"Hey, can you hear me, Nicole? You can send Eous in now!"
Wise stood beside Belle, wearing a headset.
"Okay!" Nicole held the phone to her ear, knelt on one knee, and patted Eous on the head twice before pointing a slender, pale finger toward the nearby Hollow entrance. "Alright, little guy, go on!"
"It's done. Your Bangboo has set off," Nicole reported to Wise over the phone.
"Belle, you can start now," Wise nodded to Belle.
"Mm," Belle responded softly, then leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Seeing this, Wise pressed a red button, and a progress bar appeared on the computer screen.
When the progress bar reached 100%, Belle abruptly opened her eyes, her pupils emitting a blue light.
At the same time, far away on Fourteenth Street, the vacant look in Eous's eyes instantly vanished, replaced by a confident, swaggering gait as it strode into the Hollow.
Inside the Hollow, three figures came to a stop in a place that looked all too familiar.
"Huh?!! How are we still here?!" Billy scratched his head in confusion. Several Ethereals had already spotted them from higher ground nearby.
For these mindless monsters, seeing humans meant only one thing: tear them apart!
"Darn, another fight! Ammo's running low. If this keeps up…" Billy checked his ammunition and grumbled in dissatisfaction. Anby had already loudly alerted them about the approaching Ethereals: "They're coming! Prepare to engage!"
Just then, several small balls rolled into the center of the battlefield and instantly exploded, producing a large cloud of smoke.
"That wasn't me!" Billy noticed Anby's suspicious glance and quickly waved his hands in explanation.
"Hey, you three, over here!" Eous peeked out from behind a train car and gestured for them to come.
Billy, Anby, and Ye Qingfeng quickly ran toward Eous.
"You three, well done!" Eous placed its hands on its hips, looking as if it wanted praise.
Huh? A Bangboo? I thought Bangboos weren't this intelligent! And did it just speak human language?! Ye Qingfeng looked at the expressive, talking Bangboo with confusion.
"A Bangboo wearing a scarf… and speaking human language…" Anby whispered to Billy beside her.
"Ohhh! Could you be—" Billy pointed excitedly at the Bangboo. "Phaethon!"
Back in the video store on Sixth Street, Belle propped her chin on her hand, a faint smile on her lips.
"Huh? Phaethon? Who's that?" Completely clueless, Ye Qingfeng voiced his confusion.
Far away in the video store, Belle shuddered at his words. Her hand slipped from under her chin, and she almost bumped her head on the table.
This guy… I was just trying to look cool, and he ruins it…
Billy pulled Ye Qingfeng aside and gave him a brief explanation: This Bangboo was being controlled by the famous proxy, Phaethon, and it was here to rescue them.
Ye Qingfeng nodded gently. "Got it!"
"I propose we take a short break now. Is that acceptable, proxy?" Anby looked expressionlessly at Eous and suggested.
"Perfect timing. Eous needs some adjustments too, so I'll rest for a bit," Belle's playful voice came from Eous.
"Alright, proxy, you, Qingfeng, and Billy rest. I'll handle lookout duty."
Ye Qingfeng didn't stand on ceremony and plopped down on the ground. He had noticed that after all the running and fighting, Anby wasn't even out of breath, and Billy was handling it effortlessly.
In comparison, he felt somewhat redundant.
I should've chosen the combat system back then.
"That was really close earlier. I didn't expect that guy from the Red Fang Gang to mutate into such a powerful monster," Billy stroked his chin. "Thankfully, Boss, you stepped in just in time and got us out of there."
"As expected of Phaethon! Always reliable!"
"Hmph! Praise me a bit more, and I might even give you a discount on the commission fee." Though Belle's face showed no change, she was secretly delighted inside.
"Really?" Anby asked eagerly.
"Anby, I think the proxy is just being polite…"
While they chatted, Ye Qingfeng took the opportunity to lean against a train car and close his eyes to rest.
From the moment he transmigrated until before entering the Hollow, his mindset had been to take each day as it came—just live one day at a time. Now, it seemed that wasn't enough.
In such a dangerous world, how could an ordinary person like him survive?
Of course, he could find a safe job and avoid Hollows for the rest of his life. But Hollows could suddenly erupt anywhere. He had just wanted to catch that little cat and ended up accidentally inside a Hollow.
So, in his view, nowhere in this world was absolutely safe. It was better to think about how to improve himself to handle unexpected situations that could arise at any time.
At the very least, he couldn't continue like this—relying entirely on Anby and Billy to make it through safely.
Sigh… I really should've chosen the combat system back then…
Better not dwell on it too much. Let's wait until we safely leave the Hollow…
Ye Qingfeng stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and walked over to the group still chatting.
"Ever since we first started working with you, Boss, I've wanted to ask: that equipment in your shop not only lets you sync your senses with the Bangboo but also allows real-time communication inside the Hollow!" Before he even reached them, he could hear Billy exclaiming loudly.
"Technology this advanced—even the Public Security Bureau and the Hollow Investigation Association can't do it!" Billy asked curiously. "With such a trump card, why not join the investigation association and live the high life?"
"Working with Hollow-divers like us… seems like the risks far outweigh the benefits, doesn't it…?"
Billy was full of questions, waiting for Belle's response through Eous, when a roar suddenly echoed in everyone's ears.
"That's an Ethereal!" Anby immediately alerted them.
"So soon?! I was just about to lie down!"
"We must evacuate!" Anby stated calmly. "Or, Billy, if you want to lie down here forever… next year, I'll place the latest Starlight Knight belt on your grave."
"Don't say things like that with your poker face! I can't tell if you're serious or joking!"
Belle chuckled softly. "It's nice to hear some improv comedy every time we work together."
"Boss! Which way do we run?"
"Full speed straight ahead!"
"Full speed straight ahead! Roger!" Billy looked at the wall in front of him, completely puzzled. "Wait? But there's a wall ahead! Do we break through it? Even as a robot, that's not doable…"
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A/n: New content and Story posted on my patreon go check it out!
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