Mister Zero, Her Story: Chapter 17 – Miss Luo Yan’s Maid Outfit
When Luo Yan emerged in the maid outfit, Hua Qiling froze mid-pour, the tea spilling from the cup, and Anna’s lollipop clattered to the floor.
Even Hua Qingling, who had traveled extensively and, due to her status, met countless beauties bearing the title of “Most Beautiful Woman in [City Name],” was stunned.
Even though they had anticipated it, they hadn’t expected such… beauty.
Words couldn’t describe it. Any adjective applied to Luo Yan at this moment felt like sacrilege, a desecration of this unique beauty.
Her silver hair was tied up with a ribbon, styled into twintails, the shorter strands framing her face.
The black and white maid dress hugged her petite frame, the dark purple skirt falling to her mid-calves, her small, delicate feet peeking out from beneath.
The short-sleeved top, paired with white lace gloves, complemented her pale skin, creating a harmonious, almost ethereal, look.
Elegant, graceful, and refined.
Miss Luo Yan looked like a young lady from the Western Continent of the Old Era.
Luo Yan slightly lifted the hem of her skirt. She wasn’t used to this kind of clothing, and with her eyes covered by the white cloth blindfold, she had to walk carefully.
A faint blush colored her cheeks, adding a touch of shyness, captivating the onlookers even further.
However, this stunned silence didn’t last long, broken by Anna’s sudden cry.
“Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!”
Anna jumped up, tears in her eyes, blowing on her reddened hand.
Hua Qiling realized that she had overfilled the teacup and hadn’t stopped pouring, the boiling water spilling onto Anna’s hand, which had been resting on the table.
Hua Qingling, snapping out of her daze, snapped her fingers.
A cool breeze enveloped Anna’s hand, gently lifting the droplets of boiling water and healing the burn.
“Be careful, pay attention.”
Hua Qingling glanced at Hua Qiling reproachfully.
“Ah! I’m sorry, Anna…”
Hua Qiling quickly put down the teapot and applied some healing salve to Anna’s injured hand.
Unable to see, Luo Yan only heard a flurry of commotion in the darkness, seemingly ignored by everyone.
“What’s wrong… Does it not suit me?” Luo Yan fidgeted with her gloves. “Should I change back?”
After changing, Luo Yan had, of course, looked at herself in the mirror.
But she didn’t see any difference. It was just a different set of clothes; she was still the same person.
And this outfit felt strange… Not uncomfortable, just unfamiliar.
“No, no, don’t change back, Lady Luo Yan! Ow, ow, ow… It suits you perfectly!”
Anna, despite her cries of pain, was the first to object.
“…Really?”
Luo Yan looked towards the other two, now seeing through Hua Qiling’s shared “Eagle Eye” vision.
“Of course, of course.”
Hua Qiling nodded vigorously as she applied the salve to Anna’s hand.
“Miss Luo Yan, even if you lack confidence in yourself, you should at least trust me,” Hua Qingling said with a smile. “My designs have even been awarded as prizes in the Free Federation’s ‘Beauty Pageant’.”
“Although I don’t understand, it sounds impressive…”
Luo Yan nodded, suitably impressed.
“This maid outfit has a place on the back to hold a sniper rifle, and these gloves are made of a special material to help steady your hands when firing continuously,” Hua Qingling explained. “There’s also a hidden pocket on the right side of the skirt to hold daggers. The entire outfit offers a certain degree of protection, capable of withstanding attacks below ‘Ruin’ level.”
Anna chimed in proudly,
“Hee hee, this is the hallmark of ‘Flower Shop’! We only make clothes that are both beautiful and practical!”
Hua Qiling: “…”
I just wanted to buy her a nice outfit… how did this turn into a combat maid suit?
As for the details of the shop, just like her sister had said, Hua Qiling wasn’t interested and hadn’t bothered to learn more.
But what surprised Hua Qiling most was that Luo Yan actually nodded in agreement.
“I see. Sister’s design is very thoughtful. This is indeed much more suitable than my previous outfit.”
It’s just clothes! Clothes are meant to look good! Not for fighting!
Hua Qiling screamed internally. She had thought she couldn’t understand Luo Yan’s thought process before, but now, she couldn’t understand her sister and Anna either.
