Chapter 11: The Start of a Partnership

The time agreed upon with Phaethon arrived quickly. After the second class in the morning, Zhong Yan went to the office to ask the teacher for leave, then hurried back home to change into his gear.

(By the way, for some unknown reason, Ellen didn't come to school today. When Zhong Yan messaged her to ask where she was, her response was simply that she was busy.)

It seemed that her work with Victoria Housekeeping Co. was keeping her too occupied to deal with school matters.

This time, Zhong Yan didn't plan to appear in front of the siblings as Uchiha. Still, since they were entering a Hollow, he needed to prepare some form of protection.

Zhong Yan's usual equipment consisted of a straight sword forged from refined steel. It didn't look particularly special, but when combined with the Lightning Release techniques from the [Uchiha Panel] and his body's resistance to erosion, it allowed him to move through the Hollow almost unchallenged.

As long as he didn't encounter something overwhelmingly powerful—like a giant Ethereal—he could generally handle the situation.

However, this appearance was only to mislead the siblings. If he truly wanted to get the safe that contained Fairy, going it alone would be nearly impossible.

"Judging by the time, they should be arriving soon." After waiting for a while, Zhong Yan lowered his head and glanced at his phone. It was already more than ten minutes past the agreed time.

If the siblings didn't run into any trouble, they should be showing up soon.

And just as Zhong Yan had expected, about a minute and a half later, a short figure suddenly turned into the alley from the nearby street.

The other person waddled along with a slightly clumsy gait, their rabbit-like plush appearance was incredibly adorable and utterly charming.

That was none other than Eous—the chief Bangboo of the Phaethon siblings' household.

"Not planning to show yourselves in person, huh..." The appearance of Eous made Zhong Yan realize the siblings were still wary of him.

Then again, they had only exchanged a few words anonymously on the Proxy Network. Gaining someone's trust under those circumstances was practically impossible.

So Zhong Yan made a very sincere choice—showing up in person.

"You must be the client, right?" Suddenly, Eous's expressionless face screen flickered. Then it waved its hand, and a carefully modulated female voice came from inside its body.

Clearly, this was the female protagonist Belle sharing Eous's senses via the HDD system.

A scarf-wearing, talking Bangboo—this was the Legendary Proxy: Phaethon's signature.

"So, it is a talking Bangboo. I wonder what the mechanical structure inside looks like." Zhong Yan crouched down and curiously patted Eous on the head. The soft body immediately compressed and rebounded like a spring from the pressure.

As for his question, the mechanical goddess Grace from Belobog Heavy Industries could probably answer it through manual disassembly—but if she really did that, Phaethon would become Belobog's sworn enemy.

"Don't pat my head like that, it's very rude!" Belle, whose senses were linked to Eous, covered her head with a hand and shouted in an annoyed tone, prompting Zhong Yan to stop his hand.

Realizing he'd overstepped, Zhong Yan gave an awkward laugh and then said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Zhong Yan. It's an honor to work with the Legendary Proxy from the Proxy Network."

Zhong Yan's respectful tone slightly softened Belle's mood. As a legend in the world of Proxys, she quite enjoyed being admired.

"My name is... uh, just call me Phaethon. No time to waste—let's get moving." Feeling a bit smug, Belle nearly blurted out her real name but quickly caught herself, maintaining the mysterious air of a Proxy.

Soon, the two plunged into the Hollow. As their bodies passed through the Hollow's barrier, the world before them instantly changed.

The alley disappeared, replaced by a long-abandoned street.

On either side of the street grew dense Ether matter, and Ethereals wandered about everywhere.

Because of the distance, they hadn't noticed the two yet—but lingering too long might change that.

So Zhong Yan immediately pulled out his phone. When that mysterious person posted the commission yesterday, they had also provided him with the latest Hollow data.

On the map drawn from the data, a location was marked with a red dot. That was where the Red Fang Gang was hiding—and the target of their mission.

...

At the same time, in an abandoned building somewhere in the Hollow—

This was the location marked on the map. But before Zhong Yan and the others could even begin their operation, many figures had already arrived at the site.

They were all Hollow Raiders hired to retrieve the safe.

"So many people showed up? Just what's in that safe to cause such a stir?" One Hollow Raider looked around at his fellow mercenaries, his expression growing darker.

This was the only major gig he'd landed in months. If these people stole it from under his nose, he might not earn a single cent.

He wasn't the only one—every Raider present had the exact same thought. Each of them was ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Don't you guys... think it's a little too quiet here?" Suddenly, someone voiced their concern, making everyone realize something was off. The atmosphere inside the building felt unnaturally tense.

According to the data provided by the client, this was supposed to be a temporary hideout set up by the Red Fang Gang to evade the Public Security Bureau. But there wasn't a single trace of the gang—it looked more like a building that had been swallowed by the Hollow long ago.

And since entering, they'd all felt it—the Ether pressure here was significantly stronger than outside.

A sense of unease surged through everyone's heart.

But before they could react, countless Ether Cores suddenly emerged from the darkness.

The moment the lights came on and illuminated the entire building, they finally saw—the place was crawling with Ethereals!

At that moment, everyone realized they'd been duped. There was no Red Fang Gang hideout—this was a death trap they'd been lured into!

"Run!"

Someone among the Hollow Raiders shouted, and in the next second, those who'd dreamt of riches scattered like startled wild dogs.

The long-awaiting Ethereals launched their attack simultaneously, initiating a massacre without suspense.

And in the corners of every floor of the building, C4 charges placed by unknown parties flashed rapidly with countdown lights—before exploding with a deafening roar.

***

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