Returning to Bangboo Town

Piper's driving skills were as sharp as ever. The truck sped down the bumpy road, its speed completely unaffected by the rough terrain.

In the blink of an eye, they had already left the battlefield behind.

Looking back at the battlefield—

Seth, Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, Jane...

And Caesar, Piper, Lucy, and the other Sons of Calydon...

They all felt as if they had just woken from a dream.

It was like something out of a dream.

Towering beasts hundreds of meters tall... colossal spears fifty meters long... a battle of such magnitude was something they had never heard of, much less seen.

To be precise, aside from what they had just experienced, none of them had ever witnessed anything like it.

They could only imagine that when they returned to the New Eridu metropolitan area to report to the Public Security Bureau, no one would believe such an absurd tale.

Soon, even the faintest trace of the battlefield was out of sight.

On the side—

Billy was still urging, "Piper, are we close to Bangboo Town? How much longer?"

He was holding the little Azhdaha, Dragon King, in his arms.

But the moment Billy thought of the massive beast they had just fought alongside Sam Li, he couldn't help but want to toss the little Azhdaha out—it was just too terrifying.

Piper replied helplessly, "How would I know how much longer it'll take? You should ask those Public Security Bureau officers."

She only knew Bangboo Town was in this direction.

She had been following Zhu Yuan and Qingyi's guidance all along and wasn't concerned about the exact arrival time.

Qingyi glanced out the window and, sure enough, saw the outline of Bangboo Town ahead.

"It's just ahead. We'll be there soon. Don't worry."

Billy pulled a face. "Piper, please, drive faster! This little guy, Azhdaha, is way too heavy—he's going to crush me."

Piper yawned. "Alright, alright, stop pushing me. I'll speed up."

At Billy's urging, Piper finally pressed the acceleration button.

In an instant, the truck seemed to tap into some hidden reserve of power. With a thunderous roar, it shot forward.

Even Zhu Yuan and Seth were startled.

Now they finally understood why they hadn't been able to catch up with this truck back in the New Eridu metropolitan area. It had some serious power under the hood—clearly a specially modified vehicle.

Before long, as the truck barreled into Bangboo Town, Piper eased off the accelerator a bit.

At that moment, Nicole, Nekomata, Soldier 11, Caesar, Lucy, and the others poked their heads out of the truck and took in the sight of Bangboo Town.

It didn't look all that different from Carrytown.

The scene was one of desolation—wherever they looked, there were either ruins or crumbling relics of a bygone era.

Not only that—

Along the main street, they could still see traces left by Azhdaha.

There were abandoned buildings it had knocked over... and footprints it had left behind.

From the size of the footprints, it was clear that Azhdaha hadn't yet reached a hundred meters in height at that point.

Seth explained, "That giant beast grew gradually. When we first saw it, it was just over ten meters tall. Then it grew to twenty meters, thirty, fifty... one hundred. If you all hadn't come, it might've reached two hundred meters."

Sam Li shook his head. "One hundred meters is its current limit. It won't grow any further."

Just then, Seth pointed ahead. "Look over there—some injured Bangboos! Let's go help them."

Zhu Yuan nodded. "Good idea. Now that we're in Bangboo Town, we can also ask them about Perlman's whereabouts."

Right after that, Piper parked the truck by the side of the road.

The Public Security Bureau members, the Sons of Calydon, a few from Hare's House, and the Bangboos who had followed them all climbed out of the truck.

Billy looked helpless. "Sam Li, Nicole, what do we do with this little guy?"

Nicole turned to Sam Li as well. "What do we do?"

Sam Li replied calmly, "Leave him in the truck for now. Don't worry—he won't wake up anytime soon."

Relieved, Billy let out a sigh. "Finally, I can set him down."

Then, they all approached the injured Bangboos.

At first, the Bangboos were highly alert—muttering nonstop and even forcing themselves to pick up sticks in an attempt to defend themselves.

It wasn't until they saw their fellow Bangboos getting out of the truck that they slowly began to lower their guard.

Seth spoke gently, "Don't be afraid—we're not from the Lion's Tooth Gang. We're here to help."

As he spoke, he began checking over the injured Bangboos.

Those he could repair, he fixed on the spot.

Those he couldn't, he moved into the truck to gather them all and figure out a solution later.

Nekomata asked curiously, "Supplies are scarce out here in the Outer Ring, and parts are hard to find. How are you going to repair the Bangboos that are badly damaged?"

Seth sighed. "The modules on these Bangboos are badly damaged... there's nothing I can do."

If they were in the New Eridu metropolitan area, they could just visit a local machine shop and buy new modules to replace the old ones.

But this was the Outer Ring—new modules were impossible to come by.

Nekomata pressed on, "What about the ones missing arms or legs? Can you fix their broken limbs?"

Seth shook his head helplessly. "Sorry, I can't..."

This was the harsh reality of the Outer Ring.

If a stray Bangboo suffered injuries this severe, it was unlikely to survive.

Fortunately, the Bangboos here stuck together—they could still support one another and hopefully pull through.

Watching all this unfold, Nicole, Anby, Billy, and the others fell silent.

Such was the cruelty of life in the Outer Ring.

Just then, Piper seemed to remember something. "Caesar, I just thought of something! Back in the Carrytown warehouse, isn't there a pile of old Bangboo parts? Why don't we bring those over? They might help."

Those parts had been gathering dust in the corner of the Sons of Calydon's warehouse for years—picked up from the outskirts of New Eridu City long ago.

They were so worn out they couldn't be sold for much, so they'd just been left there.

Who would've thought they'd come in handy today?

At her words, Caesar's eyes lit up. "I almost forgot! There is a pile of Bangboo parts in the warehouse. Piper, drive back there right away and bring those parts over—we can swap them in for these Bangboos."

Though the parts were worn, they were still better than what the injured Bangboos currently had.

With Caesar's approval, Piper immediately prepared to head back to Carrytown.

Lucy, a little worried, spoke up. "You might run into bandits again at night. Let me come with you."

Piper readily agreed. "Thanks—hop in."

Lucy climbed into the truck and took a seat.

...