Under Andrew's extreme acceleration that completely disregarded energy conservation, the jet mode—which had only been used for a few short seconds when crashing into the Diablos last time—was now running non-stop without pause.
Pure brute force caused the energy within the Ether Engine to be consumed crazily as if it cost nothing, directly compressing the operating time, originally capable of supporting an hour and a half, down to less than twenty minutes.
If the Ether Engine hadn't already undergone Andrew's modifications several times, vastly improving both its energy circuits and utilization efficiency, it would be hard to say if it could even last ten minutes.
But that was enough. Twenty minutes was absolutely more than enough for Andrew.
And such massive consumption brought about a speed for the Gouram that far exceeded its limits. The terrifying acceleration propelled the Gouram forward, to the point where the air in front began to squeeze crazily against the sharp angles, until a thin membrane of air formed ahead.
The current Gouram had even achieved an infinite approach towards the number Andrew had casually filled in back then—400 kilometers per hour. The gale-force wind constantly slapped against their faces as they advanced.
In order to carry four people, back in the parking lot, relying on his great strength, Andrew had forcibly ripped the sidecar off a sidecar motorcycle parked there. After leaving behind enough Dennies to buy a new one amidst the impotent screaming of its alarm, Andrew directly installed this side-mounted sidecar onto the side of the Gouram.
Following Andrew's will, the Gouram's nanometal began to surge continuously once again. In just a few short seconds, it directly covered and swallowed it up. As the metal linked and reinforced this sidecar, under Andrew's control, the Gouram soon transformed itself into a very sturdy sidecar motorcycle.
Even the art style was unified.
However, even with Andrew's modification like this, normally it could strictly only carry three people; adding one more person would actually count as overloading. If they were on the road like this, riding in such a manner would lead to being pulled over by traffic police for a lecture, or even having the vehicle impounded.
But time waited for no one. The current situation was extremely urgent, and Andrew couldn't wait for Soldier 11 to take a car over like before. If they waited for her to take a car, the Shiyu Defense would likely be over by then.
Time did not wait, so Andrew directly chose the simplest and fastest solution—overloading.
As the saying goes, if you don't get caught, you didn't commit a crime. What does the Gouram's crime have to do with my Vaulting Tracker?
Relying on the Gouram's incomparably powerful horsepower, they shook off the traffic police who chased after them due to the overloading. Amidst the officers' stomping feet, the group rode the motorcycle, speeding all the way along the road heading towards Scott Outpost.
Although this could be considered breaking the law and disrupting discipline, because time was urgent and Andrew's vehicle control skills were absolutely perfect—perfect enough that no accidents were caused by the extreme speed along the way—Hoshimi Miyabi ultimately chose to tacitly approve of Andrew's operation.
It just surprised her that Andrew's motorcycle, when advancing at full speed, was actually quite a bit faster than her own speed. The only difference was that within the city, it couldn't take shortcuts over rooftops like she could.
But as they gradually left the city area and began heading towards the part of Hollow Zero designated as a military zone, their advancing speeds were instantly reversed. Andrew hadn't lied to her; his motorcycle was indeed faster than her running there directly.
On the road to Scott Outpost, the number of vehicles heading towards the outpost was few and far between, and without exception, the people sitting in the vehicles all had solemn expressions involuntarily. However, many more vehicles were facing away from the outpost, driving towards New Eridu.
These independent investigators cooperating with the officials, upon hearing that the Ethereal heading towards the Shiyu Tower this time was that incomparably terrifying Nineveh, chose to evacuate without hesitation.
As external personnel of the Hollow Investigation Association without personal accident insurance, they were called independent investigators, but in reality, they were just temp workers. For most people, in the final analysis, they were just working a job.
How much money could they make in a month? Why risk their lives for that little bit of money? Therefore, regarding these people who chose to leave Scott Outpost, Hoshimi Miyabi felt no blame in her heart; instead, she understood completely.
Back then, didn't she join the Hollow Special Operations Section precisely so she could stand in front of all the citizens who needed protection when a crisis arrived? Rather, it would be better to say that people like Andrew's group—citizens who knew the danger yet still ran towards Scott Outpost—were the minority.
Hoshimi Miyabi looked at Andrew's broad back as he rode the bike in front of her. Beside Andrew, Meow-Da was using his claws to fix himself onto Andrew's shoulder, facing the gale with a look of enjoyment.
