"Lighter! You arrogant bastard! It's me, Bellum! My twenty-win streak was ended by you! You cocky bastard! Just because you're handsome, capable, famous… and handsome again! You can't even remember other people's names?"
Bellum jabbed a finger toward Lighter with exaggerated fury. Though, come to think of it, hadn't he just praised him for being handsome twice?
Cradled in Caesar's arms, Wise instinctively reached up to scratch his head, only to brush against something unexpectedly soft.
"Hmm! Wise…"
"Ah! Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to!"
"Mm, it's fine…" Caesar lightly cleared her throat and said nothing further.
Their small interaction went unnoticed by the others.
"Bellum… fine. I'll remember you."
"Stop brushing me off! You've already said that three times!" Bellum shot back, his voice brimming with indignation.
So he really hadn't remembered him even once, huh?
For a brief moment, even Lighter seemed slightly uncomfortable. To cover it up, he casually adjusted his sunglasses with a finger.
That tiny gesture was enough to snap Bellum's patience completely.
"That's it!"
He pulled out a chainsaw-like weapon and charged straight at Lighter.
The result needed no explanation: Lighter won.
Keeping his word, Bellum returned the data stake to the Sons of Calydon, completely ignoring his superiors' orders.
With that settled, the Hollow data collection came to an end. The group then shifted their focus to helping Burnice gather the necessary vehicle parts.
Before long, they arrived near a recycling plant within the Hollow.
"The vehicle recycling factory isn't far from the entrance. We'll be there in a minute."
Caesar scanned the surroundings as she spoke.
Meanwhile, Belle frowned slightly, clearly puzzled, and asked her question through the communication channel.
"Wait, I have a question. My brother mentioned that factories in this Hollow sell sorted parts. If that's true, why don't we just buy them outside?"
"It's simple. With so many bikers in the Old Oil Field, the leftover parts that do end up reaching the market are the ones no one wants."
Caesar explained calmly. Lucy quickly chimed in, offering a more colorful comparison.
"Exactly! It's like this: if you want top-quality fresh fish, someone has to set out to sea early in the morning and use an airship to get the ingredients back to the kitchen."
One could only say that the level of effort was absurd. As expected of the Montefio family, wealth and extravagance came naturally to them.
"It's such a hassle for city folk just to eat a meal. Compared to that, buying things in the Hollow is much simpler."
Burnice nodded in agreement.
Not long after, they reached their destination.
Inside the factory, a sharp-eyed old man approached them.
"Greetings. By the looks of your gear, I take it you're from the Motor League."
"Hello, old man. We're here to pick out some motorcycle parts."
The old man gave an "as expected" look, then slowly shook his head.
"So you're here for parts too, huh? Unfortunately, we're out of stock until the Tour de Inferno is over."
Caesar blinked, clearly caught off guard. From what the old man explained next, a group of youngsters had come earlier that morning and cleared out everything.
"Say what? The heck's going on?" Her voice rose slightly in disbelief.
Even so, it carried an oddly cute tone… though the frustration she felt was anything but.
"Uh, I did remind them that buying everything would make things difficult for other customers who needed the parts. But the Thiren girl leading them wasn't someone to mess with, and the price she offered was well above market rate…"
The old man explained, then suddenly seemed to recall something and added, "Oh, right. She said she was from the Sons of Calydon. Since she had just obtained challenger qualifications, she needed to prepare properly."
Hearing this, Lucy and the others fell into deep thought, while Burnice alone maintained an innocent, almost carefree expression.
"Wait, do we even have any Thirens? Grassy, Woody, and Bricky aren't girls, right?"
"Burnice, that's not the point! Someone is impersonating us and bought everything here!"
Lucy held her helmet with one hand, at a loss for words. She gritted her teeth, clearly irritated.
"Damn it… Not only did they block us from getting parts, but they even dragged our name through the mud. They really planned this well!"
Hearing their exchange, the old man looked even more confused. Caesar stepped forward and patiently explained that they were the real Sons of Calydon, and the earlier group had been imposters.
"Well… something about this didn't sit right with me either. If you can convince her to change her mind, I won't interfere. Just… don't mention my name."
The old man seemed wary of getting involved. Naturally, Caesar agreed without hesitation and asked where the imposters had gone.
After learning that they had headed toward the Abandoned Vehicle Graveyard deep within the Hollow, the group immediately prepared to pursue them. However, Caesar hesitated, worried about the time.
"But to get there, we'll need our motorcycles. If we go back now, will we still make it in time?"
"Don't worry, Caesar. I've already asked Belle to contact Piper and have the vehicles delivered. We'll be able to meet her through the spatial rift ahead," Wise said, guiding everyone forward.
As they stepped into the rift, Fairy issued a warning.
[|Master, please be cautious of flammable and explosive materials nearby.|]
"No problem! Just watch me blow everything up!" Burnice declared, ignoring any attempts to stop her as she charged ahead with her flamethrower.
[|Warning. Burnice has activated reckless charge mode.|]
"Who came up with that name? Their taste is awful."
Lucy clicked her tongue in disdain, but how could Fairy, the world's most advanced AI, possibly back down?
"Someone who uses 'Golden Damsel in Distress' as their Inter-Knot username has no right to question my taste."
Lucy's expression changed instantly.
In this world, there were two truly terrifying things. One was having your real name exposed online, and the other… was having your online alias called out in real life.
"S-Shut up!"
Flustered and uneasy, she couldn't understand how Fairy had uncovered her username so easily. It reminded her of the person who had exposed her information before.
And at that thought, Lucy clenched her teeth.
With her pride, she would never bow to anyone. Yet that person was the only exception.
Fearing her information would be leaked again, she had once endured unbearable humiliation. But deep down, she had already sworn that the moment she discovered who it was… she would make them pay.
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Novels Available:
-> Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street. (Translation)
-> Azur Lane: Don't Fight! You're All My Wives! (Translation)
-> Zenless Zone Zero: Death in White. (Original - P@treon Only Until It Reaches 30 Chapters)
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