[Completed: "How to Raise a Route Heroine."]
[Reward: Denny x3000, Morning Star Affection +2. Current Affection: 39.]
Perfect—
But this time, Fang Wen held himself back and didn't immediately claim the reward the way he had before.
One reason was that he felt his own skills had been improving too quickly, to the point that his foundation was becoming unstable. Another was that he was, in fact, a man with principles.
This reward from Morning Star could wait until after he had helped her settle the housing matter.
Otherwise, if things fell through, he'd feel guilty taking it—
After that came today's final commission.
And it was also the one Fang Wen cared about the most.
"Pioneer Memorial Square… looks like I really do need to investigate it first."
But daily commissions had a limited time window, so one way or another, he definitely had to go there today.
Before that, though, maybe he should head to the Hollow Investigation Association and pick up an updated carrot?
"Oh right. Do you know anything about Pioneer Memorial Square?"
Perhaps because the issue that had troubled her for so long had finally been resolved, Morning Star seemed noticeably more radiant.
"Of course I do."
"Then could Big Sis tell me a little about it?" Fang Wen asked.
Maybe it was because that "Big Sis" hit exactly the right spot, but after taking a sip of coffee, Morning Star began explaining.
"Pioneer Memorial Square was supposed to be a plaza project that was about to begin construction shortly before the fall of the Old Capital. The contractor was Belobog Heavy Industries. At the time, they had probably only completed a memorial tower when a scandal broke out—apparently the former president embezzled the funds and ran. In the end, construction on the square was abandoned because of the missing project funds. After the fall of the Old Capital, it was completely neglected. By now, the entire square has long since been swallowed by a subsidiary Hollow."
Morning Star blinked, seeming to ask why exactly he wanted to know.
"I know a little about Belobog Heavy Industries. Aren't they that construction company where there are more bear Thirens than people, and more machines than bears?" Fang Wen's expression turned a little strange.
Those burly bear Thirens really were born for construction work.
If the construction workers from his previous life had physiques like that, they probably wouldn't have needed contractors or migrant laborers at all.
"Mm. Do you know about the recent fight between Vision Corporation and Belobog Heavy Industries over the subway construction project?"
Fang Wen smiled.
Know about it? The squat little bastard from Vision Corporation who had tried to treat human lives like dirt was still locked up in their station.
"And Belobog Heavy Industries ultimately won the contract to build the subway."
Fang Wen nodded.
"Bzzz~~~"
Suddenly feeling a vibration against his trouser leg, Fang Wen quickly pulled out his other phone.
That phone was his work phone, and it would only vibrate like that when he was specifically @mentioned.
He was on leave right now, so who would be @-ing him at a time like this?
"Sorry, excuse me for a moment." Fang Wen gave Morning Star an apologetic smile at her curious look.
With that, he walked over to the riverside railing and opened the message.
Half a minute earlier—
Zhu Yuan: A civilian report has come in—an as-yet unidentified Ethereal presence has been discovered inside subsidiary Hollow No. 113.
Zhu Yuan: After the Special Operations Unit reported it, we immediately received an emergency mission from both Headquarters and the Hollow Investigation Association. All personnel currently off-duty are to head at once to subsidiary Hollow No. 113 in the Outer District and recover a special Ethereal specimen. Personnel from Belobog Heavy Industries and the Hollow Investigation Association will assist us in completing the mission. @everyone
Zhu Yuan: map.jpg + carrot (downloadable)
Belobog Heavy Industries again…
Fang Wen clicked his tongue. Why did this all feel just a little too coincidental?
Hollow No. 113?
Could that actually be the one he needed to go to?
With some unease, Fang Wen finished downloading the map and carrot. At a glance, he recognized the iconic pointed memorial tower.
No mistake. It was Pioneer Memorial Square.
…
After saying goodbye to Morning Star, Fang Wen hurried to the scene as fast as he could.
But Zhu Yuan and Qingyi, who had left ahead of him, had already led the team to the location first.
He nodded to a few coworkers who were stringing up police tape, stepped over it directly, and entered the scene.
Several forensic staff in protective suits were collecting scattered samples. The plaza's once-flat ground was now strewn with rubble and splattered fragments of Ethereals.
