'Good heavens, after all that, you still hadn't even figured out how to get there, and you were already eager to skip work?' Wise thought with a helpless sigh.
Yet for some reason, he felt that this behavior suited her perfectly.
"I know. No need for the subway, we can just drive there," he said, shaking his head.
"That's great! Then I'll rely on you to lead the way! But speaking of which, I still don't know your name," Astra asked curiously. "You already know my name, so to be fair, shouldn't you tell me yours too?"
Faced with her expectant gaze, Wise couldn't refuse and decided to introduce himself.
"You can just call me Wise."
"Wise? Hmm, that's a good name. Then from now on, please call me Astra. I'm going to check out the music store across the street. There's something I'm really curious about. Call me when you're ready!"
Without waiting for a response, Astra adjusted her sunglasses and pushed open the door, heading toward the music store as though they could truly hide her identity.
Anyway, going to Port Elpis and Reverb Arena to do something interesting didn't sound bad at all.
'Belle would definitely be interested in this. Too bad she isn't here.'
Thinking that, Wise decided to accompany Astra. After all, he didn't have anything urgent to do at the moment, and everyone else was probably busy anyway.
It wouldn't hurt to relax for once.
Once he made up his mind, Wise quickly followed her into the music store across the street.
Inside, he found Astra Yao standing in front of a stack of albums, a slight frown on her face.
Even though there was a giant poster of herself hanging right behind her, none of the passersby seemed to notice.
Could those sunglasses really hide her identity?
Wise even suspected they had some kind of cognitive-altering function. But seeing her troubled expression, he couldn't help asking, "Are you looking for your own album?"
"No, I'm looking for Joran de Winter's record. Do you know him?"
"He's very famous. There are quite a few of his records here," Wise replied, pointing toward a nearby shelf.
But Astra Yao shook her head.
"Hmm, I've already looked through all of them. There's even a recording of his last concert, but it's not the version I want..." she said in a disappointed tone.
"Could it be... a special edition?" Wise asked, resting a hand against his chin.
"Something like that. It's not part of today's plan, though. I'll explain it another time if we get the chance!"
Astra Yao quickly returned to her cheerful self.
"Are you ready? Our next destination is Port Elpis!"
Hearing her excited voice, a thought suddenly flashed through Wise's mind.
'Hmm... Jane still seems to be on a mission there lately. I hope we don't run into her by chance.'
Soon after, the sea breeze greeted them, while clouds large enough to swallow ships drifted across the sky.
Beneath the scorching sun, the cries of seagulls mixed with crashing waves, white foam spraying into the air.
This was the well-known Port Elpis.
As soon as they entered the harbor, Astra excitedly ran toward the fishermen's area, with Wise quickly following behind her.
She stared at the people fishing by the shore with obvious curiosity.
"Look, someone's fishing over there! And they've got all the proper gear! I bet they catch tons of fish."
An old man nearby silently glanced at the bucket beside him, which contained nothing but water.
"Huh? Why is this bucket empty? The one next to it is full, though."
Astra walked over to the old man and peered into the empty bucket.
The poor man had already had his sore spot poked once. Now she was practically stabbing at it, and he finally couldn't take it anymore.
"Hey, young lady, are you making fun of me? Oh—oh, here comes a big one! Oh, oh, oh! This time it won't get awa—away..."
The old man's excited words abruptly stopped as the fishing rod returned to stillness.
The young man beside him immediately leaned over curiously.
"Did it get away? Did you catch it?"
"It doesn't matter... the real fish were the friends we made along the way..."
Even so, the old man's miserable expression revealed everything.
Seeing this, Astra looked strangely nostalgic.
"Aww, I miss this. It's been so long since I last went fishing."
"Are you good at fishing too?" Wise asked curiously.
After all, did a big star really have spare time to practice fishing?
"Yep! I tried it a few times for work. Fishing is super fun and simple! You just cast the hook into the water, silently count to ten, then give a strong tug and you've caught a fish!"
Hearing that, the young man beside them stared in disbelief.
"What? Ten seconds!? Grandpa Gu, we've met a master... no, even a master couldn't be that amazing!"
'No, I think someone probably dove underwater to hook the fish for her...'
Wise wisely kept the thought to himself.
"The situation back then was actually pretty similar to this one, but it was missing a key factor..." Astra said thoughtfully.
"Missing what? Bait? A rod? The fishing spot? I knew it! I told you this spot wasn't good. We should've changed places!" Grandpa Gu instantly became agitated, completely forgetting about acting calm.
Astra suddenly snapped her fingers.
"I remember now! It was missing a person! Someone was underwater waiting. As soon as I cast the rod, he'd dive down and attach a fish to the hook!"
'So there really was someone!?'
Wise couldn't help complaining internally, while Grandpa Gu nearly lost his composure beside him.
"Wait, are you fishing or filming a movie?" Grandpa Gu asked.
'Hmm? Grandpa, you actually guessed right. Since Astra said it was for work, maybe it really was for a movie,' Wise thought with a sigh.
But at that moment, the young man beside them suddenly seemed to notice something.
"Right... speaking of movies, you kind of look like that famous actress my friend really likes. What's her name again...?"
Sure enough, sunglasses alone couldn't completely hide her identity. Yet even after hearing that, Astra simply smiled calmly.
"I'm not her."
"No, I think you are! Wait, I remembered. Astra Yao! You... no, no, no, you can't be. I get it now, you just look a lot like her, but you're definitely not Astra Yao."
Wise originally thought she was about to be exposed, but unexpectedly, the guy denied his own conclusion.
Seeing this, not only Wise but even Astra Yao herself became curious.
"Why do you say that?" she asked.
"My friend calls Astra Yao 'The Queen.' No way a queen would be this energetic and laid-back. You're doing a pretty good imitation, but you're missing the essence!"
Wise never expected Astra Yao to lose an Astra Yao impersonation contest.
What kind of absurd situation was this?
"If you were the real Astra Yao, you'd probably kick over Grandpa Gu's bucket the moment we said you weren't her! Right, Grandpa Gu?"
The young man named Feng spoke with complete confidence.
'No, isn't your misunderstanding a little too extreme? Why would she suddenly kick over someone's fish bucket? And by saying that, aren't you completely ignoring Grandpa Gu's feelings?'
Wise genuinely couldn't understand the logic behind any of it.
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Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
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