Alice studied the box in Idehali's hands with careful eyes.
"It's definitely made of Lumiceramic," she said. "And judging by the style, it looks like a military-issue design — a specialized storage unit built for containing hazardous materials."
Hearing Alice — the resident Lumiceramic expert — say that, all three of them felt their expressions grow heavy.
A military item? Who in the world would send Idehali into a Hollow to retrieve something belonging to the Defense Force?
"I smell a conspiracy~"
Lucia's eyes lit up like stars. When it came to anything remotely interesting, her energy was inexhaustible.
The other three, however, were far less optimistic about the situation.
"Hali — do you know anything about who hired you?"
Geno asked about Idehali's client, though he didn't hold out much hope. Inter-Knot user information was almost always hidden by default.
"No, they never revealed their identity," Idehali replied. "They only asked me to bring the box to a designated location — somewhere not far from the Hollow's exit."
So they planned to retrieve it as quickly as possible. That thought only deepened Geno's suspicions.
If they had nothing to hide, why arrange the handoff inside a Hollow? After all, once you were inside, you were completely cut off from the outside world — with the sole exception of Phaethon.
"In that case, is there any way we could just slip past them and get out first, then figure out the rest later?"
"Hard to say. We don't know how many people they have, or whether they're armed. Anyone bold enough to steal from the Defense Force isn't going to be a pushover."
Geno kept his thinking clear: your reach should never exceed your grasp. Overstepping your ability only brought fire down on your own head — and that was doubly true when dangerous matters were involved.
"Should we open the box and take a look?"
"Better not. If it's something truly dangerous, that could go very badly. It's military equipment — better safe than sorry."
Geno shut down Lucia's curiosity once again. In all things, caution was the wiser path.
After a brief discussion, the group ultimately decided to accompany Idehali and probe the situation first. With Geno and Idehali's special vision working together, they might be able to gather more information before committing to anything.
No sooner said than done. Under Idehali's lead, the group moved at a brisk pace toward the Hollow's exit — and arrived at their destination quickly.
"Hold up. Something's wrong ahead."
Geno's eyes glinted faintly. His Ether vision had picked up a dense cluster of Ether traces — a large group of people, somewhere nearby.
"I see them too," Idehali murmured. "Many echoes — but I can't make out what they're saying."
With their two scouts confirming the threat, Lucia and Alice immediately sharpened up. Weapons drawn, eyes scanning — they watched the surrounding area without blinking.
Geno crept forward, tracking the Ether traces with each careful step. What he saw made him still: the trails fanned out in every direction, spreading across the entire area.
"The Hollow's exit is just ahead," he said quietly. "And those traces — there's a whole group of them positioned around it. It looks like an ambush."
His gaze swept methodically across the terrain.
On the rocky slope. Behind the low walls. Inside the ruins. At least a dozen unidentified figures lay concealed throughout the area. Only one person stood openly, directly in front of the Hollow's exit.
"That one must be my client."
Since it had all been conducted online, Idehali had never actually seen the client's face.
"They're not amateurs, that's for sure," Geno said, glancing toward Idehali with a trace of dry humor. "From the look of things, they're planning to tie up loose ends — you included. Save themselves the commission fee while they're at it."
Idehali didn't take offense. The corner of her mouth merely curved upward, the beauty mark beneath her lips shifting with it, her languid elegance fully on display.
But beneath that composure, her eyes had gone cold.
She absolutely despised people who skipped out on paying. Especially ones who hadn't planned to pay from the very beginning.
"So — what do we do now?"
Both Alice and Lucia had their ears perked up, ready to hear whatever plan Geno had in mind. As for how to handle a group of sneaks like these, Geno had already decided: fight fire with fire.
"Direct confrontation is too risky. We slip past them quietly."
He assigned the tasks: he would handle one flank himself; Alice and Lucia would take the other. Idehali, once the others had cleared enough of the ambushers, would carry the box forward and meet with the contact. He wanted to see exactly what these people were playing at.
Without another word, Geno pointed out the directions and moved out.
Suppressing his presence, moving like a shadow — the spitting image of some master assassin from a video game — he crept silently into position at the first ambush point.
He looked the two unsuspecting sentries over. Then something caught his attention: their clothing. He recognized it. The same outfits worn by the people who had attacked the Silver Base that day.
The Congregation?! What are these bastards up to now?!
The question flared up in his mind — but it didn't slow his hands.
In a single flash he was behind both of them. Left hand, right hand — one each. A swift, brutal skull-crack dropped them both at once.
Two dull thuds. Two Congregation grunts crumpled to the ground. Geno eased them down carefully, making sure not to alert anyone else.
Good. No one noticed.
With that position cleared, he ghosted toward the next ambush point.
Meanwhile, Idehali cradled the box and walked straight toward the one Congregation member standing out in the open.
"Ah~ You must be Miss [Strawberry Parfait]! I'm [No Beef]. You're here, which means you brought what I'm looking for — am I right?"
[No Beef] was all smiles. He genuinely hadn't expected anyone to actually complete the commission he'd thrown up on a whim. When he'd seen the acceptance notification on the Inter-Knot, he'd nearly fallen out of his chair.
What a pleasant surprise.
And he hadn't expected the Proxy to be such an absolute beauty either. This was shaping up to be a very enjoyable little encounter~
[No Beef]'s expression shifted — gradually, involuntarily — into something lewd and lecherous. Idehali took in every detail of it. Behind her back, her tentacles began to coil and writhe on their own, as if itching to beat the man into the ground.
She forced down the overwhelming urge to pick up a hammer and drive him straight into the earth. Brow furrowed, she lifted the box and held it out in front of her.
"Here's what you wanted. So — shall we settle the remaining balance? Mr. Client?"
"Yes, yes, that's it exactly — my deepest thanks for your generous contribution, dear Proxy. As for the payment~" He couldn't suppress the grin spreading across his face any longer. "I think you'll find you won't be needing it very soon."
As he spoke, his eyes roamed over Idehali's figure without a shred of shame — crawling from her feet, up her legs, along her tentacles, to her ha—
Wait.
Hammer?
____
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