Absolute Zone Zero: I survive in Liufen Street

"Municipal exchange is approaching. The highly anticipated livelihood project - the renovation of the old capital subway has now officially started.

It is a great honor to interview Mr. Charles Pullman, the chief representative of the contractor [Vision Company].

Later today, the company will be blasting the redevelopment area near the old capital, commonly known as "Canvas Alley." Could you briefly describe the construction process? ..."

On TV, a reporter wearing round glasses and a middle-parted hair bent down and handed the microphone to a short, white-haired old man who was standing on a small stool. His hair and beard were neatly trimmed and his suit was straight and fitting, but his limbs were short and his body was round, like he was seven or eight years old.

"Young man, you hit the nail on the head."

In the picture, Charles Pullman, the person in charge of "Long View", stood in front of the camera and many reporters with his hands spread upwards with a smug expression, pointing to the construction map behind him and began to talk big.

"After the fall of the old capital, the large number of damaged subway lines seriously hindered the convenient transportation and urban development of [New Elidu].

To solve the problem of..., the remnants of the old subway must be completely removed...

To this end, our company has spared no expense and ordered a large quantity of high-purity industrial-grade [ether bombs] specifically for blasting purposes."

On TV, the reporter and Pullman asked and answered questions, and introduced in detail the arrangements made by Vision regarding the demolition of the old subway.

Amid the snapping camera flashes, Pullman, the center of attention, glowed with pride and arrogance. He dressed like a boss, spouting pompous speeches, looking incredibly cocky, as if he were floating to the heavens with pride.

It was as if [Vision Industrial] did not take on a renovation project as a construction company, but as a savior who came to save [New Ailidu] and rebuild social civilization.

The TV station was also very considerate and broadcast a special interview clip of the bidding site a few months ago where [Yuanjing] defeated the highly anticipated [Baizhi Heavy Industry] to win the project.

Pullman, who was of short stature and jumped up on the stage to accept cheers, was in sharp contrast to the sullen-faced and indignant Xiong Xiren employee of Baizhi Heavy Industry.

"So, could you please share your secret to reducing project costs?"

"We don't seem to have this problem?"

"What do you mean?"

In such a bright red and harmonious scene, a question from the interviewer that was not in the script made Pullman panic and dissatisfied.

"The interview outline you gave me didn't include—"

"Mr. Pullman, we are live."

A lazy and mature lady's voice appeared on the live broadcast channel.

The secretary who has been following Pullman all the time, wearing a red suit, a one-step skirt, black stockings and long high heels, has a hot and beautiful figure but a very low sense of presence. She does not leave any positive information about her appearance in the camera. She is only a secretary who provides Pullman with various speech assistance.

She calmly answered Pullman's questions, which were not in the script and were asked by the reporter on a whim.

“Mr. Pullman’s point is that Envision has never engaged in improper cost-cutting during construction, and we welcome public oversight.

Mr. Pullman will be personally present at the scene of this explosion and stand guard for everyone until the very end."

"Yes, that's right! I'll be heading to the blast monitoring point with the technicians right away."

Pullman on TV laughed dryly and echoed the secretary's words.

"The project site is near a cavity, and a large number of people will have to be relocated—" Zhe, who was watching the news, crossed his arms and summarized and extracted the useful information from the news.

"The company that aspires to join [TOPS] Cailian is really wealthy." After hearing the news, Ling praised Envision for its generous investment of financial and material resources for the project.

"Alert! The connection camera has detected an unidentified individual approaching our store at high speed." A female, electronically synthesized voice, with a distinctly harsh tone, boomed from the speakers.

A large blue eyeball appeared in the lower right corner of the computer screen, displaying a video file, alerting the Zheling siblings in the room.

"Speculations: He needs to use the restroom; the videotape he borrowed is about to expire; he has bad intentions towards our store."

"It's just that a guest came to the door, I'll go answer it." After hearing this, Zhe looked at the artificial intelligence whose thinking logic was often offline with a slightly speechless look, turned and walked towards the door.

"What? It's so strange to talk about a guest coming to the house." Ling puffed up his face and complained in a low voice.

As Zhe pulled open the door handle, a petite and agile red figure rushed in with a clang and fell heavily to the floor of the room.

"Cat Ugh!!!"

The Bangbu in her hand and the two daggers on her body rolled to the ground at Zheling's feet.

"……Well."

"Uh?"

Zhe and Ling looked at each other, then turned to look at the person who got up from the floor. For a moment, they didn't know how to deal with this guest's sudden appearance.

After all, no one had thought that the timing of their opening the door would be so perfect.

"Meow... My nose hurts." The person lying on the ground shook his black cat ears, lowered his head, covered his nose and whimpered softly in pain.

A petite, black-skinned girl with cat ears, two tails, and red armor, looked at Pullman on TV, pointed at the screen, and shouted fiercely, "Ah! Don't believe this short, fat man! He's lying!"

"Hey, are you okay, guest?" Ling hurried over and helped the girl on the ground up. No matter what happened, guests should not be allowed to sit on the floor and talk.