“Consider it for the mission,” Hua Qingling smiled, then her expression turned serious.
“However, playtime is over. There’s trouble brewing in Yan City, and many are making their moves.
“I had my reasons for assigning you to investigate the incident at the ‘Ghost Town’ ruins, and it was partly Old Li’s suggestion as well.
“The ‘Primordial Demon’ incident is just the beginning. Following the ‘Witch of Envy’s’ aura, many uninvited guests will be arriving in Yan City soon.”
“I don’t have time to deal with trivial matters within Yan City… I’ll leave that to you.”
She looked at Luo Yan and continued,
“Miss Luo Yan, I apologize again for my earlier misunderstanding. It seems it wasn’t appropriate to involve you in this.
“However… perhaps in the coming storm, you might find some of the answers you seek. Whether it’s a blessing or a curse remains to be seen.
“Therefore, you are free to leave at any time. I won’t force you to stay.”
Only now did Hua Qingling display the authority and presence befitting a pillar of Yan City. She was destined to become its leader, guiding it through the turbulent and dangerous New Era.
“Sister, then you’re…”
Hua Qiling sensed something and asked hesitantly.
“I should be going now.”
Hua Qingling smiled gently and poked Hua Qiling’s nose, just like she had countless times in the past.
“Silly girl, I still see you as that little kid with a runny nose following me around…
“But how did you become such a capable young woman so quickly? Time is truly merciless…”
Hua Qiling remained silent, her eyes downcast.
“One more thing, Miss Luo Yan,” Hua Qingling turned to Luo Yan and said softly. “My sister… I leave her in your care.”
“Huh?”
Luo Yan tilted her head, puzzled. She didn’t understand.
However, Hua Qingling didn’t explain further. She had already lingered too long and had to leave.
After giving her instructions, she hurriedly left the shop.
The reason Hua Qingling had returned to Yan City was because of the sudden “Ghost Town” crisis.
Now that the crisis was resolved, there was no need for her to stay. She had to return to her previous mission.
Meanwhile…
Hua Qiling shrugged helplessly.
“Miss Luo Yan, I’m sorry, it seems my vacation is over.
“I was planning to show you around Yan City, to help you get used to life in a mega-city in the New Era… but it seems that will have to wait.”
“It’s alright,” Luo Yan nodded. “Duty calls. If there’s anything I can do, just ask.”
“Of course, I wouldn’t hesitate to ask,” Hua Qiling winked, a complex mix of emotions in her eyes.
Luo Yan saw this, but she didn’t comment.
“Well, it’s time to go,” Hua Qiling stood up, inadvertently touching her eye. “Anna, we’ll come back and visit you next time.”
“Remember to bring Lady Luo Yan!”
Anna reminded her.
Hua Qiling choked and said, exasperated,
“I know, I know, you only care about your Lady Luo Yan…”
Mister Zero, Her Story: Chapter 18 – Calamity Monster
“Damn it…”
The burly man instinctively looked around before cursing under his breath.
“Damn Hua Qingling, that bitch, that…”
He muttered a string of obscenities, keeping his voice low for fear of being overheard.
Gathered around him were his teammates, the mercenaries hired to clear the rubble in District Two, drinking and brooding in their rented room.
Clearing the remnants of a contaminated area wasn’t particularly difficult, but it wasn’t something ordinary people could do either. And with the Anomaly Management Bureau short-staffed, they had to hire mercenaries with “esper abilities.”
However, these mercenaries were only working together temporarily, not part of the same mercenary group, so they didn’t even know each other’s names.
Established mercenary groups wouldn’t take on such menial and dirty work. Only less capable, independent mercenaries would do it for the money.
After one of their members, “Liu Qing,” mysteriously disappeared, his teammates were secretly delighted. This was a perfect opportunity to extort compensation.
Clearing rubble paid peanuts; death benefits were where the real money was!
As for the dead unlucky fellow… he wasn’t their problem. They would just burn some incense at his grave later.
This wasn’t uncommon among mercenaries, whether in temporary teams or registered groups. There were many cases of compensation fraud.
Many mega-cities turned a blind eye, leaving it to the mercenaries to sort it out among themselves. After all, the relevant departments had already disbursed the funds.
However, Yan City was a newly established mega-city, its bureaucracy not yet bloated, and its management stricter, making such schemes more difficult to pull off.
