Chapter 272: Heh Heh Heh

Gradually, the pain turned numb, and the dizziness reached its peak.

He didn't know how much time had passed before Ye Ye Qingfeng felt the sense of constraint vanish, his whole body feeling light, and the texture of the ground felt so real.

He suddenly opened his eyes, but before he could make out the surroundings, exhaustion surged up endlessly; bean-sized beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks from his forehead, making him look completely exhausted.

"Huff, huff—so tired, I feel like my body has been hollowed out!"

Ye Ye Qingfeng's knees gave way, and his body couldn't stop falling forward; he quickly reached out to prop himself against the ground, half-kneeling as he gasped for breath.

"Ye Qingfeng?? Why are you here?!!"

Hearing the voice, Senior Qing Yi looked over, terror appearing on her exhausted little face; her hand gripping the sack unconsciously loosened as she blurted out.

"Oh~ so Senior Qing Yi has such a wretched side too—" Ye Ye Qingfeng forced a smile, "This trip was worth it!"

"I'm asking how you appeared here!"

Senior Qing Yi's brows knitted tightly together, and she instinctively shouted.

"Your good friends have all fallen on the ground; aren't you going to do anything about them?"

Ye Ye Qingfeng pointed at the Bangboos scattered across the floor; noticing Senior Qing Yi's youthful little face growing even uglier, he pursed his lips and said:

"I came here to save you out of the goodness of my heart, okay? And yet you're getting angry at me!"

"Do you have any way to get out?"

Senior Qing Yi took a deep breath, immediately adjusted her mindset, turned around to gently pack the Bangboos on the ground back into the sack, and asked without looking back.

"Wait a sec—I'll ask."

Senior Qing Yi turned her head, looked around, saw no one, and wore a face full of confusion.

Ask? Ask whom? Ask God?

Ye Ye Qingfeng ignored her questioning little expression and focused intently on checking the route, planning the fastest escape plan in the span of a Brief technique.

Under the most ideal circumstances, with a clear path all the way, the two of them could leave the Hollow in just ten minutes by running.

Obviously, the actual situation was far from ideal; both he and Senior Qing Yi had expended most of their stamina, they still had to carry a large sack of Bangboos, and it was impossible that there wouldn't be Ethereals blocking the way.

Calculating it, the fastest possible time might be within half an hour.

Ye Ye Qingfeng's expression looked somewhat ugly; if they left the Bangboos behind, it could probably shorten the time by anywhere from five to seven minutes.

"Senior Qing Yi, is it absolutely necessary to take those Bangboos with us?"

He asked tentatively.

Senior Qing Yi lowered her eyes and lightly bit her lip.

She also knew clearly that without the Bangboos, the possibility of escaping the Hollow would be slightly higher, but... abandoning one's own kind...

A sense of resentment inexplicably rose in her heart, naturally directed at those high-ups in New Eridu, questioning them: aren't the lives of Bangboos also lives?

In the eyes of most people, compared to Bangboos, the lives of cats and dogs are more precious; after all, not many treat animals as family, while quite a few treat Bangboos merely as tools.

The difference is immediately apparent.

Heh, wasn't she also just a tool?

Senior Qing Yi took another deep breath, as if making up her mind.

"If we don't take them, there will be no evidence to convict the criminals."

She suddenly changed her tone.

"If we encounter an emergency or a threat, you leave directly without hesitation; if we wait until the Hollow completely expands, the chances of getting out then will be even slimmer."

"Oh, okay." Ye Ye Qingfeng nodded in agreement, then immediately reached out his hand to Senior Qing Yi, "Give me the bag; I have a way to take them with us."

Senior Qing Yi was stunned, and as if possessed by a spirit, she handed over the sack filled with Bangboos.

"Look, an Ethereal—!"

Ye Ye Qingfeng took the sack, randomly pointed in a direction and shouted loudly; as soon as Senior Qing Yi turned her head to look, he hurriedly stuffed the Bangboos into his spatial backpack.

