Looking at the sleek, stylish, yet completely dead phone in front of him, Andrew immediately understood the situation.
No wonder she had suddenly mentioned calling people; it turned out her battery was flat.
Seeing Hoshimi Miyabi staring at him with those expectant eyes, how could Andrew not know what she wanted him to do?
He didn't hesitate. He took out his own mobile phone, handed it to Hoshimi Miyabi, and said,
"Alright, alright. Since that's the case, just use my phone for now."
Seeing Andrew agree, Hoshimi Miyabi immediately accepted the phone solemnly.
However, as Hoshimi Miyabi silently opened the contacts list, she couldn't help but freeze for a moment. Apart from the three people pinned at the very top, the list below consisted of a string of twelve character cards with avatars that were almost exactly identical.
But she didn't dwell on it. She tilted her head, ignored that detail, jumped directly to the dial pad, and entered Tsukishiro Yanagi's phone number from memory.
As the number was dialed out...
Unlike in the past when using her own phone, where calls were picked up almost instantly regardless of the time, this time Hoshimi Miyabi waited for nearly thirty seconds. It was only when the system was about to automatically hang up that the call was finally connected.
The moment it connected, Tsukishiro Yanagi's voice came through. Although she was forcibly suppressing it, her tone still carried an involuntary trace of anxiety.
"Hello, this is Tsukishiro Yanagi. May I ask what this is regarding?"
Hearing Tsukishiro Yanagi's clearly abnormal tone, along with the faint sound of a car engine in the background, Hoshimi Miyabi couldn't help but frown slightly.
Hadn't she said just this morning that everything was currently very stable and that accidents were almost impossible?
Why would Tsukishiro Yanagi show such anxiety?
Could it be that little Soukaku secretly ate something random again and gave herself a stomach ache?
However, for this kind of thing, she only needed to ask to find out.
So, Hoshimi Miyabi spoke up.
"Yanagi, it's me."
"Chief! You finally have news!"
Before her voice had even faded, Tsukishiro Yanagi's incredibly surprised voice came from the other end of the phone.
Although the situation had become extremely critical, just hearing Hoshimi Miyabi's voice made Tsukishiro Yanagi heave a sigh of relief involuntarily.
As the absolute 'fist' representing the power of Hollow Special Operations Section 6, the mere existence of Hoshimi Miyabi made things much simpler.
No matter what the crisis was, in front of Hoshimi Miyabi, it would all be simplified into one sentence:
Who to hit, and how to hit them.
However, realizing the current situation again, she still couldn't hold back the anxiety in her words. And the intelligence she revealed immediately caused Hoshimi Miyabi to overturn her originally calm conjectures.
As she explained, Hoshimi Miyabi's expression instantly became incredibly serious.
Tsukishiro Yanagi spoke very urgently,
"Chief! Fifteen minutes ago, an emergency contact came from Scott Outpost. They sent an emergency support request regarding the Shiyu Defense."
Hearing this, Hoshimi Miyabi's brows knitted instantly. She immediately pressed for details.
"What happened?"
This request for emergency support was too unheralded, leaving Hoshimi Miyabi incredibly confused.
She asked in rapid succession,
"Why wasn't there any advance survey warning intelligence from the Hollow Investigation Association? And didn't we already clear out all the Ethereal settlements that could potentially threaten the Shiyu Tower beforehand?"
Regarding Hoshimi Miyabi's questions, although Tsukishiro Yanagi had similar doubts, she still reported everything exactly as it was.
"This isn't an attack by an ordinary Ethereal settlement. It's a Mutualist Symbiotic Ethereal Swarm - Codename: Nineveh."
[Nineveh]
As a 'Mutualist Symbiotic Ethereal Swarm' marked as 'Extremely Dangerous', her unique and magnificent appearance left an incredibly deep impression on ordinary people.
However, compared to her beautiful appearance, her incredibly terrifying strength left an even deeper impression on anyone who had served in the Defense Force.
The reason she could achieve this, aside from her main body being an extremely terrifying High-Level Ethereal, was due to another incredibly massive threat.
That was her other identity.
[Mutualist Symbiotic Ethereal Swarm]
As the source of a Mutualist Symbiotic Ethereal Swarm, her main body was constantly surrounded by surging, extremely high concentrations of Ether energy, attracting all Ethereals in the surrounding area to involuntarily draw closer to her.
