Video Battle! A Super Lazy Day in Zenless Zone Zero
A silly kind of peace has arrived in New Eridu. It all started with a single poster brought in by Billy. "First Annual Pair Video Grand Prix! Grand Prize: 5,000,000 Dennies!" With stars in his eyes, Billy is promptly dismissed by Nicole, who sighs, "Yeah, right, you're thinking of something stupid again." But when she hears the prize money could clear their debts, Anby silently presses the 'enter' button. Thus begins the laziest, most chaotic video battle in history, starring the oddballs of the
Video Battle! A Super Lazy Day in Zenless Zone Zero - A storm of dislikes and a Bangboo raid! The worst day ever
Day seven of the tournament, morning.
Random Phone Shop, second floor, break room.
The morning sun streaming through the window lit up the piles of junk phones scattered across the floor.
Billy sat cross-legged on the sofa, staring intently at his phone screen.
"[excited]Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
Nico looked up, the furrow between his brows deepening.
"…You're way too loud for this early in the morning."
"[excited]The video comments just passed four hundred!"
Billy's voice was full of excitement.
But his face was just a little tense.
Nico sat down next to him and peered at Billy's phone.
"…Let me see."
On the Milvie screen, the video they'd just uploaded yesterday was displayed.
View count: twelve hundred.
The comment section—no matter how much he scrolled, new posts kept appearing, one after another.
"I have absolutely no idea what this is trying to do"
"Where did the first thirty seconds of orchestra even come from?"
"The debt text at the end is way too horror"
"The words 'Debt Balance: 4,000,000 Denny' on screen for ten seconds is genuinely terrifying"
"Was this actually made by a human?"
"Even if you had an AI make it, it'd turn out better than this"
"It's so scary I laughed instead"
"I can't laugh at this"
"Is the editor mentally okay?"
Nico's face grew paler and paler.
"…What the hell is this."
His voice was quiet.
Billy forced a grin.
"[laughing]Isn't it kind of going viral though! Look, four hundred comments! Isn't that awesome?"
"It's the WAY it's going viral that's the problem!!"
The rapid-fire retort flew out.
A vein bulged on his left temple.
"It's a dark history… my editing…"
"[sad]It's not your editing. That's the one Amby stayed up all night making by herself."
Both of their gazes turned toward the back of the counter.
Amby was sitting in her usual spot.
Dark gray hair that reached down to her waist.
Her deep purple eyes were fixed on the ledger in her hands.
Expressionless, same as always.
But—
In front of her sat a paper bag from the taiyaki shop next door, *Karimochi-dou*.
Auntie Tae had brought it over first thing in the morning.
The taiyaki was still steaming.
And yet, not a single bite had been taken.
"[whispers]…Amby?"
He called out to her.
Amby didn't look up from the ledger.
"[surprised]Hey, you're not gonna eat the taiyaki? It's gonna get cold."
"…I'm fine."
Her reply was small.
Just one word.
After that, she fell silent, tracing the numbers in the ledger with her finger.
Billy was at a loss for words.
*"It'll work out somehow"*—he tried to say it in his usual tone, but something caught in his throat.
Nico silently pushed Billy's back.
"…Don't say anything. Not right now."
Nico's voice was much lower than usual.
Billy closed his mouth.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the shop.
Only the second hand of the wall clock ticked, ticked, spinning in vain.
Outside, the morning bustle of Torino Street's shopping district could be heard in the distance.
Merchants calling out, shoppers laughing.
The sounds of everyday life felt strangely far away today.
—Past noon.
Billy jumped up from his chair as if leaping off it.
"[excited]Alright! Times like this call for the next video!"
His voice was loud.
Deliberately, even louder than usual.
"We're shooting the second one first thing tomorrow morning! This time it's a food stall tour video down by the Kudari River riverside! We'll film tons of great food, cute cats, and funny shop owners! It'll definitely go viral!"
Nico looked up at Billy with a complicated expression.
"…You, seriously."
"[excited]It's fine! The plan is a food stall tour! Viewers are weak to food terror! It'll definitely blow up!"
