"Huh? What do you mean?"
Razor hadn't processed Jane's words yet, and she couldn't help but laugh at his confusion.
"Haha... What a narrow mindset and pathetic ambition... Squabbling over such trivial power, like the leader of some alley cats... How pitiful!"
Her remark ignited Razor's fury immediately. He was, after all, someone who despised being mocked.
"Your arrogance and overbearing attitude are what I despise most about you. But it doesn't matter. I have plenty of time now. Let me teach you my rules!"
With an enraged roar, he swung his fist once more, targeting Jane. But in that instant, panicked shouts from his subordinates echoed behind him, followed by a devastating blow to his chest.
"Ah? You are..."
Jane stared at the figure now standing before her, confusion and disbelief crossing her face.
Razor clutched his slightly sunken chest, roaring in fury once more.
"Who the hell are you? How did you get in here!?"
The one blocking Razor's path was none other than Wise, who wasn't bothering to hide himself anymore.
He stood there calmly in his usual attire, fully exposed, yet Jane showed no sign of recognizing him.
After a brief silence, Wise spoke in an indifferent tone.
"Who I am isn't important. But if you're planning to hurt this lovely lady, I'm afraid I'll have to step in."
"What?" Razor frowned deeply, while behind Wise, Jane felt her heart tremble.
Not far away, Belle controlled Eous while listening in, instinctively clutching her chest.
Unlike Jane, she wasn't moved in the slightest—only overwhelmed with embarrassment.
'How can my brother say something like that so casually?! This is way too cringe... even I can't handle it!' she thought, her expression twisting in discomfort.
What she didn't realize was that Wise only spoke like this because of the ability he had just acquired from the system store.
[Cognitive Distortion Magic (A): When facing a target whose Charm is lower than yours, the target will be unable to perceive your true identity.]
"You're right! I may not know who you are, but you've done the right thing! This so-called righteous villain, consumed by greed and willing to sacrifice his own companions, deserves to be punished!" Seth declared.
He showed no sign of discomfort. Instead, he gave Wise an approving look.
"Jane, you see it now, don't you? The filthy truth behind these gangs! With someone here to help, as long as you accept my terms, we can still fix this..." Seth pressed, attempting to sway her.
"I accept your conditions."
"Eh? W-What?"
Seth turned toward her, stunned, unable to process her sudden reply. Yet Jane continued calmly, "I agree... to leave the darkness behind and walk toward the light. To reform, right?"
Though Jane said this, her eyes stayed locked on Wise, like she was trying to figure something out.
However, her brain kept telling her she'd never seen this guy before.
So why did he feel so familiar?
Jane couldn't understand it, and Seth was equally confused. But their thoughts were abruptly interrupted by agonized screams from nearby.
"Is that... an Ethereal?!"
Seth's eyes widened as he saw gang members fleeing across the platform, chased by two strange yet powerful figures.
They were Odile and Odette. Before the mission, they had insisted on helping Wise and were assigned to handle unexpected threats.
To avoid being recognized, they had taken on their Ethereal forms and, along the way, rescued Mumu from beneath a pile of crates.
"How is this possible?! Ethereals of that level shouldn't appear here!" Razor gritted his teeth, his expression turning grave.
From their earlier clash, he had already realized how strong Wise was. He had planned to call for backup, but now, without his subordinates, the situation had turned dire.
"Still distracted at a time like this? Do you even understand what it means to be a villain?"
The second Razor heard that, his eyes went wide, but it was way too late. When he looked back, Wise's fist was already right in his face.
The overwhelming force crushed his helmet and sent him crashing to the ground, leaving him barely conscious.
"Wow, you're incredible! Can you help me untie this? I was injected with a muscle relaxant, so... Eh? How did it come off?"
Seth stared in shock at his freed hands. He had barely applied any strength, yet the restraints snapped apart.
"It's normal. You drank a lot of water earlier, which accelerated your metabolism enough to neutralize the drug," Jane explained casually before standing and walking toward Wise.
"Hey, my savior, we should retreat now, right? Those two Ethereals can hold them off for a while, but there are too many of them. Or do you have another plan?"
Jane held the spot where Razor had struck her.
As for Wise, he had no such plan. Coming here had been a pure coincidence.
Thinking that far ahead was never part of it.
"Understood. Let's leave quickly."
Jane quickly realized this and chose to follow their original escape plan. As they moved, she deliberately slowed her pace.
Without Seth noticing, she made certain Razor wouldn't rise again. Wise noticed but said nothing.
After all, Razor had only been knocked unconscious. With treatment, he could have survived. But as long as the leader remained, the Mountain Lion Gang could always regroup.
She was tying up loose ends, and there was nothing wrong with that.
"Wait a moment."
As Wise spoke, under their puzzled gazes, he reached toward Jane's waist. The skin there had already turned a deep shade of purple from the earlier blow.
He didn't place his hand directly on it. Instead, keeping a slight distance, he activated his ability.
Jane immediately felt a warm current spreading from her waist. The pain faded almost instantly, and the bruised skin gradually returned to its normal color.
"Alright, let's go."
After finishing, Wise didn't bother explaining, nor did he need to.
With how advanced technology was in this world, something like this didn't seem impossible.
Right?
The three quickly left the platform. Under Wise's guidance, they avoided areas crowded with gang members and returned to the rift they had entered from.
"By the way, may I know your name, my benefactor?" During their retreat, Jane suddenly asked.
Seth immediately followed up, "Yes! You risked yourself to save us. I will definitely report this to Public Security so you can receive proper recognition and rewards!"
