Chapter 33: Suspicious Mors
Observing the unfolding situation, Stelle's golden eyes practically ignited.
A grand, chaotic idea seized her mind. They needed to breach the Hollow and provide immediate backup at the Blazestone Fire Lake!
As a self-proclaimed galactic baseballer, her entire existence revolved around protecting the hopes of various worlds. She had left a trail of saved planets in her wake. Now, not only could she rescue the rugged inhabitants of the Outer Ring, but she also had a prime opportunity to introduce her trusty bat to the skulls of whatever manipulative masterminds were pulling the strings. Naturally, she was thrilled.
"Let's save the world!" Stelle declared, her voice ringing with dramatic flair. She caught herself, coughing lightly into her fist. "Oh, wait, no. Let's save the Outer Ring!"
With a sharp metallic swish, she whipped out her signature baseball bat. She swung it through the air, tracing a vicious, whistling arc, bouncing on her heels with so much pent-up adrenaline she nearly launched herself into the ceiling.
"This is the absolute duty of a Trailblazer! Partners, what are you waiting for? The Hollow Exploration Team moves out immediately!"
She spun around, her burning, expectant gaze locking onto Dan Heng and March 7th.
Dan Heng met Stelle's sparkling, almost manic stare with his usual stoic calm.
He shifted his attention to the real-time visual feed transmitted by Eous, the Bangboo currently under Wise's manual control. On the glowing screen, Caesar was locked in a brutal, high-stakes melee against a swarm of encroaching Ethereals deep within the Hollow.
Without a word, Dan Heng gave a single, firm nod.
That simple gesture was all it took. Stelle's lips stretched into a massive, triumphant grin, a cheer bubbling up in her throat.
Beside them, the ever-enthusiastic March 7th pumped her fists, more than ready to throw her lot in with the Sons of Calydon.
Across the room, Lumine and Paimon exchanged a fleeting look. No grand speeches were necessary between them. Years of traversing the stars and handling countless crises had forged an ironclad, unspoken cooperation.
Lumine's golden eyes sharpened, carrying the cold edge of a drawn blade. "We are in. We cannot just stand by while the Outer Ring's fate hangs by a thread."
Paimon puffed out her small chest, floating proudly to Lumine's shoulder. "Yeah, exactly! With the Traveler and Paimon on the case, we can definitely turn the tide! Let's go beat up those bad guys!"
Zhongli, who had been observing the chaotic energy of the room in quiet contemplation, took a slow, deliberate step forward.
His amber eyes, calm as an ancient, undisturbed lake, swept over Stelle, her Astral Express companions, and the resolute duo of Lumine and Paimon. They were willingly throwing themselves into the jaws of danger.
Raising a gloved hand, he lightly traced a geometric pattern in the empty air.
Instantly, a warm, jade-like golden light bloomed from his fingertips. It carried the heavy, deep essence of the earth itself, ancient and unyielding. The light fractured into several distinct, spiritual rivulets, darting across the room to smoothly merge into the chests of the five departing heroes.
"This is a Jade Shield," Zhongli's deep, resonant voice filled the room, steady as bedrock. "It will sense incoming danger and ward off fatal calamities when you need it most."
The golden geometric patterns flared briefly around their bodies before fading into their skin, leaving behind a heavy, reassuring warmth, a dormant, indestructible power ready to manifest at a moment's notice.
"Thank you all. Truly." Seeing the unshakeable resolve in their eyes, Belle forced down her lingering anxiety, her demeanor shifting into the sharp, efficient focus of a veteran Rope Master.
"My brother is currently deep in synchronization with Eous, tracking Caesar's movements, so he cannot break his connection right now." She tapped rapidly on her console. "I will have Fairy allocate fifty percent of her computing power to map out a stable Hollow route. I will push the navigation data to your chat group shortly."
March 7th tilted her head, tapping her chin. "Navigation is great and all, but how exactly are we getting there? We do not exactly have a car parked outside."
"Transportation? Please, we have that covered!" Stelle snapped her fingers with a loud, theatrical crack.
A brilliant flash of blue light erupted in the open clearing just outside the lounge. As the glare faded, a sleek, bright gray motorcycle materialized out of thin air. Dazzling yellow lightning decals streaked across its chassis, giving it an aggressive, aerodynamic profile. It landed on the dirt with a heavy, satisfying thud.
"Behold, the Galaxy Transcender One!" Stelle announced proudly. "Let's ride! It is fast, it is cool, and it will let us get a feel for the racing terrain ahead of time. Consider it high-speed practical training!"
The sheer cool factor of the bike ignited a competitive spark in the rest of the crew.
Lumine focused her intent, interfacing with the chat group system. A second later, her own standard racing motorcycle materialized, a pristine, elegant machine of pure white accented with regal gold trim.
Paimon floated down and expertly scrambled onto the back seat behind Lumine, her tiny hands gripping the Traveler's waist for dear life. She knew all too well how Lumine drove when she was in a hurry, and she was not about to take any chances.
Not to be outdone, Dan Heng and March 7th summoned their respective rides.
Dan Heng's motorcycle sported a sleek, cold indigo and white livery. Subtle, iridescent dragon scales were etched into the metalwork, a quiet nod to the Vidyadhara High Elder of the Luofu.
March 7th's bike, true to her aesthetic, featured a dreamy gradient of pastel pink and blue, heavily adorned with sparkling Six-Phased Ice crystal decals that caught the light.
