The Beauty Collector

"Here we are, and as you can see, this place is the repair and maintenance department of my company."

After the trio parted ways with Zeshibana, Zeno continued the tour as he led the two women to the west side of the Freedom Carrier's HQ building on the first floor, and when they arrived at the white double doors at the end of the hallway, Zeno told them where they were while pointing at the nameplate on top of the entrance to Shizuka and Rika before they walked through the double doors to a very large and spacious room with the constant sounds of metal clanging and machines whirring echoing in the room.

"Here's where we fix our broken toys and other stuff. We also have all the necessary machines and tools to fix everything imaginable as well as the team of experts who can take care of both big and small issues that might come up..."

Shizuka and Rika look around the room in amazement as they step into a high-ceilinged room filled with all kinds of high-tech equipment and tools that are seemingly coming straight out of a sci-fi movie; they can't even imagine what most of each machine does or how to operate them.

While they were walking inside the room, they also noticed that the room's white floor was strangely spotless and the faint smell of lubricant, something burning, and metal lingered in the air.

Then, almost like they were waiting to answer the two women's unspoken question, Shizuka and Rika hear a robotic beep-boop noise behind them, and when they turn around, they see a white Roomba-like robot immediately appear from somewhere and start cleaning up the dirty floor behind them, answering their question about why the floor is very clean.

"Oh~! that looks so convenient~"

Shizuka has a star in her eyes as she sees how effective the cleaning robots are. She really wants one of those in her house, if it's still standing after the New Dawn operation, that is…

As the trio walked through the repair and maintenance department, they saw a dozen or so shadow clones in white uniforms busy at work, repairing a mix of electronic devices, guns, and even a bunch of tools that had seen better days.

The sight of these shadow clones working and operating various machines was a little nostalgic to the two women as they remembered back to the normal day where they could see something like this in the random documentary program on the late-night TV show, not like in the present, where the world had gone to hell and countless zombies roamed around the streets searching for prey.

"This place is always busy with something or another. You'd be surprised how often someone broke something every week."

Zeno mused out loud to the two women as they continued the tour, passing by the armory next door that was filled with rows of various weapons and equipment on the shelves and racks inside the open room, each piece looking new as if it had never seen a day of battle because of how advanced the machines and tools used in maintaining them were.

"Sup, Boss."

From inside the armory, a shadow clone in the form of a chubby man with a sleepy face in a black suit could be seen greeting Zeno lazily behind a long desk near to the armory entrance. This chubby shadow clone was the one who kept track of all the weapons and equipment going in and out of the armory.

"Hey, nice to see you actually working for once instead of stuffing your face with potato chips."

Zeno said with amusement as he nodded at his chubby shadow clone, who just shrugged his shoulders without any concern; he just doesn't feel like eating something today.

"Well, keep up the good work."

Zeno said to his shadow clone with a little curiosity on his face, as he rarely sees the chubby guy without his snacks while on the job or just doing anything else, to the point that Zeno can confidently bet his entire fortune to this dude that he is currently on his way to ascension from just eating too much snacks.

"This is the armory, and as you can see, it is filled with weapons and equipment for our Freedom Guards. Every item inside is in perfect condition, and my employees make sure to keep everything that way."

Zeno then turned to the two women and gave them a half-hearted tour guide-like speech before waving goodbye at his chubby shadow clone, who also lazily saluted back with his fist bumping against his chest before Zeno continued to lead Shizuka and Rika away from the armory.

"Where are you getting all of those weapons from, Zavior-san?"

Rika asked with some hint of suspicion in her voice while her eyes were still scanning the impressive array of weapons and equipment in the armory behind them. She wondered if he was smuggling them inside the country from the sea long before the outbreak even started.

"Well, it might be hard to believe, but all of those fine instruments of liberty are the products of my company's secret underground factories under the Tokonosu City."

"There's something like that underground?!"

Zeno replied with a smirk as he turned to look at the two shocked women behind him. The revelation that there are secret underground factories underneath the city that they live in without them even noticing anything all these times was very surprising.

"All of the weapons are technically made in Japan, you say?"

Rika continued to question him with an incredible expression.

"Indeed, before the outbreak even started, I already had built my own secret underground factories that produced all of our items, from guns to vehicles, even the fancy tech like that hologram projector. There's even the nuclear reactor under there~!"

"Wait, wait—what?! You have a nuclear reactor too?!"

Rika understandably lost her cool as Zeno kept dropping shocking secrets on her, while the man himself just laughed at her reaction as Shizuka started to lag behind the conversation and look at the two with confusion.

After some explanation from Zeno of how he secretly built the underground base and many things hidden away from the authority's sight, which was quite an interesting story to the two women, Rika couldn't help but whistle in amazement, while Shizuka looked at him with a sparkle in her eyes as she thought the outlaw Zeno was very cool.

"So, you're basically running an illegal military-industrial complex under the guise of a delivery company or something?"

"Of course not."

Rika asked with a half-joking tone as Zeno denied her accusation with a chuckle, his icy blue eyes gazing at her with amusement.

"Everything I built is mostly for my hobby and amusement, to be honest."

"You think anyone will believe that excuse...?"

÷×÷×÷

The tour continued after Zeno revealed something quite incredible to Shizuka and Rika, and the two women were led to the training facilities on the second floor next, where the Freedom Guards can hone their combat skills against each other or the training robot that can fight hand-to-hand and can even mimic the movements of the zombie. There's also a traditional gym next door that provides the place for exercise and a shooting range for shooting practice.

They visited each facility, and the sight of the guards' almost supernatural abilities in each place was both breathtaking and terrifying. It was clear that the Freedom Carrier spared no expense when it came to their security.

