"Mmph—! Mmph!"
At the jagged edge of a shattered floor inside Balai Building, Ruen's struggle had grown pitifully weak. The rebel captain's hand—like an iron clamp—was locked around her throat, forcing most of her body out into open air. Below her was a bottomless drop littered with rebar and broken concrete.
The captain stared at the trembling body still twisting in his grip, his eyes empty of pity—only the cold certainty of a mission reaching its end.
"Captain! The client wants us to find out how much intel she's leaked. Shouldn't we—" one subordinate stepped forward, asking for instructions.
"We're paid to do a job." The captain didn't even turn his head. "The client ordered us to contain her and stop any further leakage. We've done that. Interrogation details? Not our mess to wade into—and not a mess I want."
His gaze refocused on Ruen's face, flushed red from lack of air. His voice dropped, decisive and final.
"Sorry, miss. But the only secret that stays buried forever… is the one held by the dead."
His arm tightened. Muscles bunched. He was about to shove her into the abyss—
"So… goodbye."
"Ghk—what the hell is that?!"
The words hadn't even finished leaving his mouth when everything went wrong.
A sharp hiss of something cutting through the air came from behind, followed by the crisp clatter of a metal cylinder striking the ground. Before the rebels could react, thick dark-green paralysis gas erupted from the canister, billowing like living brambles—spreading in a blink and swallowing the entire broken platform.
The gas seemed to bypass standard filtration. Their masks might as well have been decorations.
Within seconds, the rebels collapsed as if their bones had been removed, limbs turning to dead weight. The captain's forearm went numb; his grip loosened against his will.
"—?!"
For a single heartbeat, Ruen's mind snapped from the abyss of despair into wild relief—only for gravity to seize her.
She dropped.
The void below promised death with even the smallest impact. She flailed, desperate to grab anything, but her fingers caught only cold air.
Just as she squeezed her eyes shut—
Warmth.
A pair of steady hands caught her: one supporting her back, the other under her knees, smoothly cancelling her fall as if it had never begun. A voice—clear and airy—brushed her ear, carrying an oddly soothing magic.
"Apologies for the fright. You are Miss Ruen, correct? Victoria Housekeeping—a pleasure to be of service."
Rina smiled gently at the woman in her arms—still with eyes clenched shut and limbs windmilling in panicked reflex.
"Mmph—mmph! W—waaah!"
Her mouth was taped. All she could do was whine helplessly.
"Oh—my mistake," Rina said, blinking in a mischievously innocent way. "But we should only remove the tape once you're completely safe. Please endure it a little longer, yes?"
While Rina secured Ruen, Lycaon and Corin moved like ghosts through the haze, their motions swift and precise. One by one, they restrained the rebels—now helpless—using binders.
The rebel captain lay on the ground, paralyzed, eyes wide as he watched his men get taken apart. He stared at Lycaon and rasped the question through clenched teeth:
"Y-you… how can you be this fast?!"
"From the moment our outer team went silent… to now… it hasn't even been ten minutes. In a Hollow this complicated, just moving through the structure alone should take—how the hell—"
"My apologies, sir." Lycaon inclined his head politely, the courtesy only making his calm superiority sharper. "Your inference is perfectly reasonable. Your decision to relocate immediately after your perimeter failed was also… commendable."
Then his tone shifted—subtly, but unmistakably—his red eyes catching a faint gleam.
"However, Victoria Housekeeping has been provided with a guide we can trust completely. As a result, our projected route was shortened significantly, allowing us to arrive sooner and conduct the necessary… 'cleanup.'"
"Heh… heh…" The captain let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "All dressed up nice… talk so pretty… and you're using lowlife paralysis gas—"
He didn't get to finish.
A shriek of metal tore the air.
A chainsaw, spinning at full speed, slammed into the ground beside his head. Shards of stone sprayed across his cheek, leaving a stinging burn.
The captain yelped—short, involuntary—his pupils shrinking as the mirror-bright blade reflected his own face: twisted with fear, drenched in sweat.
Corin stood above him, expression blank, eyes cold.
Then she yanked the chainsaw free, lifted it overhead, and her engine core hummed with heavy power—blade poised to drop straight down.
"Corin—stop!"
Ellen's voice cut in, and she arrived in the same breath, clamping down on Corin's wrist.
The teeth of the saw halted a hair's breadth from the captain's clothes.
