The traveler looked at the map compass, eyes filled with confusion.
"Paimon, how are we supposed to get there?"
The newly appeared region was completely surrounded by a pitch-black unknown area.
There wasn't a single road leading to it.
The traveler glanced at Paimon.
Paimon looked awkward.
"Um... I don't know either! How about we go ask Mavuika? She's the Pyro Archon—maybe she knows something."
The traveler sighed helplessly.
"All right..."
With that, the two of them leapt down from the cliff, planning to ask Mavuika about the area. Maybe that region was also part of the Natlan Kingdom.
It wasn't just the traveler noticing.
At the same time—
Across the continent, many others sensed something strange.
In Sumeru, Nahida detected abnormal changes in the leylines through the World Tree...
In Snezhnaya, the Tsaritsa sat on her throne and sensed strange new energies emerging across Teyvat...
In Inazuma, Arataki Itto, bored and messing around, noticed several new options on the Seven Heavenly Statues' teleport list. He tried selecting one—only to find it didn't work at all...
The influence of Zenless Zone Zero on the world of Teyvat
was now steadily spreading across the continent.
...
At the same time.
In Zenless Zone Zero, inside New Eridu.
Nicole, Billy, Sam Li, and the others from Hare's House—along with Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, and the Public Security Bureau team—finally arrived in the city in Piper's truck.
First, Piper dropped off Nicole and the others at Hare's House.
Then, she drove Zhu Yuan's team to the Public Security Bureau.
Before leaving Hare's House, Piper reminded Sam Li,
"Boss Caesar wants to build a signal tower in Calydon Town. If anything comes up, just send me a message through the TapTap chat."
Sam Li immediately agreed.
"Got it."
Piper grinned.
"All right then—I'm off!"
With that, she hit the gas, and the truck shot out from in front of Hare's House.
Inside the truck,
Seth hadn't sat down properly and nearly fell over.
"Miss Piper, please be careful! This is the city—driving too fast is against traffic laws..."
Piper yawned.
"I know you're all in a hurry to get back to the Bureau. Don't worry, we'll be there in no time."
Then—
she floored it again, sending the truck flying through the city streets.
Seth was left speechless.
"..."
Ten minutes later.
With a screech of tires on the asphalt, the truck came to a hard stop in front of the Public Security Bureau.
"We're here. Get out."
"Thank you... ahem, thank you, Miss Piper."
Seth normally didn't get carsick.
But after riding with Piper, he found himself getting queasy.
Soon after,
Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, Seth, and Jane escorted Perlman out of the truck.
Before parting,
Zhu Yuan, on behalf of the Bureau, thanked Piper once again.
Piper waved it off.
"No need for thanks. If you really want to show appreciation, why not reward us Sons of Calydon with a few more Dennies..."
Zhu Yuan smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll report this to the chief and request a commendation for you."
As Piper's truck drove off,
Seth suddenly realized something.
"Wait a second—wasn't Miss Piper the one speeding through the city last time?"
Qingyi smirked.
"Thinking of arresting her?"
Seth hesitated.
"She just saved us. And technically, we were all in the truck when she was speeding... But next time I catch her doing it again in the city—I'll definitely arrest her."
With that,
Seth tightened his grip on the rope binding Perlman and led him toward the Bureau.
Perlman was still struggling.
"Mmmpf..."
Finally, Seth removed the sock from his mouth.
"Stop whining. We're at the Bureau."
Perlman shouted angrily,
"You're abusing a suspect! I'm going to file a complaint! I'm going to—mmmpf!"
Before he could finish,
Seth frowned and shoved the sock back in.
"You're not allowed to talk."
"Mmmph..."
...
They had barely returned to the Bureau
when word spread quickly that Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, Seth, and Jane had successfully captured Perlman.
"Captain Zhu Yuan is back! Sir—Captain Zhu Yuan is back!"
"We lost contact with you on the first day of the mission! The Bureau thought something had happened to you. Zhu Yuan, Seth, Qingyi—what happened? Why'd you lose contact?"
"Did you run into trouble?"
"The chief was worried sick these past two days..."
"This must be Perlman. Leave him to us. Captain Zhu Yuan, Seth, Senior Qingyi—you all should get some rest."
After handing Perlman over to the other officers,
Zhu Yuan's team barely had time to catch their breath before someone came to fetch them.
The chief wanted them to report on the mission.
Seth looked surprised.
"We haven't even written the report yet."
Qingyi chuckled.
"We get to report in person—no need to write a pile of paperwork. Kid, count yourself lucky."
Zhu Yuan took a deep breath.
"Let's go."
A few minutes later.
Zhu Yuan, Seth, and Qingyi pushed open the conference room doors and entered one after another.
Inside,
the chief was already waiting for them.
"I know your mission in the Outer Ring was dangerous. Tell me—what happened? Were your identities compromised? Did you clash with any gangs?"
Hearing the chief's questions,
the three of them exchanged glances.
Zhu Yuan began answering calmly, one question at a time.
"Reporting, sir—here's what happened..."
She explained that their identities had indeed been exposed. Both the Bangboo Gang and the Sons of Calydon now knew who they were.
There had been no conflict with the Lion's Tooth Gang.
However, they'd had a misunderstanding with the Bangboo Gang—and had ended up being chased across the district by the enormous Azhdaha Bangboo.
Before Zhu Yuan could finish,
the chief frowned deeply.
"You clashed with the Bangboo Gang? And their leader chased you all the way across the district?"
He had heard about this odd gang a few days ago—supposedly formed by a group of wandering Outer Ring Bangboo. He hadn't taken it seriously.
But now—
Zhu Yuan was telling him they'd been chased by Bangboo?
The elite of the Public Security Bureau couldn't even handle a few stray Bangboo?
Seeing the look of doubt on the chief's face,
Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, and Seth had anticipated this reaction.
If they hadn't witnessed it themselves, they wouldn't have believed it either—
that the Bangboo Gang's leader was so incredibly fierce.
At that moment,
Seth spoke earnestly.
"Sir, we'd better start from the beginning. Once you hear the whole story, you'll understand."