It took nearly three full hours before she was finally able to escape that debriefing meeting, a session so drawn out it could only be called torture.
Stepping out of the incredibly dim conference room—lit only by the faint glow of various remote projection devices—Hoshimi Miyabi concluded this hellish trial of ultra-long seated standby.
Although Tsukishiro Yanagi had been the one giving the report the entire time.
After all, Soukaku simply didn't know how, Asaba Harumasa had made an excuse to take a leave of absence and went to the hospital, and she herself basically didn't understand the situation on the frontlines. This led to the debriefing reports for everyone in Section 6 being conducted entirely by Tsukishiro Yanagi.
But because Hoshimi Miyabi was present.
The leaders would occasionally look to her, the Section Chief, for verification. As a result, in Miyabi's eyes, this event had turned into a dry, boring affair where she could only sit there stiffly.
Consequently, for Hoshimi Miyabi...
This period was simply garbage time where she couldn't conduct physical training, nor could she even engage in spiritual cultivation. And this was the main reason she had always been unwilling to attend debriefing meetings.
Lifting the door curtain and stepping outside the tent, the gentle sunlight shone on Miyabi's face, though it felt a bit dazzling after being in a dim environment for so long.
In her heart, Hoshimi Miyabi made a firm resolution to stick to her training of 'never attending debriefing reports' in the future.
This time, no matter what, she had to persist. At the very least, she couldn't just obediently run back at Yanagi's beck and call like she did today.
Meanwhile, Andrew had long since finished beating up Lorenz and had set off on his journey back to the smithy.
At the same time, because Lorenz and all of his personal guards who would have spoken up for him had been sent into dreamland by Andrew, Lorenz's actions had already spread throughout the entire Scott Outpost.
To prevent Lorenz from turning around and making false accusations after waking up, Andrew's execution of justice was deliberately spread throughout Scott Outpost by Roland and Ray. They had done this while completely unaware of his military identity, having successfully bluffed the higher-ups.
Hearing all of this from others, Hoshimi Miyabi immediately revealed an approving gaze.
Her evaluation of Andrew in her heart rose yet another notch.
For Hoshimi Miyabi, who steadfastly upheld justice and wished to sever all evil, Andrew's actions undoubtedly made her even more approving of the new companion she had made during this interception battle.
Right at this moment.
In Miyabi's embrace, the phone that had remained silent ever since it was fully charged upon returning to the outpost finally rang with the ringtone she had been waiting for.
Taking out her phone to look, the caller was none other than her father, who had been completely out of contact all morning due to a municipal meeting—Hoshimi Soichiro.
As the call connected, Hoshimi Soichiro's entirely tension-free voice came from the other end of the line.
"Miyabi? I heard about your heroic feat in Hollow Zero this morning from Von Lycaon during the luncheon! You did wonderfully! As expected of my daughter!"
However, Hoshimi Miyabi didn't show much emotion towards her father's praise coming through the phone.
After glancing at the time to confirm she hadn't misread it, Miyabi continued, "Father, if I remember the schedule correctly, even including the luncheon, this meeting should have ended an hour and a half ago, right? Why are you only calling me back now?"
During the previous debriefing meeting, she had perfectly calculated the end time of Hoshimi Soichiro's meeting.
She had waited bitterly for her father to call so she would have an excuse to run away halfway through. Yet, he only called now, just as her meeting ended, as if they had agreed upon it beforehand!
Regarding the failure of her planned escape from the meeting.
Although Hoshimi Miyabi wasn't angry, she still couldn't help but feel a little bit moody. While her specific questions weren't outright demanding why Hoshimi Soichiro had only called just now, her words subtly expressed that exact sentiment in every way.
Hoshimi Soichiro, who understood his daughter perfectly, heard Miyabi's questioning.
Judging by her tone, he instantly realized something was wrong. Knowing his daughter might be unhappy right now, he coughed lightly and hurriedly explained:
"Ahem, daughter, you know me."
Following that, his tone carried a hint of flattery as he confessed everything, "I don't really like electronic devices. Besides, since my phone would just be confiscated once I got there anyway, I simply left it at home."
"Plus, the hospitality of the municipal folks was truly hard to refuse. I was held back for quite a while, and at the same time, I listened to Von Lycaon recount your great achievements, which is why I got home quite a bit late."
