arms downwards, spun 360 degrees, his arms and head facing the opposite direction from before, and continued dancing to the rhythm.
Stelle watched Pei Guang the whole time, observing what he was doing. As she watched, she felt a strange sense of attraction. Her instincts told her that she had to be a part of this DNA-engraving moment.
So, just as Pei Guang finished his first set of moves and was about to start the second, Stelle joined him from his right rear and began dancing to the music.
Seeing this on the video, Asta, who had been watching to see what Pei Guang would do, nearly choked on her own saliva.
In fact, it wasn't just her—March 7th, who was looking at the camera in the video, also instinctively looked up confused when the music started: "What are you guys doing?!"
She watched Pei Guang complete a set of movements and fell silent.
Pei Guang was completely immersed, unaffected by the world around him, freely enjoying himself with his eyes closed. She was somewhat envious of his ability to act without restraint, but her rational mind told her she couldn't do the same! Her mind and body were in conflict.
But when she saw Stelle join in right after, initially a bit awkwardly but then closing her eyes and enjoying herself, she remembered what Pei Guang had just said.
"I'm going to do something that will be etched into our DNA."
Thinking about this, her body reacted. Her body told her Pei Guang wasn't lying; this truly was something that could be engraved into DNA. And once something is etched into DNA, even if she loses her memory in the future, her body would instinctively remember.
Normally, a person's body cannot override their brain, as the brain controls the body, but this time March 7th felt like her body had overpowered her mind.
Body: "Rationality, step aside."
Mind: "Imprint more; I'm afraid I'll forget."
Body: "Got it! Just you wait."
So, March 7th first took a photo of the two of them, then hung the camera back on herself, and quietly moved to Pei Guang's left rear.
The dance moves were very simple; for the two girls, watching once was enough to learn them. However, because March 7th took a photo, she was a bit delayed, so she joined in just as the third round was about to begin.
At first, March 7th felt a bit shy, but as she moved with the music and followed Pei Guang, she suddenly realized how enjoyable it was to not be restricted by others' gazes, to empty her mind and let her body move.
At that moment, the hidden anxiety, fear, and loneliness in her heart temporarily disappeared. Regardless of their personalities or backgrounds, the three of them seemed to merge into one, enjoying this brief moment of beauty.
They were all people who couldn't find their hometowns and couldn't "go home." Yet, in this Herta Space Station, they found their own happiness, joy, and peace.
Although this scene wasn't recorded, March 7th was sure that this would be one of the most memorable moments of her life. Even if she were to lose her memory again in the future, the reaction engraved in her DNA would make her recall this happiness, allowing her body to remember this joy one more time.