Chapter 355: Pursuit
"Understood! We'll track down his whereabouts immediately!" Zhu Yuan responded, her voice sharp and authoritative as she turned her gaze toward Wise.
Wise didn't waste a single second. He tapped into his comms, issuing a rapid-fire command to his AI assistant. "Fairy, top priority mission! Mobilize all available computing power. I want a complete sweep of every transportation hub, entry and exit record, and road surveillance camera across New Eridu. Focus entirely on investigating Bringer's potential aliases, disguised identities, and any vehicles linked to him!"
"Instruction received," Fairy's crisp, synthetic voice chimed in his earpiece instantly. "Computing power fully mobilized. Initiating city-wide search..."
The next few moments stretched into an agonizingly tense silence. The faint hum of Eous's internal cooling fans seemed deafening. Finally, Fairy reported back. "Reporting, Master. Clear images of Bringer, or any highly suspected targets, could not be directly captured by the internal city surveillance network. The subject possesses exceptional counter-surveillance capabilities; they have successfully evaded all major monitoring nodes."
A heavy weight settled over the group, Zhu Yuan's brow furrowing in frustration. But before the disappointment could fully take root, Fairy's tone shifted. "However, during the cross-referencing of Vision Corporation's past illegal transaction data—specifically the files provided by Pearlman—a frequently recurring anomaly was detected."
"Over the past six months, Vision Corporation has repeatedly shipped massive quantities of undeclared, highly controlled materials and equipment to the restricted, non-public sectors of Epis Port. These shipments were heavily obfuscated under the guise of 'special industrial materials.'"
Epis Port? Wise's mind raced. That was the dilapidated, half-abandoned shipping yard clinging to the very edge of New Eridu's outer limits.
Almost simultaneously, Fairy projected a seemingly irrelevant social media update, freshly scraped from the public network's live feeds.
"Additionally, a new post published exactly three minutes ago on a local New Eridu fishing enthusiast forum was retrieved. The poster's handle is 'Old John Who Never Gets Skunked'."
"The content of the post reads: 'My luck is off the charts today! Not only did I avoid getting skunked, but I reeled in an absolute monster! I also spotted the famous Commander Bringer from a distance down at the port! Shame he was too far away. By the time I ran over hoping to snag a selfie, the Commander had already stepped into a 'door,' and I missed my shot...' "
Attached to the post was a slightly blurry, long-distance photograph. The background showcased the rusted cranes and cluttered docks of Epis Port. In the center of the frame, the back of a tall man wearing a heavy trench coat and a low-brimmed hat could be seen striding briskly toward a Hollow entrance, the spatial distortion emitting faint, unmistakable energy ripples.
This random encounter from an oblivious fisherman, paired with the photographic evidence, formed a damning trail. Blurry as it was, the man's silhouette and attire were a dead giveaway. It was overwhelming proof.
Zhu Yuan's expression hardened into absolute determination. She cast a quick, worried glance toward Miyabi. The Section 6 operative had stopped crying, but her complexion remained a sickly, translucent pale. She was shivering slightly, desperately in need of immediate medical attention and rest. Zhu Yuan made a split-second tactical decision.
"Time is tight. We need to split up!" Zhu Yuan declared, adjusting her grip on her weapon. "I'll take Miyabi to the nearest secure medical facility for a full examination and recovery. Proxy,"
She locked eyes with Eous's glowing digital displays, her tone deadly serious. "The mission to track Bringer, coordinate with Yanagi and the rest of Section 6 outside the Hollow, and provide real-time positioning and intelligence support—I'm leaving that entirely in your hands! You have to bring him back!"
Speaking through the Bangboo, Wise responded without a fraction of hesitation. His voice rang out steady and resolute from the small speaker. "Understood! Leave it to me. Both of you, stay safe out there!"
Eous spun around, its little mechanical legs whirring as it sprinted toward the exit. But after only a few paces, the Bangboo skidded to a halt and scrambled back. "Wait, Zhu Yuan!" Wise called out, stopping the Public Security officer in her tracks.
"Catch!" Controlling Eous's robotic arms, Wise quickly retrieved a small, carefully carved antique jade bottle from one of the Bangboo's hidden storage compartments. He tossed it through the air toward Zhu Yuan. "Inside are medicinal pills for healing. They should help Miyabi quickly recover her stamina and vitality."
Zhu Yuan's reflexes kicked in, and she snatched the jade bottle out of the air. The material felt incredibly smooth and strangely warm against her palm. Even through the thick jade, she could sense a gentle, pulsing heat—a vigorous, concentrated life force contained within the tiny vessel.
Before she could inspect it closer or interrogate him about the bizarre origins of these so-called 'medicinal pills,' Wise swiftly turned Eous around. As if terrified of being questioned, the Bangboo darted toward the Hollow exit at absolute top speed, its little legs a blur of motion. A hurried message echoed through the cavernous, distorted space.
