Inside the video store, the pale glow of the monitors lit Wise's focused profile—and Belle's tense fingers.
Wise's voice came through the comms, a faint heaviness threaded through his usual control as it pushed into the Hollow's muffled air.
"Hello? Can you hear me? Sis, Qianye, and everyone from Belobog Heavy Industries—you've entered the Hollow. Based on positioning, you're roughly at the border zone between New Eridu and the old city."
After a few blurred acknowledgements crackled back, Wise's tone dropped further.
"Before we move, I need to remind everyone: this area is on the future subway reconstruction route, but PubSec hasn't approved any organization or individual to enter yet. If something happens—"
"Don't worry, Wise." Qianye's voice cut in, warm but firm.
He stood at the center of the group, his slight figure unusually clear in the dimness, gaze steady toward the comm unit.
"I have a senior I know in PubSec. If anything goes wrong, it'll be fine—she'll help us handle it."
"…So that's how it is. Qianye, your connections are honestly beyond my imagination," Wise said, the tension in his shoulders visibly easing. He gave a small, helpless shrug. "Alright. Still—if we can avoid that kind of situation, we should."
Down on the ground, Eous was stomping anxiously, little hands on its hips, its round body radiating silent dissatisfaction.
Seeing that, Qianye's lips curved with amusement. He crouched naturally, gently steadied Eous, then lifted it onto his shoulder. With long fingers, he patted the smooth metal casing in a calming rhythm.
"It's okay, Belle. We'd just owe her a favor, that's all."
"Feels so nice—no, wait! Qianye! Don't you kiss my mouth!" Belle's voice instantly exploded through the channel. "And don't act like favors are simple! If it's easy, it's easy, but if it's hard, it's harder to pay back than just handing over dennies!"
"Yes," Koleda's voice followed, unexpectedly heavy for someone her age. "A favor is a debt. And any debt—whether small or large—will come back to bite you someday."
As she spoke, her small fist tightened around the handle of her work hammer.
Around her, Anton unconsciously straightened, muscles tightening; Ben lowered his gaze as if pushing down old memories; even Grace—leaning by the pile driver—seemed to pause for a heartbeat behind her goggles.
A quiet gloom spread through the Belobog group, like a gray replay of contracts torn up, loans denied, coworkers drifting away.
The hard years after Horst Belobog's inexplicable "disappearance" pressed down like lead on everyone's chest. If not for the intelligent machines Grace had built—like a lighthouse in the dark—Belobog Heavy Industries might have already vanished into history's dust.
Anton suddenly shook his head hard, as if trying to fling the darkness away.
As a man of iron! A man among men! How could he let everyone sink into that mood!
He forced a hearty grin onto his face, swung an arm, and boomed toward Ben.
"Ahem! Big Ben! Who would've thought we'd end up back here again!" He blinked at Ben with exaggerated force, the hint blatant: Help me lighten the mood.
"Oh—yeah, for sure!" Ben caught it immediately. His massive body shifted; his low voice rumbled in, trying to break the heaviness. "But… now it really is 'same place, different people.'"
"You've been near here before?" Koleda lifted her chin, suspicious. Her ruby eyes narrowed as they flicked between Anton and Ben.
"Mm." Ben nodded, sweeping his gaze across the broken ruins around them.
"Before the Fall of the Old City, this area was a hot new development zone. The government and TOPS were pouring huge money into building it. Our company also took on a major project here."
He finished the explanation neatly, then snapped the conversation back to business.
"But let's not dwell on it. We should start searching for the prototype."
"Agreed," Wise said, returning to his steady tone. "Then next, I'll explain what you need to do. First…"
He laid out the steps clearly and quickly.
When he finished, Wise adjusted the cheap giveaway glasses out of habit and added:
"Everyone at Belobog, I'm counting on you. Make sure you protect Qianye. As for my good-for-nothing little sister… you can watch her however you like—ow, ow, OW! Belle, don't twist my waist—AAAAAH!!"
"You bastard! Are you even speaking human language? Divine punishment!!" Belle's roar nearly blew out the channel.
The comm line erupted into chaos.
"You're courting death!"
"The death star shines above your head!"
Wise's pained yelps tangled with Belle's furious shouting into a full-blown battlefield soundtrack.
On the Hollow side, Eous seemed to receive its operator's rage in real time. It started hopping and punching at the air, little metal limbs clanging as it acted out a violent brawl like a tiny hologram of the fight happening back at the shop.
The Belobog crew stared at each other. Even without seeing the video store, Eous's "live reenactment" plus the audio carnage made the sibling war feel painfully vivid.
"…Uh, maybe we wait until they finish trying to murder each other," Qianye said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He glanced at Grace—who looked oddly entertained as she tapped a finger against the pile driver's metal shell.
Belobog Heavy Industries mediates the brawl…
"Alright—good. All three machines are in position." Anton wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead and sounded the signal proudly.
