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 - Go Viral! A Debt Adventure Tale and the Miracle of 5 Million Denny
Second floor of Random Phone, break room.
Outside the window, the sky was already starting to lighten. The neon signs of the shopping district went out, one by one.
Nico's fingers lifted from the keyboard.
Her lips were dry and cracked. Her narrowed eyes were bloodshot. But the corners of her mouth were faintly relaxed.
"……It's done."
Her voice was hoarse.
On the computer monitor, the upload screen for the video streaming site "Milvee." The title was *Debt Adventure Tale*.
The silver ball of fur curled up on the floor twitched. Nekochan Nenneko. She let out a huge yawn. Her forked tail swayed gently.
"[tired]……Finally done, meow? I fired my Nyan-Nyan Beam three times in my dreams, meow."
"[serious]Shut up. You fell asleep halfway through."
Nico rolled her shoulders. A cracking sound came from her bones.
In the corner of the room. Leaning against a pile of junk phones, Billy lay sprawled out, fast asleep. His mouth hung half-open, breathing softly. His messy brown hair had exploded even further.
Nico crouched down and flicked Billy's forehead hard with her finger.
*Thwack!*
"[angry]Wake up!! This was your idea!!"
"[surprised]Fugoh!?"
Billy jolted awake. His sleepy brown eyes darted around the room. The old scar on his left cheek glinted faintly in the morning light.
"The video's done."
Billy looked blank for a moment.
Then he scratched his bedhead vigorously.
"[excited]……It's done!?"
"Done."
"[excited]Awesome!! That's Nico for you!!"
Billy shouted and lunged toward the computer. He tried to throw his arms around Nico's shoulders.
"[angry]Don't come near me! Your breath stinks!!"
Nico pushed Billy's face back with her palm.
"[gentle]……Where's Amby?"
The moment Nico said that.
In the corner of the counter.
Dark gray hair, grown down to her waist, absorbed the sunlight and swayed slowly.
Amby had been awake the whole time.
Her large, deep purple eyes were as expressionless as ever. But her hands were clenched tightly.
"[gentle]……I saw it."
Her voice was as faint as a candle flame going out.
"Nico, your editing is three times better than my calculations."
Nico was at a loss for words for a moment.
Then, looking slightly embarrassed, she narrowed her sharp eyes.
"……That's because you wrote the script."
Billy looked back and forth between their faces.
He grinned, showing his fang.
"[excited]Alright! Let's post it! Everyone, here we go! On three!"
Billy's index finger pressed down on the left mouse button with a flourish.
*Click.*
A small sound in the quiet morning.
The moment the video was released into the world.
——
"……Zero?"
Five minutes later.
Billy was glued to his phone screen.
The view count remained stuck at 0.
"[angry]Refresh! Where's the refresh button!?"
"[serious]Calm down. You think numbers move in five minutes?"
Nico was pressing her temples. Sleep deprivation had her irritation at its peak.
Billy kept swiping his phone screen with his finger.
"[excited]It's definitely moving! My heart's already moving like we've got a million views!"
"[angry]I don't care about your heart. If you break your phone doing that, the repair cost comes out of your pocket money."
"Don't say scary stuff like that! I'm already in the red this month, you know!?"
Reluctantly, Billy placed his phone face down on the table.
Three seconds later.
He flipped it over.
"It's still 0!"
"[angry]Of course it is!! Who's gonna watch it in three seconds!!"
Nico yelled.
Amby stood up silently.
She pinched Billy's phone between her index and middle fingers.
Then, she walked slowly… to the edge of the table.
She moved it forty centimeters away.
"……Please step back a little. Your psychic energy is interfering."
"[surprised]Psychic energy!? I'm not a psychic, you know!?"
"[laughing]Nyahaha! But Billy, the face you make glaring at the screen is scary, meow. Your glare's sharper than the boss cat at the fish market, meow."
Nekochan laughed, curled up on the floor.
Billy's mouth twisted into a frown as he sat down on the floor.
For a while, only the clock's hands moved, tick, tick, tick.
The view count finally displayed "2."
"[excited]It came!! Two people are watching!!"
Billy stood up.
Just then, his phone vibrated.
Nico's phone and Amby's phone did too, at the same time.
The screen showed a notification from *Milvee*.
Nico said, expressionless.
"……That notification just now. That was me watching."
"Me too."
"……Me too."
"I was sleeping so I haven't watched yet, meow."
Silence fell over the room.
The view count was "5."
"……Out of five people, four are us?"
Billy's voice was hoarse.
Nico let out a deep sigh.
"……The last view was probably the old lady next door watching while she grilled her taiyaki."
"By calculation, external viewers: zero."
Amby stated it flatly.
"……Checkmate."
The air grew heavy all at once.
Billy clenched his fist tightly.
"It's still… it's still morning! Everyone's still asleep!"
"I pulled an all-nighter editing, though."
"……You're going to sleep now too."
"Who's the one not letting me sleep!"
Nekochan peered into the phone, her tail swaying.
"[gentle]But hey, this has only just started, meow. That video of mine that went viral before, it only had about ten views in the first hour, meow."
Ten views.
This video was only halfway there.
Billy put his hands on the floor.
"……Alright."
He raised his head.
"Let's wait. We'll believe in it and wait."
Without a word, Nico closed the curtains.
The room grew dim.
"……I'm sleeping. Wake me up if something happens."
Nico leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. She looked pale from lack of sleep. The furrow between her brows didn't look like it would disappear even with sleep.
Billy looked at Amby.
She remained perfectly still, staring at her phone.
Her deep purple eyes reflected the numbers on the screen.
——19 views.
Several of those were their own.
"……Scared?"
At Billy's question, Amby didn't answer for a while.
Then, she gave a small nod.