"I'm going to meet up with Yanagi and the others first! Take care of yourselves!"
Zhu Yuan stared blankly at the direction Eous had vanished. She looked down at the antique bottle resting in her hand, noting the faint, soothing medicinal fragrance wafting from the stopper. She shook her head with a helpless sigh, forcibly shoving down the mountain of questions regarding the Proxy's increasingly mysterious connections.
Gently steadying Miyabi by the shoulder, Zhu Yuan popped the stopper off the bottle. She tipped it over, pouring a perfectly round, crystal-white pill into her palm, and carefully brought it to Miyabi's lips.
Miyabi felt utterly drained. Her limbs were leaden, and waves of hollow emptiness washed over her mind, the brutal aftershocks of severe mental and ethereal exhaustion. Trusting Zhu Yuan implicitly, she didn't hesitate, parting her lips and swallowing the pill as instructed.
The pill dissolved the absolute second it touched her tongue. A gentle yet intensely vigorous current of warmth bloomed in her throat, rapidly swirling outward to flood her limbs and seep deep into her bones. It felt like parched, cracked earth eagerly drinking in a sudden shower of sweet spring rain.
Her nearly depleted physical strength began to regenerate at a visible, almost miraculous speed. The suffocating fog clouding her heavy head cleared up significantly, her breathing evening out as color slowly returned to her cheeks.
A sharp flicker of surprise crossed Miyabi's fox-like eyes. She glanced at the jade bottle, but ultimately chose not to press the issue. She simply leaned against Zhu Yuan and whispered, "Thank you..."
...
Meanwhile, Eous burst out of the Hollow exit, its metal feet clanking against the pavement as it returned to the chaotic, debris-strewn area behind the lecture hall.
Yanagi, Soukaku, and Harumasa were already there, pacing anxiously. Their eyes constantly scanned the distorted perimeter, clearly on edge as they awaited the Proxy's next transmission.
"Yanagi! Over here!" Wise's voice projected loudly through Eous's speakers, waving its stubby arms to grab their attention.
The three Section 6 operatives snapped their heads toward the sound. Seeing the familiar Bangboo trotting toward them, a collective sigh of relief washed over the group.
"Proxy! What's the situation inside?" Yanagi quickly stepped forward, her usual calm demeanor fractured by urgent concern. "Is Miyabi..."
"Miyabi is out of danger," Wise interrupted, succinctly delivering the most crucial information first. "Zhu Yuan is escorting her to a secure clinic to treat her injuries. She's going to be fine."
Then, his tone shifted, hardening with pressing urgency. "But there's no time for a full debrief right now. Bringer has likely fled to Epis Port! We need to move, immediately!"
"Epis Port? Are you sure about that?" Harumasa asked. Even as he questioned the intel, his body was already moving, swiftly scooping Eous off the concrete and tucking the Bangboo securely under his arm like a football.
"The physical transaction evidence recovered from Pearlman and live eyewitness information scraped from the public network cross-validate it. The probability is extremely high!" Wise confirmed through the jostled Bangboo. "I'll explain the exact details on the way. Get in the car!"
"Understood!" Yanagi made the executive decision instantly, her eyes flashing with authority. "Everyone in! Target: Epis Port!"
The three operatives and one mechanical Bangboo quickly scrambled into the tactical vehicle parked just outside the perimeter. Harumasa threw himself into the driver's seat and slammed the accelerator to the floor. The heavy engine let out a furious roar, tires squealing against the asphalt as the vehicle launched forward. It tore through the neon-lit streets of New Eridu like a runaway beast, hurtling toward the desolate port on the city's edge.
Inside the swerving cabin, Wise controlled Eous's optical lens to project glowing holographic screenshots onto the dashboard. He displayed the encrypted logistics data analyzed by Fairy alongside the blurry, dynamic photo posted by the oblivious fishing enthusiast, rapidly bringing Yanagi and the rest of the team up to speed on the situation.
The tactical vehicle sped along the elevated highway leading into the industrial district, the city lights blurring into streaks of neon against the windows. Wise was in the middle of an intense tactical breakdown, analyzing potential strongholds and mapping out Bringer's most likely escape routes through Epis Port with Yanagi.
Suddenly, without a single warning chime, a long-unseen interface forcibly hijacked his vision. It was a projection perceivable only by him and Belle, completely overriding his physical senses.
A virtual panel materialized in his mind's eye, glowing with a crisp, faint blue light that hummed with advanced, otherworldly technology. At the very top of the screen, striking bold text began to scroll into existence.
[System Announcement: To provide members with normalized combat drills and resource acquisition methods, the permanent gameplay mode: "Hollow Evacuation Operation" is about to commence.]
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