"Corin. Don't." Ellen's tone was firm, but gentle where it mattered. "Staining yourself with too much killing… won't become the version of you you want to offer to Qianye. He wouldn't like that."
"B-but!" Corin's voice cracked. Tears welled up instantly, the hurt bursting through. "If those rebels hadn't attacked… Qianye would've been able to leave the Hollow safely! He would've… he would've…"
Her words broke into sobs.
"He would've patted Corin's head more… stayed with Corin longer…"
"And now Qianye is hiding," she choked out. "Corin hasn't seen him in so long. If it weren't for them, Corin could've stayed by his side just a little more—even if it was only for a moment…"
Ellen stared at Corin's trembling face, then—like a lightbulb snapping on—she pointed off to the side.
"Corin, don't worry. We don't have to rely on them to find Qianye. Look—aren't there people much more suitable right over there?"
Every gaze on the platform—Lycaon's searching scrutiny, Rina's curiosity, Corin's desperate hope, Ellen's pointed intent—swung in unison to Ruen, whose tape had just been carefully peeled off and who was gulping air like she'd been reborn.
"Huh? M-me?" Ruen froze, flustered at becoming the center of attention.
"Ruen, right?" Ellen stepped forward, eyes sharp. "The proxy said you're an excellent hacker. And while the proxy asked us to rescue you, this wouldn't have gone so smoothly without our help. You agree you owe us, yes?"
"Ah—y-yes!" Ruen nodded rapidly. "I'll never forget this lifesaving favor!"
Then she blinked, confused. "But… what does that have to do with Qianye?"
"Good." Ellen took another step, gaze burning with urgency. "Then as repayment—can you use your skills to find where Qianye is hiding right now?"
"Huh? Qianye?" Ruen's eyes widened. She scanned the faces of Victoria Housekeeping—how hard they were trying to look composed, and how badly the desperation still leaked through. She glanced at the Bangboo nearby—Ies—and even it seemed to be staring with hopeful intensity.
She scratched the back of her head and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"You… don't know where he is? Didn't Phaethon tell you?"
"We don't know either!!!"
The atmosphere instantly froze solid.
Lycaon and the others didn't say a word, but the pressure rolling off them turned the air thick and heavy, like breathing through syrup.
Ruen realized she'd stepped on a mine and started waving her hands frantically.
"Sorry! Sorry—my bad, that was my fault! But… I can't promise I can find him either. And—"
"Ruen," a voice cut in from inside Ies—Belle's voice, concerned but still clear-headed. "The priority is the airship. The route tampering was you, right? First, release your control of the airship."
"R-right! Yes—yes, yes!" Ruen jolted as if waking from a nightmare. "I almost forgot—this is bad. I'll undo it right now!"
High above the city, after a period of searching, a helicopter finally locked onto the off-course airship. A spotlight pinned the massive, drifting vessel in a hard white beam.
"Pilot, can we get closer?" Hoshimi Miyabi watched through the window, calm and razor-focused. "We need to board."
"…Are you underestimating my technique?" the pilot snorted, pride flaring.
The helicopter's engines roared louder. The fuselage shuddered, speed surging—then, in a dangerous but precise maneuver, it slid into a near-parallel hover beside the airship's flank, holding position with terrifying finesse.
On the airship's deck, Billy—who had been waiting in frantic tension—spotted the rescue helicopter and started waving wildly.
"There's one survivor on the deck?" Miyabi's gaze sharpened. "Everyone else is unconscious, but he's awake. That's suspicious. Secure him first."
Decision made, she didn't hesitate.
She dipped her body slightly—then a pale-blue blur snapped across the gap between aircraft and deck like lightning, landing soundlessly in front of Billy.
"W-w-whaa—?! Are you human or a ghost?!" Billy nearly short-circuited on the spot.
"My apologies," Miyabi said blandly.
"Wait—what are you—" Billy didn't get to finish.
Miyabi's fist drove forward with clean, surgical precision—straight into his face.
Billy's eyes rolled back. He folded to the deck.
With the only potential instability neutralized, Miyabi didn't even spare him a glance. She walked toward the cockpit.
First: stabilize the airship.
Then: wait for Zhu Yuan and Qingyi.
Then: decide what came next.
Back in the helicopter—
"Hey! Miyabi! You did it again—acting on your own!" Zhu Yuan's voice cut through the engine roar. One hand clamped the door frame; the other hovered near her comms, half ready to scold her classmate on instinct.
