[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-love-life-begins-in-new-eliad":3,"chapter-love-life-begins-in-new-eliad-love-life-begins-in-new-eliad-chapter-21":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Love Life Begins in New Eliad",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2330108,4557,"Chapter 21: Hollow Encounter","love-life-begins-in-new-eliad-chapter-21",21,"\u003Cp>“Hey? Can you hear me, Nico? You can send Ies in now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhe stood beside Ling, wearing a headset.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, your Bambu has set off.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nico reported to Zhe over the phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your sister can begin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhe nodded at Ling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the progress bar reached 100%, Ling suddenly opened her eyes, blue light radiating from her pupils.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the hollow, three figures sprinted rapidly, soon stopping at a place familiar to all three.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?!! Why is it still this place?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Billy clutched his head in confusion; several Hai  on the nearby heights had spotted the three on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These mindless monsters had only one thought upon seeing humans: tear them apart!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn, we have to fight again! Ammunition’s over limit—if this keeps up, the bounty will...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Billy checked his ammo and complained, while Anbi shouted a warning toward the approaching Hai , “They’re coming! Prepare to engage!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, several small spheres rolled into the center of the battlefield and exploded, producing a thick cloud of smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That wasn’t me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noticing Anbi’s puzzled gaze, Billy quickly waved his hands in frantic explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, you three, come over here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ies poked its head out from behind a train car and waved at the three.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Billy, Anbi, and Ye Qingfeng sprinted toward Ies’s direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You three, Xinkula !”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ies stood with hands on hips, wearing an expression begging for praise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huh? Bambu? I thought Bambu wasn’t this intelligent?! And didn’t it just speak?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Qingfeng stared at this expressive, talking Bambu, puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A Bambu wearing a scarf... that speaks...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anbi whispered to Billy beside her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ohhh! Are you—” Billy pointed excitedly at the Bambu before them, “Phaethon?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the video shop on Sixth Street, Ling rested her chin on one hand, a faint smile on her lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? Phaethon? Who’s that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Completely clueless, Ye Qingfeng asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far away in the video shop, Ling jolted at the question, her chin-supported hand slipping—she nearly slammed her forehead onto the desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This guy... I finally get to show off once, and he ruins it...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Billy explained in the simplest terms: this Bambu was being controlled by the famed Ropemaker Phaethon—and he’d come to rescue them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Qingfeng nodded slightly. “Understood!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I propose we take a brief rest. Is that acceptable, Ropemaker?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anbi stared at Ies with a blank expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perfect—I need to calibrate Ies anyway. I’ll take a break then.” Ling’s playful voice echoed from Ies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright. Ropemaker, you and Qingfeng and Billy rest. I’ll handle vigilance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at it this way, he felt somewhat redundant...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I should’ve chosen the combat system from the start...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No wonder you’re Phaethon! As reliable as ever!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh heh! Praise me a bit more, and I might even give you a discount on the reward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though her face showed no change, Ling’s heart was dancing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Really?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anbi asked, voice excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Anbi, I think the Ropemaker’s just being polite...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While they chatted, Ye Qingfeng leaned against the train car, closing his eyes to rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this perilous world, how could an ordinary person survive?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very least, he couldn’t keep relying on Anbi and Billy to get him through alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huh... I really should’ve chosen the combat system from the start...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, better not overthink it—wait until we safely leave the hollow...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Qingfeng stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and walked toward the others still chatting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he even reached them, he heard Billy shouting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Partnering with us tomb raiders? Risk outweighs reward, right...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Billy waited expectantly for Ling’s reply from Ies, when suddenly a roar pierced everyone’s ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s the sound of Hai !”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anbi immediately warned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Already?! I was just about to lie down!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t say things like that with your poker face! I can’t tell if you’re serious or joking!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ling smiled faintly. “Every partnership brings a stand-up comedy show. Nice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shopkeeper! Which way do we run now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Full speed, straight ahead!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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...”\u003C\u002Fp>",1000,"2026-06-20T20:13:17.554Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","0864f0d1916d0572b93a32559a79b7b8db0600345d79e061b6a58cafb992227c","love-life-begins-in-new-eliad-chapter-22","love-life-begins-in-new-eliad-chapter-20",280,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flove-life-begins-in-new-eliad-cover.jpg"]