"……I caused you both trouble. So, if this doesn't work out, I…"
"It's not gonna fail."
Billy cut her off.
It wasn't his usual goofy face.
"We haven't given up yet. So you don't give up either."
Amby stared intently at Billy.
Then, she took a faint breath.
"……Understood."
——
Before noon.
Silence returned to the break room.
Nico was asleep against the wall. Nekochan was curled up on the floor, and Billy was slumped over the desk.
Only Amby remained seated, holding her phone.
Just then.
*Brrr.* Her phone gave a small vibration.
A notification appeared at the top of the screen.
*'New comment: I don't get it but I laughed so hard my stomach hurts, the girl with 4 million in debt is way too serious'*
Amby's finger stopped dead.
Then, she blinked just once.
Her phone vibrated again.
This time, continuously.
*Brrr, brrrrrr, brrrrrrrrrr!*
Amby held her breath.
The numbers on the screen started moving.
——21, 34, 67, 128, 298.
"……Billy."
Her voice trembled.
"Nico."
Billy raised his head. He looked at Amby with sleepy eyes.
"[tired]……Hm? What's up, Amby? You hungry?"
Amby shook her head.
Then, she turned her phone screen toward Billy.
The comment section was flowing.
No matter how much she scrolled, new comments kept appearing.
*'So this was the sequel to that nonsensical video'*
*'I cried and laughed this time'*
*'What even is a fish phone'*
*'Why is she the protagonist'*
*'This is the girl who made that debt video first, right?'*
*'I thought the last one was a joke, sorry'*
*'Everyone, let's share this'*
*'Wait, isn't the video quality actually pretty high?'*
*'The editing is way too good'*
Her finger stopped.
A certain comment caught her eye.
*'Amby-chan, you did great'*
Just a single line from a complete stranger.
Amby's hands began to tremble.
"……Heh."
A sound escaped her.
"……Heh, heh."
She pressed her lips together tightly.
It was the face of someone desperately trying not to cry.
"[excited]Nico! Wake up, Nico!!"
At Billy's shout, Nico jolted awake.
"[serious]……What!? Is it the Bomp!?"
"No! Look, look at this!"
Billy thrust their phones at Nico.
The view count had already surpassed two thousand.
"[surprised]……Huh?"
Nico rubbed her eyes.
Then, she did a double-take at the screen.
"[whispers]……No way."
"It's not no way! Look at these comments! Isn't it amazing!!"
Billy slapped Nico's shoulder repeatedly.
Normally, Nico would have gotten angry, but she just let it happen.
Comments kept flooding the screen.
The forum dwellers who had once mocked Amby's first video as "nonsensical" and "insane."
Those same people were now doing a complete one-eighty, one after another.
*'Sorry for trashing it last time'*
*'The first person who laughed, get on your knees and apologize'*
*'Turning debt repayment into an RPG is a crazy idea (compliment)'*
*'I died laughing at the fish phone'*
Nekochan also sluggishly got up.
"[surprised]Meow…? My phone's being noisy, meow… wait, meowaaaaah!? My followers just jumped by three thousand at once, meow!!"
Nekochan leaped into the air.
Just then—
——
Torino Street, shopping district.
Under the awning of a fruit shop, four men in gaudy-colored coats hung their heads.
Red, yellow, blue, green.
A white patch with a "B" on their chests.
The Bomp gang.
The leader, the man in the red coat, stared at the phone in his hand.
On the screen was *Debt Adventure Tale*.
Right around the middle.
Their own figures, trying to interfere with the filming, surrounded by a wall of shop owners from the district, shouting "Huh?" — displayed in a huge close-up.
"……That's us."
The man in the yellow coat spoke, his voice complicated.
"[sad]Somehow… we look incredibly stupid."
"Not just look, we *are* stupid."
"Shut up!"
Red Coat shouted.
But the comment section on the screen was overflowing with words like these.
*'I love these interfering old guys too'*
*'These guys aren't acting, right?'*
*'They're the real deal, which makes them the best spice'*
Red Coat scrolled through the comments again and again.
"[sad]……Interfering old guys."
He muttered quietly.
His comrades were also watching the same video on their own phones.
Silence flowed.
Then, Red Coat silently tapped his phone screen.
The like button.
He tapped again.
And again.
He started mashing it.
Yellow, Blue, and Green also silently started mashing the like button in the same way.
Over and over, again and again.
——
In front of Random Phone.
The door rattled open.
When Billy poked his head out, the man in the red coat was standing there.
He was tall. His face bore numerous scars.
But his gaze wasn't the usual provocative one.
"……Here."
The man brusquely held out a paper bag.
Inside were four cans of coffee.
"You pulled an all-nighter, right? It's a little something."
Billy looked dumbfounded.
"……Huh, really? But you guys totally messed with us."
"[angry]Shut up! That's just how I'm feeling right now!"
Red Coat's face turned bright red as he yelled.
Then, he took a deep breath and let it out.
"[serious]……We won't interfere anymore. Your video was funny."
Saying just that, Red Coat turned his back.
He started walking.
Billy shouted loudly at his retreating figure.
"[excited]Thanks!! You were great in the video too!! They said you were the funniest part!!"
Red Coat didn't turn around.
But his shoulders trembled slightly.
Billy went back inside the shop.
"[excited]Nico! Did you see that!? The Bomp gave us coffee!! Canned coffee, no less!!"
"[serious]……Yeah, I heard. That's why I'm telling you, don't chase after them. In moments like that, if we chase, it ends up looking uncool."
Nico accepted the canned coffee with a wry smile.
Amby was still staring at her phone.
The view count had already become insane.
The comments, the likes — the numbers were skyrocketing.
"……By calculation."
She murmured quietly.
"We might be able to win."
——
6 PM.
The evening sun dyed Torino
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