A steady stream of Ethereal armies ensured that wherever she passed would be drowned by an endless tide of Ethereals without exception.
However, endless Ethereals could still be dealt with using Autonomous Mechs and saturation fire bombardment. The real reason the Defense Force fundamentally couldn't deploy large armies to use human wave tactics against her head-on was actually two other seemingly inconspicuous things.
Withering Sickness, and the pollen she constantly emitted.
As she danced and became active within the Hollow, Nineveh's body would constantly emit a unique substance similar to pollen.
Once Ethereals came into contact with this pollen, they would enter a highly activated state. They became more active, more powerful, and their aggression would become stronger.
Ethereals in this state posed a significantly increased threat to humans.
And if ordinary soldiers inhaled Nineveh's pollen, they would uncontrollably fall into hallucinations. Subsequently, they would directly disconnect from their teammates and walk uncontrollably towards Nineveh.
In Hollow Zero, doing such a thing was no different from death.
If there were teammates nearby, they might still be forcibly held back. But what about after being held back?
Leaving aside the fact that a wounded soldier stuck in hallucinations and constantly trying to approach Nineveh would drastically drag down the army's pace, Nineveh's pollen was simply as endless as the Ethereals around her.
As time passed, the number of soldiers on the front line falling into hallucinations due to the pollen would only increase.
Even if this factor was forcibly ignored at the cost of massive casualties...
As long as one entered Nineveh's active range, her Ether energy would constantly disseminate an abnormality known as Withering Sickness.
The high concentration of Ether energy contained within Nineveh's pollen would drastically accelerate the process of soldiers contracting Withering Sickness.
And once infected with Withering Sickness, it meant that the soldier basically couldn't regain combat effectiveness within a short period of time.
At that point, the human army would be suffering constant attrition, while the swarm of Ethereals around Nineveh remained endless.
The huge casualties generated every moment, the inevitability of the battle turning into a tactic of feeding troops into the fire once it started, and the massive aftereffects that were almost impossible to erase after the battle ended...
Layers upon layers of factors superimposed to make Nineveh an existence like a natural predator to the ordinary Defense Force.
Under the premise of these conditions, any commander with a normal brain wouldn't send their troops to die in front of her.
Not only that.
In New Eridu, humanity's last isolated island, wasting already scarce manpower on such meaningless things would lead to a court-martial.
However, just because the ordinary army couldn't deal with her didn't mean humanity was truly helpless against her.
There was another way to handle this kind of large-scale Mutualist Symbiotic Ethereal Swarm.
Decapitation.
In the final analysis, Nineveh's main body was only a Level 6 Ethereal.
Although Level 6 could already be considered an absolute natural disaster for ordinary people, for those with Void Hunter-level strength, she wasn't an existence that couldn't be dealt with.
Even for certain individuals who became Void Hunters through sheer combat power, fighting her wasn't a difficult task at all.
The only headache was her massive size and her powerful vitality as a plant-based Ethereal.
But as a plant-based Ethereal, as long as elites cooperated with Void Hunters to conduct uninterrupted wheel battles to repeatedly stimulate her into a true activation state, her activity level would drop drastically.
Theoretically, this method could cause Nineveh to enter a near 'dormant' state.
The objective of the 'Slash-and-Burn' operations frequently issued by the Defense Force was precisely to suppress Nineveh's activity back below Level 2 through such operations.
Ever since Hoshimi Miyabi joined the Hollow Special Operations Section, she had actually begun participating in commissions to beat the activating Nineveh back into a dormant state.
She had even become the absolute main force for this commission before she became a Void Hunter.
But if that was the case, things were even more wrong.
As one of the major threats that could threaten New Eridu at any time, Nineveh was inevitably kept under key surveillance at all times.
It could be said that as long as there was even a slight sign of activation, it would be focused on, and combat preparations would be made in advance.
How could she suddenly become active, and even be linked to the Shiyu Defense?
No, that wasn't right.
Now was not the time to think about these questions.
Hoshimi Miyabi immediately asked about the specific current situation in a low voice,
"What is the latest situation reported back from inside Hollow Zero?"
