Zenless Zone Zero: Morax in a New World!

In the past, if she ran into a Notoriety Ethereal, Nicole wouldn't have hesitated—she would've grabbed Anby and Billy and made a run for it.

But now, things were different.

Nicole turned to Sam Li.

"What do you think we should do?"

As she asked for her opinion, the two Notoriety Ethereals seemed to have spotted them, their gaze shifting in their direction.

Sam Li remained calm.

He glanced at the Ethereals, then looked toward where Billy and Anby had gone.

"Leave these two to me. There are Ethereals near Billy and Anby as well—you two should go help them."

Hearing that, Nicole frowned.

They had all believed C41 Hollow was in a declined state—New Eridu's official reports said so too.

She hadn't expected Notoriety Ethereals to still be lurking inside.

And more than one, at that.

Nicole gritted her teeth, then said firmly, "Alright. Nekomata, stay here and assist her. Soldier 11, you're with me—we'll go check on Billy and Anby."

Nicole trusted Sam Li's strength—completely.

But just in case, she left Nekomata behind as support.

After Nicole and Soldier 11 left, Sam Li stepped out from behind the building, walking straight toward the two massive Ethereals.

Nekomata quickly called out, "Sam Li, be careful...!"

She had hoped Sam Li would launch a sneak attack from behind.

But seeing her walk out so openly, Nekomata had no choice but to follow and draw her weapon.

Sam Li didn't rush into the fight.

He paused—sensing something.

He glanced again in the direction of Billy and Anby. A faint, unusual aura had caught his attention...

Someone else from Teyvat?

Who could it be this time?

As she pondered, the two Ethereals struck.

One wielded a slab of metal like a cleaver, the other swung a streetlamp like a club...

Sam Li simply raised his hand.

Countless Geo elements gathered in her palm, condensing into a massive stone blade over two meters long.

He swung the blade wide toward the charging Ethereals.

Their weapons collided—

But there was no sound.

It was as if his blade sliced straight through them.

The sharp Geo weapon cleaved the metal slab and the streetlamp clean in half.

And he didn't stop there.

In a blink, the stone blade shifted, reshaping itself into a long spear that floated beside him.

"Go—"

With a soft command, the spear shot forward like a missile, piercing one of the Ethereals straight through the chest.

Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have successfully eliminated High-Rank Ethereal: Hollow Knight Brute ×1. System Points +30,000.

Ding! Roleplay Progress +1%.

His progress had climbed so high that defeating a Notoriety Ethereal now only earned him a measly 1%.

Nearby, Nekomata was stunned.

But then she remembered Sam Li's battle against Azhdaha.

If Sam Li had gone all out, she probably could've wiped out both Ethereals in an instant.

"Sam Li, that other one's trying to escape...!"

With that, Nekomata charged in with her weapon.

Together, the two of them quickly finished off the remaining Ethereal.

Afterward, they checked the bodies of the raiders who had been attacked—

All dead.

A raider vehicle was parked nearby, along with a pile of resource crates...

...

At the same time—

Over on Billy and Anby's end, the two had split off from Sam Li and Nicole after hearing gunshots.

Sure enough, they encountered a Notoriety Ethereal.

And not just that.

There was a strange man wielding a long sword, locked in fierce combat with the Ethereal.

White-haired, with two red horns sprouting from his head—clearly not human. Some kind of Thiren, perhaps?

But what really caught Billy's attention was the small cow-like creature fighting alongside him—almost like a pet.

There was no time to analyze.

Billy quickly drew the twin pistols from his waist.

"Anby, let's go help him out—team up and take this thing down!"

Ever since he'd watched Sam Li fight Azhdaha, Billy had asked him for pointers.

He had taught him a more agile movement technique—this was the perfect chance to try it in a real fight.

Anby hesitated for a second, then nodded.

"I'll flank from the left, you take the right."

She drew the blade at her waist and dashed forward, ready to clear a path and provide cover.

Billy laughed as he moved.

"Yo yo yo! The Starlight Knights have arrived!"

Up ahead—

Arataki Itto had already spotted the newcomers.

At first, he thought they were with those raiders from before, back again to hunt him down.

He shouted, "You're chasing me again?! You guys ever gonna quit? One more move and I'm really gonna get mad!"

Billy had no idea what he was talking about.

He grinned and said, "Chasing you? Dude, we just got here. You're a raider too, right? Didn't expect to see a Notoriety Ethereal here. Lucky for you, we'll save you this time—for free!"

That's when Itto realized—

These two weren't with the earlier "Natlan people."

They weren't here to fight him either.

Whatever.

If they were helping, he wasn't going to say no.

"Ahahaha! Looks like Natlan's got good people too!"

Just as he said that, Itto did a double take.

Wait a minute.

Why was the guy in red... made of metal?

With Billy and Anby in the fight, Itto's pressure eased up immediately.

Now he could finally go on the offensive.

He gripped his long sword tightly, then charged forward with all his might—like he was charging into a fated reunion.

"Evil Oni Charge!"

He burst forward, leaped high into the air, and slashed down hard at the Notoriety Ethereal.

The strike landed, carving a deep gash across the creature's body.

But it wasn't enough.

Wounds like that wouldn't bring down a Notoriety Ethereal. He needed to hit harder.

Just then—

A voice rang out from the distance.

"Billy! Anby! We're here to help!"

Billy grinned.

"Nicole's here! And Sam Li too—wait, where's Sam Li?"

Arataki Itto looked confused.

"They your teammates too?"

...