Four heavy engines roared to life in unison, the guttural sound vibrating through the floorboards.
Like four arrows snapping loose from a bowstring, they tore out of the compound, accelerating at breakneck speed toward the gaping maw of the Hollow!
Guided by the preliminary navigation data Belle pushed to their devices, the four motorcycles kicked up massive, churning clouds of dust across the cracked, desolate earth of the Outer Ring.
Stelle took the vanguard, leaning low over her handlebars. Dan Heng and March 7th flanked her, maintaining a tight, disciplined formation. Lumine brought up the rear, her driving steady and precise to keep her squeaking passenger from flying off. The barren, rocky scenery blurred into streaks of brown and gray beneath their spinning tires.
Just before the vanguard breached the Hollow's threshold, Belle's voice crackled through their earpieces. Fairy had successfully calculated the optimal route leading directly to the Blazestone Fire Lake.
Without missing a beat, the convoy banked hard, adjusting their trajectory and plunging into the chaotic distortion of the Hollow.
Deep within the Hollow, the air was thick with corrosive energy.
Guided by the mechanical beeps of Eous, Caesar finally hauled herself out of a massive, jagged crater. Her armor was scuffed, her breathing heavy. She had carved a bloody path through a relentless tide of Ethereals to get back to the surface.
Fortunately, Lucy and Lighter had not been thrown far in the chaos. The three core members of the Sons of Calydon quickly converged, weapons drawn and scanning the perimeter.
The moment they regrouped, Lighter adjusted his shades, his expression grim. "Boss, that cave-in back there was not natural. The blast pattern was entirely wrong. It had to be triggered by Ether explosives."
Caesar wiped a streak of grime from her cheek and gave a sharp nod. She quickly relayed the theory Wise had communicated to her earlier. The three of them reached the exact same conclusion, they needed to push forward to the Fire Lake and investigate the source of the sabotage.
Lucy crossed her arms, her mechanical boars snorting restlessly at her feet. "That is a solid plan, but the Fire Lake is miles away from this sector. If we want to get there before the trail goes cold, we need our motorcycles!"
Wise's calm, analytical voice crackled through Eous's built-in speaker at the perfect moment. "Fairy has already pinpointed the coordinates of your scattered vehicles. Let's not waste any time. I will lead the way."
Because the Tour de Inferno was officially underway, the ambient Ether concentration within this specific Hollow sector had spiked to hazardous levels. The air itself shimmered with a sickly, volatile hue.
Naturally, this drew Ethereals like moths to an open flame. The trio encountered wave after wave of mutated monstrosities blocking their path.
However, the Sons of Calydon were not exactly lightweights. With coordinated, brutal efficiency, they smashed through the blockades, refusing to let the mindless beasts stall their momentum.
After tearing through a shimmering spatial rift, the environment shifted.
Suddenly, Fairy's alert chimed urgently in Wise's ear. She had detected an unknown, isolated biological signal just ahead.
Through Eous, Wise immediately signaled Caesar and the others to halt, quickly briefing them on the anomaly.
Knowing this could very well be one of the masterminds behind the explosive trap, the group immediately dropped into a crouch. Holding their breath, they used the rusted, decaying husks of abandoned vehicles as cover, creeping silently toward the source of the signal.
Peering around the edge of a corroded truck bed, Lighter narrowed his eyes. He lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper. "Boss, look. That is Mors."
A short distance away stood Mors, a known subordinate of the Overlord. He had a pair of heavy-duty binoculars pressed to his face, intently observing the exact location of the explosive cave-in they had just barely survived.
Before anyone could make a move, a sharp, electronic ringtone shattered the tense silence. Mors fumbled for his phone and pressed it to his ear.
"Mors, give me a status update," Pompey's gruff, commanding voice echoed faintly from the receiver. "Have you laid eyes on the Sons of Calydon yet? What is their position?"
It became glaringly obvious that Pompey had stationed him there specifically to monitor their progress through the Hollow.
Yet, without missing a beat, Mors lied through his teeth. "Reporting in, Boss. Negative. I haven't seen a single trace of them out here."
On the other end of the line, Pompey sounded genuinely baffled. The Sons of Calydon were notoriously tough and fast; realistically, they should have blown past Mors's checkpoint by now.
Pompey grumbled a string of curses under his breath. A heavy, wet cough interrupted his tirade before he finally barked, "Just keep your eyes glued to that road. We are almost at the Fire Lake."
Hearing that Pompey's crew was already that far ahead made Lucy's jaw tighten. She shifted her weight, anxiety bleeding into her posture.
Meanwhile, Wise processed the exchange with cold logic. Mors's blatant lie confirmed his worst suspicions.
Lighter scowled, his knuckles turning white around his weapon. "Something is seriously wrong here. Even if he didn't have those binoculars, the shockwave from that blast was massive. He would have heard the explosion and seen the dust cloud from miles away. Yet he didn't report a single thing to Pompey."
Caesar's eyes widened in realization, the pieces clicking together in her mind. "You are right! He is supposed to be on lookout duty, but he completely ignores a massive detonation right in his sector? That makes zero sense!"
In her sudden burst of indignant realization, Caesar forgot to modulate her voice. Her brash, questioning tone cut through the dead silence of the Hollow like a siren.
A few dozen yards away, Mors's spine went rigid.
He whipped around, his eyes locking onto the cluster of abandoned vehicles. Without a second of hesitation, he drew his sidearm, leveled it at the source of the noise, and fired a blind shot directly at their cover.
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