In the end, Theresa and Wuliangta Jizi agreed to Fang Zheng's proposal and found him an experimental subject...

"YAHOO——! Here we come, Mr. Yuuki!"

Seeing Fang Zheng, the white-haired girl with two pigtails greeted him with a smile in a 100% pure Shana voice.

"I didn't expect it would be you..."

Looking at Kiana, Mei and Bronya in front of him, Fang Zheng was somewhat surprised. They were the closest people to Fang Zheng and others in St. Freya Academy. Because Kiana was very interested in the three rose dolls, such as Zhenhong, she would go to play with them at any time. Mei and Bronya naturally followed them, so after a few visits, the two sides quickly became familiar with each other.

Of course, to Shinku and the others, Kiana is almost like a human-shaped disaster.

"I say, you called them here, don't you think I will show mercy because we are familiar with each other?"

After Fang Zheng greeted the three people, he tilted his head and looked at Theresa beside him.

"Let me tell you first, there is no such thing as a gradual approach with this kind of thing. I will just use drastic measures. I will not be responsible if anything goes wrong, and you don't have to bother me either."

"I know."

Theresa's face was expressionless at this moment.

“But I want to watch.”

"...Okay, whatever you want."

Fang Zheng could tell at a glance that Theresa was obviously hiding something from him, but he didn't care. He just shrugged his shoulders and came in front of the three people.

"Do you know what we are doing here today?"

"I heard from Theresa... the principal that you need to pass the test."

Kiana also answered directly with a smile, not being arrogant at all.

"I'd like to state in advance that my test is not ordinary."

Fang Zheng thought for a moment and decided to explain everything to them clearly.

"This is not a test of your fighting ability, but a test of your mental strength. More precisely, your feelings for each other."

“That’s no problem!”

Having said that, Kiana happily hugged Mei beside her.

"Mei and I have a really good relationship, right? Mei?"

"Ah... yes, that's right."

Mei also nodded, and Fang Zheng chuckled as he watched their interaction.

"So what if we are in a good relationship? Will there be no problems if we are in a good relationship? Kiana, let me ask you, why do you want to become a Valkyrie?"

"Because I want to protect everyone!"

Kiana answered without hesitation.

"Even if you sacrifice your life for it?"

"certainly!"

"So, are your friends willing to accept it?"

"……Why?"

Hearing this, Kiana was stunned, while Fang Zheng stared at her and spoke with a smile.

"Indeed, you are very brave, determined and have your own ideas, but that is just your own idea. Do you think your friends would be willing to accept it? Watching you die to protect others? Would they be indifferent to it? Or would they be proud of you? Or would they be sad for you?"

"this……"

Faced with Fang Zheng's question, Kiana was stunned and speechless for a moment. She turned her head to look at Mei and Bronya on both sides of her, but at this moment they also turned their heads away and did not look at Kiana.

“Even if you have a good relationship, it doesn’t mean you will have the same opinion on the same thing.”

Fang Zheng put his hands behind his back and looked at them.

"Besides, it's easy to write a letter of determination, but when death really comes, can you still maintain this friendship?"

"sure!"

This time, Kiana clenched her hands.

"We escaped from Changkong City together. We lived and died together! We never gave up!"

"I'm not kidding."

Fang Zheng stared at Kiana and interrupted her answer with a serious expression.

"The consequences of this test may be very serious, so serious that after the test, the relationship between the three of you may be completely broken, and you may even become strangers to each other. This is still considered good, but you may even become enemies... As the saying goes, the deeper the love, the deeper the hatred. Are you three really sure you want to take part in this test? I must say something ugly up front. A test targeting the spirit is much more terrible than you can imagine."

"I……"

Hearing Fang Zheng's serious warning, Kiana hesitated, and Mei looked at her with a complicated expression. Bronya next to her didn't say anything, but she also looked uncertain.

"I'll give you a few minutes to think about it."

After Fang Zheng finished speaking, he turned around and walked back to Theresa outside the venue, letting the three little girls discuss it themselves.

"Are you really going to tell them this?"

"It's my duty to inform the subjects in advance. I'm not some white-haired toy with red eyes that can only fool children. And I'm not lying. This mental test is very dangerous because what I want to test is the relationship between people. I'm not worried about the beliefs and ideas of these little girls, but when their fates are intertwined, they must consider this point..."

Having said this, Fang Zheng looked at Theresa again.

