Chapter 15: Victoria Housekeeping (Patreon)

"Go on, then. What's going on?"

By the time Musachi arrived at the coffee shop, Venus was already waiting for him.

Her dark brows were knitted, her expression caught somewhere between hesitation and worry.

The sound of his voice seemed to startle her; she jerked her head up and looked straight at him.

After a moment's hesitation, she looked at him, her expression turning serious.

"I don't know if this job is good or bad for you. I'll just lay it out for you — whether you take it is up to you."

With that, Venus glanced around before lowering her voice.

This job was unusual. According to Venus, it would require Musachi to head into Hollow Zero.

No matter the rank of a job, anything that touched Hollow Zero was brutally difficult — that much was a given.

And this particular job also required teaming up with an Agent group called Frankenstein to pull off something extremely difficult.

According to the mysterious client, the target they were going after this time was very likely the TOPS Alliance.

A Hollow Raider going up against the TOPS Alliance — that was never a good sign.

"That's about the gist of it. I don't have the specifics yet, but this one's definitely going to ruffle some very important feathers."

Having laid out most of the details, Venus looked at Musachi.

"Honestly, I don't really want you to take this one. This Frankenstein group is famous, but they keep their members' identities locked down tight — I couldn't dig up anything on them. All I know is that every single one of them is monstrously strong. And since this involves the Alliance, I can't say what kind of fallout might follow..."

Concern showed in Venus's eyes as she spoke.

It was clear that even though she was handing the job to him, part of her was still worried.

By rights, a job that meant entering Hollow Zero shouldn't have gone to a rookie Proxy like him in the first place.

But remembering how the Cunning Hares had sung his praises, Venus had thought of him right away.

"Is that all you've got?"

Musachi raised an eyebrow, looking at Venus.

A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.

"That's Hollow Zero we're talking about! It's dangerous!"

Venus said earnestly.

"Don't go thinking that just because you can waltz in and out of Delin Hollow as a Proxy, you can casually take on Hollow Zero! That's one of the most dangerous Hollows there is. Notorious Ethereals you'd rarely even spot in an ordinary Hollow are practically everywhere in there! And the Ether erosion is far more vicious."

She could clearly see that he was starting to get tempted.

"It's fine. Hollow Zero? I know it well."

Musachi said with an easy smile.

Who in this world could possibly know Hollow Zero better than he did?

After all, ten years ago, he'd fought his way straight to its deepest depths!

He'd fought countless high-danger Ethereals in there, to the death.

That deep in, Notorious Etherals were as common as roadside Tyrfing, and Tier-6 Etherals on par with Void Hunters littered the ground.

"You know it well? Even Void Hunters don't dare go that deep! Rumor has it the last sighting of the legendary Void Hunter, the Taixu Sovereign, ten years ago was inside Hollow Zero — someone on that level went in and never came out. Are you saying you're stronger than the Taixu Sovereign?"

Venus watched his nonchalant expression, puffed her cheeks, and said angrily,

"Relax, I'll be fine. I value my own life way too much — if things go south, I'm running."

"Fine, fine. If that's how it is, I'll take the job for you. Don't say I didn't warn you — Hollow Zero isn't like out here! Remember, if anything feels wrong, saving your own skin comes first!"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it."

Musachi waved a hand, a bit impatient.

Seeing that, Venus shot him a glare, feeling a little wronged.

Here she was worrying about him, and he had the nerve to sound annoyed?

After handing him the contact information, Venus gave a cold huff and turned to walk away.

Musachi watched her retreating back and scratched his head.

Guess he'd gone and annoyed her...

Still, he didn't say anything about it. He used the contact information to reach the client, then headed straight for the meeting spot.

The client seemed pressed for time, and the agreed meeting place was the black market on the outskirts of Hollow Zero.

Ten years ago, this had been the outskirts of Eridu. After Hollow Zero expanded and the Fall of the Old City, it had become a ruin.

For a long time now, all sorts of Hollow Raiders and scavengers had gathered here. It wasn't that New Eridu hadn't considered cleaning the place up, but even if they cleared it out, these people would just regroup somewhere else.

By comparison, the government still held some influence here, so if these people ever tried anything, the authorities could respond right away.

So the place had turned into a gray zone.

In the distance loomed the immense bulk of Hollow Zero, and around its edges lay nothing but broken walls and crumbled ruins.

People here moved carefully, most of them keeping their forms hidden to some degree.

And it was here that Musachi finally met his client.

Four figures stood shrouded in black robes. Musachi couldn't make out their true faces — only the rough outlines of their bodies.

One was tall and powerfully built, his muscular frame unmistakable even beneath the pitch-black robe.

Beneath the hood, a canine-like protruding muzzle was visible.

The other three were comparatively slight in build — clearly women.

One was slender and tall, her exaggerated figure obvious even under the loose black robe, her chest straining prominently against the fabric. And strangest of all, she floated in midair like a ghost.

Her outrageous proportions and peculiar ability drew a second glance from Musachi.

Another was clearly a young girl by build, her figure obscured beneath the black robe, but he could faintly make out a massive tail swaying behind her.

It looked like a shark's tail.

But what caught Musachi's attention even more was the huge, scissor-like weapon in her hand.

At that, Musachi recognized her at once.

Musachi had transmigrated on the very first day Zenless Zone Zero launched, so he still recognized the earliest characters.

Especially the shark girl.

She was the very reason he'd gotten into the game in the first place — how could he not recognize her?

As for the last one, she was curled up shyly inside her black robe, clearly uncomfortable around strangers.

In her hands she held a chainsaw.

A weapon that felt wildly at odds with her demeanor.

By now, Musachi had already guessed the true identity behind the mysterious Frankenstein.

It had to be Victoria Housekeeping Co.'s cover identity on the Proxy network.

Still, that only made him more curious about their actual destination this time.

After all, as far as Musachi remembered, they were the mayor's own white-glove service, working exclusively for the mayor and New Eridu's elite.

Yet today, here they mysteriously were...