Billy pulled out three high-end phones from behind the counter.
The latest models Amby had ordered online.
The same equipment the Bomp had targeted in Nyaguru Alley yesterday.
"The cameras are perfect! We've got tripods and mics! Fully prepared!"
Nico sighed.
"…Where does that energy of yours even come from?"
"[laughing]It'll work out somehow!"
Even so, Nico stood up.
He opened the camera bag and started checking the charge.
With practiced hands, he began writing out a shooting checklist on a memo pad.
A serious profile.
The hands that usually held a thin screwdriver were holding a pen today.
Meanwhile, Amby—
She quietly closed the ledger.
Without a word, she crouched down beneath the counter.
In her palm rested yesterday's *Sakana Phone*.
The fish-shaped phone, Nico's dark history.
Wires sticking out, screws jutting out, forcibly held together with adhesive—a misshapen phone.
Amby rolled it around in her palm.
Expressionless.
Only her deep purple eyes followed the fish's "chomp chomp" mouth movement.
Billy came down from the second floor carrying the equipment.
Three high-end phones, a mic, a tripod, spare batteries.
All packed into cushioned bags, cradled in both arms.
"[excited]Alright! With this, tomorrow's gonna be perfect—"
At that moment.
On the third step, Billy's foot slipped.
"Whoa!"
*Thud thud thud!*
The cushioned bags tumbled down the stairs like an avalanche.
The tripod toppled over, phone boxes spilled across the floor.
Billy himself was buried under the pile of bags, struggling.
"Mmgh… what the… I can't get out…"
Nico looked down at him, exasperated.
"…You did it again."
"[laughing]Hehe… it'll work out somehow…!"
Only Billy's messy brown hair poked out from the mountain of cushioning.
The corner of Nico's mouth relaxed, just a little.
—Three in the afternoon.
The sliding door of Random Phone Shop burst open violently.
*Rattle rattle rattle!*
The bell rang out like a scream.
"Pardon the intrusion."
A low voice.
Billy spun around.
Five men stood in the entrance.
At the front was the leader—the man Nico had filmed in Nyaguru Alley last week.
A "B" patch on the sleeve of his coat.
His mouth twisted into a grin.
Behind him, three large men.
All of them carried the smell of dust and oil from the underground old city.
"Wh-what do you guys want!"
"That footage. We'll be having you delete it."
The leader stepped forward.
Still clutching the high-end phones, Billy planted himself in front of the counter.
"[angry]What did you come here for! This is our shop!"
There was no answer.
The leader jerked his chin, and two of the large men moved swiftly.
They reached for the three high-end phones and the tripod stacked on the shelf.
"Don't touch those!"
Nico lunged forward.
He threw his slender body in front of the equipment, forcing his way between them.
He reached out to snatch them back—in that instant.
"Shut up!"
His shoulder was grabbed hard.
The next moment, Nico's body was airborne.
"—!"
A voiceless sound.
*Thud!*
He slammed back-first into the shelf.
Junk phones cascaded down, metal parts scattering across the floor.
Nico slumped down, right where he landed.
Blood seeped through the fingers pressed against his head.
The corner of the shelf had cut his forehead.
"Nico!!"
Billy's voice rang out, nearly tearing apart.
He froze for an instant.
He had just watched his best friend get slammed into the wall, right before his eyes.
The next moment—
"I'll kill you!!!"
Billy lunged head-on at the leader.
But.
Four arms grabbed Billy simultaneously.
Both arms were twisted behind his back.
His shoulder was pinned against the wall, his collar seized.
"L-let go—!"
Billy struggled.
But against four men, he couldn't move an inch.
His cheek pressed against the wall, he gritted his teeth.
"Stay quiet."
The leader spoke in a cold voice.
"We'll just take the equipment. As long as you behave."
Billy put all his strength into shaking off their grip.
But he was pinned down by four men.
He heard the bones in his shoulder creak.
Even so, he didn't stop thrashing.
"What did you do to Nico…!"
