Soon, Wise and Anton finished discussing the plan and decided to head to the Belobog Heavy Industries construction site to go over the details of the commission.
Anton, of course, didn't turn down the offer of a ride. After handing Belle her phone back, the three returned to the video store together.
Anton waited near the garage behind the store, while Belle and Wise got things ready inside.
...
"Belle, what do you think about this Belobog Heavy Industries situation?"
Inside the video store, Wise was leaning back on the sofa, one arm resting behind his head as he spoke, deep in thought.
This involved Dead End Hollow and the case with Vision Industries—there was no way it was going to be simple. It demanded serious attention.
"Hm? What do I think? What else can I think..."
"Lying down, sitting, walking, running—I can think from all angles."
Belle sprawled lazily across the couch, acting completely unconcerned, her tone light and casual.
Seeing his sister's carefree expression, Wise's face darkened slightly, but before he could say anything, Belle waved her hand and grinned.
"Oh come on, why worry so much? Zane's coming with me, isn't he? With him around, all we need to do is finish the job and get paid."
"As for hidden dangers, secret plots, accidents, or whatever else—so what? With Zane there, you think any of that can actually threaten me?"
Belle snorted. The moment she knew she'd be working with Zane, she mentally checked out. The sense of security he gave her was just that overwhelming.
Her eyes shifted toward Zane, sitting on the other side of the couch chatting with Panta.
Smiling, Belle lifted one leg and rested it on Zane's knee to get his attention.
"I'm right, aren't I, Zane?"
Behind the couch, Wise sighed and shook his head.
"Belle, that's a dangerous mindset…"
You can't rely on someone else for everything.
"Oh, relax, bro. With my brilliance, do you really think ordinary problems can beat me?"
"If we were scared of danger, why would we become Proxies in the first place? Wouldn't it be easier to just stick with running the video store?"
Belle knew exactly what Wise was thinking, so she cut right to the point. Being a Proxy meant accepting danger and risk. That was unavoidable.
If fear held you back, this path wasn't for you.
Hearing that, Wise reluctantly let go of his concerns—for now. He still felt uneasy about Belobog Heavy Industries' request, but as Belle said, if you let worries control you, you'd never get anything done.
"You're just too paranoid, bro. Maybe what I said earlier sounded off, but the idea stands. Even if something does go wrong, Zane's got my back."
Belle waved her hand dismissively, and when she saw Zane wasn't objecting to her leg, she smugly started to raise the other one too.
But just as she was about to go all in, a small black orb suddenly appeared right in front of her.
She froze mid-movement, then quickly retracted her leg, sat upright, and adjusted her posture with an overly serious expression.
"Zane, when are we heading out?"
As she spoke, she subtly shifted away from the orb, inching her body as far from it as possible.
She knew Zane was just messing with her, and that if he'd taken out something like that, he had full control over it...
Still, she couldn't help but feel nervous.
It was like someone pressing a loaded gun to your head—sure, you knew they wouldn't pull the trigger, but that didn't make it any less terrifying.
Huh? What the heck?
Why did Belle suddenly get so well-behaved…?
Wise watched, baffled, as Belle snapped into "serious mode." He glanced at the black orb, puzzled.
Was this another one of Zane's creative new ways to discipline Belle?
He thought electric shocks worked best… when did this become a thing?
There wasn't much left to prepare. Soon, Belle and Zane, along with Eous (now linked to the HDD system) and the always-curious Panta, headed to the garage behind the video store.
...
"A Foscos M1 model… Ohhh! Though something feels a little off about this place..."
The garage was mostly empty, with just a small company car parked inside. Anton stood beside it, inspecting it closely while mumbling to himself.
"Hey there, Proxy—you're here."
Noticing movement, Anton turned to Belle with a cheerful wave, then glanced at Zane.
"I was just admiring your ride. The Foscos M1—it's adorable!"
In Anton's eyes, Zane looked calm and scholarly—probably just Belle's assistant or something. It made perfect sense for a skilled Proxy to have one.
He looked back at the car and nodded.
"Hmm… You shortened the springs, reinforced and lowered the chassis… Nice. I bet she handles great at top speed. Like a speeding turtle!"
"So, ready to hit the road?"
Belle forced an awkward smile at the "very accurate metaphor," while Zane frowned slightly.
Nicole came to mind.
"Belle, this car isn't… illegally modified, is it?"
Caught off guard by the question, Belle hesitated for a moment, then answered with a guilty grin,
"C'mon, this kind of small modification doesn't really count as illegal... right?"
Zane narrowed his eyes at her. Judging by her tone, he had every reason to suspect there was a lot more done to that car than she let on...
"You do have a license, right?"
Relieved by the change in topic, Belle immediately thumped her chest confidently.
"Of course I have a license!"
Well… probably not expired yet.
But even if it was, it was still technically a license, right?
Zane, unaware of her internal rationalizations, let out a breath of relief. He loaded Panta and Eous into the car first, then climbed in himself. Anton followed close behind.
Belle spotted the driver's seat left open for her and sat down full of confidence. With a loud "slam," she shut the door tight.
As the door closed, Panta visibly jolted. His mechanical "heart" felt like it had skipped a beat.
Something didn't feel right.
He scooted closer to his boss.
"Since we're all on this job together now, that makes us family! Hey bro, my intel guys say you've done some pretty wild stuff..."
In the back seat, Anton chatted enthusiastically with Zane, who had no problem matching the energy. People like Anton were easy to get along with.
"Let me just get a feel for it—been a while since I've driven, my hands are a little rusty..."
Up front, Belle gripped the wheel, getting used to the feel again—then started the engine.