"I'm fine, Belle. My eyes just hurt for a moment..." Wise said, his voice steady enough to ease her worry.
'Damn it, that dishonorable kidnapper resorted to a sneak attack. When I finally catch him, he'll regret it.'
He rubbed his forehead, the pain already gone.
In its place came a sharper sensation: a growing worry directed entirely at Eous, who must have been taken by that person.
"Fairy, can you still reach Eous? Quickly!"
[|I'm sorry, Master. After the disconnection, 28 reconnection requests were sent, all of which failed. I am currently attempting an alternate route...|]
"Eous..."
With the image of the Bangboo's remains still fresh in their minds, both siblings found their thoughts drifting toward the worst possible outcome.
"No. That absolutely cannot happen!"
Wise had made his decision. He would go himself. And just then, Fairy came through.
[|Master, the alternate route has successfully connected. However, the transmission is extremely unstable. It is inferred that the communication system has sustained severe damage.|]
[|That said, the signal between Eous and Qingyi remains intact. Should I bridge Qingyi through Eous? To keep your identity concealed, I can apply a deep voice modulator and special effects for both parties.|]
Even so, the risk of exposure remained high. But there was no room to hesitate.
Elsewhere, inside the Hollow, Qingyi had already reached the coordinates where the rescue signal had originated.
"Strange. Has Phaethon's communication been cut off? I clearly told him to wait. Not listening to your elders really does bring immediate consequences, doesn't it... hmm? What's that?"
She had barely taken another step when she sensed something behind her.
Qingyi reacted instantly, spinning on her heel as she swept her weapon outward in a sharp arc. Yet the strike was caught effortlessly, stopped with a single hand as though it were nothing.
Her expression turned serious in an instant. Then her emerald eyes narrowed, her pupils tightening as they trembled.
The opponent had descended from mid-air directly behind her. The momentum of his landing pressed down on her entirely by chance, and quite coincidentally, their lips met in what could only be described as an accidental kiss.
"Mmmh! Mmmh!"
'Warning! Warning! Emotional module under intrusion, firewall activated.'
Before the alarm in her mind had even finished sounding, Qingyi had already pushed him away.
She had no intention of letting such a strange accident disrupt her composure. Even so, her doll-like face flushed red, the color refusing to fade.
She leveled her weapon between them, her gaze sharp and unwavering, something dangerous flickering just beneath the surface. Her free hand rose to her lips, wiping them firmly.
"Ptooey! Who are you, and what are you doing here?!"
She couldn't understand how he had slipped past her senses so easily. Nor could she figure out the strange sense of familiarity he gave her.
He felt like someone she knew, yet when she looked at him again, she wasn't so sure.
Meanwhile, Wise felt the awkwardness creep in like a cold draft. This was only the second time he had used that ability, and things had gone wrong in a way he hadn't expected.
Her lips had been soft. He wouldn't deny that. But thinking about it now wasn't helping him at all.
"Uh... if I told you that was completely an accident, would you believe me, Qingyi?" he asked.
"Heh heh..."
Her cold laugh told him everything he needed to know.
"Are you Phaethon?"
Qingyi didn't bring up what had just happened. Instead, she set it aside and went straight to what actually mattered.
"That's a bit unexpected. Why do you think that?" Wise asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
"Hmph. Your Bangboo just had an incident, and then you showed up. You're clearly strong, yet you didn't attack me. You know my name. And most importantly... intuition."
Qingyi spoke with absolute certainty, leaving Wise momentarily speechless.
'Just based on that and intuition? Whatever, this wasn't the time to worry about it.'
"You're sharp, but shouldn't we rescue the hostage first?"
"Indeed. However, I didn't expect Phaethon to be not only a legendary Proxy but also proficient in combat."
'To get here this fast... was he already nearby? And to approach me without me noticing... could he have used a fissure?' Qingyi pondered silently, her expression remaining calm and unreadable.
It was as if the awkward incident earlier had never happened. Wise had no intention of bringing it up either.
Without another word, the two made their way to the spot where Eous had lost contact.
Wise could sense Qingyi's lingering wariness during the journey, but at least she didn't attack him outright.
The moment they spotted the kidnappers, both moved at once, swiftly subduing the resisting criminals.
"Ugh, ah, ah! No, please! Don't hit me anymore, Officers!"
Seeing Qingyi's attire, the kidnapper instinctively assumed Wise was also a Public Security Officer.
"B-By the way, why is Public Security here? This is just a small job for us, nothing worth your attention!"
At his panicked rambling, Qingyi glanced briefly at Wise before replying.
"Wrong. At this moment, I am not with Public Security. Confess quickly, or you'll experience the effects of this pepper spray... ah, no, this Bangboo-specific spray."
She held up a small bottle she had just taken from him. The instant he saw the nozzle pointed his way, his face turned pale.
"W-Wait! T-that's not pepper spray! It's... It's high-concentration Ether solvent... Have mercy! I-I'll tell you everything!"
The man trembled, terrified she might actually use it.
Meanwhile, Wise felt his heart sink. If it really was high-concentration Ether solvent, then Eous's condition would be far from good.
Noticing the shift in his expression, Qingyi tightened her grip and pressed further.
"You've just harmed an assistant member of Public Security. Do you understand the severity of that crime?"
"I didn't know! How could I possibly dare?! W-wait... didn't you just say you weren't with Public Security...?"
"Answer clearly. Why did you target Bangboo? Where is your hideout? And how exactly do you operate?" Qingyi paid no attention to his confusion.
She wasn't some inflexible relic bound by rigid rules. Using her identity as needed was far more effective in getting results.
If standard Public Security methods failed, then she could simply stop being an officer for a while.
Faced with her pressure, the kidnapper quickly spilled everything. By the end, he was nearly in tears, stumbling over himself as he begged to turn himself in.
"Kidnapping Bangboo just to strip them for parts... what a reckless path to take," Qingyi muttered, clearly unimpressed.
After hearing the full story, she could only feel speechless. Then, at last, her attention shifted to Wise, who was crouched beside Eous, carefully checking its condition.
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Novels Available:
-> Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street. (Translation)
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