Just as Anby decided to leave the Hollow with Sam Li...
At that very moment, two new figures appeared at the entrance of the cinema.
One had fox ears and thick bangs, her expression both confident and serious. The other had blue skin and carried a massive greatblade on her shoulder—almost as tall as she was
It was Hoshimi Miyabi and Soukaku.
Just minutes ago, they had discovered a meteorite crater, scattered Ethereal corpses, and a strange footprint on a nearby street. Following the trail, they had tracked it here.
Soukaku frowned in confusion. "Weird… I swear I heard fighting over here just now. But now—nothing."
She propped her greatblade against the ground and stood on tiptoe, scanning the area
No suspicious figures.
No Ethereals.
No clues at all.
Hoshimi Miyabi's gaze also held a trace of doubt. She knew she hadn't misheard—there had definitely been combat sounds earlier.
Just as she fell into thought...
Something caught her attention. She suddenly turned her head—
At that same moment, the doors of the cinema swung open behind them.
Soukaku, hearing the noise, immediately spun around.
And just like that, their gazes locked.
For a brief second, everyone froze.
Soukaku startled. "Huh? Three survivors? Wait, no—judging by that gear, are you a professional cave raider?"
The moment Soukaku saw Anby, she saw him too.
Their eyes met.
Anby instantly recognized them.
Members of the Hollow Special Operations Section 6 Unit. Both of them—experts.
Her hand instinctively drifted to the hilt of her blade as she watched them warily.
"Anby's Hollow Survival Log, Entry Three: I have encountered two elite members of the Hollow Special Operations Section 6 Unit. Probability of capture—over 95%..."
At this distance, against two seasoned Counter-Air operatives, while also protecting a little girl and Sam Li—her chances of escape were next to none.
The moment she identified them, she abandoned any thoughts of running.
There was no way out of this one.
"I'm Anby B. DeMara, a full-time employee of Hare's House. If you plan to arrest me, I won't resist. But I have one request—please don't arrest these two. They're just ordinary people who got caught up in the Hollow."
With that, she let go of her weapon and stood her ground, calmly facing the Counter-Air agents.
The little girl at her side nearly burst into tears. "Please, don't take Anby! She's not a bad person—she saved me!"
Sam Li glanced at Anby, then at Hoshimi Miyabi and Soukaku.
In that instant, he understood.
These two were city officials.
Anby was a cave raider.
And from the tension in the air, it was clear their factions weren't on the same side.
Watching the standoff, Sam Li spoke in a measured tone. "From what I understand, Miss Anby is currently just another citizen—one of many swallowed by the Hollow. Like the rest, she's a victim of this disaster."
Since he lacked deeper knowledge of their conflicts, he simply stated the most direct and undeniable truth.
"Chief, what do we do? Are we really arresting her?" Soukaku turned to Hoshimi Miyabi.
Hoshimi Miyabi didn't answer immediately. She frowned slightly. "Hare's House…? I think I've heard that name before. Wasn't that the debt-ridden all-purpose agency?"
She had never dealt with them personally, but she recalled hearing the name during a previous joint operation with the Public Security Bureau.
Their reputation hadn't exactly been good.
Anby quickly defended herself. "Nicole said the debt is just temporary! Once we hit it big, we'll pay everything off—Hare's House has a bright future ahead!"
Soukaku immediately perked up. "Hey, I know that line! Back before I joined the Counter-Air Unit, I was always starving. I used to tell myself: 'Hunger is just temporary! As long as I find a big feast, I'll eat my fill and never go hungry again!' …Never worked out even once."
Sam Li: "…"
Hoshimi Miyabi: "…"
Hoshimi Miyabi's gaze swept over Anby, Sam Li, and the little girl in turn.
A cave raider. Two civilians.
None of them were the person she was looking for.
Hoshimi Miyabi did not arrest Anby. Instead, she deliberately turned her head and said, "I happen to have something important to do. If I run into you again, I won't let you off so easily."
Soukaku grinned and added, "What the Chief means is—you're free to go this time. So hurry up and leave."
Hearing this—
Anby let out a quiet sigh of relief.
She had long heard the rumors—how Chief Miyabi of the Hollow Special Operations Section 6 Unit was the nightmare of all cave raiders. Once caught, escape was impossible, and imprisonment was inevitable.
She had already resigned herself to being arrested.
But to her surprise, this so-called ruthless Chief Miyabi wasn't nearly as cold and merciless as the stories claimed.
Anby nodded seriously. "Thanks! If you ever need a job done, I'll tell Nicole to give you a discount."
Hoshimi Miyabi remained uninterested. "…"
Soukaku laughed. "We're professionals. We don't need to hire anyone. But if you ever come across an Ethereal anomaly, make sure to report it to the Hollow Special Operations Section 6 Unit immediately."
With that, he turned and followed Hoshimi Miyabi down the street, resuming their search for the person linked to the mysterious footprint.
Anby, along with Sam Li and the little girl, headed in the opposite direction toward the far end of Twelve Points Street.
The two groups brushed past each other, barely an arm's length apart.
For a fleeting moment, Hoshimi Miyabi felt something.
She glanced back at Sam Li, a nagging sense that she had overlooked something important.
She hesitated for a moment—then dismissed the thought and kept walking.
…
A short distance ahead, Soukaku suddenly stiffened, his expression turning to panic. "Oh no! We screwed up!"
Hoshimi Miyabi stopped in her tracks. "What now?"
"We let them go… but we forgot to give them a Bangboo! They have no way to navigate out of the Hollow! Getting lost in there is way worse than running into Ethereals!"
Soukaku quickly turned back, intending to hand them a Bangboo—only to find that they had already disappeared without a trace.
Hoshimi Miyabi, however, remained calm. She had already assessed Anby's strength and wasn't worried about their safety.
After a brief silence, she murmured, "Dressed in ancient clothing… Soukaku, do you remember what the security forces mentioned earlier? About someone in old-era attire, carrying a long spear, who ignored their warnings and forced his way into the Hollow?"
"Of course I remember!" Soukaku's curiosity was piqued. "Chief, are you saying that Sam Li might be the guy they were talking about?"
Hoshimi Miyabi shook her head. "He wasn't carrying a spear—just a birdcage. I didn't sense any anomaly from him, nor did he have the sharpness of a trained fighter… He seemed no different from an ordinary civilian."
What puzzled her the most, however, was his eyes.
They were too calm.
Standing before the Hollow Special Operations Section 6 Unit, he hadn't shown the slightest bit of nervousness. His gaze met hers as if he were looking at just another person—completely unshaken, completely at ease.
At the time, she hadn't thought much of it.
But now, looking back…
She realized that beneath that tranquil gaze, there had been an almost imperceptible trace of authority.
Yes—authority.
A kind of quiet but undeniable majesty that no ordinary person should possess.
"Chief, want me to go after them?" Soukaku volunteered.
Hoshimi Miyabi shook her head. "Our priority is investigating the newly emerging anomalies. We'll deal with everything else later."