Hoshimi Miyabi nodded in agreement with Tsukishiro Yanagi's suggestion.
However, she didn't lead the team away immediately. Instead, she stood in silence, gazing seriously at the traces left behind from the battle.
All the marks had been made by cold weapons.
It wasn't just one person—there had been several, all of them rare and formidable fighters.
Who were they?
Tsukishiro Yanagi gave a faint smile. "Section Chief, no need to overthink it. They only left recently—there's a good chance we'll run into them elsewhere in the Hollow."
Hoshimi Miyabi gave a small nod. "Alright, let's move."
With that, she led Hollow Special Operations Unit 6 toward their next objective.
...
At the same time, on the other side of the B47 Hollow...
Keqing, Xiao, the Traveler, Hu Tao, and Paimon were walking down the street. After several kilometers, they were still surrounded by nothing but ruins.
Paimon, clearly disheartened, slumped her shoulders. "Traveler, how long are we going to wander around this wasteland?"
If she'd known this whole place was just ruins, she would've stopped the Traveler from coming. But it was too late now.
The Traveler also knew they couldn't keep wandering aimlessly. She was trying to figure out how to avoid getting lost again.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "I've got it!"
Paimon looked at her in confusion. "Got what?"
The Traveler smiled. "We can use elemental energy to mark the places we've passed. Then we'll be able to sense the marks and navigate properly."
Hearing that, Keqing, Xiao, and Hu Tao all looked impressed. It was a solid plan.
Immediately, Xiao placed an Anemo mark on a nearby abandoned building.
"Alright, let's keep moving."
"Yeah, as long as we leave enough marks behind, we'll find our way out of this cursed ruin."
"Traveler, stay sharp. I still feel like there are more of those terrifying monsters lurking around…"
That axe from earlier had really spooked Paimon—it had left a mental scar.
The Traveler chuckled. "There aren't that many monsters. Just stick close to me."
But Xiao suddenly frowned. "No… something's not right. Traveler, be careful. I can smell danger on the wind."
With that, he moved to the front of the group.
The Traveler, Keqing, and Hu Tao followed suit, all raising their guard and preparing for combat.
Soon, as they turned a corner, they spotted several human-sized monsters ahead.
No words were exchanged—battle erupted immediately.
In just a few moves, the group easily took the monsters down.
Xiao didn't let his guard down. He stayed alert, scanning their surroundings. "Careful. More are coming."
The Traveler glanced at the rooftops and called out, "There! On the roofs—and there's more than one!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, an explosion rang out.
With a deafening crash, two massive Ethereals fell from the sky, slamming into the ground so hard it made the earth tremble.
Just like the monster they had fought before.
These were five or six meters tall, hulking beasts. They didn't wield weapons, but their enormous fists were terrifying on their own.
Keqing called out, "Everyone, stay sharp! Get ready!"
The Traveler said seriously, "I'll take the one on the left. You three go after the one on the right—let's take them down one by one."
Xiao immediately nodded. "Got it!"
With the strategy set, they charged.
Xiao, the battle-hardened Vigilant Yaksha who had survived the brutal Archon War, faced the monster without hesitation. With support from Keqing and Hu Tao, they quickly overwhelmed the first Ethereal.
Then, they turned their focus to the second.
But just then, several figures came running from the far end of the street—apparently also targeting the monster.
Finally—other people.
Paimon shouted joyfully, "Traveler, Keqing, Hu Tao, look over there! We finally found some living people!"
The Traveler, catching her breath, called back, "Help me take this thing down first! It's way too tough—I can barely damage it!"
Keqing responded immediately, "I'll help!"
Hu Tao and Xiao followed closely behind.
Moments later, the newcomers reached the battlefield and joined the fight.
With everyone working together, the monster didn't last long.
With a loud crash, it fell to the ground, breaking apart into a pile of black crystal shards.
When the battle ended, Hoshimi Miyabi glanced at the shattered Ethereal remains, then looked at the Traveler, Keqing, and the others, her brow furrowing slightly.
They had seen clearly when they arrived—Keqing's group had already taken down one Ethereal.
Even if Unit 6 hadn't shown up, Keqing and the others likely would've handled the fight just fine on their own.
What's more, during the brief moment they fought side-by-side, Hoshimi Miyabi got a clear sense of their strength.
They were powerful.
Especially the young man with the spear and strange markings on his body—his technique was sharp, his strength overwhelming. He could go toe-to-toe with a high-ranking Ethereal without flinching—and even gain the upper hand.
An extremely rare warrior.
Hoshimi Miyabi now regarded him with great interest.
Before she could say anything, Paimon flew out from her hiding spot.
"Finally! Some living people! Ahem, sorry—we didn't mean to startle you. We're just a little excited…"
Hoshimi Miyabi looked at Paimon, puzzled. "????"
What… is that? It flies?
Soukaku tilted her head and asked curiously, "Hey, are you a Flying Bangboo?"
Asaba Harumasa immediately shot down the guess. "It talks like a human. No way it's a regular Bangboo. Must be… a new model."
Hearing them, Paimon nearly exploded.
Were these two nuts?
They'd only just met, and they were already giving her some awful nickname—Flying Bangboo? Seriously?
That sounded terrible.
Fuming, Paimon snapped, "I'm not some Flying Bangboo! My name is Paimon!"
Tsukishiro Yanagi smiled gently. "Don't be upset—they didn't mean any harm."
Then, she turned to Keqing, Hu Tao, the Traveler, and the others.
At first, she suspected they might be Hollow raiders.
But to her surprise, Keqing's group didn't show any fear when seeing Hollow Special Operations Unit 6. In fact, they looked pleased—definitely not the reaction of timid scavengers.
Tsukishiro Yanagi smiled faintly. "Everyone, B47 Hollow is under official control. How did you get in here?"
Keqing frowned slightly. "Officially controlled area?"
Just from that sentence alone, she gathered quite a bit of information.
First, their current location was a place called "B47 Hollow," and it was under government control…
Second, this place wasn't lawless after all—there was some kind of official organization here…