And they were unlucky enough to encounter Hua Qingling, a pillar of Yan City, personally intervening…
At least Hua Qingling had returned about seventy to eighty percent of their wages, which was better than nothing.
In the end, these mercenaries’ greed had backfired, costing them a portion of their earnings.
As the burly man cursed, the other mercenaries grumbled in agreement.
Just then, a strange knock came from the door.
“Knock.”
“Knock.”
“Knock.”
Three knocks, then silence.
“Who is it?!”
The burly man shouted impatiently, the other mercenaries also looking towards the door.
But after a long moment, there was no response from outside, only silence.
“Probably some idiot playing a prank,” the man sighed and picked up another bottle of alcohol. “Let’s continue drinking…”
Before he could finish, the knocking came again.
“Knock.”
“Knock.”
“Knock.”
The same three knocks, rhythmic and mechanical.
“Who the hell is it?!”
The man stood up angrily. This was getting ridiculous.
He grabbed a bottle and stormed towards the door, throwing it open.
But in the next instant, the man’s face turned pale, and the bottle slipped from his grasp, crashing to the floor.
“You… you’re…”
He stumbled backward, collapsing to the ground, his legs trembling.
The other mercenaries looked at him questioningly, but their expressions quickly turned to horror.
A figure was slowly walking through the doorway, someone they couldn’t say they knew well, but definitely recognized.
It was… Liu Qing, the missing mercenary!
However, if it were just Liu Qing, it wouldn’t have scared them so much. They would have simply assumed he was still alive.
But the current Liu Qing…
His face was covered in blood, and countless thin tentacles protruded from his mouth, eyes, nose, ears… twitching restlessly.
This creature, whether it could still be called Liu Qing, stood unsteadily, its hand still in the position of knocking.
“Liu Qing… no, he’s a calamity monster now!”
The burly man, his drunkenness instantly gone, quickly regained his composure.
He was a veteran mercenary, after all. Although he rarely ventured into the Endless Wasteland to hunt calamity monsters due to his limited strength, dealing with a single Liu Qing shouldn’t be a problem.
Even as a monster, the burly man remembered that Liu Qing’s strength hadn’t even reached “Difficulty” level. He was just an ordinary person with a mostly useless “esper ability.”
Thinking of this, the man gritted his teeth, pulled out his pistol, and decisively aimed at the creature.
But before he could raise his gun, a tentacle pierced his heart.
“Ugh… what…?”
The man’s eyes bulged, and he collapsed.
The other mercenaries reacted even slower. Before they could reach for their weapons, tentacles from Liu Qing had already pierced their bodies.
The tentacles, after entering their bodies, began to devour them greedily, the faint sound of tearing flesh echoing.
Within moments, the mercenaries’ bodies were hollowed out, the absorbed nutrients transforming into putrid flesh that filled their empty shells.
Thin tentacles slowly emerged from their orifices, just like Liu Qing.
—Indeed, Liu Qing’s body was also filled with these hair-thin tentacles.
The tentacle-controlled mercenaries slowly stood up, turned, and stumbled out of the rented room.
“Not enough, not nearly enough, I need more power…”
…
“It’s the aura of a Devil’s minion!”
In a hotel in Yan City’s core district, Qin Wen, who had been meditating, suddenly opened her eyes and looked in a certain direction.
Just a moment ago, a faint aura had flickered past, almost imperceptible to most people.
But not to Qin Wen. She was all too familiar with this aura, having encountered it many times before in the Endless Wasteland. It was the work of that Devil’s minion.
Although Qin Wen had never met him face-to-face, after months of pursuit, they were the most familiar of strangers.
This red-clad individual, to become closer to the Primordial Demon he worshipped, the “Witch of Envy,” used his own esper ability and body as a catalyst, transforming others into monstrous minions.
This power seemed similar to the Witch of Envy’s, but it was fundamentally different. The physical mutations caused by the Witch of Envy were merely a side effect.
“But this aura seems much stronger… even the transformed monster minions are almost at ‘Calamity’ level,” Qin Wen took a deep breath, her silver teeth clenching. “As expected, it’s because of his connection to Yan City…”
“No, I can’t let this continue. I must eliminate him quickly!”