Image: HoYoverse
Hugo will be an S-rank Ice Attack agent.
Zenless Zone Zero has just dropped a teaser for a new agent from the Mockingbird faction: Hugo Vlad. Hugo will be an S-rank Ice Attack agent to be released in version 1.7. This was posted on ZZZ’s official Facebook, X and YouTube accounts:
Mockingbird is a faction that Lycaon used to be with. If you did Lycaon’s agent story, you’d find out that he and Hugo seemed to be close in the past.
Players may have also encountered Hugo while completing the event “A Day of Brilliant Wishes” where Hugo and Vivian’s Bangboo were competing. The Mockingbird faction had targeted one of Astra Yao’s records within her staff—but that was all there was to the story at the time.
Zenless Zone Zero casts light into the mysterious Hugo
Hugo will be the third S-rank Ice Attack agent in the game, after Ellen and Miyabi. In the teaser video, he introduced himself as “Somewhat of a collector.”
This is in theme with what players know about the mysterious faction at this time, and as one line from an NPC in a commission from Lycaon’s agent story describes the faction, the organisation was “the greatest phantom thieves of New Eridu.”
Fairy described the organisation as “An infamous thieves syndicate that steals from the rich and gives to the poor, though their reputation is quite mixed" and that they once scammed all of the wealthy elite of New Eridu.
This is in line with one of the quotes on Hugo’s drip marketing. One random New Eridu citizen commented about a collection theft incident, saying, "A charity event? In reality, it's nothing more than a method for those self-righteous hypocrites to collude in secret. Criminals? The Mockingbird be considered a hero instead!"
Lycaon also had something to say about Hugo, his faction and his philosophy. "It is precisely because we are living in this era of disasters that I cannot acknowledge the so-called 'justice' he believes in,” Lycaon’s quote read. “Carving out a malignant tumor forcefully with sharp claws will ultimately leave only a scar named vengeance."
The fact that the New Eridu Public Security has warned citizens about counterfeit currency in the last quote only goes to show how much scamming the organisation can do.
The question is, how does Phaeton get involved in all of this? Both Hugo and Vivian were featured in the Version 1.6 trailer along with Lycaon, who at some point was trying to shield Belle from something that players aren’t aware of at the time. However, both Vivian and Hugo will only be released in version 1.7.
Meanwhile, version 1.6 drops on 12 March, 2025. The update will introduce new agents Silver Soldier Anby, Pulchra, and Trigger, along with banner reruns for Burnice and Zhu Yuan.