Back in the video store, Wise—now sporting a freshly-earned black eye—stared at the screen's feed of Grace.
"Grace, can you hear me? Next, you'll control the three machines and send a signal to the prototype."
"Received!" Grace's voice carried a subtle thrill. Her slender but strong palm patted the pile driver's cold steel with a strange tenderness, like she was soothing a beloved pet.
From inside the machine came a low, approving hum—as if answering.
Grace nodded in satisfaction, then cupped her hands and called toward Qianye, who was crouched nearby studying something.
"Qianye! Come back! You're too far from me—dangerous!"
Qianye looked up. The distance between them was… maybe five steps. Close enough to reach out and touch.
He sighed, helplessly patted his forehead, and stood.
"Grace, I've only stepped away for a moment. And I'm still in your line of sight. Don't panic, okay?"
"But—" Grace's voice came through her goggles, oddly precise—mechanical in structure, yet burning with emotion.
"If you're not in my arms, my heart rate accelerates beyond what I can suppress. If our distance can't be as tight as two workpieces locked together by bolts—then whether you're in my sight or not, I can't set my heart down, Qianye."
The air froze.
The comm channel went dead silent. Only the distant wind inside the Hollow could be heard.
A few seconds later—four sharp, collective gasps detonated at once, followed by Koleda's shriek, so high-pitched it nearly tore the channel open.
"GRA—CE! When we grouped up earlier, I didn't fight you because of last night—but that doesn't mean I'll allow you to—you—to harass my doctor whenever you feel like it!!"
"Mm. Received," Grace replied calmly, as if she hadn't just dropped a bomb. "The tunneling rig has feedback—signals from all three machines have locked onto the prototype."
Her fingers flew across the control panel.
"Grace! Don't you dare switch topics this blatantly right now!" Koleda stomped so hard her little hammer punched a tiny crater in the ground.
"Oh my, sorry, little one," Grace said with deliberate perfunctoriness. "My signal seems a bit unstable. I'll hang up fir—"
"Wait! Grace—what was that sound?!" Anton's shout hit like thunder.
His whole body snapped tight. The heavy impact hammer whined to life with a bzzzzt, and his red eyes swept toward the source—
A grotesque Ether howl from deeper in the Hollow.
"Damn it," Ben's voice dropped as he scanned their surroundings, his single eye sharp. "Looks like that high-frequency signal doesn't just help the prototype. It irritates them, too. Of all times…"
"Grace, I'm detecting a high Ether-response entity approaching your position! Pull back with Qianye immedi—huh?"
Wise's voice spiked with pure disbelief.
On the screen, the high-risk Ether blip that had been charging straight at Grace and Qianye suddenly hit an invisible threshold—then hard-cut into a sharp turn, as if yanked by a magnetic force, and sprinted in the opposite direction at insane speed. It moved so fast it left a streak across the display.
Wise rubbed his chin, baffled.
"Strange… what the—Qianye, you did that, didn't you?"
"Yes." Qianye nodded. "I had Eous place a bait compound."
"A bait compound?"
Qianye smiled, pleased with himself.
"Do you remember that compound we tested in the Hollow a long time ago? Later I realized it didn't produce the effect I wanted—but as a half-finished product, it works absurdly well for attracting Ethereals."
"…Yeah." Belle's voice trembled with old trauma. "Now that you mention it, I'm suddenly remembering us running for our lives in the Hollow with a huge black swarm of Ethereals chasing us. Thanks for that."
"It's okay," Qianye said gently, trying to soothe her. "At least the suffering we endured back then can become the strength that protects our companions now, right?"
But before his sentence could fully land—
A massive shadow abruptly swallowed the light above him.
Qianye didn't even have time to react before an irresistible force wrapped him up.
Two shockingly soft, rounded cushions instantly pressed around the back of his head, smothering him in warmth—followed by arms like iron clamps locking around his upper body, pinning him firmly in place.
The signature tuft of hair on his head stubbornly poked out from that deep "valley"—and in the next instant, a pair of warm, soft lips gently enclosed it, sending a strange electric jolt through him.
"Mmph—mmph!!" Qianye's voice was completely muffled.
"Qianye! Grace! What are you doing?!" Koleda's voice on the channel went off-key, sharp as a cat with its tail stepped on.
Grace's lips curved faintly. Her goggles reflected a cold glimmer as she ignored the comm-line meltdown and announced, in a perfectly flat tone:
"Sorry, little one. My signal seems bad. I'll hang up fir—"
"Grace! Grace! Damn it!" Koleda's furious screaming blasted through, followed by the sound of frantic running—wind and skidding gravel. "Proxy! We need to go back and rescue them!"
Belle froze for two seconds. Then she saw Koleda's marker racing in the wrong direction on the screen.
She immediately made Eous do a huge jump and yelled into the comms:
"Wait! Koleda! You're running the wrong way!"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
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