Koji and the others arrived in the world of Zenless Zone Zero. Lumine didn't have time right now, so only Eula and a few others followed Koji.
They'd already visited miHoYo's worlds—Honkai and Honkai: Star Rail—so it was time to come take a look at Zenless Zone Zero.
"What's that?" Eula stared at the massive half-dome that was rapidly devouring the city, shocked. What kind of attack method was this? How could it have such terrifying corrosive power?
"A Hollow. A disaster in this world. There's a kind of Ether energy inside it—if a living creature stays in there too long, it'll turn into a monster called an Ethereal." Koji explained.
"I'm going to take care of something. You all go into the Serenitea Pot."
As soon as he finished speaking, Koji stored them inside the Serenitea Pot, then vanished on the spot.
Right now should be the time when the Old Capital fell. Since he was already here… he might as well undo a little regret.
…
Time had passed. After saving a few people, Koji arrived at the era of New Eridu, not long before the main story began.
"You saved these people… did you take a liking to them?" Shenhe showed no reaction, but Eula raised an eyebrow and looked at her man helplessly.
Ya's mom and Yijiang were still a bit dazed. Weren't they supposed to be dead already? Hearing Eula's jab, Ya's mom hurriedly said, "I have a husband."
Seriously—this could not be misunderstood. She had to clarify immediately.
"You're into that?" Eula's mouth twitched.
To be fair, Ya's mom really was a young, gentle, virtuous woman. Add the "married woman" bonus trait on top, and plenty of people wouldn't be able to resist that kind of temptation.
Back in Teyvat, Koji had been very close with Lady Alice. It was hard not to make Eula suspect that Koji had a thing for this type—maybe he liked married women.
"You're overthinking it. I'm not trying to wreck someone else's family." Koji shot Eula a look.
"Mother-in-law, welcome to New Eridu."
The moment Koji said that, everyone's eyes turned… meaningful.
So it wasn't that he'd set his sights on a married woman—he'd set his sights on her daughter instead. Saving a mother like this… as the daughter, "repaying the favor" really did have a pretty good chance of happening.
Ya's mom: "…"
Her daughter was still so young. That was way too outrageous.
"New Eridu?" Ya's mom suddenly latched onto the keyword.
"Yeah. The Old Capital fell, and New Eridu was built." Koji said. "That one over there is Hollow Zero—the one that swallowed the Old Capital."
Following the direction Koji pointed, she saw a space so opaque it was impossible to read.
"So that means… many years have already passed?"
Ya's mom asked urgently, "Then how is Ya doing now?"
"Hoshimi Ya is now an officially certified Void Hunter." Koji said.
Miss Ya's talent really was exceptional. At such a young age, she was already a powerful Void Hunter—and she hadn't even relied on yokai power.
A Void Hunter that young would definitely still have room to grow in the future.
"Void Hunter?"
"So Ya has reached the level of the third-generation head of the Hoshimi family…" Ya's mom murmured with emotion.
She knew how valuable that title was. Experts were everywhere across all factions, yet Void Hunters were extremely rare—each one was a top-tier force for humanity's fight against Hollows.
"Hoshimi Ya is still very young. There's a very high chance she'll surpass that third-generation head's level someday."
The Void Hunters of the Old Capital era had all been monsters. Ya was still too young right now—there was a gap between her and those people, but it wasn't impossible to catch up.
"Yijiang—your younger sister, Yixuan, is now the thirteenth-generation sect master of Yunqi Mountain. She's also an investigator recognized by the mayor as having Void Hunter-level combat power."
Yijiang froze slightly. If it was Yixuan, she absolutely had the qualifications to become Yunqi Mountain's sect master. That younger sister's talent had always been even stronger than hers.
"Um… is a Void Hunter really that strong?" Eula asked.
There were many investigators. There were many soldiers. But people who could obtain the title of Void Hunter needed more than combat power—their contributions were also essential.
The simplest route was handling Hollow-related incidents.
As for the research field… most Void Hunters couldn't do that. Take Ya for instance: she was a pure martial type. Asking her to do research would be making things difficult for her.
Eula nodded, then looked again at Ya's mom and Yijiang, surprised. So that meant the two women in front of them were the family members of Void Hunters.
Wearing a mask, Ya's mom followed Koji to the HAND headquarters. The office of Section 6 was located here…
At this time, Hoshimi Ya wasn't inside a Hollow, and she wasn't at home either.
Eula and the others went shopping over at Sixth Street. There was no need to worry about safety—Sixth Street produced talent after talent, and nobody dared cause trouble there.
"Can we go in?" Ya's mom asked.
This didn't look like a place ordinary people could enter.
Her current identity was rather special. In the public's eyes, Hoshimi Ya's mother had already sacrificed herself.
If a dead person suddenly came back to life, all of New Eridu would explode, so for now they could only keep a low profile.
"We don't need to go in by ourselves."
Koji approached the guards and stated his purpose directly: someone from the Hoshimi family had come to see Hoshimi Ya of Section 6.
The guard saw Ya's mom's fox ears. Even with the mask on, those sharp ears really did resemble the Void Hunter's. He didn't dare delay and immediately connected a call to Section 6's office.
[What is it?]
The one who picked up was Tsukishiro Yanagi. Without her handling the big and small matters of Section 6, it was honestly hard to imagine what the place would look like.
"Deputy Section Chief Tsukishiro Yanagi, someone from Section Chief Hoshimi Ya's clan is here to see her."
[Understood. The section chief is cultivating right now. I'll come over immediately.]
Tsukishiro Yanagi was a little surprised. This was truly rare—someone from the section chief's clan. She hadn't seen something like this before.
When there were no missions, the section chief would do all sorts of strange training. The world of the strong… she really couldn't understand it.
…
Not long after, Tsukishiro Yanagi arrived at the entrance of HAND headquarters. The first time she saw Ya's mom, she was certain: this was someone from Section Chief Hoshimi Ya's clan.
Those black fox ears were just too obvious. Aside from the size, the shape was practically identical to Hoshimi Ya's fox ears.
"Hello. I'm Tsukishiro Yanagi, deputy section chief of Section 6. Sorry to trouble you at the entrance—please come with me."
"Hello. I'm here to see Section Chief Hoshimi Ya." Ya's mom nodded. This person should be her daughter's deputy.
Mm… she looked extremely capable. Ya must have been taken care of a lot by her.
Koji: I have to say, Mother-in-law, your judgment is spot-on.
Without Tsukishiro Yanagi, Section 6 would be a complete mess. Most of Section 6's work scheduling fell on her shoulders. You could say she was the only "normal person" in Section 6.
(End of Chapter)
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