Meanwhile, wearing goggles that looked very similar to standard military equipment styles, Soldier 11 sat quietly and matter-of-factly in the motorcycle's sidecar. Her hands firmly gripped Andrew's mobile phone, unaffected by the extreme speed in the slightest, seriously typing out the contact message Andrew had asked her to send, word by word.
Her serious attitude showed she was afraid of making even a single mistake.
Looking at the people in front of her, it seemed as if they weren't heading towards a crisis-ridden battlefield at all, but rather looked more like a group on their way to a picnic.
Aside from Andrew, both Soldier 11 and Meow-Da had actively requested to follow along and help after Andrew's brief explanation. And unexpectedly, Andrew had no intention of stopping them at all.
Looking at the fluffy and inexplicably familiar big tail in front of her, after hesitating for a moment, Hoshimi Miyabi still spoke up:
"Andrew, is it really okay for... Soldier 11 and the others to come?"
Although it was their first meeting, as someone she had guided on Knock-Knock before, Hoshimi Miyabi still had some idea of Soldier 11's strength. The target she was mainly asking about was naturally Meow-Da, who looked no different from a child in both appearance and behavior.
Noticing Hoshimi Miyabi's gaze through the rearview mirror, Andrew quickly understood what she had misunderstood. After all, ever since Meow-Da came to New Eridu, which also had Thirens, such misunderstandings had happened not just once or twice.
Actually, his current body size was already that of an adult among Felynes, but among the Thirens of New Eridu, he could at most be considered as just starting to develop. Just like Big Daddy's three grandsons who hadn't started developing yet.
So, after smoothing back the hair on Meow-Da's forehead, Andrew casually explained on behalf of Meow-Da, who hadn't realized Hoshimi Miyabi was talking about him at all:
"Rest assured. Since I agreed to bring them, I inevitably have sufficient confidence in their strength. And don't underestimate him. During combat, Meow-Da is an impeccable battlefield support master."
Rather, it would be better to say that a Palico capable of sparing the thought to learn and practice becoming a Felyne Hunter—regardless of his skill as a Hunter—must have inevitably perfected his primary job as support to the point of mastery long ago. And what he could achieve would definitely exceed everyone's imagination.
"As for Soldier 11..."
Thinking of her identity which couldn't be stated explicitly, Andrew ignored some very key details and avoided the heavy to dwell on the light, saying:
"She herself comes from the Defense Force and has very rich experience cooperating with other squads; she just isn't serving on the front line right now. However, her own skills haven't slackened in the slightest. When we get there, we can just let her join a Defense Force squad that is currently short of people. Plus, with the medicine I brought her as insurance, there won't be any problems."
Hearing Andrew say this, Hoshimi Miyabi spoke no further. Her hand gripping No-Tail involuntarily tightened subconsciously, feeling a wave of regret over this situation where she couldn't fulfill her duty and had allowed these citizens, who could have stayed home safely enjoying a peaceful life, to be dragged into danger.
Sure enough, she was still not strong enough. Hoshimi Miyabi did not want the tragedy that happened to her mother back then to be restaged elsewhere, no matter what.
Cultivation... I must continue to cultivate, continue to become stronger! Strong enough that no tragedy will ever be staged in front of me, strong enough that I can save everyone!
Andrew was naturally unclear about what was in Hoshimi Miyabi's heart. Amidst the silence, Scott Outpost was already close at hand.
As the Gouram approached, the two Defense Force soldiers manning the checkpoint at the outpost entrance held extreme vigilance towards this motorcycle rushing towards the outpost at extreme speed.
Although the situation was already very critical, the more critical it was, the stricter the soldiers at the checkpoint became. After all, in this situation, if they accidentally let in some cultists who worshiped Ethereals or Hollows—especially those worshipping Nineveh—who then took advantage of the chaos to run into the outpost and ultimately affected the frontline operations... That would be adding fuel to the fire in the truest sense.
Just as they reached out their hands preparing to intercept, or to directly tank the hit to force the motorcycle to stop...
Screech—!
Accompanied by the incomparably ear-piercing wail from the emergency brake pads of the Gouram moving at full speed, Andrew performed a drift and steadily parked the Gouram sideways in front of the Scott Outpost checkpoint.
He successfully fulfilled his promise; this journey crossing the greater part of New Eridu took less than ten minutes. The handling along the way was so extreme that even the most professional motorcycle racer would have to comment on it.