Rage leaked through his clenched teeth.
Nico remained slumped on the floor, blood trickling from his forehead.
He was conscious.
But he couldn't stand up.
Fragments of junk phones that had fallen from the shelf lay scattered around him.
The Bomp members, carrying the three high-end phones and the tripod, were heading for the exit.
That was when it happened.
"—"
Without a sound.
Amby rose from beneath the counter.
Her dark gray hair, reaching down to her waist, swayed gently.
Her deep purple eyes held the same expressionless look as always.
She reached out smoothly toward the high-end phones the Bomp members were carrying.
Silently.
She slipped one out of a Bomp's hands.
"Ah—"
Another one.
"Wh—"
The third.
"Hey, you!"
Amby didn't look back.
Clutching the three high-end phones to her chest, she ran toward the shop's back door.
She, who never made a sound, had small footsteps today.
"Catch her!"
The three men circled around to the back door.
At that moment—
"What business do ya have in my yard?"
A solid, weighty voice rang out.
Beyond the back door, in the rear yard of *Karimochi-dou*, Auntie Tae stood firm.
Wearing a white apron, a thick rolling pin like an iron club in one hand.
She was small, but her presence was overwhelming.
"I'll be protectin' what Amby-chan entrusted to me. Now, go on, get outta here."
The Bomp members exchanged glances.
"…Tch."
The leader clicked his tongue.
"We're pulling back. Forget the equipment. But—"
He raised a hand, signaling the members pinning Billy down.
The pressure on Billy's arms loosened.
Billy collapsed from the wall, dropping to his knees on the floor.
The leader headed for the exit, glancing back over his shoulder.
"Until the contest is over, we'll be interfering with every single shoot you try to do."
A cold declaration.
"Look forward to it."
The sliding door slammed shut.
The bell's ring lingered, unpleasantly long.
Silence.
Junk phones scattered on the floor, tissues stained with Nico's blood.
An overturned tripod, a camera bag left wide open.
Billy slammed his fist against the floor.
"[angry]Dammit… dammit!!"
His voice trembled.
Nico slowly stood up.
Blood was still seeping from his forehead.
"…Did we manage to protect the equipment?"
His voice was hoarse.
Amby returned from the back door.
In her arms, the three high-end phones.
Expressionless.
Only her deep purple eyes flickered briefly toward the wound on Nico's forehead.
"…It's fine."
She said just that one line.
Whether she meant herself, or Nico—it was impossible to tell.
—Night.
Random Phone Shop, second floor, break room.
The neon signs outside flickered into the room through the gaps in the curtains.
Billy was applying a bandage to Nico's forehead as he sat on the sofa.
His hands were shaking.
"…It's my fault."
A quiet voice.
His usual "It'll work out somehow!" was nowhere to be found today.
"If I hadn't filmed the Bomp back then in Nyaguru Alley… Nico wouldn't have gotten hurt."
Nico closed his eyes.
"…No."
His voice was small.
The rapid-fire retorts he usually had were hoarse today.
"It's not your fault. They're the ones in the wrong."
Even so, his voice was small.
Billy finished applying the bandage and lowered his hands.
He kept his head down, saying nothing.
In the corner of the room, Amby sat in front of the table.
In front of her was a phone displaying the Milvie forum.
As always, the mocking comments kept increasing.
Expressionless, Amby slowly turned the phone screen face-down.
The screen faced downward.
The mockery was no longer visible.
"…Three days left."
She murmured.
Both Billy and Nico looked up.
View count stagnating.
The Bomp's declaration of interference.
Today, they hadn't been able to shoot a single second of the second video.
Walls.
Three walls stood before the three of them.
No one could find the next words.
The clock's hand ticked, ticked, forward.
Billy forced his voice out.
"…What do we do tomorrow?"
A voice at a complete loss.
Silence.
Within it—
Amby placed the *Sakana Phone* on the desk.
The misshapen, fish-shaped phone.
Adhesive oozing out, wiring visible.
She stared at it intently with her deep purple eyes.
Then, she took a
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