"Look at this pitiful state, it really makes big sister's heart ache..."
Sarah lifted Ling's chin, speaking with a playful tone.
"Why did you capture us?!"
"It seems we don't have any past grievances, do we?!"
Ling looked at Sarah and questioned her.
"Of course we don't have any past grievances, 'Phaethon'!"
"I captured you merely to threaten Hoshimi Aya!"
Sarah spoke with a flippant tone, but she stressed the words 'Hoshimi Aya'.
Zhe and Ling showed shocked expressions upon hearing this, looking completely disbelieving.
Shouldn't the people Lucius colluded with be targeting the Sons of Calydon?!
Why were they targeting Aya?!
The intelligence was wrong!
...
Inside The Hollow...
"Ling, Zhe."
"Can you hear me?"
Hoshimi Aya patted Eous's small head.
But Eous's eyes remained in a disconnected state.
"What's going on?"
"Did we disconnect due to data issues?"
Lucy pondered.
"That can't be, right?"
"Weren't things fine just a moment ago?"
"How did we suddenly disconnect?"
Caesar scratched the back of his head, somewhat confused.
Suddenly, Eous re-established the connection, but the voice was neither Ling's nor Zhe's.
"Miss Ya, the Master and Assistant 2 are currently facing a huge crisis."
"The Master and Assistant 2 have been captured by a group of thugs, but they are temporarily not in mortal danger."
"The leader of the thugs, whom the Master referred to as Sarah, once served as Perlman's secretary at Vision Company."
"As for the others, their identities are currently unknown."
"Please, Miss Ya, return to Wildfire Town quickly and rescue the Master and Assistant 2 from this dire situation."
Fairy's voice came from Eous's body.
"What?!"
The few people showed shocked expressions upon hearing Fairy's words.
"What about the residents in the town?"
"The Proxy and the others were captured, so what about the town's residents?"
Caesar inquired.
"The town's residents are not in mortal danger."
"They have been uniformly confined inside the town's gas station and are temporarily safe."
Fairy replied.
"Aya, Lucy, Wright, let's hurry back."
"The longer we delay, the greater the danger they face."
Caesar worried.
"Yes, that's right."
"Let's hurry back!"
"We will deal with the matters here after we take care of what's outside."
Hoshimi Aya nodded in agreement with Caesar.
Suddenly, chaotic sounds came from Eous again.
After a burst of noise, Ling's voice was heard, along with an unfamiliar female voice.
"Little sister, you had better do as I say."
"Otherwise, your brother..."
Meanwhile, on Ling's side...
Ling was pulled by Sarah to the equipment behind the vehicle.
"Little sister, you had better do as I say."
"Otherwise, your brother..."
As she spoke, Sarah pointed to the position behind her.
Zhe was being restrained by two rebels. One of the rebels saw the glance, nodded, and punched Zhe in the abdomen.
"Ugh!"
"Sister, don't agree to her demands!"
Zhe spat up stomach bile painfully before looking at Ling.
"Brother!"
Ling wanted to rush to Zhe's side upon seeing him being abused.
However, she was stopped by Sarah.
"Little sister, you had better do as I say."
"You don't want anything to happen to your brother, do you?"
Sarah forcefully turned Ling's face back to meet her gaze, simultaneously revealing a playful smile.
"What do you want?!"
Ling looked at Sarah, indignant.
But she was helpless.
"What do I want?"
"Didn't I already make myself perfectly clear?"
"Reconnect right now, immediately, and tell Hoshimi Aya to come here alone."
"Remember, only she can come alone."
"If you say anything you shouldn't, don't blame me if something goes missing from your brother later."
Sarah spoke with a threatening tone.
"Despicable and shameless!"
"If you have the guts, go find Aya directly!!"
"What kind of capability is it to threaten us?!"
Ling looked at Sarah, furious.
"I'm not an idiot."
"If I can solve it easily, why would I risk taking that chance?"
"I'll give you one more minute to think it over carefully."
"When the minute is up, I'll take off one of your brother's arms."
"You had better think carefully!"
Sarah said with a smile.
After Sarah finished speaking, a rebel approached Zhe carrying a large machete.
"...Fine, I promise you!"
Ling gritted her teeth, but for her brother's sake, she could only agree.
However, only she and her brother understood this HDD here. Thankfully, she had already secretly connected earlier.
Presumably, what happened here just now had already been transmitted to Aya and the others through Eous.
"Think about your brother more."
"Your every move concerns your brother's life and safety."
"So, you had better not try any tricks."
Sarah warned as she watched Ling operating the equipment.
Soon, under Ling's adjustments, the HDD screen became clear again.
In the picture, Hoshimi Aya, Caesar, and the others were staring intently. They had heard every single word of Ling's conversation just now.
"Ling, how is it on your end?"
"What happened?"
"Why did you suddenly disconnect?"
Hoshimi Aya pretended to know nothing.
After all, that sudden voice that appeared must have been Ling deliberately letting them hear.
"Th-that, Aya..."
"Can you come back here now?"
"Remember, you must come by yourself."
Ling stammered, trying her best to stall for time.
Sarah frowned upon seeing Ling's demeanor.
"Give me a device that can communicate with them."
"I'll speak to her myself."
Sarah interjected. How long would it take for Ling to explain things clearly in this state? What if she was deliberately stalling for time?
So it was better to settle this quickly; it would be bad if the Hoshimi Family found out.
Seeing this, Ling nodded, took out a communication device, and handed it to Sarah.
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