"You, why didn't you meow before opening the door!" The Greek girl patted her clothes, rubbed her nose and forehead, and complained about the sudden opening of the door.

"Is it too late now, meow? Welcome to the best video store on Liufen Street." Zhe just gave a business-like smile in the face of complaints.

"Would you like a membership card for our store? It's worth it! You can make your money back by just renting three videotapes." Ling put her hands together at the side of her face and promoted it in a cheerful tone.

"Huh? It sounds like a good deal, but I don't have any projection equipment where I live now... Uh, that's not right!" The Greek girl, who was a little tempted by Ling's sales pitch, thought about her own conditions for a while before she realized that she was not here to apply for a card!

"Now is not the time to discuss this. I know... you are Phaethon. I have a commission from the Ropemaker for you!"

"The customer must have misunderstood something. As you can see, we are just an ordinary video rental store and we don't sell anything like that." Zhe lied calmly without blinking.

"Wait a minute! Don't be on guard against me. My name is Nekomata. Nicole and a little girl with short white hair asked me to come to you. I'm not a bad person." Nekomata looked at Zhe who refused to take responsibility and introduced himself excitedly.

"I'm not sure who you're talking about. Did you get the wrong shop?" Zhe said calmly, thinking: Short white hair? Is this Ambi? This person knows Nicole's name, so he shouldn't be unfamiliar with Ambi.

"Nicole from [Cunning Rabbit House]! The president of the universal agency [Cunning Rabbit House]! Look, this is her Bomb! Can it be used as a keepsake?!" The cat excitedly picked up the green Bomb beside him and held it in front of him, anxiously trying to gain the trust of [Phaethon].

"It really is the Bomb that Nicole carries with her. Did Nicole really ask you to come? Then where are they now?" Zhe looked carefully at this somewhat special green Bomb and asked half-doubtfully.

"It's the one they just mentioned on the news—the blast zone in Yuanjing!" Seeing that Zhe finally admitted to knowing Nicole, Neko hurriedly told them what he knew. "That uncle said there was no one inside, but that's not true!"

"I think we just said we hoped they wouldn't get into trouble... and now they're here?" Ling put her hands on her hips and spoke in a rather helpless tone. It didn't seem too surprising to say it was unexpected.

"Why would those people go to Yuanjing's construction site at this time?" Zhe asked in confusion.

"Looking for something! My commission... The Red Fang Gang is looking for trouble, and there have been a few fights.

There are people, so many people! It's like a can of fish! The little white-haired girl said the box is gone and there's no signal! "The cat tried to explain anxiously and incoherently.

What he said only made Zhe and Ling confused.

"Calm down and talk slowly. What you just said only reminds me of the grand shopping spree during a sale at a mall." Zhe complained with a frown. He had to comfort Nekomata who looked very anxious, but the more anxious he became, the more he didn't know how to explain.

"This...that...I can't explain it!" Unable to explain, the cat became so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead. Suddenly, he thought of a good idea. "Oh, right, Nicole's Bomb! It contains the visual data of the past few days. You'll know once you read it!"

"Unfortunately, besides its owner, the only one who has the authority to export visual data is its manufacturer [Masser Group]." Zhe shook his head and helplessly rejected the proposal.

"drop--"

"There's a strange sound." Ling said in a weak voice, tilting her head.

"What's going on with that Fairy? Is she trying to give me some hint?" Zhe glanced at the lit computer screen and frowned.

"What are you talking about? Fu... Rui?" Mao looked blankly at the two people who were talking in secret codes and asked puzzledly.

"No, there's nothing like that here!" The adult, who knew too much and had a rather dirty mind, subconsciously denied it. Then, after a few awkward coughs, he said, "Ahem... Fairy? Do you have a way to forcefully read the Bomb data?"

"Question. Is the requirement: [Convert Bomb's visual records to video output]?"

"Meow?! Who was talking just now? Is there anyone else here?" The cat widened its eyes again, turned its head back and forth in surprise, looking for the source of the sound in the house.

"It's a newly installed computer manager, don't worry about it... How about it, Fairy, can you do it?" Zhe said casually and then asked Fairy.

"Looking up recent Bomb Vision data. Please say, 'I'm so stupid. I should have asked you for this sooner.'" The female voice, with its mechanical tone and stiff articulation, spoke with a particularly sarcastic tone.

"I'm so stupid... I should have turned off your computer earlier." Zhe stared at the computer screen with sharp eyes, and was about to unplug the power plug.

Small Theater

【Phaethon】Relationship name among family members

Fairy to Zhe: Useless Assistant Number Two

Fairy to Ling: My lovely and clever master.

☆

Zhe to Fairy: This computer manager is from an unknown source. I'll uninstall it sooner or later!

Zhe to Ling: My dear, well-behaved, lively and lovely sister.

☆

Ling to Fairy: A useful assistant, but a bit talkative. I wish you could be less critical of my brother.

Ling to Zhe: My delicate and frail Onii-chan~