"So are you really sure? What I just said was not an exaggeration."

“…”

Theresa was silent for a moment.

“Let those kids decide.”

Finally, she said this.

"Well, I hope you don't regret it."

After a long while, Fang Zheng saw three people walking towards him, but unlike before, this time their expressions were very serious.

"It's not shameful to give up."

Before Kiana could speak, Fang Zheng reminded them again, and Kiana shook her head.

"No, we decided to take the test, Mr. Yuuki!"

"Very good, I hope you won't regret it."

Hearing this, Fang Zheng raised his eyebrows.

"Then let's get started."

The test was conducted at the academy's practice field. Theresa and Himeko Murata were standing in the observation room on the second floor. Only Fang Zheng and the three girls remained in the field.

"Okay, what's the next step?"

Kiana clenched her fists, looking eager to try. Looking at Kiana, Fang Zheng just smiled slightly.

"Well, first let's test how well you can withstand the mental stress of death."

Kiana breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Fang Zheng's answer.

"What? It's so simple..."

However, before she could finish her words, Kiana's expression suddenly changed the next moment.

Not only her, but also Mei and Bronya beside her, as well as Theresa and Himeko Muliangta who were standing outside observing, all had changed expressions.

Because they felt that the moment Fang Zheng finished speaking, a terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from his body, directly enveloping the three of them.

What, what is this!?

At this moment, Kiana also clenched her fists, staring at Fang Zheng in surprise. Fang Zheng put his hands behind his back and stared at them expressionlessly, seemingly unchanged. But at this moment, Kiana felt as if the air was becoming thicker, and the invisible pressure almost turned into a towering mountain that was like a real mountain, pressing down on them head-on.

“Woo…”

Mei Raiden also clenched her teeth and said nothing at this moment. She had experienced moments on the verge of life and death before, but even so, the terrifying pressure before her made it almost impossible for her to resist.

Bronya on the other side had the least reaction among the three because her facial expressions usually did not change much. However, just by looking at the beads of sweat on her forehead, it was clear that Bronya was not as calm and composed as she looked.

"What kind of power is this?"

Wuliangta Jizi even subconsciously stretched out her hand to grab the hilt of the sword, but she grabbed nothing. This made her sweat coldly. She lowered her head and looked around, and then she realized that she was not on the battlefield. Although she was so far away from Fang Zheng, when Fang Zheng's momentum burst out just now, Wuliangta Jizi still felt a sense of crisis as if she was about to be eaten by the Honkai Beast. When she failed to grab the hilt of the sword, she was sweating coldly and thought she was really going to die.

"Is this really not a Herrscher? I remember that there are records of Herrscher being able to use spiritual power."

"Look at the instrument, no response."

Theresa's face was also pale. On the detector in front of them, they could see the Honkai energy reactions of Kiana and the other three Valkyries, but there was no movement from Fang Zheng's side. From this, it was certain that he was indeed not a Herrscher.

"Phase two, hold on."

Fang Zheng spoke lightly, and as he spoke, Kiana and the other three once again felt the terrifying mental pressure suddenly increase, and then - there was dead silence.

despair.

Kiana only felt a darkness in front of her eyes, and the world around her seemed to have stepped into the abyss of death with her at this moment. The instinct in her body was screaming, struggling, and eager to escape from it all. It had nothing to do with reason, but came from the most primitive instinct of living things.

Kiana clenched her teeth tightly, making them chatter. She didn't even dare to open her mouth, for fear that once she opened her mouth, the fear from the depths of her soul would turn into an uncontrollable scream and burst out of her body.

“Boom!!!”

Bronya could no longer hold on and fell to her knees, but she still held out her hands, supporting herself on the ground, her slender arms trembling slightly. Raiden Mei on the other side was not much better, she lowered her head and could not see the expression on her face, but her tense body spoke volumes.

"Next, the third stage."

Fang Zheng glanced at the three of them, stretched out his hand, and snapped his fingers.

“Pah.”

Along with this voice, Kiana only felt the gloom of despair and death like a tide breaking through a dam, breaking through her mental defenses. She didn't even have time to scream before the wave of fear completely swept over her soul, dragging it into a bottomless vortex.

The next moment, Kiana’s eyes went dark and she fainted.

"Phase 3."

Looking at the three girls lying unconscious on the ground, Fang Zheng sighed softly.

"Good luck to you, little girls."