After finishing his errands, Fang Wen doubled back to the video store.
Carrying two long gun cases was still a bit too cumbersome, and since Starshatter would need repairs anyway, he decided to leave it at the store for now.
At this point, there was still half an hour left before the meetup time.
Humming under his breath and swinging his head in rhythm, Fang Wen pushed open the door to Random Play.
Perfect—he could hitch a ride with Zhe and Belle while he was at it.
Once he got into the car, Fang Wen finally started to feel the fatigue catching up with him.
So he sat in the back seat with his spear in his arms, eyes closed to rest, answering Belle's questions in a listless voice.
"Brother Wen, when did you learn to use a spear?" Belle looked curiously at the long case he was holding and asked.
"Well…" Thinking about spear practice instantly brought the hellish training session with Qingyi back to mind. Fang Wen shuddered all over.
He hadn't even entered the Hollow yet, so why were his legs already going weak?
"Huh? So was it at some martial arts school? Or a sect? I heard there are actual mountain sects in other districts." Belle fired off question after question.
"Alright, stop guessing. You've both met the person teaching me before—Qingyi. Zhu Yuan's deputy."
"You mean that little police officer with the green twin-tails who's always drinking tea?"
"That's right. You probably don't know this, but she's an absolute master with a staff. My little bit of beginner's skill isn't enough to last more than a few moves against her."
"I never thought Brother Wen was all that amazing to begin with anyway. Heehee." Belle stuck out her tongue, making Fang Wen's tightly shut eyelids twitch.
"Hey, right—how far have things progressed between you and Sister Zhu Yuan?" Belle suddenly asked after a brief pause.
"About as normal as—wait, are you always this nosy? Let me make this clear first: there's nothing improper going on between us."
"Oh, so you won't tell the truth? Fine, then I'll just ask Sister Zhu Yuan myself. Hmph!" Belle puffed out her cheeks and turned away.
Before, whenever Fang Wen was out on missions, Zhu Yuan had crossed paths with the siblings more than once because of him. Since Zhu Yuan knew from Fang Wen that all of them were survivors searching for the truth behind the fall of the Old Capital, there was no tension between them—but the shadow side of their identities had still never been revealed.
For example, Zhe and Belle being Phaethon, or Fang Wen having a side gig as a Proxy.
Belle actually enjoyed chatting with Zhu Yuan about the kinds of things girls usually talked about with each other.
"Alright, Belle, let Brother Wen rest a little," Zhe said, glancing at Fang Wen's tired face in the rearview mirror.
"Oh." Belle answered obediently, then quietly turned her gaze back again, watching Fang Wen's sleeping profile.
Hm. She hadn't really paid attention before, but now that she looked carefully, Brother Wen was actually pretty handsome. And his build was incredible too. Sister Zhu Yuan was going to be very lucky in the future.
Twisting a strand of hair around her finger, Belle couldn't help thinking that.
She didn't know why, but every time she thought that way, it made something inside her chest feel strangely blocked.
I'm the one who knew Brother Wen first. If we're talking seniority, then I'm basically his childhood sweetheart. We've known each other since we were little.
"What are you thinking about, Belle?" Zhe asked.
"Nothing. Just focus on driving, will you!"
Naturally, Fang Wen had noticed Belle's gaze, but he didn't think much of it. His mind was entirely occupied with the upcoming mission.
He was still very curious—were all Proxies built like the White Star Institute crew, all broad-shouldered and heavily muscled? But then he thought about the existence of Anby…
Well. Fang Wen decided that beautiful girls like Nicole and Anby were probably exceptions among Proxies.
After all, without strength, how could anyone fight Ethereals?
"Your information is out of date, Proxy," Anby said flatly after hearing Fang Wen's guess, rejecting it without hesitation.
"Although we look similar to normal people on the outside, in reality, many Proxies and Hollow raiders undergo body modification surgeries."
"Our strength can't be measured by normal human standards."
There was still doubt flickering in Fang Wen's eyes.
"You still don't believe it, Proxy?" Anby tilted her head and thought for a moment.
"It's simple. We can arm wrestle."
Fang Wen promptly offered his hand.
Under the pitying gazes of Zhe and Belle, Fang Wen suffered three crushing defeats in a row.
Anby's hand was clearly so small, so pale. There were a few hard calluses in places, but overall it was still soft—a completely ordinary young girl's hand.
So why?
He had used almost all the strength in his body, yet he still hadn't been able to move that seemingly delicate little arm even a fraction.
"Anby, what's wrong with this Proxy?" asked the white-haired metallic android with a strong pompadour.
