Zenless Zone Zero: I'am a Dullahan!

"Our president has been waiting for you for quite some time."

Belle paused for a moment, then spoke.

"Eh? Aren't you…"

Just then, a voice came from behind Ben.

"Grace, what are you doing?! Put me down already!"

Belle's eyes widened slightly and she glanced around, but Ben's massive frame completely blocked her view. All she could see were a pair of hands and feet occasionally sticking out from behind him.

Noticing this, Ben quickly stepped aside and lifted a hand toward the red-haired "elementary schooler" behind him.

"Let me introduce you—this is our president!"

Anton swiftly stepped up beside him, dramatically pointing at Koleda with both hands, as if presenting her like a star.

"I said put me down!"

As Koleda met Belle's gaze, she quickly composed herself. Clearing her throat twice, she declared,

"I am the president of Belobog Heavy Industries—Koleda Belobog!"

She carried herself with authority, as if there were no question she was the president. Of course, it would've been more convincing if someone weren't still holding her up by the armpits.

Hearing that, Belle suddenly understood. So this person—who didn't even look taller than her—was actually the boss of Belobog Heavy Industries!

Clearly, now that Koleda had appeared, Belle had gone from being the shortest in the group to the second shortest.

Soon after everyone introduced themselves, they moved on to the main topic.

Eous walked up beside Belle to receive the mission briefing with her, while Zane strolled around with Panta in tow.

Since arriving here, Zane hadn't had the chance to visit any construction sites, so he was pretty curious about the current surroundings.

"Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm! (Boss, I've found my dream!)"

Panta, bouncing along behind Zane, looked thrilled as he jumped up to speak.

"Huh? A dream? What kind of dream?"

Zane looked away from the workers in the distance and curiously glanced down at Panta.

"Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm! (I wanna be like that guy from earlier!)"

Panta flexed his tiny arms with great effort, putting on a "fierce" look, then shouted,

"Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm! (The power of TM Bear!)"

Exactly!

Just like the boss said—he was a panda!

Not a cat like Xiao Hei, but a bear, just like that strong guy from earlier!

Panta pulled back his arms, already daydreaming about smashing through an Ethereal with a single punch…

"Where'd you even learn this stuff..."

Zane's face darkened as he listened, and he gave Panta a few taps on the head, making it bounce comically.

This little guy's starting to act like a delinquent. He must've picked it up from that Bangboo at the video store…

Yeah, that must be it. Panta used to be such a good kid—how'd he end up like this...

Meanwhile, back at a certain video store, No. 18, busy working, and No. 6, on door duty, both suddenly sensed something.

Did someone just whisper "Bangboo" behind our backs?

Intolerable!

...

"Ta-da! This is my personal assistant. His name's Zane, and he's super strong!"

At the old Brant Street construction site, Belle dragged Zane forward and introduced him to the Belobog Heavy Industries team.

"That's right! This brother here was just about to help me stop a crisis earlier! Brave, righteous, and great to work with!"

Anton chimed in generously with praise. Ben and Koleda gave a simple greeting in response.

As for Grace...

"I really should thank you. If it weren't for that weird water current catching me, I might've hit the ground directly. By the way, what exactly was that floating stream? Did you use some special Ether mechanical device? But I didn't see anything on you..."

Before Grace could even finish expressing her thanks, she'd already shifted the topic to something she was deeply curious about. She even started reaching out instinctively.

However, as her eyes met Zane's, she quickly realized what she was doing and awkwardly backed off.

Still, she couldn't hide her curiosity.

She couldn't help it—what had just happened was too incredible!

As she kept thinking about it, her gaze drifted toward Panta, who was standing beside Zane. What was meant to be a quick glance became a lingering stare.

This Bangboo… seemed different.

Thanks to her extensive technical knowledge and sharp instincts, Grace immediately noticed something unique about Panta.

Meanwhile, beside Zane, Panta was still acting out "Tarzan's Fall" when he suddenly felt a chill. Looking up to meet Grace's eyes, he shivered all over.

Why did this person feel...dangerous?

Panta quickly scooted behind Zane, wrapped both arms tightly around his leg, and buried his head, completely losing the bravado he'd shown just moments earlier.

Ugh, the outside world is scary… Panta wants to go back to the video store…

"What's with you now?"

Zane looked down at Panta but didn't think much of it—probably just another one of his strange little roleplays.

At that moment, Ben had finished explaining the current difficulties facing Belobog Heavy Industries and officially got to the point.

"Unfortunately, right when things were most critical, an accident occurred at our site…"

Grace's expression returned to normal as she added,

"Last week, three children went missing in the Hollows!"

Huh? So the mission is a rescue operation?

Belle blinked, a little surprised. Ben quickly clarified.

"Grace, hold on. Don't phrase it in a way that might confuse our guests!"

He then turned to Belle and Zane and explained about the "Intelligent Heavy Engineering Machinery for the Hollows."

Once Ben finished, Grace gave a detailed explanation. Her tone was serious, filled with an inexplicable concern for these three "children."

The more she said, the clearer the full picture became.

"Proxy, we're requesting your help to lead us into the depths of the Hollows and recover the three machines that got lost in there."

"We've already pinpointed the general location of one or two of them. If you have further questions, feel free to speak with Grace or Anton directly."

With just a few closing words from Koleda, the briefing wrapped up, and Belle was finally free to move about.

But she didn't jump into action right away...

Since Grace seemed the most knowledgeable about the machinery, Belle approached her first. As expected, after going over the basics, the conversation quickly drifted to Eous...

In the end, under Belle's pleading gaze, Zane brought Panta over to reel Grace back in.

Of course, it came at a "high price."