Absolute Zone Zero: I survive in Liufen Street

"Little Kelin, are your companions as strong as you?" The cat, who had just worked together with the little maid picked up from the cave to clean up a group of corpses, asked curiously.

"Huh? He, they are all much more capable than me." The little maid with green twin ponytails and a somewhat ugly-cute little bear backpack answered Nekomata's question in a cute and weak voice.

"Even more powerful than a maid wielding a chainsaw?!...I can't imagine." Nekomata shook his ears in shock at the answer.

The temporary housemaid, Corinne, was met by Nekomata and Rin in the cave.

In the video store, I heard from the news that the last unmanned train carrying bombs in [Far View] has departed.

In order to save people in time, Phaethon immediately agreed with Nekomata on a plan to stop the car in the cave.

After entering the cave, Nekomata, with Bombuis who shared the same feelings as Ling, also saw the big guy in the cave, the "Dead Road Butcher".

Fortunately, the route planned by Fairy was very reliable, and the cat people were agile and nimble, and with little Bomb they were concealed enough, so they safely and smoothly passed by the high-risk corpse.

However, the "Dead Road Butcher" who has been wandering around in the void and destroying trains and transportation tracks has also added a lot of trouble to Nekomata and his friends' rescue operations.

After Fairy cracked the track control authority of the subway control room, Nekomata needed to manually find some heavy objects to trigger the mechanism in order to change the direction of the track.

However, the originally planned route was blocked by a damaged carriage, and there was not enough time to take a detour.

Just when the action was at a stalemate, a soft and lovely female voice came from the other side of the carriage.

After being separated from her companions due to an unexpected encounter with the "Dead Road Butcher" and without her carrot, little Corinne mistook Phaethon and Nekomata for Hollow Investigators.

After hearing the conversation between Ling and Nekomata and learning about their current predicament, he unexpectedly used his own force to perform a chainsaw show on Nekomata.

When Kelin broke through the carriage with a chainsaw and crawled through, the blocked road was instantly cleared. It was the way it was cleared that scared the cat again.

Despite her impressive abilities, the maid's personality is as sweet and obedient as her soft voice. Not only does she obey orders to keep her mouth shut and never ask questions, she also proactively helps clear debris and helps the cat carry heavy items, making her incredibly endearing.

So after successfully changing the train's trajectory, Ling took advantage of the gap before the train arrived and took Kelin to the nearest cave exit and sent her out according to the previous commission agreement.

"Kelin, just get out of here." Ling followed Fairy's instructions and successfully sent Kelin to the exit of the cave.

"Really? Found the cave exit? That's great!" Karin looked relieved, grateful to Investigator Bomb and Nekomata for their willingness to show her the way. She solemnly expressed her gratitude to them once again. "Well... thank you so much! Without your help, Investigator-sama, Karin would have remained lost in this cave forever."

"It's mutual. Thanks to your help with the chainsaw, our travel time has been greatly shortened." Cat said with a smile. She was quite satisfied with the very capable temporary companion in front of her.

"I, this is the first time I've met a Bumbu Hollow Investigator. Please, could you tell me your names? Next time, Karin and her companions will come to thank you." Karin clasped her hands in front of her chest and looked at Nekomata and Ling with anticipation.

"Coming to thank you in person sounds so grand. I'm looking forward to it." Ling imagined the scene of maids in uniform bowing to her together to express her gratitude. It seemed so grand.

"Meow?! Are you serious? Wouldn't that expose your identity? Ah, or was your initial vigilance just directed at me, and it wouldn't matter if it was little Kelin?!" The cat heard this again and instantly felt that he was being treated differently.

Aren’t cats cute?! Why do you bully cats?!

"Ah? Apparently, it's inconvenient. Sorry for being so blunt. I'll take my leave now." Ke Lin watched the two people making such a fuss, perceptively observing the underlying meaning in their conversation. She immediately spoke up, bowing solemnly to give both parties a way out. She sensibly left, not wanting to cause them any more trouble.

"The little maid in front, please wait a moment."

Just as Kelin turned around and was about to step out of the cave, a cold male voice, processed through a voice changer, called out to her.

Suddenly, they heard someone talking, and the three people who were unaware were startled.

