"Wise, your eyes look a little dangerous right now. They're the kind of eyes that would usually make me bring you in for questioning. So let me say this in advance: even if I agree, you're only allowed to use me."
Hearing that, Wise cleared his throat a few times and awkwardly glanced around, as though hoping no one nearby had heard her.
"Qingyi, please don't say things like that out in public next time."
"Hm? Really? I thought saying something like that would satisfy a certain desire for conquest in your heart," she replied with a teasing smile.
"Ugh..."
Putting that aside, although he had already suspected it, Wise still hadn't expected even a single buckle on Qingyi's body to be so expensive.
Honestly, it sounded incredibly inconvenient. According to her, she had to be extremely careful even while drinking tea, and when incidents like this happened, there was little she could do except accept the loss.
"I've already searched this area thoroughly several times. There shouldn't be anything left unnoticed. My last duty location was at Ballet Twins, so let's go check there together."
After saying that, Qingyi walked over to Wise.
Seeing this, he smiled and took her small hand before they headed toward Ballet Twins together.
After searching for a while, Qingyi suddenly made an unexpected discovery.
"This is...? Incredible. I've never noticed this mark before..."
"What mark?"
Wise looked puzzled by her words, while Qingyi appeared equally surprised.
"Hm? You can't see it? It's right in front of us," she said, pointing toward a certain spot.
Following the direction she indicated, Wise still couldn't find anything unusual, which only made the situation seem stranger.
"Are you saying I'm the only one who can see it? Now that's interesting... Wise, could you please take a photo in this direction for me?"
"No problem."
After taking the photo and handing it to her, Qingyi examined it carefully before giving her answer.
"Just as I thought. You really can't see this mark. I've patrolled this area hundreds of times, and this is the first time I've realized that only I can perceive it," she said thoughtfully, resting a hand against her chin.
"Maybe it's because it's become routine that you've overlooked it," Wise suggested.
"A very philosophical statement. But if only I can see it, then only I can decipher the information hidden within it."
As she spoke, Qingyi activated her analysis mode and began parsing the symbols, numbers, and encoded patterns. After a short while, she suddenly chuckled.
"Heh, this is becoming more and more interesting."
"Do you know what it means?"
"'What you seek lies there, my friend, pitched upon the sixth bend.' The 'sixth' should refer to Sixth Street. As for 'pitched upon the sixth bend'... what do you think that means?"
After interpreting the message according to her understanding, Qingyi turned to Wise for his opinion.
"I think it means the corner of Sixth Street."
"I see. If it weren't for you, Wise, I might've mistaken it for the music store on Sixth Street."
The two continued their investigation and eventually arrived at their destination on Sixth Street.
After carefully searching the area, they indeed found the buckle buried beneath a pile of miscellaneous items.
However, Qingyi's expression only became more puzzled.
"This is definitely my buckle... but it isn't the one I lost this time."
"How many times have you lost these buckles before, Qingyi?" Wise asked, imagining how much money she must have spent replacing them.
"No. As far as I can remember, I've only lost one before. Hm... I lost this buckle less than twenty-four hours ago. And yet, that mark at Ballet Twins has apparently been there for several years. I simply never paid attention to it."
Based on all the clues, Qingyi arrived at a final conclusion.
"It's exactly as I suspected. Which means... there exists a 'memory of myself' that even I cannot access."
"So the one who left that mark was also you, Qingyi?"
After hearing her explanation, Wise subconsciously voiced his thoughts, and Qingyi nodded approvingly.
"Very sharp. That's highly likely. Not only are the puzzle's steps characteristic of me, but even the answer itself is written in archaic language, so the probability is extremely high."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"That version of me anticipated that I would lose the buckle and hid it in this inconspicuous location ahead of time, waiting for me to discover it. It was meant to remind me that my memory isn't entirely reliable."
Hearing that, Wise couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"So who's manipulating your memory?"
"I don't know. However, at the very least, I now know someone like that exists. That's far better than remaining completely unaware. Let's end today's investigation here. I need some time to think this through carefully."
Qingyi said this as she prepared to leave, but before she could turn away, Wise grabbed her wrist.
"Qingyi, you're free today, right? If you want somewhere quiet to think, the video store works too."
"Ugh... I suppose that's not impossible. It's been a while since I've visited."
Once they returned to the video store...
"Qingyi, did you turn off your taste buds again?"
"Ugh... gulp... sigh... After all, I still have to make an expression that looks delicious..."
"..."
"Alright, don't look at me like that. I'll turn my taste buds back on and try it properly this time. Will that satisfy you?"
Several hours later...
"Phew... I feel much more at ease now."
After some time, Qingyi leaned comfortably against Wise's chest as she spoke contentedly. Seeing this, he gently stroked her head.
Qingyi seemed to enjoy it immensely.
Knowing Wise's personality, even if her memories were truly tampered with someday, he probably wouldn't let the matter rest so easily.
After all, she was exactly his type.
Qingyi didn't stay overnight and left after resting for a while. Naturally, Wise also carefully checked whether any parts had fallen off because of their overly intense activity.
Several days passed like this before Zhu Yuan suddenly came knocking once again, seemingly carrying something important to discuss. Wise invited her into the store so they could talk properly.
"Before I explain the situation in detail, please sign this document, Manager."
Zhu Yuan handed him a paper agreement, and Wise briefly skimmed through its contents.
It was a confidentiality agreement related to a joint investigation, complete with clauses stating that any violations would be entirely the signer's responsibility.
"It's mostly just a formality. Even if you understand the situation and decide not to participate in the investigation, that's perfectly fine too. Don't worry, those restrictive clauses are basically like medicine instructions. They only describe worst-case scenarios, so they look more intimidating than they actually are."
"Alright, if it's for your sake..."
After Zhu Yuan finished explaining everything, Wise signed the agreement without hesitation.
"Thank you. I knew you'd help."
Although Wise had agreed, Zhu Yuan's wording sounded slightly ambiguous.
Still, given her personality, she probably hadn't noticed it herself.
At the same time, she didn't forget to remind him once more.
"Oh, right. I really don't recommend personally testing the consequences of violating the agreement just to satisfy your curiosity."
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Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
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