Chapter 66 – Kizuna Band

“Captain, that acrid smell… from here on, it seems like it’s been covered up by perfume.”

Misaka Shirai and the other two had tracked the scent from the rooftop all the way to the area around the cinema, but Yuan Yue lost the trail.

Because that acrid odor had been masked by the scent of perfume.

“Can you keep tracking the perfume?” Misaka Shirai asked.

Yuan Yue shook his head. “This perfume is really common.”

“In other words,” Misaka Shirai reasoned, “this Special-Grade Disaster came down from the rooftop, passed by the cinema, and suddenly realized there was still an acrid smell clinging to them. So they sprayed on perfume to cover it up.”

“This thing even has some counter-surveillance ability?!”

Having lost their target, the three of them could only conclude that this Special-Grade Disaster wasn’t just powerful-it was also pretty smart.

“This is getting tricky…” Captain Feng Yuanwei’s brow furrowed. “I’ll head back now and contact Zhao Xing in District 3.”

“We’ll align our granularity with Zhao Xing and form a combined one-two punch.”

“Together, we’ll capture this Special-Grade Disaster that’s been moving between District 2 and District 3.”

…

If Lin Xi had known she was being targeted by action squads from both District 2 and District 3 of the Countermeasures Bureau at the same time, she definitely wouldn’t have been in the mood to eat hotpot while listening to music.

“This Band Hotpot place is actually pretty heckin’ good.” Lin Xi stuffed a chopstick-full of sliced lamb into her mouth.

She wasn’t hungry. She simply couldn’t resist the temptation of lamb rolls.

To be fair, lamb rolls were great, but Lin Xi still felt they couldn’t compare to the aroma of “Grilled Bird.”

If only she could run into the Mingwing Clan again…

It was Zhao Xinning who had brought Lin Xi to this hotpot restaurant.

Unlike other hotpot places, this Band Hotpot really did invite all kinds of bands to perform inside the restaurant.

“Here, Xi-” Zhao Xinning picked up a chopstick-full of beef rolls and fed them to Lin Xi.

Lin Xi said she could do it herself, but Zhao Xinning insisted that she open her mouth.

Lin Xi ate the beef rolls Zhao Xinning fed her in one bite, and Zhao Xinning was overjoyed.

Then, while Lin Xi wasn’t paying attention, Zhao Xinning put the chopsticks into her own mouth…

Indirect kiss achieved!

Zhao Xinning didn’t dare let Lin Xi see such a slightly perverted move.

A naive, innocent girl like Xi would definitely be disappointed if she found out I had such a degenerate side. She might even cut ties with me…

Whenever Zhao Xinning thought about anything, she always imagined the worst-case scenario.

That was precisely why she didn’t dare rashly confess her feelings to Lin Xi.

Even so, just an indirect kiss was enough to make Zhao Xinning feel like she was dying of happiness.

“Xinning, did the spice get to you? Why is your face so red?”

“Uh, yeah, it was a little spicy…” Zhao Xinning panicked a little and quickly changed the subject. She asked, “Xi, what did you think of the band that just played?”

“Pretty good. Very rock.”

“Do you like bands with that kind of style?”

“They’re okay.” Lin Xi set down her chopsticks. She needed to slow down-if she kept eating, she’d be stuffed. “But my favorite kind is girls’ bands.”

“Bandori bands are just way too much fun.”

Lin Xi remembered that there were girls’ bands at school too.

Apparently, during this year’s school anniversary celebration, the girls’ bands on campus would go onstage and sing.

Lin Xi was actually looking forward to it.

Zhao Xinning didn’t know much about BanG Dream! culture, so Lin Xi started enthusiastically explaining it to her.

She also shared the Bandori bands anime and manga she liked with Zhao Xinning.

“If you don’t know about Bandori bands, you don’t count as a hardcore 2D Otaku,” Lin Xi said proudly.

Zhao Xinning really didn’t know much about it. What she liked to read were all hardcore yuri manga.

That was something she absolutely could not let Lin Xi find out…

“When I get back, I’ll make sure to ‘catch up’ and study BanG Dream! culture!”

Hearing Zhao Xinning say that, Lin Xi finally realized something: Zhao Xinning was not Yang Shanshan!

Miss Shanshan, like her, was a hardcore 2D Otaku. Xinning was a full-on normie-a bright, cheerful, pretty girl with an actual life. How could Lin Xi drag her into this pit?

“Um, Xinning, getting into the Bandori bands rabbit hole comes with risks.”

“Huh? How is watching anime and manga risky?”

“Lately, the Bandori bands aren’t just about music…”

“Huh? Then what else are they about?”

“Girl-girl relationships. The really emotionally heavy kind.”

“Really?!” Zhao Xinning wanted to watch even more now.

Lin Xi: “…”

…

“I’m so full-“

This was the first time Lin Xi had ever eaten until she was this stuffed.

“Xi, didn’t you barely eat anything?” Zhao Xinning said.

Lin Xi just smiled and let it pass.

Since the two of them had spent the entire hotpot meal talking about the Bandori bands, Zhao Xinning suddenly got inspired and changed their afternoon plans.

Originally, they were supposed to visit the aquarium that afternoon, but Zhao Xinning pushed that plan back to tomorrow.

This afternoon, she wanted to find a livehouse with Lin Xi and experience the charm of band culture in person.

As for where they went and what they ate, Lin Xi left everything up to Zhao Xinning.

So when Zhao Xinning said she wanted to check out a livehouse, Lin Xi happily agreed.

Zhao Xinning opened Que De Map and searched for nearby livehouses.

“Found one!”

“How about this place, Hongxia Livehouse?”

“Sure-“

…

A band was performing inside Hongxia Livehouse.

The moment they reached the entrance, Lin Xi could hear the heated cheers coming from within.

Several bands were scheduled to take the stage today, and Lin Xi and Zhao Xinning chose to support a girls’ band called Kizuna Band.

They bought two tickets for Kizuna Band’s show.

“This is actually my first time experiencing girls’ band culture offline,” Lin Xi said, feeling a little excited.

After they went in, Lin Xi was secretly amazed. Kizuna Band had quite a lot of fans.

As the staff moved the instruments onto the stage, the members of Kizuna Band came out from backstage one after another.

One familiar figure left Lin Xi dumbfounded.

Wasn’t that Qin Ling?!

Sakura-pink hair tied into twin tails, a Lolita dress, a petite and adorable figure… Mm, it all matched. Lin Xi wasn’t seeing things.

She was certain that the pink-haired guitarist onstage was Qin Ling!

Wasn’t Qin Ling a virtual idol and a Genius Hacker?

She played in a band too???

On second thought, it wasn’t that strange for a virtual idol to know how to play guitar.

The only strange thing was that back when they’d had dinner at Zheng Mo’s home, Qin Ling had never mentioned being in a band…

“Xi, you…” Zhao Xinning noticed something off about Lin Xi. “Is there someone you know up there?”

“No,” Lin Xi said decisively.

Qin Ling was foxkin, a member of ZERO, and Lin Xi’s teammate. Naturally, she couldn’t let Zhao Xinning know any of that.

“It’s just my first time seeing a girls’ band in person, so it feels really new. I got a little too excited.”

“Mm.” Zhao Xinning didn’t think too much of it. “Let’s enjoy the music.”

Lin Xi looked back toward the stage. Onstage, Qin Ling, who had finished adjusting her equipment and was getting ready to perform, had also spotted Lin Xi.

Their eyes met.