"When!?" The cat looked at the tall figure walking out of the shadows, lowered its upper body vigilantly, and arched its back with its tail erect, as if a cat was in danger.

"When did Fairy appear? Why didn't you tell me in advance?!" Ling was very nervous and confused.

"Warning: This unchecked visitor's vital signs suggest the target is likely a ghost within the cave. Master advised to flee immediately." Fairy rationally presented her own test results before offering a rather irrational speculation.

"You, ghost?! Don't scare me!!" Ling was frightened when she heard this. Although she usually likes horror movies very much, liking horror movies and becoming the protagonist of a horror movie are two completely different things!

"...When you speak ill of others, maybe you could keep your voice down a little." Bai Zhi held Ai Lian, who was sleeping soundly, and stood in a brighter place. He felt helpless as he looked at the three little girls who were so nervous that they were talking nonsense.

He felt that it was not appropriate for him to go out today as he had been speechless too many times.

"Ah! Yes, it's Miss Ailian!?" Kelin exclaimed slightly when she saw the person in Bai Zhi's arms, and immediately ran towards Bai Zhi nervously.

"The same maid outfit, um... you also came to the hollow to promote cleaning and housekeeping services? So is this the fish you dropped?" Bai Zhi bent down slightly so that the little girl who ran over could see clearly that Ailian in his arms fell asleep on her own, and was not unconscious due to something going on.

Seeing Kelin patting her chest in relief, Bai Zhi couldn't help but tease the little girl by making up some nonsense about Ailian to appease him.

In the eyes of Bai Zhi, who was already middle-aged, these teenage girls were just as much children as Fu Fu. Bai Zhi, who had already picked up some of the adult's mischievous tastes, couldn't help but want to play a little prank sometimes.

"Huh? Ah! N-N-n-n-yes! Our housekeeping company does offer cavity cleaning services!" Colleen blushed, stumbling over her apron. She probably guessed that Miss Ailian was just being lazy and making a fool of herself.

"Heh, don't be nervous. I'm not from the Municipal Supervision Bureau, so I won't check your company's business license." Bai Zhi's eyes shone with a faint smile. "Although this 'fish' is yours, I found it in the cave after all, and I carried it all the way here with great difficulty. It seems a bit unreasonable to just give it back to you."

Maid, do you have your wallet with you?"

"Ah, yes, yes." After hearing this, Ke Lin immediately took out her wallet from her backpack and respectfully presented it with both hands, explaining very embarrassedly, "This is my wallet.

But I'm so sorry! When I went out, I didn't think about shopping, so I didn't bring much money with me. I only had 257.5 yuan in my wallet.

But my salary card is also in my wallet, and the password is..."

"Wait a minute! Little Colleen, why are you so obedient? Are you really going to give him all the money?!" The cat couldn't bear to see Colleen being bullied, so he stepped forward. This man looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he'd seen him before. The man, taking advantage of the situation, said angrily, "How can you be like this? What you're doing is extortion, don't you understand?! Let go of that big fish... Oh, no. Return Colleen's companion to her!"

"That's right! Human trafficking is illegal. If you call the police, we'll all be witnesses." Ling echoed, waving her short arms.

"...I'm just getting the compensation I deserve. This is the rule of the underworld, and you should all understand it." Bai Zhi was almost choked by the familiar operation of handing over the salary card. Xiao Kelin's overly honest behavior reminded him of some embarrassing memories that made him feel dizzy.

“But forget about the salary card, just give me the Dinny in your wallet.

Well... I'll leave you a few bucks for the ride, thank you for your patronage, 250 denia."

"Oh! Really? Is this really possible?" Kelin held her wallet, her eyes wide with shock. Although she had never experienced such underworld "rules," the inconsistency of asking for payment after saving someone and then only taking the change from the wallet left her bewildered.

“I’d rather walk back…

Come on, uncle, the carp sold by kilogram in the vegetable market shouldn’t be priced at more than this, right?

I'm a shark after all, and you sold me for 250? You did it on purpose, didn't you?!" Ailian, with a slightly hoarse voice, opened his eyes and complained with his dead eyes about Bai Zhi's deliberate teasing.

"I'm not a professional fishmonger. I picked this up for free and was planning to release it. So I made a profit of one tengni, right?" Bai Zhi put Ailian down and let her stand on her own. Then he returned the weapon to her, but he refused to suffer any loss.

