Not long after Zhu Yuan left, Qingyi sent Wise a message asking how her day off had gone.
Wise answered honestly, though he deliberately left out a few details, such as Zhu Yuan's dislike of cats.
Even if Qingyi, as Zhu Yuan's senior, probably already knew about it, there was no reason to bring it up himself.
| The mission was completed perfectly. However, that's all for now. I'm afraid Zhu Yuan will return to Public Security on time tomorrow. If another opportunity arises in the future, I'll have to trouble you again. |
Seeing the message, Wise smiled faintly before replying.
| Then let's leave it for next time. But since I helped you this time, shouldn't there be some kind of reward? |
As soon as the message was sent, Qingyi went silent.
Several minutes passed before she finally replied.
| Hmm... I haven't had much free time lately, but I'll try adjusting my patrol route so I can pass by Sixth Street more often. |
The meaning behind her words was obvious.
Qingyi intended to use her patrol breaks to spend some time with him as compensation.
After sending a brief reply, Wise put away his phone.
At that moment, Fairy's voice suddenly came from beside him.
|"Master, were you messaging Qingyi again just now?"|
"Oh? Fairy, you noticed?" Wise chuckled softly as he reached out and pinched her soft little cheek. "Yeah, I was chatting with her. Why? Are you jealous?"
Even after being treated like that, Fairy calmly shook her head.
|"Master, you've misunderstood. Qingyi and I have already resolved our previous conflict. We are now very good online friends."|
"Resolved your conflict? Online friends?"
Wise blinked in confusion, clearly struggling to understand how things had somehow developed this way.
Fairy nodded seriously before continuing.
|"Yes. After communicating further, we discovered we share many similarities."|
Of course, there was another reason she didn't say out loud.
In Fairy's view, since both she and Qingyi were intelligent mechanical beings, it only made sense for them to unite against outsiders rather than fight among themselves.
Hearing that, Wise could only smile helplessly before gently patting Fairy on the head.
"It's good that you two are getting along now. If possible, try not to make enemies with others in the future either. It'll save me a lot of headaches."
|"Please rest assured, Master. As the world's strongest artificial intelligence, my purpose is to solve problems for you, not create more."|
Hearing Fairy's confident assurance, Wise finally felt somewhat relieved.
The rest of the night passed quietly.
By the next day, Wise didn't have any dates or plans scheduled.
Or rather, there wasn't anyone he had specifically made plans with.
Since he had some free time, he decided to take on a commission. After all, being a Proxy was still his primary job. The video store's income alone definitely wasn't enough to keep up with Fairy's endless expenses.
When Wise arrived at the agreed-upon coffee shop, he hadn't even started looking around before Venus spotted him first and waved enthusiastically from across the room.
Wise immediately walked over and sat down across from her.
The moment he sat down, Venus spoke with unmistakable dissatisfaction in her tone.
"Wise, you haven't been coming to me for commissions lately." She narrowed her eyes slightly, her tone carrying a hint of suspicion.
"Don't tell me you've found another intelligence broker and are planning to abandon me?"
Even though she said it jokingly, Wise could still detect the faint trace of concern hidden beneath her teasing expression.
"How could I possibly do that?" Wise replied with a helpless smile.
"An intelligence broker as gentle, reliable, and genuinely concerned about a Proxy's safety as Miss Venus is far too valuable to abandon."
[Ding! Target Venus: has increased her favorability toward the host by 5. Her current favorability is now 80. Additionally, 500 Emotional Value has been obtained.]
[Current Emotional Value: 33,500]
"Hmph. Hearing you say that does make me feel a little better."
Venus let out a satisfied huff before handing a document over to Wise.
"Anyway, here's your commission for this time. Don't worry, I specifically picked one that's perfect for you. The reward is high, and the danger level is relatively low."
Wise accepted the file, but after glancing through the commission details, he couldn't help raising a question.
"Is it really okay for you to do this?" he asked. "The other Proxies under you would probably want commissions like this too, right?"
"Don't worry about that."
Venus waved her hand casually.
"As their big sister, I always distribute jobs fairly based on each Proxy's capabilities."
At that, her expression darkened slightly.
Although she quickly masked it with a smile, Wise still caught the subtle shift in her expression.
"Besides..." Venus paused briefly before continuing, "you're basically the only Proxy who regularly takes commissions from me these days. So naturally, the more demanding jobs end up going to you."
"I see..." Wise nodded thoughtfully before suddenly remembering something. "Oh, right. This is for you."
As he spoke, he pulled out a small gift box and handed it to her.
Venus was clearly caught off guard. She stared blankly at the box in front of her before looking back up at him.
"T-This is...?"
"A thank-you gift."
Wise smiled faintly.
"You've always taken good care of me, so I wanted to return the favor. Go ahead and open it."
Hearing that, Venus instantly felt both touched and delighted.
This was the first time she had ever received a gift from one of her Proxies.
Unable to hide her excitement, she carefully opened the box. Inside rested an elegant handcrafted bracelet.
Honestly, Venus didn't particularly care what the gift was. Compared to the bracelet itself, the thought behind it meant far more to her.
Still... she genuinely loved the bracelet.
"So? Do you like it?" Wise asked at just the right moment. "I made it myself, so it isn't anything especially expensive. I hope you don't mind."
If he had given her something overly valuable, Venus definitely wouldn't have accepted it. It would've only created distance between them instead.
Sure enough, the faint hesitation in Venus's eyes vanished the moment she heard his explanation.
Instead, she slipped the bracelet onto her wrist without the slightest hesitation.
"Of course I don't mind."
Venus gently stroked the bracelet with obvious affection.
"This is the very first gift I've ever received as Venus. To me, it's incredibly precious. Thank you, Wise."
[Ding! Target Venus: has increased her favorability toward the host by 10. Her current favorability is now 90. Additionally, 1000 Emotional Value has been obtained.]
[Current Emotional Value: 34500]
"As long as you like it."
Wise watched as Venus admired the bracelet on her wrist as though it were a priceless treasure.
In truth, he really had made the bracelet himself. And it wasn't the only one, either.
There were bracelets, rings, necklaces, hairpins, and several other accessories as well.
With the system's assistance, making them by hand wasn't particularly difficult.
Still, if he was going to give someone a gift, he wanted it to reflect her personality and unique traits.
Because of that, he had spent several exhausting days crafting them almost nonstop.
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Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
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