“I’ll take these pajamas; I’m quite satisfied with them.” The one Senti finally set her eyes on was a black-and-white penguin pajama set.
Shiro felt it looked familiar.
His Super Brain whirred; it was a onesie in the style of a Penguinboo Bangboo.
It really fit the Zenless Zone Zero style.
The design was almost identical, except the proportions were adjusted to fit a human body.
[Hollow Raiders, if you harm anyone, there will be no turning back.
Things haven’t reached that point yet.] [Surrender now!
Stop being so stubborn!] Shiro’s ears twitched.
His super hearing picked up the sound of Officer Zhu Yuan negotiating.
Using his super vision to look toward the source of the sound, he eventually zeroed in on a location near a small Hollow.
A group of ferocious Hollow Raiders was holding a hostage in a standoff with Zhu Yuan and her team.
The hostage had a camera hanging around his neck; he was likely a Photographer filming the exterior of the Hollow.
“A standoff between Hollow Raiders and Public Security Officers…
this really is all too common.” Shiro wasn’t surprised.
Although reselling items from the Hollows was prohibited, the profits were massive.
Taking risks was a regular occurrence; it was all about gambling for a big payoff.
“Senti, I’m going to take care of something first!” Whoosh— Once Shiro stepped outside, his body soared into the air and vanished instantly.
The sonic boom from his high-speed flight was deafening.
Although he could have avoided it, adding a little sound made it more stylish.
“This shop owner is interesting; he’s no ordinary person,” Senti muttered.
“Wait…” A moment after he left, she suddenly realized she didn’t have a single denny on her.
The cashier was staring at her expressionlessly.
…There’s a way.
Senti racked her brains until a lightbulb suddenly went off over her head as she thought of a plan.
“The Herrscher of Sentience has modified your consciousness.
You now believe that I have paid.” To be honest, Senti’s feelings were quite complicated about using her authority for something like this.
No, wait, I’m a Herrscher.
I’m not human, so I don’t need to follow human rules.
Thinking about it that way, Senti felt there was no problem at all.
At worst, she could just secretly stuff the money back later.
And so, Senti used her authority over consciousness to perform her first-ever five-finger discount.
…
“Cops, get out of the way now, or I’ll shoot!” With a hostage in hand, the world was his.
The Hollow Raider’s arrogance was through the roof, as if he could even take on a Void Hunter.
“As illegal Hollow Raiders who have also taken a hostage, do you really think you’ll have a place to hide even if you leave here?” While Zhu Yuan felt a headache coming on, she quickly thought of a countermeasure.
She couldn’t let ordinary citizens get caught in the crossfire.
The Raider’s gun barrel was pressed tightly against the Photographer’s head.
The other Hollow Raiders nearby were also aiming at the Photographer.
She had to take them all out at once.
This Photographer was such a nuisance.
He tried to take secret photos with his amateurish stealth and, unsurprisingly, got caught.
He was the definition of a liability.
“That’s a problem for later.
Right now, I have a hostage, so I’m invincible!” “Hahahaha!” The Hollow Raiders laughed maniacally.
So what if she was an elite Public Security Officer?
She still had her hands tied.
This sense of accomplishment was addictive.
“Oh?
Is that so?” Thud— After Shiro made a cool landing, he walked slowly toward the Hollow Raiders with an arrogant, swaggering gait.
“Needing a hostage…
in New Eridu, you’re nothing but a…” Zhu Yuan looked at Shiro’s back.
Her eyes flickered, but she didn’t say anything on the spot.
I’ve caught you in the act.
“Don’t move!” One of the Hollow Raiders raised his rifle and pointed it at Shiro’s head, his eyes bulging and his nerves taut.
This guy could fly—it seemed like even the Void Hunter Hoshimi Miyabi couldn’t do that.
Hoshimi Miyabi, who couldn’t fly:?
“Anyone can talk big.” Shiro didn’t even look at the weapon.
He beckoned the Hollow Raider with his hand in a provocative gesture.
“Go ahead, hit me!
Hit me!” The corner of Zhu Yuan’s mouth twitched.
