Looking at Qingyi's figure gradually disappearing into the distance, the two exchanged glances.
Zhu Yuan clearly looked dissatisfied with the situation, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
Seeing that silence wasn't going anywhere, Wise let out a quiet sigh and took the initiative to speak first.
"So, Zhu Yuan, have you decided where you want to go?" he asked, already resigned to his fate.
"How about Sixth Street?"
The answer came so quickly that Wise narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Sure, I know that area pretty well. But Zhu Yuan... you're not planning to use this chance to patrol the place, are you?"
"W-What? Of course not!" she quickly denied. "It's just that Sixth Street has a lot of shops. If we spend time browsing around, it'll help kill time."
Wise simply smiled after hearing her explanation, not exposing the thoughts he had already seen through.
To be fair, she wasn't wrong. Sixth Street really did have plenty of shops.
Of course, it also had plenty of gray businesses. If Public Security ever decided to conduct a serious sweep, they could probably haul an entire street's worth of people back for a "tea session."
Not long after, the two arrived at the subway station and boarded the metro heading toward Sixth Street.
The moment they stepped inside the train car, Zhu Yuan looked around at the packed crowd in surprise.
"Wow... the metro's really crowded today."
"You probably don't notice since you usually drive patrol cars," Wise said casually, "but it's pretty much always like this."
"That's not true. I take the metro to the Public Security office every morning, and it's never this packed," Zhu Yuan replied.
Hearing that, Wise recalled the soul-crushing rush-hour crowds he dealt with every day and looked at her in disbelief.
"Morning...? What time are you talking about exactly?"
"The first train of the day. Usually I'm the only passenger."
'...Yeah, that explains everything.'
Wise suddenly felt that Zhu Yuan perfectly embodied the image of an exemplary employee.
"What's with that look, Wise? Do you think there's something strange about that? I was just trying to— Ah!"
Before Zhu Yuan could finish speaking, someone behind her accidentally shoved forward in the crowded train.
Caught off guard, she lost her footing as the crowd pushed against her.
Fortunately, Wise reacted quickly and grabbed her before she could fall.
In return, however, the distance between them instantly disappeared, and Zhu Yuan's soft chest ended up pressed firmly against him.
"Phew... thank you," Zhu Yuan said as she steadied herself. "When the subway gets this crowded, you really have to be careful."
After thanking him, she instinctively glanced downward and quietly scolded herself for losing focus. It was obvious she wasn't used to riding in a packed train like this.
Then, as if finally realizing how close they actually were, her entire body stiffened.
A deep blush instantly spread across her face.
Fortunately, despite the embarrassment, Zhu Yuan still managed to stay relatively calm and didn't make a fuss about it.
She quietly created a bit of distance between herself and Wise, her expression turning awkward as she deliberately avoided looking at him.
Just then, the train finally arrived at their stop.
Taking the opportunity to move past the embarrassing moment, Zhu Yuan quickly changed the subject.
"Looks like we're here. Let's get ready to get off."
The train doors slid open the moment she finished speaking.
As the crowd surged forward, Wise instinctively reached out and grabbed Zhu Yuan's hand, worried they might get separated in the rush.
"Eh? T-This..."
Zhu Yuan was visibly startled by the sudden contact. By the time they managed to leave the platform, the crowd had already thinned considerably, but Wise was still holding onto her hand.
Zhu Yuan parted her lips as if she wanted to say something, yet somehow couldn't bring herself to speak.
Thankfully, Wise soon realized it himself and quickly let go, scratching his cheek awkwardly.
"Sorry. There were too many people back there, and I thought it'd be a hassle if we got separated."
"No, it's okay," Zhu Yuan replied hurriedly. "It's not a big deal. Let's keep going."
And so, accompanied by Wise, Zhu Yuan continued her extremely uncomfortable "vacation" around Sixth Street.
"Ah... the sky really does look different when you're on vacation."
"Could you stop saying it like it's some kind of punishment?" Wise sighed helplessly. "I seriously don't get why you hate taking breaks this much."
"It's not that I hate vacations," Zhu Yuan corrected him seriously. "I just dislike being forced into them."
Afterward, she explained the situation.
Over the years, she had unknowingly accumulated seventy-nine days of compensatory leave.
Recently, however, Public Security informed her that unused leave could no longer be carried over into the next year.
Worse, she couldn't exchange such a massive amount of overtime for extra pay either.
As a result, she had been forcibly sent on vacation.
"There's still so much work left unfinished," Zhu Yuan muttered unwillingly.
"I can't just throw everything onto my teammates and go relax by myself. I originally planned to spread the leave out little by little, but now all my plans are ruined."
"Can a normal person even accumulate seventy-nine days of leave?" Wise asked in disbelief. "Actually, Zhu Yuan... I'm pretty sure you never had any vacation plans at all."
His mercilessly accurate observation instantly left Zhu Yuan speechless.
After choking on her words for a moment, she could only awkwardly promise herself to properly enjoy today's break.
At the same time, she hurriedly searched for another topic and suddenly noticed a nearby coffee shop.
"Now that I think about it, this coffee shop's location is surprisingly good."
"You mean as a business location?" Wise asked, thinking she was finally starting to appreciate Sixth Street normally.
Unfortunately, her next sentence shattered that illusion immediately.
"No, strategically speaking," Zhu Yuan explained seriously.
"This spot overlooks both the horizontal and vertical thoroughfares, giving it extremely high tactical value. In an emergency, establishing a checkpoint here would allow immediate control over the entirety of Sixth Street. Though the glass windows would definitely need bulletproof reinforcement."
She analyzed the area with complete sincerity.
Meanwhile, Wise could only stare at her in helpless disbelief.
"What kind of emergency are you even preparing for?"
"Wise, don't look at me like that." Zhu Yuan coughed awkwardly. "Sorry... my professional instincts kicked in without me noticing."
"That's a terrifying professional instinct."
Wise couldn't help but retort.
Though honestly, if he had to pick a strategic point himself, the newsstand would probably work even better.
Install a mounted machine gun there, and the entire street could be sealed off instantly...
Anyway, in order to stop Zhu Yuan from unconsciously drawing up a complete defense plan for Sixth Street during her vacation, Wise decisively brought her back to the video store.
Sadly, even there, Zhu Yuan couldn't stop herself from analyzing things out of habit.
"Speaking of which, Wise's video store has no less strategic value than Tin Master's shop," she muttered thoughtfully.
"The foot traffic might not compare to the coffee shop, but it connects to two exits leading toward four separate directions. There's even a dedicated parking area nearby. Quiet while still remaining connected... honestly, it's an ideal location for hiding one's true operations."
As expected of Zhu Yuan.
Just from casually observing the surroundings, she had already arrived at an alarmingly accurate conclusion.
Wise suddenly felt that he really needed to be more careful around her.
After returning to the video store, Belle immediately revealed a look of complete familiarity with the situation.
Zhu Yuan seemed slightly puzzled by her reaction, but before she could ask about it, Wise quickly led her upstairs to watch a movie.
Naturally, he avoided picking a suspense or mystery film.
With Zhu Yuan's deductive abilities, the entire plot would probably be spoiled within minutes.
After thinking it over carefully, Wise ultimately chose a romantic movie instead.
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Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
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