Seeing that blue blur already safely inside the airship's cockpit, Zhu Yuan exhaled in frustrated relief, brow furrowing.
"At least wait until the helicopter is steady before you jump!" Her tone carried worry, wrapped in the familiar irritation of someone who valued procedure. "Miyabi… you always do this!"
For Zhu Yuan—guardian of order—Miyabi's habit of skipping steps and going straight for the target was eternally infuriating, even if Zhu Yuan couldn't deny she had the skill to back it up.
"Aiya, young folks have energy," Qingyi drawled from her seat, utterly relaxed. She even had the spare attention to adjust the ends of her twin ponytails. Her green eyes glittered with the joy of watching chaos from a safe distance, and she rattled off a fast, sing-song cadence like a street rhyme:
"Captain Zhu, don't fret, don't fuss—Boss Miyabi's moves are thus.Lightning leap and steady hand,She'll keep it safe, as planned.Why torment your heart with fear,When good news is already near?"
Zhu Yuan inhaled slowly, forcing herself to calm down. Qingyi was right—Miyabi could handle herself. But the idea of a solo move outside the plan still made Zhu Yuan's skin crawl.
"Senior, it's not about 'fret or not,' it's about operational standards—" Zhu Yuan began, then stopped. Qingyi's expression said plainly: I've seen worse with fewer tools.
Zhu Yuan turned to the pilot, her tone snapping back into crisp professionalism.
"Maintain current relative position. Ensure a safe boarding link. Senior, prepare to board with me in order. We need to take control of the airship and check the survivor's condition."
"Roger~" Qingyi sang, rising lightly and loosening her limbs as if she were about to take a casual stroll.
Zhu Yuan didn't answer. She kept her eyes on the airship deck until she confirmed Miyabi was secure, then finally let the tension in her chest loosen by a fraction. She checked her gear and prepared for standard boarding procedures.
Once the two of them were on the airship, Qingyi stared at the navigation panel and sighed.
"Troubled times… looks like they've got a dedicated hacker for this sort of thing. Fine. Let this old lady—hmm?"
"Senior?" Zhu Yuan frowned. "What is it?"
"The hacker's control is gone." Qingyi blinked. "The airship can follow the original route again."
Then—before Zhu Yuan could react—Qingyi leaned forward and licked the display.
Zhu Yuan's scalp nearly detached from her skull.
"Senior! Why are you using that method?!"
Qingyi blinked as if this were perfectly reasonable.
"Hm. Why did it suddenly release? It's not like the hacker had a moral awakening and decided to be a good person."
Zhu Yuan grabbed Qingyi's wrist with both hands and physically stopped her from going for a second lick. She wiped sweat off her forehead, voice strained.
"Please do not do that. Ever."
Then she forced herself back on task, tone tightening.
"Even if the airship is back on course, a crisis like this means the review and hearing for the Far Vista Blasting Case has to be postponed."
"Zhu, Balai Building is right ahead. The Ether Hollow there has been shrinking lately. We can park the airship above it." Qingyi's eyes narrowed slightly. "Zhu Yuan—what's wrong?"
Miyabi, now connected on comms, felt the odd look Zhu Yuan was giving her and tilted her head.
"Miyabi… how do you know that? You're usually—"
"Mm." Miyabi's reply came out as calmly chaotic as ever. "Lately, for some reason, Liu's been having insomnia for a while. Sometimes she even mutters things like 'without him… watashi…' so… to reduce her stress, we helped her with some paperwork."
"…But—"
"And then, during 'the training of slicing a melon without letting the juice leak,' I failed… but also succeeded. So I remember that file very clearly."
She continued in complete sincerity.
"Because that time the melon was a good one. It was a juicy sweet melon. So I failed. The juice dripped onto the document, and Liu had to fetch a duplicate for me."
Zhu Yuan went silent.
She raised a hand at last, cutting the topic off before it spiraled into whatever abyss Miyabi lived in.
"Senior, can you control the airship now?"
"Mm. Leave it to this old lady," Qingyi said lightly. "If it doesn't work, I'll just shock the two pilots awake. Guaranteed. Foolproof."
While the three of them were talking—
In the rear seats, a man who had been unconscious—Perlman—quietly opened his eyes.
He glanced around.
Then he immediately shut them again and resumed pretending to be out cold.
He had to disguise himself.
Wait for a chance.
Run.
He had to survive—no matter what!
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 147)
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 (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
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 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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