Shizuka and Rika followed Zeno through the training facilities, observing the shadow clones sparring with each other, practicing with guns, and showing the feats that put Olympic athletes to shame.

Shizuka and Rika were both in awe, their eyes wide with shock at the sheer peak human performance from most guards. They even question Zeno if the guards were doping on dangerous substances.

"Well, I know this might be hard to believe, but believe it or not, this is the average strength of my security guards."

Zeno's voice drew back the attention of the two women from the sight of the shadow clones in their intense combat drills.

"As you can see, they are not just your regular security guards but an elite, thoroughly trained, and extremely disciplined military force capable of handling any combat situation. They are my absolute line of defense against all threats, after all."

"But is this not too excessive?"

Shizuka nodded along with Rika's question, still trying to process the sight of the shadow clones incredible feats, while Rika, the spy, didn't forget to do her duty, taking mental notes of everything despite how unbelievable they are. Her superior will definitely not believe her report, Rika thought with a wry smile.

"Nah~"

Zeno just smirked and denied the question.

"This is just a basic requirement."

"..."

His answer left them quite speechless, as they really wanted to retort to him with 'What more do you want?!' to his smirking face.

÷×÷×÷

"And here is the clinic."

Zeno announced as the trio entered the medical bay of the HQ building on the third floor. The two women could see that the white room of the medical bay was lined up with the patient beds, medical equipment, and the faint beeping of monitors, with the scent of disinfectant in the air along with some people inside.

"How nostalgic~"

Shizuka said as she felt a sense of nostalgia for her old university days while they passed by the medical bay, where a few Freedom Guards and some survivors were receiving treatments for their injuries, their eyes glancing over the newcomers with curiosity.

Throughout the medical bay, the trio could see a couple of the survivors that were recruited as doctors and nurses tending to the patients among the Freedom Carrier's employees, as one of the nurses was meticulously sewing up a gash on the male survivor's arm, while the doctor was checking up on the other patients. The sight was quite calm and comforting, a reminder that there was still an order and civilization within the Freedom Carrier's imposing walls.

Zeno led the two women in silence through the medical bay, while pointing out any advanced machines and medicines to the women from time to time as they toured around the place.

÷×÷×÷

"Here is the barrack and dormitory for my employees, you could say."

Zeno said as he led Shizuka and Rika to the fourth floor before they arrived in a long corridor with numerous doors on each side, like a hotel.

"This is the place where my employees rest and recover before their next assignment, and don't be jealous of their living conditions; they are my employees after all."

While listening to Zeno, Shizuka and Rika peeked into the open doors, seeing the shadow clones lying on their bunk beds, some playing handheld games, while others read or did something to relax. The rooms look surprisingly cozy with all kinds of devices that provide comfort, such as air conditioning or a personal fridge.

"They're really living in better condition than us, huh?"

Rika murmured to Shizuka, who nodded in agreement, feeling no small amount of envy for the shadow clones' better living conditions.

When they were touring the barrack and dormitory from the fourth floor to the sixth floor, Zeno suddenly stopped in front of one of the doors with a nameplate that reads 'Louise Ember' hanging on it, unlike the other doors that only have number plates.

"Excuse me, you two, I want to check up on someone before we continue our tour."

Zeno turned to Shizuka and Rika as he told them with a mischievous look on his face before he grabbed the doorknob for a couple of seconds to discreetly unlock the door with Godblood before he opened the door without knocking and went inside while the two women looked on with curiosity.

Inside the room there's a woman with short gray hair and dark gray eyes, who was sloppily dressed in just a white blouse and a pair of lacy black panties, sitting on the messy bed as she plays a hentai game on a large screen monitor that is mounted on the wall with headphones on her head. She has prominent dark bags under her eyes and a couple of earrings on both of her ears.

"Ooooh~ this slut is really a virgin lol~."

The woman mumbles with a perverted grin as the monitor displays an H scene of a beautiful milf being forcefully deflowered in the dark alley.

Seeing his prey is still unaware, Zeno smirks widely as he sneaks slowly up to her before he arrives behind the woman and immediately grabs hold of her shoulders as he says…

"ARE YOU GOONING, SON?!"

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh??!???!"

Zeno's sudden loud voice and his touch startled the woman silly as she screamed out loud in panic while she jumped up from the bed and skillfully closed the monitor somehow before she quickly turned around to face the intruder with a mix of embarrassed, confused, and angry expressions.

"Well, well, well, that was quite a nice scream, LewdEmperor. By the way, you really honored your name, huh? Playing an H game this early in the evening—how bold of you~"

Zeno teased the embarrassed and angry woman as he tried to pat her head, but the woman dodged his hand with indignation as she glared at him, but the smirking Zeno ignored it and continued to try patting her head regardless, and she had to hold off his hand like a child because of the height difference between them.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

She yells at him as she finally manages to slap his hand away since Zeno eventually stops trying to pat her head and just looking at her with amusement.

This woman is one of Zeno's Ascendant Shadows with the name Louise Ember, but the others just call her LewdEmperor because, well, she's kind of a pervert that likes to touch herself a lot. A typical horny teenager, if you will.

"What am I doing here? I'm just checking up on my favorite gooner, obviously~"

Zeno said nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulders, while Louise just became expressionless and looked at him with her dull gray eyes. She really wants to punch him but is also afraid of the retaliation since her original is very notoriously petty...

"...out..."

"Hm?"

"GET OUUUUUUUUUUUT!! GYAaT OUUUUUUUUUUUUUuUUuUuuUt!!!!"

"Woah?!"

The LewdEmperor could only choose a safer option and yell at Zeno until he got the hell out of her room…