Sorry about the duplicate chapter! (Already fixed!)To make up for it, here's an extra chapter <3
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The group followed in Eous's footsteps. Although there were still quite a few Ethereal attacks along the way, they were all neutralized by the group one by one.
However, compared to the stronger Ethereals like the Dullahan, what gave Geno and the others the biggest headache were the small Ethereals.
"It's endless! There are too many of these small fry."
Nicole fired a shot in anger, gathering the pouncing Thunder Spiders together and blasting them to pieces. The speed of these little guys, comparable to flying cockroaches, was truly a headache.
"At least the stronger guys were all attracted by the Ether bomb."
The high-concentration Ether environment created by the Ether bomb was no different from a grand feast for these Ethereals.
Honestly, if the situation weren't so dangerous right now, Geno himself would have wanted to take a couple of puffs of it.
"But these small fry are really annoying."
Nicole frowned.
To be honest, although these guys were considered trash mobs, their numbers were significant, causing quite an obstruction to their formation.
A situation arose with Eous at the front of the team.
"Ehn-ne ehn-ne. (Here, incorrect, the path has changed.)"
At this moment, Eous was trying hard to distinguish the path, but perhaps because the data White Noise provided earlier was problematic, Eous could no longer distinguish the way out of the Hollow.
"Damn it, how could this happen? It was fine when we came in, so why doesn't it work on the way out?"
While Nicole complained about how ridiculous the situation was, Twiggy offered an explanation.
"Data within a Hollow isn't static to begin with. It seems the other party intentionally allowed this situation to generate. By using the massive amount of Active Ether produced by the Ether bomb to attract Ethereals and stall us, they also caused the entire Hollow to shift."
The Crete Hollow originally belonged to the category of relatively stable Companion Hollows, but under the stimulation of a massive amount of Active Ether, the Hollow's environment still underwent changes.
"Damn it. If this goes on, we'll be worn down to death sooner or later."
Billy fired another shot; his ammo was just about exhausted.
Meanwhile, Geno stood to the side, pondering something, so distracted that he didn't even notice a Hati sneaking up behind him.
"Careful!"
Boom!
Before that Hati could even pounce, it was spotted by Twiggy in advance, who then blasted it away, turning it into Ether particles.
"What are you spacing out for? Now isn't the time for your wild thoughts."
Twiggy lectured Geno grumpily.
But Geno seemed not to hear her at all, holding Eous and thinking about something unknown.
"Hey! I'm talking to you, are you deaf?!"
Twiggy reached out and waved her hand; only then did Geno react.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about something."
Soon, this wave of Ethereals was mostly cleaned up by the members of the Cunning Hares, and the remaining remnants, seeing the situation turn against them, slipped away.
"Twiggy, is Geno's condition okay?"
Anby walked over, sheathing her blade. She looked at Geno, who was still somewhat dazed, her eyes filled with confusion.
"I'm fine. I just thought of a way to get out of here."
As Geno spoke, he put Eous down.
Regaining its freedom, Eous looked around for directions, but they consistently failed to match the data in its mind.
"Ehn-ne, ehn-ne ehn-ne. (I'm sorry, everyone, I can't find the way.)"
"This isn't your blame, Eous. You've already done very well. It's that bad guy who did bad things."
Twiggy crouched down and gently stroked Eous's ears, tenderly soothing its emotions.
Most Bangboo have a mental capacity equivalent to children, or rather, they are quite childish.
If not comforted properly, it might lead to Eous blaming itself continuously, leaving a psychological shadow.
"Twiggy is right, this isn't your fault."
"Eous, I have a method here that can save everyone. Do you want to try it?"
"Ehn-ne?"
Geno crouched down and opened the palm of his right hand, revealing exactly that [Rosetta Data] he had secretly kept.
"That's right! That bastard said this thing is comparable to Rosetta Data. As long as Little Eous reads this, we can escape."
Nicole, seeing the memory card from the side, clapped her hands in excitement.
As long as they implanted this thing into its body, then Eous could lead them out of the Hollow.
But...
This was, after all, just White Noise's one-sided claim. The authenticity of this item and whether it could lead them out of the Hollow were both unknown variables.
"Eous, I don't want to force you. You can have your own opinion. It is up to you to decide whether or not to use this thing."
Geno was a very strange person. In New Eridu, clearly most people viewed Bangboo as pets or robots.
But in his view, even if they hadn't passed the Forbidden Fruit Test, Bangboos were absolutely not pets, nor were they other replaceable objects.
Every Bangboo possessed a will unique to itself and could make its own judgments.
"Ehn-ne, ehn-ne ehn-ne da! (Eous, will use it! Eous, will lead everyone out of the Hollow!)"
With almost no hesitation, Eous decisively took the memory card from Geno's hand and immediately inserted it into its own interface.
Very quickly, Eous, having accessed the memory card, kicked its legs and collapsed onto the ground.
The expression on its face vanished without a trace, and the entire Bangboo fell into a crashed state.
"Eous? Eous!"
Geno shook Eous's body in panic. The round robotic body was now unmistakably stiff, no longer possessing its usual softness.
"Geno, Eous is..."
Twiggy, Nicole, and the others were heartbroken seeing Eous in this state.
On one hand, they were sad because they believed Little Eous was beyond saving; on the other hand, they were sad because they themselves could no longer get out and were going to die in the Hollow.
"Damn it, my beautiful life hasn't even started yet, and it's going to end?"
"I haven't even been on a date with Big Sister Monica yet! I don't want it to end like this!"
The two expressed their panic in despair, while Anby hugged Twiggy tightly.
To be able to die together with her sister at the brink of death could be considered worth it.
However, while the atmosphere of despair permeated the crowd, Geno did not give up hope.
He ceaselessly checked Eous, attempting to wake it up, and injected his own Ether energy into Eous's body to perform a more detailed scan.
Yet, it was precisely this action that caused a fluctuation in another consciousness inside Eous's body.
[Detected object meeting requirements. Attempting to sign terms with it.]
[Signing failed. Target is not human. Retaining permissions. Attempting to detect other objects for term signing.]
A mysterious female voice, accompanying the Ether Geno sent into the body, established a connection with Belle, who was far outside the Hollow but connected to Eous.
Just hang in there for two more days, and I can rest on the weekend!
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