Belle trembled slightly as she looked at the enormous yellow machine before her. "I mean... isn't this guy a little too big?"
It was a massive piece of construction equipment, with thick mechanical arms and claws that gave it the imposing look of heavy machinery.
Its powerful-looking mechanical claw was spread open and gripping an unstable wall.
"Hey, claw machine, your emotional logic might be..."
Before Koleda could finish, a huge piece of construction material came hurtling toward them...
"Don't talk to me like you're trying to soothe a child!"
The claw machine's upper body began spinning. "I'm a real man who stands tall!"
Anton threw a punch, and the drill on his fist instantly dealt with the huge piece of construction material:
"You call yourself a real man? Is ambushing people all a real man knows how to do?"
"You seem to know a lot about it, huh?" The claw machine grew excited. "Then let's settle this like real men, with a duel!"
[Waaah, where did my husband go?]
[Damn, we won't have the big shot protecting us through the next part of the story.]
Xia Linxi continued watching the story. "But you can guess where my dear husband went, right?
"That invisibility skill of his is a little overpowered. I wonder if they'll put it in his actual gameplay kit."
[Streamer, what are you thinking? Invisibility isn't useful in an action game. An invisibility skill probably wouldn't be as popular as a damage skill.]
"Oh, I was just saying." Xia Linxi controlled her Ellen team and began fighting monsters. "Good thing I pulled Ellen. She's pretty comfortable to use in the early game. Anyway, time to give this giant yellow machine a serious beating!"
Anton looked rather serious. "I don't think we can deal with him quickly."
Koleda hefted her hammer. "Something's wrong! He's trying to run!"
The giant yellow machine moved its four legs, retreating at high speed. "I'm not going back with you! Carrying things around isn't what a real man does!"
"Hans! Stop fooling around and come back with me! We can talk about the work!"
Grace was getting anxious. "At this rate, you're definitely going to attract Ethereals!"
"Stop calling me that tacky name!" Hans roared. "A real man should choose his own name!"
The next second, three unidentified round objects wreathed in flames shot toward Hans.
"BOOM!"
"Ahh... ah! What's going on?"
Hans cried out. Two round Ethereals had somehow climbed onto his head.
Anton swung his drill to kill the Ethereals while mocking Hans:
"You keep saying you're a real man, but is that all the resolve you have?"
"Why are ya helping me?"
Looking at Anton, Hans had a question mark appear on his round face.
"You have a great dream." Anton turned his head, sunlight falling across the side of his face. "It'd be a shame to give up on it just like that."
[Wow, wow, wow! I declare Anton my second husband in Zenless Zone Zero! Right after Lu Yingheng!]
[Anton's model is really detailed too. His hairstyle is a little weird, but he has this really hot-blooded vibe!]
[A hot-blooded chuunibyou? I hereby declare myself an Anton stan!]
[Oh no, Anton played the hero saving the beauty... Hey, giant machine called Hans, shouldn't you hurry up and offer yourself to him?]
[???]
"Besides, our duel isn't over yet. How can you fall here?"
Anton spoke earnestly.
Hans burst out laughing. "Hahaha! I see, I see!"
"From now on, I'll call you Big Brother Anton! You can call me Little Brother Hans!"
A question mark appeared over Belle's head: ?
"Why does this feel kind of strange?"
Grace sighed. "Oh, well. This child seems to be fine now."
"Big Brother, I've made up my mind! I'm going back with ya to learn how to become a real man!"
"All right, let's work hard together! My good brother!"
Belle controlled Eous back to the video store. "Brother! Brother Heng! Today's job is done!"
Wise turned around and nodded. "Let's take a break. The rest can wait until tomorrow."
Belle looked left and right but couldn't see Lu Yingheng anywhere. "Where's Brother Heng? Where did he go?"
Wise shook his head. "I don't know. He said he was going out with you, and he hasn't come back yet."
"Huh?" Belle grew a little anxious. "He saw that I had a group of pretty capable people protecting me, so he left on his own. He still hasn't come back? Could he be in danger?"
[Belle's a little worried about her dear husband...]
[It's fine. Just imagine yourself in her place, right?]
If the bespectacled man and the old man, who were still buried in the wall, had heard Belle say that, they would have gotten up just to curse:
"Fuck! Keep your unregistered guy under control! Stop letting him run around everywhere! Other people are the ones in danger, all right?"
The door swung open, and Lu Yingheng's voice rang out. "Don't worry about me, Belle. I just went out and played arcade games for a while."
Belle looked at the milk tea in his hand. "You even brought milk tea! Did you bring it back for us?"
Lu Yingheng looked at the milk tea in his hand and suddenly remembered a certain girl with wings:
"Yeah. I bought a few extra cups without thinking, so I brought them back for you. They might be a little sweet."
[Without thinking! Did my husband remember something? Or was it just instinct? Could there be a story in his past?]
[Are you stupid, commenter above? Our dear husband is a first-generation Void Hunter. Of course he had companions before!]
Belle accepted a cup with a grin. "It's fine! I happen to like sweet drinks!"
Wise also nodded at Lu Yingheng. "Thanks."
Lu Yingheng sat down on the sofa. "Did your job go well today? Belobog Heavy Industries didn't give you a hard time, did they?"
Belle shook her head earnestly. "They're all pretty interesting, actually. Anton's just a hot-blooded young man.
"Grace seems more like a woman obsessed with machines, while Koleda is surprisingly reliable. Ben is too."
Wise stretched. "All right! Since today's job is done, let's go out for ramen!"
"Sure! As today's biggest contributor, I want an extra serving of meat!"
"I'll have a non-spicy one."
Dragon Emperor Bureau.
"Young miss, Lord Dragon Emperor's card has been used frequently these past few days, but the amounts have been small each time."
Long Er spoke respectfully.
Vivian sat in her chair, her head lowered as she looked at a file, her expression impossible to see. "I understand. You may leave."
Vivian listened to the door close. The file in her hands had long since been crumpled in her grip:
"Brother Yingheng, that homewrecker actually dared to use your card! I'll find that homewrecker who swindled you out of your money and your body and tear her to pieces!"
On Sixth Street, Belle was eating her enormous bowl of extra-spicy ramen. "Achoo!"
Wise looked a little worried. "Why did you suddenly sneeze? Is it too spicy?"
Belle rubbed her nose. "Could it be? I can usually handle this level of spice. I get the feeling someone's thinking about me."
Lu Yingheng patted his stomach in satisfaction. "What are you thinking about? Just enjoy your noodles. The noodles here really are pretty good, though."