Jane thought he was still too naïve, but her eyes never left Wise.
"Phaethon."
"Phaethon? That sounds familiar... Wait, how did they catch up so fast?!"
Seth suddenly noticed the pursuers closing in behind them. Jane frowned slightly, sensing something was wrong.
That shouldn't be possible. With the strength those two Ethereals displayed, the Mountain Lion Gang shouldn't have been able to catch up so quickly.
What she didn't realize was that after they'd returned from the rift to the Hollow area of the Ballet Twins, Odile and Odette had also withdrawn from the rift after receiving Belle's notification.
Meanwhile, the remaining gang members, realizing Razor was dead, began chasing them under the command of a trusted subordinate.
"These guys are relentless! Are they really this desperate to avenge him?"
Seth couldn't understand. Jane remained silent, lips pressed together.
She had underestimated Razor's influence. While his death would benefit future operations, it put them at a disadvantage now.
"Hah... We finally made it to the end..." Jane spotted the rift up ahead.
Just as relief washed over her face, several gang members suddenly materialized near the exit.
They had guns pointed right at the three of them. Seth, seeing that, pulled out his shield and weapon to cover the two behind him. Wise didn't do anything reckless either.
Even though he could take out the enemies blocking the exit, if they all started shooting, Jane and Seth might get hurt.
But more importantly, he'd just gotten a message from Belle saying that after she left the Hollow, she saw Public Security Officers had already shown up.
"Jane, I can't believe you actually killed Boss Razor!! I knew something was off about you from the start!"
"Ah, that's enough. Save your insults. What? Razor's gone, so you think you're in charge now?"
The subordinate, interrupted mid-sentence, grew furious.
"Hah! Still talking like that when you're about to die? You'll regret what you did!"
"You can't go a few sentences without mentioning him. Always clinging to him like a shadow. What exactly do you admire? His loud voice when he scolds you?"
"You...! Shut up!"
"Oh? I'm just stating facts. I never saw him treat you well, yet you're so devoted. Did you mistake him for your father?"
Her contempt was obvious. The man trembled with rage, unable to respond.
"Uh... Jane, maybe that's enough," Seth whispered.
But she ignored him and continued. Under her relentless mockery, anyone would lose their temper.
"You shut up! You, you traitor, I will make you pay! Mountain Lion Gang's..."
"Hmm, time's almost up. I should go. Jane, could you return that to me?"
Even though he interrupted again, Wise totally ignored how mad the guy was and just pointed at the amulet Jane had in her jacket pocket.
"Hmm? This is yours?"
Jane pulled the amulet out of her pocket and handed it to Wise without really thinking about it.
More than the amulet, she was curious about the 'time' thing he'd just mentioned.
Wise took the amulet and slipped it into his pocket, answering her question at the same time.
"I suppose you could say it's mine."
Although it technically belonged to Odile and Odette, those two were his girls, so saying it was his wasn't wrong.
But right then, the Mountain Lion Gang's trusted guy, who'd been getting ignored this whole time, finally snapped.
"You bastard, cutting me off over and over, acting like I'm nothing! Mountain Lion's offspring, attack!"
"Uh, well... 'offspring' sounds kinda weird? I don't think of Razor as my dad, you know..."
The guy, already pissed off, immediately kicked the subordinate next to him who'd said that.
"I know that! It's just a metaphor, can't you understand?! Don't let them lead you by the nose. We've surrounded them, attack!"
With his roar, the subordinates sprang into action. However, at that very moment, the spatial rift not far away began to emit an unstable purple glow.
In the next instant, a group of PubSec Officers emerged from the rift, led by Zhu Yuan and Qingyi. Among them was the guard subordinate from earlier.
"You have the right to remain silent. But from this moment on, every word you say will be used as testimony in court."
Hearing Zhu Yuan's firm declaration, Jane let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Did they finally make it...?"
That was right. Her earlier words had only been meant to stall for time while waiting for reinforcements. Now that she saw the guard subordinate alive, the last of her worries faded away.
Seth, standing beside her, was equally relieved. However, when they turned to look at Wise, they found that the spot where he had been standing was now empty.
"Hmm? Wasn't someone just there?" Qingyi frowned.
As she stepped out of the rift, she caught a glimpse of Wise disappearing.
"You are surrounded. Surrender!"
With Zhu Yuan's command, along with her grenade launcher-like handgun and the presence of the PubSec Officers, the Mountain Lion Gang members completely lost their will to resist.
As the arrest operation came to an end, Wise, on the other side, used his talent to return directly to the video store through the network cable.
Belle was slightly startled by Wise's sudden appearance before her. At that moment, she had just disconnected and was about to stand up, only to be pushed back into her chair by him.
"Brother, please get up. This position is very uncomfortable."
"Sorry, I'm still not very skilled at using this ability."
Wise quickly stood and explained, then helped Belle back to her feet. After handing the amulet to the sisters, they split it into two halves, each keeping one, since it could be reassembled at any time.
The two of them smiled brightly, both touched and delighted, and took the initiative to serve him.
They even changed into the clothes Wise had bought for them earlier, something he naturally had no objection to.
It was also worth mentioning that Jane's favorability toward Wise had already reached 60.
This was without her knowing that it was Wise who had saved her this time. Otherwise, it would have been even higher.
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Novels Available:
-> Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street. (Translation)
-> Azur Lane: Don't Fight! You're All My Wives! (Translation)
-> Zenless Zone Zero: Death in White. (Original - Patreon Only Until It Reaches 30 Chapters)
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