Although she said that, Nicole still agreed to Wise's suggestion in the end. After all, he had said that if she paid back the debt now, it would double.
"Hey! Wait, wait a minute... It looks like there are Public Security officers up ahead!"
Nicole hurriedly sat upright. It really was just like her. Even without looking directly, she could sense the Public Security officers conducting inspections up ahead.
At the same time, while they were heading toward the Outer Ring, outside Dead End Hollow at the first crime scene of the Vision Industry scandal...
"Tsk! This damn speech...!"
Bringer irritably tugged at his hair while practicing his speech. Just then, the sharp sound of high heels echoed across the ground.
A tall figure dressed in black and red slowly approached, completely ignoring Bringer's irritated glare.
"Heh... hahaha, if I remember correctly, you wrote that speech yourself, didn't you? Is it really that difficult to recite your own experiences?"
"Sarah... What are you doing here?"
Bringer's tone was far from friendly, but Sarah didn't seem to care.
"You look rather unhappy. Shouldn't becoming the Commander, standing above tens of thousands of people, be a joyous occasion?"
"...Spare me your sarcasm."
"I'm being sincere."
Even so, Bringer clearly had no interest in continuing the topic.
"The Vision Industry glove was wasted, the things inside the monument have been taken over by HAND, and the previous attack failed as well... Not to mention those idiots in the Outer Ring who couldn't seize power, along with those useless violent gangs!"
His expression darkened as he spoke.
"Without the Sacrifice samples, the original plan can't proceed. Do you expect me to compete for influence with that Void Hunter from the Sixth Division? Or do you want me to actually become some innocent Commander?"
Bringer's words revealed a great deal of important information, yet Sarah still appeared relaxed, seemingly unfazed by the repeated failures.
"A plan is merely a method used to achieve a goal, not the goal itself. Adjusting or creating new plans according to the situation is what makes a qualified believer."
"Get this straight. I'm your equal. I don't need you telling me what to do."
"No need to get agitated. I'm only here to help you formulate a new plan. Take a look at this..."
Sarah handed him the document she had brought.
Bringer accepted it suspiciously and began reading.
A moment later...
"What? The Hoshimi Family has a secret like this?! Why have I never heard of it? Is this information reliable?"
"White Noise went to great lengths to obtain this information. It's credible enough."
From Sarah's words, it wasn't difficult to infer that White Noise was likely responsible for intelligence gathering within the organization.
Bringer snorted dismissively.
"That useless fool who failed to take anything from Phaethon during the Red Fang Gang incident? He's not even as capable as Null_Face!"
"The one who acted that time was merely one of White Noise's arrogant subordinates, not the real White Noise. Besides, I already have a way to verify the information's authenticity. And this plan requires the assistance of you, the still innocent Inspector."
"...After I finish dealing with this damned speech, I'll contact you again."
Once their discussion ended, Bringer put away the document and left.
Watching his departing figure, Sarah suddenly raised her voice.
"That leader, the survivor hero who brought you to New Eridu when you were a child... what happened to him afterward?"
"...He became corrupted and was abandoned in the wilderness by the very survivors he had protected all the way there, just before they entered the city."
<<>>
Some time later, somewhere in the Outer Ring...
"Tell me honestly, were you lying or not? If you dare deceive me, I shall deliver the harshest punishment in the name of the Starlight Knight!"
"I-I swear everything I said is true! Smart robot, you have to believe me!"
Perlman desperately pleaded with Billy, who was interrogating him.
Billy burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahaha! So you really were lying!! I'm not some smart robot! I am a High-Intelligence Tactical Body specialized in Firepower-Type Area Suppression! Since you dared to lie, I shall represent the injured common people and unleash the Retribution of the Starlight Knight upon you!!"
Billy struck an especially dramatic chuunibyou pose as he declared this.
The other three members of the Cunning Hares looked utterly helpless. Unfortunately, Perlman failed to realize Billy was simply entertaining himself and instead looked terrified.
"Wise, you're finally here!"
As usual, Anby immediately walked over to Wise the moment he arrived, accompanied by Nekomata.
The two had originally been discussing whether Perlman was lying, but before they could continue, Anby suddenly brought up how Nekomata had stolen her hamburger last night.
Even after being caught, Nekomata insisted she had been sleepwalking while rummaging through the refrigerator.
Nekomata immediately put on an innocent expression, clearly trying to dodge responsibility.
"Hmm? Sniff sniff... Wise, you smell like Nicole's perfume."
"Ah?! Haha, does he? It must be your imagination. Or maybe he accidentally picked up the scent somewhere along the way. Yeah! That's definitely it..."
Nicole awkwardly changed the subject.
Seeing her reaction, Anby and Nekomata chose not to press further. Honestly, Nicole was terrible at lying in front of people familiar with her.
Soon afterward, at everyone's urging, Perlman carefully recounted the astonishing truth he possessed from beginning to end.
Some time later, Wise stared at the short, gas-cylinder-shaped man in front of him. To be honest, after hearing Perlman's explanation, he inexplicably wanted to laugh.
"So you're saying Sarah and Bringer are the masterminds. Aside from your testimony, do you have any more convincing evidence?"
"I do! I really do! Ever since I realized their plan was becoming more and more dangerous, I started keeping records! Even if I'm only the CEO in name, I'm still the CEO! A lot of external business documents still require my signature! Before the old subway reconstruction project began, I kept paper backups of every plan and correspondence Sarah handled!"
Perlman had secretly mixed those backups into the engineering construction specifications.
As long as they could locate them, they would find evidence of Sarah's communications with Bringer hidden among the documents.
"Oh? If evidence like that exists, it would definitely be convincing..."
Nicole fell into thought, while Wise suddenly remembered that after the scandal, the subway reconstruction project had immediately been handed over to Belobog Heavy Industries, Koleda's company.
"Huh? You mean that company with more bears than people and more machines than bears? That's great! Then things will be much easier! Since you know them, we just need their help checking the handover documents, and we can recover the evidence I hid inside!"
Perlman's heartfelt complaint was strangely convincing.
Wise didn't dwell on it and immediately contacted Koleda.
Meanwhile, Nekomata seemed slightly worried as she stood off to the side.
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Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
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