Chapter 21: Hollow Encounter

“Hey? Can you hear me, Nico? You can send Ies in now!”

Zhe stood beside Ling, wearing a headset.

“OK!” Nico held her phone to her ear, knelt on one knee, tapped twice on Ies’s head, then extended a long, pale finger toward the distant entrance of the hollow, “Go on, little one, go!”

“Alright, your Bambu has set off.”

Nico reported to Zhe over the phone.

“Your sister can begin.”

Zhe nodded at Ling.

“Mm.”

Ling softly responded, then relaxed against her chair and closed her eyes. Seeing this, Zhe pressed a red button, and a progress bar instantly appeared on the computer screen.

As the progress bar reached 100%, Ling suddenly opened her eyes, blue light radiating from her pupils.

At the same time, far away on Fourteenth Street, Ies’s vacant expression instantly changed, and it strode forward with unhesitating steps into the hollow.

Inside the hollow, three figures sprinted rapidly, soon stopping at a place familiar to all three.

“Huh?!! Why is it still this place?!”

Billy clutched his head in confusion; several Hai on the nearby heights had spotted the three on the ground.

These mindless monsters had only one thought upon seeing humans: tear them apart!!

“Damn, we have to fight again! Ammunition’s over limit—if this keeps up, the bounty will...”

Billy checked his ammo and complained, while Anbi shouted a warning toward the approaching Hai , “They’re coming! Prepare to engage!”

At that moment, several small spheres rolled into the center of the battlefield and exploded, producing a thick cloud of smoke.

“That wasn’t me!”

Noticing Anbi’s puzzled gaze, Billy quickly waved his hands in frantic explanation.

“Hey, you three, come over here!”

Ies poked its head out from behind a train car and waved at the three.

Billy, Anbi, and Ye Qingfeng sprinted toward Ies’s direction.

“You three, Xinkula !”

Ies stood with hands on hips, wearing an expression begging for praise.

Huh? Bambu? I thought Bambu wasn’t this intelligent?! And didn’t it just speak?!

Ye Qingfeng stared at this expressive, talking Bambu, puzzled.

“A Bambu wearing a scarf... that speaks...”

Anbi whispered to Billy beside her.

“Ohhh! Are you—” Billy pointed excitedly at the Bambu before them, “Phaethon?!”

In the video shop on Sixth Street, Ling rested her chin on one hand, a faint smile on her lips.

“Huh? Phaethon? Who’s that?”

Completely clueless, Ye Qingfeng asked.

Far away in the video shop, Ling jolted at the question, her chin-supported hand slipping—she nearly slammed her forehead onto the desk.

This guy... I finally get to show off once, and he ruins it...

Billy explained in the simplest terms: this Bambu was being controlled by the famed Ropemaker Phaethon—and he’d come to rescue them.

Ye Qingfeng nodded slightly. “Understood!”

“I propose we take a brief rest. Is that acceptable, Ropemaker?”

Anbi stared at Ies with a blank expression.

“Perfect—I need to calibrate Ies anyway. I’ll take a break then.” Ling’s playful voice echoed from Ies.

“Alright. Ropemaker, you and Qingfeng and Billy rest. I’ll handle vigilance.”

Ye Qingfeng didn’t hesitate—he plopped down on the ground. He’d realized: after all the running and fighting, Anbi hadn’t even gasped, and Billy was still relaxed.

Looking at it this way, he felt somewhat redundant...

I should’ve chosen the combat system from the start...

“That was close. I never expected that guy from the Crimson Fang Gang to turn into such a powerful monster.” Billy rubbed his chin. “Thanks to you, Shopkeeper, for showing up in time and getting us out of there.”

“No wonder you’re Phaethon! As reliable as ever!”

“Heh heh! Praise me a bit more, and I might even give you a discount on the reward.”

Though her face showed no change, Ling’s heart was dancing.

“Really?”

Anbi asked, voice excited.

“Anbi, I think the Ropemaker’s just being polite...”

While they chatted, Ye Qingfeng leaned against the train car, closing his eyes to rest.

Before entering the hollow, his only thought was to get by day by day—live one day at a time. But now, that won’t do...

In this perilous world, how could an ordinary person survive?

He could’ve found a safe job and never approached the hollow again—but the hollow erupted unpredictably. He’d only wanted to catch that little cat, and ended up trapped inside.

So in his view, no place in this world was truly safe. Better to think about how to strengthen himself, to handle whatever unexpected situation might arise.

At the very least, he couldn’t keep relying on Anbi and Billy to get him through alive.

Huh... I really should’ve chosen the combat system from the start...

For now, better not overthink it—wait until we safely leave the hollow...

Ye Qingfeng stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and walked toward the others still chatting.

“When I first teamed up with you, Shopkeeper, I wanted to ask—your device doesn’t just synchronize your perception with Bambu, it also enables real-time communication with the hollow!”

Before he even reached them, he heard Billy shouting.

“Such advanced tech—even the Peacekeeping Bureau and the Hollow Investigation Association can’t do this!” Billy asked curiously, “With a weapon like this, why not join the Investigation Association and live in luxury?”

“Partnering with us tomb raiders? Risk outweighs reward, right...?”

Billy waited expectantly for Ling’s reply from Ies, when suddenly a roar pierced everyone’s ears.

“That’s the sound of Hai !”

Anbi immediately warned.

“Already?! I was just about to lie down!”

“We must evacuate,” Anbi stated calmly. “Or, Billy, you can stay here forever—I’ll place the new belt from Star Knight next year on your grave.”

“Don’t say things like that with your poker face! I can’t tell if you’re serious or joking!”

Ling smiled faintly. “Every partnership brings a stand-up comedy show. Nice.”

“Shopkeeper! Which way do we run now?”

“Full speed, straight ahead!”

“Full speed straight ahead! Got it!” Billy stared at the wall ahead, baffled. “Wait—there’s a wall ahead! Are we smashing through? Even if I’m a robot, this is impossible...”