Then, feeling as though he had kept his daughter waiting a bit too long this time, Hoshimi Soichiro said somewhat cautiously, "The result is that I only realized you had contacted me after I got home. Didn't I call you back right away..."
As soon as these words were spoken, it instantly resolved a doubt in Hoshimi Miyabi's heart.
After all, under normal circumstances, even though phones would be handed over and kept together during such confidential meetings, it didn't mean the person was completely out of touch.
During the meeting, there would be dedicated personnel to store and guard these communication devices collectively.
When facing an incoming call, the custodians would usually choose to answer it to explain the situation and confirm whether the matter was urgent enough.
Once confirmed as urgent, they would immediately report and relay the message to the person in the conference room, allowing them to make a further judgment.
At the very least, it wouldn't be like when she tried to contact him this morning, with absolutely no response.
When she found there was no response earlier, Hoshimi Miyabi, who knew her father very well, guessed that he definitely hadn't brought his phone again because he hated electronic devices.
It could only be said that no one knows a daughter better than her father.
At this point, there was no sense in dwelling on these details, so Hoshimi Miyabi directly relayed to Hoshimi Soichiro the content that could never appear in the combat report, "Wuwei went berserk this morning before the Nineveh interception battle, and more than once."
"What?!!!"
On the other end of the phone, having never expected that Hoshimi Miyabi contacted him because of this, the originally leisurely and relaxed Hoshimi Soichiro instantly became incredibly serious.
In a mere second, he adjusted his attitude and asked extremely earnestly at top speed, "How is Wuwei's condition now? Is there still a risk of it going berserk at any moment? Can you make it back to the Hoshimi family estate, or do I need to come find you immediately with a spare scabbard?"
No wonder Hoshimi Miyabi, who rarely got angry, was moody. He hadn't expected it to be such a severe incident this time.
Hoshimi Soichiro also instantly realized the hidden dangers in the Nineveh interception battle—a battle that had seemed like a walk in the park to him, where nothing could go wrong. During a period when Wuwei could go berserk at any moment, a single misstep meant eternal damnation in the truest sense.
Hearing this, Hoshimi Miyabi, knowing what Hoshimi Soichiro was so nervous about, immediately comforted him, "Father, you don't need to worry too much. Due to some special circumstances and Andrew's help, Wuwei's condition has now stabilized."
"It can be said that as long as it's not used at full power for an extended period, there won't be any problems."
Hearing this, Hoshimi Soichiro immediately breathed a slight sigh of relief, while simultaneously harboring a trace of doubt regarding the name Hoshimi Miyabi had mentioned.
"Andrew is...?"
Upon hearing this, Hoshimi Miyabi spoke very candidly, "Andrew is the person who resolved this crisis in the truest sense during the Nineveh interception battle, and he is also the partner of Meow-Da, who made this interception battle a zero-casualty affair."
"Most importantly, it is because of him that I haven't been devoured by the berserk Wuwei right now."
Hearing Hoshimi Miyabi's description, Hoshimi Soichiro frowned slightly.
"Eliminated Nineveh, and is the partner of that powerful supporter Meow-Da...?"
After a brief moment of thought, Hoshimi Soichiro quickly realized who it was. Although he had heard Von Lycaon recount the entire event, most of his attention had been focused on what Miyabi had done.
He said with some surprise, "Andrew is that Hunter?! Daughter, so you're already at the stage where you can directly call each other by your first names?!!"
The focus of an old father could sometimes be quite baffling.
But soon, the realization set in, and Hoshimi Soichiro suppressed the surprise in his heart.
Over the phone was not the place to discuss such highly secretive family matters in detail, so he immediately instructed:
"It's not suitable to talk too much about Wuwei over the phone. Since you feel the situation is manageable, let's talk in detail face-to-face once you get back."
"I will wait for you in the Hoshimi family's research lab."
As her father hung up the phone.
Hoshimi Miyabi didn't delay. After explaining to Tsukishiro Yanagi that she needed to go home for a bit, she quickly rushed to the Hoshimi family's research lab. Her father, Hoshimi Soichiro, had already dismissed everyone else, leaving only himself waiting quietly in the lab.
As the developer of the scabbard.
Hoshimi Soichiro, who was incredibly familiar with his own work, placed it on a specialized scanning device the moment he saw Hoshimi Miyabi.
