It seemed Lucy and Piper had picked up on the noise from Caesar and Belle's side, and chaos immediately broke out:
"Proxy, what's going on over there? I swear I just heard Caesar's voice! Didn't you just say she jumped into the Cinder Lake and died?!"
"Damn it—this better not be another prank…"
"Put Caesar on. Open the line—I want to talk to her!"
"Seriously? This is a major competition, and you're pulling stunts like this? Someone could have a heart attack!"
"Caesar! Get out here!"
"You idiot, idiot, total idiot—get out here! I want to fight you and take the Sons of Calydon's boss title for myself!"
"Caesar, you seriously made Lucy cry just now..."
"Piper! Shut up! Don't talk nonsense—I wasn't crying! Anyone with half a brain could tell it was just another prank. Like I'd cry over something like that…"
...
A stream of voices came through to Caesar and Billy via Eous.
Belle had turned on the speaker, so Caesar, Billy, and Clorinde could all hear Lucy's furious complaints.
Billy quickly stepped in, "Lucy, listen—Caesar really almost died just now..."
But Caesar cut him off, waving it away with a laugh. "Nah, don't listen to him. It was just a harmless little joke. Lucy, Piper, Lighter, Burnice—you don't need to worry. I'm the leader of the Sons of Calydon, the soon-to-be hero of the Tour de Inferno. How could I possibly die in the Hollows so easily?"
She didn't want Lucy, Piper, or the others to worry, so instead of telling the truth, she threw out a lighthearted lie and tried to laugh it off.
As soon as she finished, Lucy exploded.
"You idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Caesar, you're a big-busted, brainless idiot! Who jokes about something like that?!"
Pulling a prank on Proxy and staging a fake funeral had been bad enough...
But now she was pretending to die? Lucy was absolutely livid...
Of course, she had no idea that what just happened wasn't a joke.
If Caesar hadn't been shielded by those rocks from the lake's flames, there's no way she'd have made it back alive.
Hearing Lucy's scolding, Caesar didn't argue. She just scratched her head and grinned.
"Don't be mad. We've already resolved the crisis at the Cinder Lake. We're about to head back to the starting point now. This round goes to the Sons of Calydon—just hang tight and wait for us to return victorious."
Lucy huffed. "Hmph! You better get back here—I'm gonna knock you flat and become the new champion!"
Caesar laughed. "Hahaha! Fine, once I'm back, we'll settle it with a fight."
Crisis dodged.
Just as she was about to cut the call, Caesar suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right! Lucy—one more thing."
Lucy's voice came through again. "What now? Hurry up, that host Jolly Jenny is pulling nonsense again—trying to drag me and Piper on stage to sing or something. It's so annoying..."
Caesar asked seriously, "Is Mr. Sam Li still with you guys?"
Lucy didn't hesitate. "Of course! You need him? I'll call him for you. Sam Li? Mr. Sam Li? Hey—Caesar's looking for you... Huh? He was just here. Where'd he go? Hang on, I'll look around..."
They could hear Lucy calling several times, but it seemed Sam Li was nowhere to be found.
After about thirty seconds, Lucy came back with a sigh. "No clue where he went. Maybe the bathroom? Or maybe Jolly Jenny dragged him away too... What did you need him for? Tell me and I'll pass the message along."
Caesar chuckled. "It's fine. We'll be back soon. Bye—"
With that, she motioned for Belle to end the call.
...
Caesar took a deep breath and turned to look at the Cinder Lake behind her.
After the earlier explosion, all the Ether crystals that had once covered the lake had been completely destroyed—now fueling the flames below.
Her eyes locked onto the most intense blaze—the very spot where she had fallen.
A quiet smile formed on her lips.
"Mr. Sam Li... thank you. I really don't know how I can ever repay you."
Even though she hadn't spotted Sam Li nearby—or at Lucy's location—Caesar was certain.
He was the one who saved her.
"Billy, Clorinde, Proxy. Let's head back—"
"Got it, Boss. That scared the hell out of me... Almost fried my combat core..."
Billy was only just now calming down.
Caesar might have been able to trick Lucy and Piper with her casual tone, but not Billy. He'd been there—seen everything. It had been terrifying. Everyone thought she was dead...
If it weren't for those rocks, she wouldn't be standing here now.
Soon after, Caesar, Billy, and Clorinde all got back on their motorcycles, ready to ride back to the starting point of the Tour de Inferno.
But just as they neared the ruins of an abandoned building, Belle suddenly called out, "Caesar, stop for a sec."
Caesar looked puzzled. "What's wrong, Proxy? Are you feeling unwell?"
After they stopped, Belle, controlling Eous, jumped off the bike and ran over to a pile of rubble.
"It's the race's livestream drone. It must've crashed into the building due to high concentrations of active Ether."
No wonder Lucy had mentioned the livestream cutting out earlier.
Turned out the drone had gone down.
The next moment, Belle picked it up and located its storage unit.
"Fairy, start analyzing this."
Moments later, the stored footage had been fully parsed.
The second Belle saw what was on it, she froze.
Caesar tilted her head. "What is it?"
Belle's face lit up. "Caesar, it's video footage—Lucius attacking Pompey. This time, that bastard Lucius is done for."
Caesar's expression turned serious. "Even if we didn't have this video, I'd still take him down for what he did."
But now, with evidence in hand—
They could deal with Lucius and Mors, the motorcycle gang's traitors, openly and without opposition.
Without hesitation, Caesar grabbed Eous's arm and pulled her toward the front of the bike.
"Hold on tight, Proxy—we're heading out."
Belle quickly gripped the bike. "Alright, let's go."
As the engines roared to life, Caesar laughed loudly.
"Let's ride. Hopefully, we'll run into Sam Li on the way back!"
Billy grinned. "It's possible. He might've already gone ahead and is waiting for us at the starting point."
Clorinde, however, shook her head. "No way. He's not that fast."