"He just lost three straight arm-wrestling matches against the seemingly delicate Anby, nya," the cat Thiren licked her claws and giggled.
"Proxy, your strength is already very impressive," Anby said seriously, trying to comfort him.
"You should probably be able to beat Nekomata. Her modifications are focused on her legs."
"I'm not going to hold hands with some strange Proxy, nya!" Nekomata bristled, baring her sharp claws.
It would be a lie to say Fang Wen wasn't depressed, but after learning that Anby and the others had all undergone body modification, he felt a bit better.
"Then where exactly were you modified, Anby?" Fang Wen looked her over from top to bottom. Even he couldn't tell which part of this seemingly slender girl had been altered.
"My case is a little special, Proxy." Anby's eyes shifted away, clearly unwilling to say more.
Fang Wen noticed immediately.
"It's fine. Just asking casually. By the way, could you introduce your teammates?"
"Mm. This is Billy. He specializes in dual pistols," Anby said, gesturing toward the intelligent construct.
Fang Wen wasn't unfamiliar with this kind of intelligent construct. The Public Security Bureau had them too, and you could see them on the streets as well—for example, Master Tinman, or the chiropractor who ran the shop next to the beauty salon in Guangying Plaza.
A lot of Fang Wen's coworkers were regulars there.
"Oh~ Starlight Knight! Transform!" Billy suddenly crossed his arms and struck a pose the moment Anby introduced him, fixing a determined gaze on the floor.
"How's that? Pretty good pose, right? This is from Episode 121 of Starlight Knight—"
"Enough, Billy. No one your age should still be as obsessed with Starlight Knight as you are," the cat Thiren cut in mercilessly from the side.
"How could this be?!"
"Alright, stop embarrassing us in front of outsiders. I'm Nekomata of the Cunning Hares. Proxy, don't drag us down in the Hollow."
"Mm. This is Nekomata. She only recently joined the Cunning Hares. Her mouth is a bit sharp, Proxy, so don't mind her," Anby added.
"It's fine. I kind of like this style of communication." Fang Wen opened the case he had been carrying and took out his newly bought spear.
"And I think I do have a certain degree of self-preservation ability."
? x3
Off to the side at the parking area, Zhe and Belle were busily making final adjustments to the portable HDD system. It was their greatest support for entering Hollows through Bangboo bodies, and also one of the things their mother had left behind.
"So, you've met the Cunning Hares' Proxies? What do you think?" Zhe took a drink of water and asked Fang Wen as he approached.
"Well…" Fang Wen thought for a moment. "They're a bit different from what I imagined, but overall, I think they seem pretty good."
Other than Billy, the two remaining girls were already more than enough to make the view pleasant.
"How's your side going? Which one of you is driving this time?"
"Three minutes left. Belle's operating. I'll stay in the car and support her."
Fang Wen turned his head. The setting sun was just right; the ruined street showed almost no sign of life, while Anby and the others were fooling around beneath the square's statue in the distance.
Behind the statue stood a hunched old man, quietly staring out toward the Hollow. As the only outsider present, Fang Wen's gaze lingered on him for a second.
Probably one of the few remaining residents in the area.
This place had already been abandoned for years. Even the vending machine in the distance had a hole smashed through it, and no one had ever repaired it. The Public Security Bureau rarely patrolled around here anymore.
Even the Hollow Disaster Safety Guide poster on the wall nearby had long since faded and lost its corners.
Several waterbirds of an unrecognizable species skimmed low over the river, then suddenly swooped and snatched up a flashing silver fish.
Across the wide river, even the Hollow itself glimmered faintly.
If that Hollow had never existed, this place surely would still have been thriving.
Fang Wen couldn't help but drift off into thought.
He could almost picture it: the road behind him once packed with cars, elderly men and women practicing sword forms in the square at dawn, and in the evenings, couples leaning together against the riverside railing, watching the scenery in the distance, hands clasped. Before going home, they would stop beneath the statue and make vows never to part for the rest of their lives.
These were all things that must once have happened here, for real.
And now all of it had already decayed into ruin.
Time had passed. Seas had turned to mulberry fields.
All that prosperity and splendor had weathered away into the illusion of a past age.
Beyond New Eridu, scenes like this—painfully regretful scenes—could be found everywhere.
"Proxy, what are you thinking about?" Anby had somehow walked up in front of him.
"Oh. I was thinking… if we could dissolve that Hollow in the distance, would this place ever be able to return to the way it once was?"
Fang Wen gazed quietly at the Hollow far away.
Maybe it could.
But the people who had been lost would never come back.
-------
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