When the scan results quickly came out, Hoshimi Soichiro furrowed his brows, flipping through the report in his hands and muttering to himself in profound confusion:
"Wuwei indeed broke through the scabbard's seal, and more than once..."
"But the algorithmic maze inside the scabbard has become a complete mess and has almost lost its efficacy. How is it keeping the current Wuwei contained? What exactly is going on here?"
The report in his hands couldn't answer the doubts in his heart. Hoshimi Soichiro turned his head to look at Hoshimi Miyabi, who was standing nearby, and asked, "Tell me, daughter, what exactly happened earlier to make Wuwei turn out like this?"
Naturally, Hoshimi Miyabi held nothing back from her own father.
Soon, through Miyabi, Hoshimi Soichiro learned the detailed circumstances of what occurred before the Nineveh alarm sounded, as well as what happened to the both of them during the Nineveh interception battle.
At this moment, Hoshimi Soichiro gained an incredibly clear understanding of just how much risk Hoshimi Miyabi had taken during this interception battle.
It was safe to say that if not for Andrew's help, Hoshimi Miyabi would have likely had to be completely controlled by Wuwei—just like during the Fall of the Old Capital—to achieve the current battle results in this Nineveh interception.
And if that unknown monster inside Nineveh had hatched successfully...
The final outcome would undoubtedly have been an irreversible disaster.
As the saying goes, a true master of war wins without dazzling feats.
Under this scenario—which by all accounts was the optimal solution—the merit achieved was already so massive. Hoshimi Soichiro simply didn't dare to imagine what the final consequences would have been without him.
Hollow Zero had already taken away his beloved wife, and now it had nearly taken his own daughter...
The mere thought of this possibility filled Hoshimi Soichiro with immense lingering fear. At the same time, he instantly developed a tremendous amount of goodwill toward Andrew—a man he had never met, who helped him avoid this terrifying outcome.
As for attributing the cause of all this to Wuwei breaking the seal because it came into contact with Andrew...
Only those hypocritical virtue-signalers could spout such irresponsible nonsense, shifting all the blame onto others.
Hoshimi Soichiro never harbored any thoughts of blaming Andrew for causing Wuwei to go berserk.
In his eyes, Andrew was actually innocent from start to finish in this sudden incident of Wuwei going out of control. Having been suddenly attacked by Wuwei's foxfire, Andrew should actually be considered the victim.
Aside from the volatile Wuwei, the true culprit responsible for this situation was himself—the one who hadn't made the scabbard's seal strong and reliable enough, allowing Wuwei to successfully force its way through.
At the same time, Hoshimi Soichiro also realized something else.
This was actually a loophole in the scabbard's maze, caused by the fact that he had never considered Wuwei would react to anyone outside the Hoshimi family. Even if Andrew hadn't triggered it this time, the exact same situation would have occurred the next time it encountered another person or object that Wuwei reacted to.
And at that point.
Without Andrew's help, his daughter, Hoshimi Miyabi, would very likely have already harmed innocents because of Wuwei, thereby resulting in irreversible consequences.
He knew very well how his daughter would react after waking up if such a thing truly happened.
So, rather than dwelling on whether Andrew was responsible, he was much more focused on another matter that was incredibly important to him.
"Daughter, are you saying... both of Wuwei's rampages were forcibly suppressed by this Andrew? Including the second rampage that occurred as an experiment?"
"Incorrect."
Regarding Hoshimi Soichiro's summary, Hoshimi Miyabi shook her head and rigidly corrected him, "It wasn't just those two times. Later, during the latter half of the Nineveh interception battle, when I was supporting the defense line against the Ethereal tide, it was also because of the piece of the scabbard he gave me that I didn't go berserk again."
Knowing his daughter's personality, Hoshimi Soichiro gladly accepted Miyabi's very strict correction.
After all, from childhood to adulthood, once his daughter set her mind on something, not even ten bulls could pull her back. To put it in perspective, even though he had explained it to her many times when she was little, Hoshimi Miyabi stubbornly believed to this day that the prototype for Public Security's promotional ambassador was a sea otter.
Looking at this piece of carapace, as white and flawless as jade, Hoshimi Soichiro couldn't help but marvel, "I just never imagined that there would actually be an existence in New Eridu capable of forcibly suppressing a rampaging Wuwei..."
But right as those words fell, Hoshimi Soichiro immediately corrected himself, "No, that's not right. To be accurate, it should be a forceful subjugation."
____
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