He was being so incredibly obnoxious that even she, as a bystander, was starting to get annoyed.
Huff— Huff— The Hollow Raider’s face turned beet red.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he panted like a bull.
His anger was reaching a boiling point.
What the Hollow Raiders were thinking: He’s been mocking us this whole time.
“Die!” Bang!
A flash of fire, and a bullet flew out.
In Shiro’s eyes, the high-speed bullet was no different from a stationary object.
Clink— Just as the bullet was about to hit his forehead, Shiro casually reached out.
His index and middle fingers acted like chopsticks, snapping shut on the bullet.
The gust of wind from the bullet only ruffled his hair, but the crisp sound of the catch struck the Hollow Raiders’ hearts like a heavy hammer.
“In the world of martial arts, no defense is unbreakable, but speed is absolute!” Shiro suppressed a laugh.
He couldn’t laugh; he had to maintain the air of a master.
He recited the chuunibyou quote with perfect cadence.
In fact, Shiro could have simply let the bullet hit his face, but on a whim, he decided to catch it with two fingers.
He felt it had more style.
“Heh…
A monster!
This is an Ethereal in human skin!” The Hollow Raiders’ pupils dilated in shock, their voices trembling with terror.
Catching a bullet with two fingers?
What is this, a movie?!
“Watch your mouth!” Slap, slap, slap— Shiro’s expression darkened slightly.
Using his super speed, he appeared in front of the Hollow Raider, grabbed him by the collar, and began slapping his face.
He made sure the force was applied equally to the left and right cheeks, delivering dozens of slaps in a single second.
The others present only felt a blur before their eyes.
Then, they saw the Hollow Raider, his face swollen like a pig’s head, collapse to the ground, unconscious.
“You guys too!” Slap, slap, slap— By the time Zhu Yuan looked again, Shiro had already flown away without leaving a trace.
Every single Hollow Raider was lying on the ground unconscious, their faces swollen like pigs.
“Um?
Are you okay?” Photographer: “Abah…
abah…” Zhu Yuan suddenly noticed that the hostage Photographer’s face was also very swollen.
Black lines appeared on her forehead.
Did he accidentally hit the hostage too?
Shiro: It was just convenient.
“Officer Zhu Yuan, you took out the Hollow Raiders?
That’s amazing!” The Public Security Officers from the perimeter rushed over, praising her with admiration.
As expected of an elite who could complete missions perfectly.
Just a moment ago, Zhu Yuan had been facing the Hollow Raiders alone.
However, wasn’t this a bit too violent?
Looking at the Raiders’ swollen faces, they felt a phantom pain in their own cheeks.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
Doesn’t Officer Zhu Yuan’s hand hurt?
“Uh…” Zhu Yuan’s face was covered in black lines.
This wasn’t her doing.
Please don’t have such weird misunderstandings.
She wasn’t that violent, really!
Shiro, you just wait.
“I forgot to give her money, but Senti should be fine.” Shiro remembered he hadn’t given Senti any dennies.
She was the Herrscher of Sentience, after all.
If she actually got detained for this, he would laugh at her for two and a half years.
…
Upon returning to the Everything Store, he saw Senti lying sideways on the sofa, watching TV with great interest.
She had blended in very quickly.
It felt like Senti was about to forget her own ‘mother’.
“Shiro, you ran off so fast you didn’t give me any money.” “So how did you solve it?” “I modified their consciousness a bit and had Rin modify the data in the mall’s backend to add today’s transaction,” Senti said nonchalantly.
“?” Shiro was a bit shocked.
You guys really know how to work together to save the Everything Store money.
“Rin, did you do it discreetly?” “Are you looking down on me?” The phone screen lit up.
Rin was lying on a lounge chair in a white dress.
Her two smooth, jade-like feet were displayed before his eyes, her nails neat and crystal clear.
“No, but you certainly are enjoying yourself.” Shiro was speechless.
At some point, an exquisite house had appeared on the desktop in the screen.
As the Herrscher of Corruption in the world of data, she really could do anything.