Despite this, their faces were extremely close, their noses almost touching, and they could even feel each other's breath.
"Don't... don't move. Just try to cover me..."
As she spoke, she placed her hands on Wise's shoulders while lowering her head slightly. To outsiders, they looked just like a young couple deeply in love.
It was also her first time being in such close proximity to a man, so she couldn't help feeling a little shy, her face flushing red.
But compared to all that, escaping the pursuit of the black-suited bodyguards was far more important right now.
[Ding! Target Chaotic Fried Rice: has increased her favorability toward the host by 10. Her current favorability is now 60. Additionally, 1000 Emotional Value has been obtained.]
[Current Emotional Value: 33400]
In this alley, where one could see straight to the end, the sight of two people acting so intimately naturally didn't attract suspicion.
After all, those black-suited bodyguards could never imagine that the person they were searching for would do something like this. Moreover, to be safe, Wise had also used his Cognitive Manipulation ability.
At such close range, he could subtly influence the woman beside him, too.
"Phew... we finally got away. T-Thank you for what you did just now."
Seeing that the black-suited guards had left, the woman wearing sunglasses immediately withdrew her hands shyly, though she still didn't push Wise away. Perhaps she felt that doing so would be impolite.
Seeing this, Wise very consciously took a step back himself.
"It's nothing, but we should leave quickly. Those people might realize something is wrong and come back immediately."
Hearing Wise's reminder, the woman no longer cared about being shy and immediately nodded.
"Okay, then let's hurry to the parking lot. Have you thought about where we should go? Somewhere safe and reliable? I want to rest for a bit..."
The exhausting escape had clearly tired her out, and the first place Wise could think of was naturally his own video store.
"Then let's head back to my video store, and you can tell me what's going on."
And so, Wise drove Astra... no, Chaotic Fried Rice away from Lumina Square.
Soon afterward, they arrived at the video store on Sixth Street. The woman carefully observed her surroundings before finally entering through the door.
At the moment, everyone else in the store had temporarily gone out to handle other matters, leaving only No.18 behind the counter.
"Hmm... it seems no bad guys followed us, so I should be able to rest for a bit," the woman said, smiling in satisfaction.
"They looked more like bodyguards than bad guys," Wise added.
"They're not bodyguards! One bodyguard is already more than enough for me..."
The woman crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and tilted her head aside with a dissatisfied expression.
"Anyway, I finally have a chance to properly thank you. Thanks to your help, I managed to escape. You're officially at the top of 'Fried Rice's Best Online Buddies' list!"
She proudly puffed out her chest before continuing.
"I can go to the next place by myself, so I won't drag you into this any further. I'm leaving now, but I'll send you a thank-you gift next time!"
The woman waved her hand and prepared to leave, but Wise suddenly picked up a poster nearby and handed it to her.
"As for the thank-you gift... I happen to have a limited-edition Family poster here. How about giving me an autograph instead?"
"Sure thing! I can even write a personalized message. Ah, no, wait..."
The woman suddenly froze.
"O-Oh my... I just realized the main actress on this poster looks a lot like me!"
After realizing what she had just said, she immediately tried to play dumb, but the excuse was so clumsy that it only made things more obvious.
"Just to clarify, the actress on the poster, Astra Yao? That's definitely not me! People just say we look alike sometimes..."
"While I'd like to believe you, I'm afraid even Granny Eve at the newsstand wouldn't buy that."
Wise smiled helplessly, while Astra Yao didn't seem particularly surprised after hearing that.
"So it really didn't work, huh? Then I guess I can only reveal my final trump card..."
She dramatically placed a hand on her chest.
"That's right. I am Astra Yao."
-Astra Yao-[1]
"So your final trump card was just honestly admitting it?" Wise asked, completely dumbfounded.
He never would have imagined that the aloof queen on screen had this kind of personality in private.
[Ding! New favorability target detected.]
[Name: Astra Yao]
[Gender: Female]
[Charm: 96]
[Unique Traits: A talented woman with exceptional musical talent, as well as a wealthy young lady.]
[Hobbies: Singing, bringing joy to people.]
[Current Status: Happy, relaxed]
[Current Favorability toward Host: 60]
[Evaluation: An aloof queen in front of outsiders, but a lively girl in front of you. However, please be careful not to use too much force and damage her beautiful singing voice; otherwise, things could become troublesome.]
[Inner Thoughts: I really couldn't hide it after all... but it actually feels pretty nice that he recognized me~]
"Actually, I think being recognized is a good thing, but I made an agreement with my agent. She told me, 'If you're going out alone, you absolutely have to stay low-key, stay cautious, and disguise yourself properly.'"
As soon as Astra Yao finished speaking, she shrugged helplessly.
"But this doesn't count as breaking the agreement. I already tried really hard to disguise myself, so if someone sharp-eyed still recognized me, that's not my fault!"
She didn't notice Wise's expression after hearing those words and simply continued speaking.
"Alright, back to the main topic. According to the original plan, let's head to Port Elpis!"
"Wait, Port Elpis? What kind of plan is this? Wasn't the original plan just signing the poster and then saying goodbye?" Wise asked in surprise.
After all, they had only just met offline, yet she was already planning to drag him along with her.
"That was the 'friendly anonymous online friends' version of the plan! But now, the plans have changed~" Astra Yao declared proudly.
She pointed at Wise with a mischievous grin.
"You know who I am, and you helped me escape from Lumina Square, which means... you're acting against TOPS now!"
Her tone suddenly became dramatic as she pointed at him accusingly.
"Hah! An insignificant little video store owner kidnaps a superstar backed by TOPS and ruins their important event... Hehe, looks like we're in this together now!"
Astra Yao deliberately exaggerated the seriousness of the situation, the corners of her lips curling upward as she waited for a flustered reaction from Wise.
Unfortunately for her, he remained completely calm.
"Oh? Then is it still not too late for me to escort you back to Lumina Square?"
"Hmph, too late!" Astra Yao immediately crossed her arms and proudly declared, "I officially invite you to join my one-day escape plan! Skip work, run away, go to Port Elpis, and finally head to Reverb Arena!"
The moment she mentioned Reverb Arena, the slight disappointment on her face from failing to scare Wise vanished instantly, replaced by obvious excitement.
"I heard there's a really interesting event happening there! But do you know how to get to Port Elpis and Reverb Arena? I can't find the right stations on the subway map..."
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Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
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