"Ah, Miss Ailian, you're awake. That's great! Are you still feeling uncomfortable? Are you hurt?" Kelin hurriedly supported Ailian's arm and asked with concern.

"I'm fine, I'm just very sleepy and want to sleep. I heard everything you did just now when you took out your salary card to buy me." Ailian patted her somewhat silly companion. She couldn't tell whether she was more touched or speechless about Kelin's behavior just now.

She was just asleep, not dead. When Kelin called her name, Ailian was actually a little awake, but she was too lazy to open her eyes and wanted to rest for a while. Naturally, she heard everyone's conversation just now.

I never expected this guy who looks so cold and aloof, like a cool guy, to start telling her jokes right from the moment they met, and now he's teasing Kelin. What a mean-spirited person!

"Since it's a release of animals, you shouldn't ask for money, uncle. Just consider it as accumulating merit. God will bless you, a kind-hearted person." Ailian picked up her big scissors and wanted to get another lollipop to replenish her energy, but she found nothing.

Ailian frowned and smacked her lips quietly. Then, someone knocked her head. She looked up and saw Bai Zhiru's disapproving gaze, as if he were lecturing a director. In his open palm, he saw a brightly colored, cutely shaped handmade candy that didn't look like him at all.

"The amount of money is not important, but you have to give it. This is the rule. Once you give the money, we'll be even." Bai Zhi looked at Ailian, who was a little annoyed because he couldn't find any candy. He remembered the handmade candy that Fu Fu stuffed in his pocket, so he took out a handful.

Amidst the little girls' somewhat surprised looks, he distributed a few pieces of candy to each of them, and even Ies got two pieces of candy.

"Okay, give me the money and go back quickly. Your companions must be waiting anxiously."

"...Thanks, uncle." Ailian took the candy, opened one, and put it in her mouth. The sour and sweet lemon candy immediately made her feel better. "Add your contact information. Anyway, I won't agree to sell it to me at the price of grass carp. At least sell it to me at the price of shark."

"...This is the first time I've seen a fish raise its own price." Now it was Bai Zhi's turn to look dead, but they had already been delayed here for a while, and if they continued chatting, Bai Zhi was afraid that Mao and Ling would miss the transport train and delay the main storyline. So he took out a business card and handed it to Ailian.

"You see it now." Ailian took the business card, glanced at it, and carefully put it in his pocket. He turned around with his weapon on his shoulder and waved goodbye. "Let's go, Uncle Owl."

"Ah, wait for me, Miss Ailian!" Kelin frantically glanced at Ailian's elegant back, wallet in hand. Then, she turned and bowed deeply to Bai Zhi, Nekomata, and the others. "Anyway, thank you very much, Mr. Owl, Miss Nekomata, and Investigator-sensei, for your help to me and my companions! See you later!"

After saying that, Kelin immediately turned around and trotted out of the cave, chasing after Ailian's back.

"..."

"...What is going on? Meow~" The cat held the candy in his mouth again and scratched his head, confused by the development of the situation.

"I don't know, but it should be considered a smooth solution?" Ling, who couldn't eat the candy, put the candy she was given into the pocket of Ies's vest. After coming to her senses, she hurriedly said, "The train is almost entering the tunnel. We have to hurry over!"

"That's right! We almost missed out on something important." The cat was reminded of this and quickly picked up Bomb and prepared to run away. "We still have things to do. Goodbye, you mean-spirited owl."

Bai Zhi took a step with his long legs and easily caught up with the fast-moving Nekomata.

"Hey? How did you catch up with me?" The cat heard footsteps behind him and asked in surprise.

"I'm with you. Let's go, Phaethon."

Nekomata/Rin "?!!"

Small Theater

Bai Zhi: Fish for sale! Fresh big fish. Only 250 denarii. Take it home.

Kelin:?! I, I want to buy it!

Ellen: ...I'm a shark after all. Besides, who are you calling a 250? You want to fight, right? (pulls out a pair of scissors)

Bai Zhi: Shark for sale, 251 denarii per pound. (laughs)

Ke Lin: ╭(°A°`)╮Oh no, I don’t have enough money, what should I do?! Miss Ailian!! QAQ

Airen: ...Tsk. (?_? )