Absolute Zone Zero: As a corpse, elegance needs no words

"This is Zhu Yuan, store manager. Do you have any news about Xuan Li?"

After the call was connected, Zhu Yuan's voice came from the other end.

Outside the abandoned amusement park, Zhu Yuan glanced at Qing Yi, who was paying close attention to the conversation, and continued

"Someone cares about him."

"Who?"

Hearing the voice, Zhu Yuan was stunned at first, but then he reacted, breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly handed the phone to Qingyi beside him.

"Senior, it's Xuan Li calling."

"Xuan Li?"

Qingyi was a little surprised. It hadn't been long since the incident happened here, so why was he returning to Liufen Street so soon?

"Xuan Li, how are you now?"

"You're not hurt, are you?"

"Don't worry, senior, what else can happen to me?"

Xuan Li's voice came from the other end of the phone. It didn't sound like anything was wrong, so Qingyi was completely relieved.

In the video store, Xuan Li considered his words and then spoke to the other end of the phone.

"Senior, there is something I don't want to hide from you anymore."

"Actually... I am the fire picker."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ling, who had originally started eating breakfast, stopped talking, turned his head and looked at Xuan Li.

No, did he just self-destruct?

Is this how you hide your identity now?

There was an instant silence on the other end of the phone.

"You said you were a fire gatherer? The "Fire" as in "gather things," and the "Fire" as in "fire kindling"?

Zhu Yuan's voice sounded, and she seemed to suspect that she had heard it wrong, so she confirmed it with Xuan Li again.

Outside the abandoned amusement park, Qingyi felt helpless as she looked at Zhu Yuan, who had "snatched" the phone back and was holding the phone in both hands with a look of surprise.

But she was also a little surprised now.

Xuanli? The Fire Picker?

It's irrelevant no matter how you look at it...

Could it be that Xuan Li was deliberately making a joke to ease the atmosphere of worry?

Hearing Xuan Li's confirmation voice from the other side, Zhu Yuan put the phone away, frowned and moved closer to Qing Yi, and said softly

"Senior, do you think what Xuan Li said is true?"

"That guy..."

My mind recalled the figure in the Crete Cave, and also the appearance of Xuan Li in my memory.

One who is extremely powerful, casual, arrogant, indifferent, and has a condescending compassion.

A person who is casual, honest, affectionate, playful, and sometimes even a little well-behaved and cute.

How could these two guys overlap?

Furthermore, the fact that Hai possessed human consciousness was already absurd, and if he could also become a human...

It's impossible no matter how you think about it.

Seeing Zhu Yuan's confusion, Qing Yi lowered his head and thought for a moment, then looked up at her and said

"If we extrapolate from the known information, there is still a probability. Although the Fire Picker's attitude towards us and Xuan Li's attitude towards us are completely different, there are still many coincidences."

Recalling that after the Crete Hole disappeared, it was the two of them who brought Xuan Li back, and that night the Mars District Defense Force base was attacked by the Fire Pickers.

Xuan Li was also on this trip to the dead end.

Thinking of Xuan Li's whereabouts at the dead end, Qing Yi suddenly realized how they reacted when she asked about the Cunning Rabbit House...

If he really is the Fire Picker...

Then everything seemed to have a good explanation.

"Zhu Yuan, think about it yourself. The Crete Hollow, the Dead End Hollow, last night's red warrant, and now what's happening in the underground black market."

With such an entry point, there are no coincidences.

"There's one more thing, Zhu Yuan, think about it."

Qingyi suddenly thought of something and his expression froze.

"Those two cave thieves."

"Xuan Li's words were indeed just his one-sided words, but they sounded very real to us."

"After that, when he and I met at the dead end, he didn't refute me when I raised questions."

"There is indeed something else behind the Cretan Hollow."

"Do you remember what the incident at the Mars District Defense Force base was described as?"

Qing Yi paused, and seeing Zhu Yuan's expression becoming serious, he continued

"There was no warning, it came suddenly, and it came and went quickly."

"The casualties suffered by those fighting the Fire Pickers within the defense base were much smaller than those suffered by the Cretan Hollow. It was as if the Fire Pickers had no desire to fight at all."

"But we lost two non-combatants."

“There are only these two.”

Inside the abandoned amusement park, the sheriff is investigating, while around the amusement park, there are media outlets that have received the news and people watching the fun.

In the meantime, Zhu Yuan was standing quietly, his expression changing.

Her thoughts were in disarray and she found it hard to accept, but what Qingyi said did make a lot of sense.

She is very conflicted.

"No, if we make a conclusion based on these inferences and assumptions, that would be too imprecise. Let me ask again."

Zhu Yuan shook her head and asked Xuan Li on the other side

"Xuan Li, are you really not kidding?"

"I'm asking you seriously, and I hope you can answer me seriously."

"If this isn't a joke, is there any way... to prove it?"

In the video store, Xuan Li had already expected that his words would not be believed so easily. After hearing Zhu Yuan's words, he thought about it and chuckled and said

"Haha, what's wrong? Did you forget how the device on your waist broke?"

Seeing that the other end fell into silence again, Xuan Li glanced at Ling who was almost finished with breakfast and said softly

"Alright, Senior, Zhu Yuan, judging from the voices over there, you're dealing with the underground black market now, right?"

"I just happen to have something to do here, so I won't bother you for now."

Although Qing Yi didn't speak, Xuan Li knew she must be listening carefully. After thinking for a while, he said

"By the way, Master, I'll go to the Public Security Bureau to see you this afternoon. I finally have some free time, so please don't stand me up."

After saying that, without waiting for the other party to answer, Xuan Li hung up the phone and returned the phone to Ling.

Whether to tell it or not is his business, whether to believe it or not is Qingyi and Zhu Yuan’s business.

Anyway, he has already said it, so even if the truth comes out, he will have no problem at all.

Abandoned playground on the other side.

"Senior, it seems...it really is him."

Zhu Yuan held the phone in one hand against his chest, looked up at Qing Yi at a loss, and spoke.

She only told Xuan Li that the damage to the device behind her waist was due to some accidents in the cave, but she did not go into details, nor did she mention the Fire Picker.

"Hmm... he called Master again, this guy..."

Qingyi didn't show much emotion. He just muttered to himself calmly, wondering whether he should prepare something in the afternoon.

"senior!"

"Ah? What's wrong?"

"Don't you feel the slightest bit of surprise, curiosity, or admiration?!"

Qingyi nodded, looked at Zhu Yuan and said

"Of course I do. Although I'm not human, I have emotional modules similar to humans."

"It's just that my facial expressions are completely under my control, so they don't show. Don't worry, Zhu Yuan, I feel the same way as you do right now."