Chapter 329: The Unexpected Arrival of Section 6
As Lumine and Paimon began their long journey back to the hydro-nation of Fontaine, and Stelle and Dan Heng ventured deep into the Trial of Fire space for a high-stakes rescue mission, the once-lively atmosphere in the Chat Group quickly subsided like a receding tide.
It seemed every member was currently buried in urgent matters across their respective universes. The previously hyperactive, endlessly scrolling message interface gradually quieted down, leaving only a few sporadic system notifications blinking in the digital silence.
Back in New Eridu, on the familiar pavement of Sixth Street, the Random Play video store was unusually quiet. For the time being, Belle was the only one manning the counter.
She slumped into a comfortable chair in the staff lounge, stretching her arms with a soft groan. She had just been preparing to tease Fairy to pass the sudden lull in business when her phone buzzed against the wooden tabletop. The screen lit up, casting a soft glow over her face.
It was a Knock Knock message from her brother, Wise.
Belle tapped the notification with a curious hum. The first thing that loaded onto her screen was a candid photograph.
The background featured the rough, dust-choked, and slightly chaotic street environment of Blazewood. But the obvious focus of the picture was a distinguished young woman.
She wasn't exceptionally tall in stature, but her striking, fox-like ears stood tall and alert, giving her a silhouette that made her appear even taller than Nicole. Her expression was a mask of absolute indifference. Her sharp, piercing gaze seemed to cut straight through the camera lens, carrying a chilling focus that felt entirely out of place in the rowdy desert outpost.
Even through a compressed, static image, Belle could practically feel the oppressive, razor-sharp aura of an elite warrior radiating from the screen.
Right beneath the photo, Wise had attached a simple question: "Guess who this is?"
Belle barely needed a fraction of a second to process the image before a name slipped past her lips in a shocked gasp. "Hoshimi Miyabi?!"
Of course she recognized one of the most prominent figures in all of New Eridu. This was the esteemed young miss of the Hoshimi family, the youngest registered Hollow Hunter in history, and the elite commander of Section 6.
As a special tactical unit directly responsible for responding to the highest-level Hollow disasters and catastrophic Ether crises, Section 6 enjoyed immense popularity and prestige among the citizens of New Eridu. Every move its members made was closely scrutinized by the media and the public alike.
However, Belle's deep-seated impression of Hoshimi Miyabi and Section 6 wasn't solely based on news broadcasts and public fame.
It was because Belle and Miyabi had technically crossed paths once before. Belle vividly remembered assisting with the Hollow Zero incident over at Scott Outpost.
She and another Hollow investigator had been completely cornered by a terrifying Ethereal deep within the corrupted zone. It was during that desperate encounter that Belle personally witnessed Miyabi swiftly and effortlessly repel the extremely dangerous Ethereal known as "Nineveh."
Following that stunning strike, Miyabi had calmly led her team—Tsukishiro Yanagi, Soukaku, and Harumasa—in a relentless pursuit. It had been a truly shocking display of martial prowess.
At the time, even though Belle had only been remotely controlling her Bangboo and was safely hidden far away behind a monitor, Miyabi's eyes—eyes that seemed capable of seeing through the very fabric of reality—had given her the terrifying illusion of being completely exposed. That suffocating sense of oppression, stemming from the swordswoman's absolute strength and keen intuition, remained fresh in the Proxy's memory.
"I didn't expect... that Wise and the others would run into Section 6 all the way out in Blazewood..." Belle murmured to herself, her brows furrowing unconsciously as she stared at the screen.
She immediately realized the crux of the problem: their hidden identity as the legendary Proxy, Phaethon.
In New Eridu, while Proxies enjoyed a certain underground reputation and high demand among the populace due to their unique ability to handle Hollows and recover lost assets, their modus operandi heavily involved skirting the edges of strict city regulations and operating in legal gray areas. This ultimately placed them in a highly delicate, potentially adversarial position with Section 6, a unit that represented official PubSec order and absolute military force.