Those fragments of Ethereals were visibly dissolving into wispy ether energy before the naked eye.
The whole area looked as though a fierce battle had just taken place.
And the ones who had won were now off to the side, being questioned by Zhu Yuan and Qingyi.
As for the one who had lost—
Fang Wen looked up at the enormous mechanical Ethereal hanging pathetically from the tip of the memorial spire, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
There was no question that an Ethereal of that size had been the dominant overlord of this Hollow. Its death might cause this medium-sized subsidiary Hollow to contract within a few hours—or a few days—or possibly even disappear entirely.
"Zhu Yuan, what's the situation on-site?" Fang Wen stepped forward and asked.
Using the opportunity to exchange information with Zhu Yuan, Fang Wen also let his gaze drift toward the Belobog Heavy Industries group.
The one leading them was a red-haired twin-tailed girl with an eyepatch, wearing a cropped top and giving off the vibe of a delinquent teenage girl…
…an elementary school kid?
The delinquent grade-schooler is the company president?
Fang Wen raised an eyebrow.
When Zhu Yuan questioned her, this tiny president didn't say much of anything.
The one answering instead was a massive bear Thiren with a huge gold chain hanging around his neck, his furry belly exposed, and an unmistakable scar slashing across his face.
And at the moment, he was talking nonstop.
The general meaning of it all was that the whole incident had been purely accidental, that everything should be left to the police investigation, and that they would absolutely cooperate fully.
Emmm…
By all logic, with a look like his, wasn't he supposed to be the hardest kind of guy for the police to deal with?
Bro, are you doing contrast-gap moe???
The corner of Fang Wen's mouth twitched a couple of times without him noticing, and he moved on to observe the remaining two.
Behind the bear Thiren were one man and one woman, both of whom looked slightly more normal.
The man was a burly guy in a trench coat with an explosive pompadour hairstyle, who kept talking to the pile driver attached to his left arm, calling it "brother, brother."
The woman, meanwhile, wore goggles and carried a nail gun on her back. Right now, she was incessantly stroking a mass-produced Bangboo wearing a scarf marked with the number 01.
Wait a second. Miss?
Why does the way you're touching that thing feel so indecent to me?
Are these people really innocent?
Even though he knew judging people by appearances was bad, Fang Wen honestly felt like he was struggling to keep it together.
For some reason, looking at this absurd little group left him with the feeling that he didn't even have the energy to complain anymore.
Sure enough, the world really was one giant ramshackle circus troupe.
While he was lamenting this, something suddenly tugged at his pant leg.
Looking down, he saw that same mass-produced Bangboo. It had somehow escaped the "witch's" grasp and was now hiding behind him…
Hm?
Are mass-produced Bangboo units really this intelligent?
And also… why does that scarf look so familiar?
The thought flashed through Fang Wen's mind.
"Little baby, don't be scared—come back into big sis's arms~~" The witch still refused to give up and was slowly walking toward Fang Wen.
"Ahem, I have a personal question. I hope your company can answer it."
Fang Wen hurriedly spoke up to stop her from getting any closer.
"Did your company bring a carrot when you entered Hollow No. 113?" Fang Wen asked softly, looking straight into her eyes.
"Uh, that…" Grace froze for a moment, visibly hesitating.
"Alright. Thank you for your cooperation." Fang Wen didn't press further. The fact that she hadn't answered immediately was already enough to prove the point.
Through Zhu Yuan's questioning, Fang Wen had already pieced together Belobog Heavy Industries' stated purpose: on the surface, they had come to recover an industrial machine—a prototype—and then ended up fighting an unknown Ethereal here.
But for a job like that, how could they possibly have come in without a carrot?
Which meant they definitely had help from a Proxy.
"I guessed right, didn't I? Zhe? Or Belle?"
Fang Wen lowered his head to glance at the mass-produced Bangboo and spoke softly.
The Bangboo blinked, then nodded its little head once.
"You know a Proxy?" Grace let out a quiet gasp.
Fang Wen smiled.
When it came to a Proxy capable of remotely taking over a Bangboo's body from outside the Hollow and using it to guide a mission inside, Fang Wen only knew of one.
His younger brother and sister—
The legendary Proxy, Phaethon.
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