After the vehicle turned sideways, the sentries finally saw clearly who was sitting on the back seat. They instantly dropped their original guard and immediately stood at attention to salute:
"Chief Hoshimi Miyabi?! You've finally come!"
Once the salute ended, the two men who had been tense all along couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief, then immediately and hurriedly stepped aside from blocking the entrance, saying:
"Please enter quickly, Officer Roland has been waiting for you in the command center for a long time!"
Regarding their words, Hoshimi Miyabi immediately nodded and said:
"Okay, I will."
Saying that, she walked towards the interior of the outpost. And after Andrew instructed the Gouram to find a place to park itself, he took Meow-Da and Soldier 11 and followed.
Watching the three people following Hoshimi Miyabi inside, one of the sentries couldn't help scratching his head and saying:
"Could those three be... Tsukishiro Yanagi, Asaba Harumasa, and Soukaku from Section 6? But I heard Soukaku's race is an Oni? Why is that a cat Thiren?"
Hearing this, the other sentry beside him couldn't help smashing his fist onto his teammate's helmet, ruthlessly retorting:
"Idiot! Did you forget so quickly that we just let Section 6's car pass three minutes ago?! Those three are obviously not Section 6 people!"
"What?!"
The sentry who got hit on the head froze upon hearing this, and immediately said subconsciously:
"Since they aren't Section 6 people, shouldn't we have stopped them and conducted a check like everyone else?"
"This..."
Hearing this, the sentry who knocked his head was also stunned for a moment. But the people had already gone in. Running in now to pull them out for a re-check was no longer realistic. If it wasn't discovered, they might be able to muddle through, but if it was discovered... being court-martialed after the event ended was definitely inescapable.
It shouldn't... be so coincidental that Officer Roland discovers it, right...? Probably?
Things having reached this point, he could only brace himself and deceive himself, saying:
"It's fine, no one will notice. And since they are people brought by Chief Hoshimi Miyabi, there definitely won't be any problems... right?"
*
It was a morning just like any other.
The massive Hollow, seeming to occupy the entire field of vision, lay dormant in place like a giant beast, reminding humanity at every moment of the desperate status quo of walking on a tightrope. This was the scenery everyone stationed at Scott Outpost saw every day when they opened their eyes.
However, staying here day after day, Ray and Roland, who had long become accustomed to all this, were still carrying out their work. In New Eridu, only death, Hollows, and work were destined to be inescapable.
Today was a rare, peaceful day. The Ether data from the major Hollows was very steady; the data sent from the Huaisita Academy and the Hollow Investigation Association was all very stable; the Hollow Occurrence Detection Devices were also very quiet.
Even Ethereal attacks consisted of only two or three appearing occasionally.
Just as Roland arranged today's suppression tasks in a few moves, and Ray was processing the data collected last night from the data anchors inside Hollow Zero to use as raw material for making the latest carrots for the Defense Force's use...
Everything was so beautiful and tranquil, even making people briefly forget the blade of Hollow Zero hanging over their heads.
Just then.
Suddenly, an ear-piercing alarm sound instantly spread throughout the entire command center.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!...
As the beeping sounds, like a Geiger counter, rang out more and more frequently, the faces of Ray and Roland, sitting in the command center, began to become increasingly grave.
One ring meant there was an active reaction; two rings meant significant activity; three rings meant intense; four rings...
As the alarm rang more and more, counting lost its meaning. The next moment, while the red alarm light flashed desperately, the sharp siren from the alarm apparatus also spread throughout the entire camp.
Everything indicated without exception—something had happened. And it wasn't just a minor issue.
The peaceful time had been shattered as alarms rang everywhere. Expressions of unease involuntarily leaked onto the faces of the Defense Force soldiers stationed at Scott Outpost. And those independent investigators waiting for today's commissions rushed towards the checkpoint gate leading to the outside world without hesitation.
Inside the command center.
After a brief yet agonizingly anxious wait, the reconnaissance squad brought back the latest detection intelligence. And based on the route of the damaged data anchors...
Without a doubt, the opponent's advancing target was precisely the Shiyu Tower!
Looking at the photo in front of them, Ray and Roland's faces involuntarily became incomparably ugly. Their voices involuntarily became a bit hoarse.
They couldn't help but exclaim in unison:
"Nineveh?!"
____
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