A wave of genuine worry instantly washed over her. Belle's fingers flew across the keyboard as she quickly typed back to Wise: "Brother! Of course I know her, that's Hoshimi Miyabi! Why is Section 6 in Blazewood?! You guys need to be incredibly careful!"
"They're official personnel, and we're Proxies... we are definitely not walking on the same side of the law. It's best to stay as far away from them as possible. Just blend into the background, act like an inconspicuous little ghost, and absolutely do NOT attract their attention!"
After hitting send, Belle nervously chewed on her lower lip, staring intently at the screen as she waited for Wise's reply.
A few agonizing seconds later, Wise's message popped up. Even through text, she could practically hear the helpless sigh in his tone: "It's unavoidable now, Belle. The situation out here is far more complicated than we originally expected. The person Pearlman implicated has a very high status."
He continued to explain the dire circumstances: "According to Pearlman's direct identification, one of the main masterminds behind the Vision Corporation scandal is Bringer. He's currently a rising star in the political sphere, actively preparing to run for the position of PubSec Chief of the Janus District."
Seeing the name 'Bringer', Belle's heart sank like a stone.
Bringer was a senior officer in the current PubSec hierarchy. He held terrifying real-world power and wielded immense, deeply rooted influence throughout the entire Janus District.
If he was indeed one of the masterminds pulling the strings from the shadows, then Wise and the Cunning Hares were currently standing in the middle of a deadly minefield.
Wise's next message arrived swiftly: "Think about it. Bringer is already one of the top leaders of PubSec. If we foolishly run straight to the local PubSec branches with Pearlman's testimony to report him, it would be pure suicide. We'd be walking right into the tiger's den."
"At that point, it wouldn't just be a matter of whether the evidence could be officially submitted. We'd have to seriously question whether we could even leave the precinct alive. It's a classic case of the corrupt judge presiding over his own trial."
The situation was incredibly tricky, far beyond their usual Hollow commissions. Belle held her breath, her eyes glued to the screen as she continued to read.
"So, Nicole decided to use her connections. She said that in this kind of political deadlock, conventional channels wouldn't work. We had to find a department with higher authority, relative independence, and the sheer firepower to withstand any pressure from PubSec. So... she called in Section 6."
"Nicole called in Section 6?!" Belle couldn't help but exclaim aloud, her face a perfect portrait of utter disbelief.
She knew that Nicole Demara, the cunning founder of the Cunning Hares, had extensive connections and could smooth-talk her way into getting along with all sorts of shady characters. Otherwise, she never would have been able to establish herself in the highly competitive, cutthroat world of Hollow exploration.
But Belle never, in her wildest dreams, expected Nicole's network to be this outrageous.
The leader of a ragtag Odd-Job agency—an organization that nominally took on odd jobs but actually engaged in countless illegal activities that aggressively skirted the edges of city regulations—was somehow able to directly contact a top-tier official military department like Section 6. Not only that, but she managed to invite them out to a lawless dustbowl like Blazewood at such a critical moment!
This was far beyond simply being "well-connected." It was practically all-powerful.
Just as Belle was still struggling to process this astonishing revelation, Wise's brief online update seemed to reach its conclusion.
He sent one last, hurried message: "Alright, I have to stop texting for now. Section 6 seems to have finished their preliminary interrogation of Pearlman. We need to discuss our next move together. Talk to you later."
The communication line went dark, leaving Belle alone with her swirling thoughts.
Meanwhile, back in Blazewood, inside the cramped, dusty room where the temporary meeting was taking place, the atmosphere had subtly shifted.
The elite members of Section 6, led by the stoic Hoshimi Miyabi, and the scrappy personnel of the Cunning Hares, led by Wise and Nicole, naturally formed two distinct, implicit camps across the room.
Nicole cleared her throat and spoke first, breaking the heavy silence. She quickly shared the explosive intelligence with Section 6, confirming that Pearlman had officially identified Bringer as one of the primary masterminds behind the Vision Corporation scandal.
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