"Excuse me, where is the Ethereal?"

Senior Qing Yi stared resentfully at Ye Ye Qingfeng; the next second, she discovered that the sack containing the Bangboos had vanished without a trace, her mouth slightly agape, wanting to ask but swallowing the words back down.

【Beep! Beep! Beep! The Ether activity within the Hollow is gradually increasing; in twenty seconds, a spatial rift will form three meters directly behind the host, leading straight to the Hollow's exit.】

【It is predicted that in thirty seconds, the expansion speed of the Hollow will accelerate at a geometric rate; the scope of expansion cannot be predicted.】

Upon hearing the good news from the system, Ye Ye Qingfeng's smile hadn't lasted even a second before he heard the latter part of the message, causing his smile to stiffen.

'What will happen if we ignore it?'

【If the Hollow's expansion is not stopped as soon as possible, it will expand to the nearest street within five minutes, completely occupy the street within half an hour, and accelerate its expansion outward.】

"Hey, Ye Qingfeng! Lead the way quickly!"

Senior Qing Yi felt somewhat irritable and dissatisfied, shouting loudly.

"No—wait ten more seconds."

Ye Ye Qingfeng raised his eyes with a puzzled look and said calmly.

Senior Qing Yi's current state was quite abnormal; like a patient with an irritability disorder, she paced in place, restless and uneasy, feeling as though she might explode at any moment.

Could it be that her CPU or something has malfunctioned?

【Beep! Senior Qing Yi's current symptoms are early-stage Corruption; various negative conditions will appear.

If she does not leave the area with high Ether concentration, the next stage will involve symptoms such as memory decline, followed by an unprecedented sense of comfort, after which Ether crystals will crawl all over her body.】

【This is the same condition as when the host first entered the Hollow.】

"What are you still waiting for? If we don't leave the Hollow quickly..."

Senior Qing Yi's body went limp, falling straight forward; seeing this, Ye Ye Qingfeng strode forward, catching her and holding her in his arms.

Unfortunately, Eous slipped from her embrace, rolling all the way to the location where the spatial rift was about to form; seeing this scene, Ye Ye Qingfeng's mouth twitched.

What dog-like luck! It actually stumbled upon a ray of hope...

"What are you doing—! Let go!"

Senior Qing Yi struggled continuously, clenching her fists and pounding against Ye Ye Qingfeng's chest with pitifully weak force, just like a delicate girl acting spoiled.

"Don't bother trying; heh heh heh, you cannot escape my clutches!"

Ye Ye Qingfeng grinned wickedly while holding Senior Qing Yi close as he stepped forward; whether by calculation or luck, the moment a spatial rift appeared, he stepped right into it, not forgetting to kick Ethereal first to send it through the rift ahead of them.

After a spell of the world spinning and the earth turning, the scenery around the two people and the cloth changed completely; Ye Ye Qingfeng ignored Senior Qing Yi's little punches while confirming the Hollow's exit in his mind.

Confirming that the wall on the left was the exit leading outside, he casually lifted his leg to scoop up Ethereal from the ground, drew a graceful arc through the air, and finally let it land in Senior Qing Yi's arms.

Looking at the suddenly appearing Ethereal, a look of delight emerged on her youthful face; she contentedly gathered it into her embrace, lying obediently still without moving a muscle.

Observing this scene, Ye Ye Qingfeng could not help but shudder.

What is this happening; has Senior Qing Yi broken down?

"Lie still and don't move," Ye Ye Qingfeng said aloud to verify the guess in his heart.

"Oh, okay."

It's confirmed; she is definitely broken to the point of...

Ye Ye Qingfeng discovered that the number of Ethereals around them was increasing at a speed visible to the naked eye, appearing far more active than usual, which was clearly not a good omen.

He had no mood to tease Senior Qing Yi for fun; he needed to leave the Hollow quickly before the Ethereals discovered them, so he lifted his leg and charged straight into the wall beside him.