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A moment later, Kenji was invited into the projection room on the first floor. This was where the siblings usually watched videotapes—a private screening room. Snacks, drinks, and a computer with an astonishing number of monitors occupied the space, creating an atmosphere that sat somewhere between a cozy den and a high-tech nerve center.
"Proxies. Long-term targets of the Public Security Bureau. Skilled at exploiting network loopholes to navigate the Hollows for profit. Often collaborating with Tunnel Raiders, and generally considered one of the primary headaches of New Eridu."
Kenji took a sip of the tea Belle had handed him. The tea leaves were high-quality—far better than anything he could afford on a rookie's salary. He accepted it as a form of hush money, a bribe he was more than happy to consume.
"Brother Kenji, you don't actually believe that boring official propaganda, do you? Ah ha ha ha..." Belle laughed awkwardly. She knew there was no point in lying; her slip of the tongue had already laid their secrets bare.
"My superior really dislikes people like you," Kenji said, deliberately leaning into a stern tone to rattle her. He didn't want her calling him "Film Guy" ever again. "If she were here, you'd already be in the back of a patrol car."
"The fact that you haven't arrested us means there's still room for maneuver, right?" Wise said, stepping in to handle the situation. He gently nudged his sister aside, taking charge as the older brother who knew how to deal with "bad guys"—or in this case, a cop who knew too much.
"Maneuver what?" Kenji asked.
"Uh... room for negotiation," Wise corrected himself. Facing his sister's curious gaze, he simply pressed his hand onto her head, signaling her to stay quiet.
"I only have one question," Kenji said, setting the tea down. "Have you ever harmed anyone?"
Kenji wasn't actually interested in their side business, nor did he feel any burning desire to drag them to the PSB. However, he had a moral line. If they were the kind of Proxies who sacrificed others for a quick buck, he'd have to bring them to justice, regardless of their friendship.
"Of course not! We're the good guys!" Belle exclaimed with genuine agitation. "We often help lost Tunnel Raiders find their way out. I hate those Proxies who ruin our reputation. To the PSB, we're all lumped together as criminals, but we actually save lives."
"That's good enough for me. I believe you," Kenji said with a nod. He wasn't a detective, but he trusted his gut. These two didn't have the eyes of cold-blooded killers.
"Wait, that's it? You're not arresting us?" Belle blinked, looking almost disappointed that her prepared excuses weren't needed.
"You haven't broken any laws that I care about today," Kenji said calmly. "Bumping into your secret was just luck. I want to catch the people who use the Hollows to hurt others. As for Tunnel Raiders... look, some people explore the void because they have no other choice to make a living. I'm not going to ruin lives over a technicality."
"No, no! According to the movie plots, this is where you demand hush money or tie up a beautiful girl like me and take me back to your place to brutally humiliate me a hundred times until I'm... Mmm mmm mmm!"
Wise lunged forward and covered his sister's mouth before she could veer into R-rated territory. Kenji stared at her, wondering if she was actually looking forward to such a bizarre development. The girl seemed to have a severe case of "protagonist syndrome" fueled by too many niche films.
"My sister watches too many movies. Please, ignore her," Wise said with a look of pure exhaustion.
"Well, at least one mystery is solved," Kenji said, smiling. "The video store is just a front. No wonder you haven't starved to death despite having zero customers."
"Hey! Is our business really that bad?" Belle demanded, prying Wise's hand off her face.
"Who was the last person to rent a tape here?" Kenji asked.
"You."
"And the one before that?"
"...Also you." Belle's momentum vanished. She realized that in the past month, Kenji had been their only source of rental income.
"Actually, business is only a tiny bit slow," she muttered, holding her thumb and index finger a millimeter apart. "It's not our fault people on Sixth Street have no taste in cinema."
"Kenji, I know you're a good person, so thank you for keeping this a secret," Wise said, his voice sincere. "As a reward, if you ever run into trouble in a Hollow—the kind the PSB can't handle—you can ask us for help. We'll even give you a fifty percent discount."
"I'll take you up on that," Kenji replied. He knew the reputation of the legendary Phaethon. Having a "backdoor" into the Hollows was a massive advantage. "I just didn't expect the legendary Proxies on the PSB's most-wanted list to be you two. You're like a stubborn stain on the Bureau's files that nobody can quite scrub off."
"Eh? Can I hit you now?" Belle asked with a cute, faux-innocent smile, raising a small fist.
Kenji simply flexed his right arm, the muscles tightening beneath his STF combat suit. Belle immediately lowered her hand. She got the feeling that Kenji could end her with a single punch if he wasn't such a nice guy.
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