Taking a deep breath, Tsukishiro Yanagi quickly explained,
"The Defense Force is currently engaging Nineveh's symbiotic Ethereal bees, but they have no way to deal with Nineveh, who is moving through the air."
Saying this, Tsukishiro Yanagi couldn't help but take another deep breath before continuing,
"Currently, there is half an hour left until Nineveh reaches the position of the Shiyu Tower. I have already taken Asaba and Soukaku ahead to Scott Outpost. They will provide the latest on-site intelligence there. Chief, please rendezvous here as soon as possible."
"As for the operatives arranged to go to Lumina Square to find you, Chief, I will notify them to return to the combat sequence as soon as possible."
Hearing this, Hoshimi Miyabi nodded without any hesitation and said,
"Understood. I will rush over at the fastest speed."
The phone hung up. Hoshimi Miyabi immediately turned her head and said to Andrew,
"Andrew, because of a mission, I need to proceed to the frontline outpost of Hollow Zero immediately."
"But that place is truly too dangerous, so let us part ways here."
Saying that, after identifying the direction of Scott Outpost, she immediately assumed a sprinting posture.
Judging by her appearance, she was fully prepared to run there on her own two legs.
But the next moment, the leg Hoshimi Miyabi had just stepped out with was directly and forcibly held down by Andrew.
Knowing that she couldn't break free by force with her own strength, just as Hoshimi Miyabi was preparing to explain the situation to Andrew, she discovered that Andrew had already adjusted the position of Icebrink and also assumed a posture ready to set off.
Looking at Hoshimi Miyabi, who was a bit stunned in front of him, Andrew spoke with a hint of embarrassment but also as a matter of course,
"It was my fault for overhearing your entire call because my hearing is too good, but didn't we have an agreement?"
Looking at his appearance, Hoshimi Miyabi couldn't help but tilt her head, asking back with some confusion,
"Agreement...?"
"That's right!"
Knowing that time waited for no one in the current situation, Andrew immediately pulled her toward the position of the Vaulting Tracker while explaining,
"Didn't we agree that during the time before your scabbard is repaired, the two of us would maintain a state of acting together?"
Completely expecting that Andrew would prepare to face an incredibly dangerous Ethereal with her just because of that casual promise made earlier, Hoshimi Miyabi said with a bit of disbelief,
"But, these two situations are completely different! That is Hollow Zero!"
Regarding Hoshimi Miyabi's rebuttal, Andrew said very seriously,
"Of course I know Hollow Zero is very dangerous. But since I bear a responsibility for your current abnormality, then it is impossible for me to sit by and watch."
After speaking, Andrew revealed a confident smile and said,
"Besides, don't look at my main profession in New Eridu as a blacksmith—my strength is actually very high!"
Andrew's words made Hoshimi Miyabi fall into a slight silence.
In this moment, Hoshimi Miyabi truly acknowledged the person in front of her.
However, in such a short amount of time, ordinary transportation methods had no way to cross the greater part of New Eridu to reach Scott Outpost from Lumina Square.
So Hoshimi Miyabi said very seriously,
"Andrew, the situation is urgent right now. Relying on my own speed, I can arrive faster than ordinary transportation."
"I will give you a token. Once you take transportation to reach Scott Outpost, you can use the token to enter the interior of the outpost and participate in the battle. How about that?"
Hearing her say this, how could Andrew not know what she was worried about?
But the Vaulting Tracker was no ordinary vehicle.
However, this kind of thing couldn't be explained verbally. Thus, Andrew didn't adopt Hoshimi Miyabi's suggestion but instead chose to further quicken his pace.
Looking at the parking lot that had already appeared before his eyes, Andrew comforted her confidently,
"Rest assured. My Vaulting Tracker will definitely not be slower than you running there directly."
"Besides, no matter how fast your speed is, your stamina is ultimately limited. Crossing the greater part of New Eridu at full speed—how much of your stamina will remain?"
"With that stamina, it's better to save it all for the battle with Nineveh later."
The two rushed into the parking lot. A seemingly ordinary light motorcycle appeared in front of them.
And beside the motorcycle stood Meow-Da and Soldier 11, who were already waiting.
Looking at the light motorcycle in front of her, apart from looking a bit sci-fi, Hoshimi Miyabi really couldn't see anything special about it.
Wasn't this just an ordinary motorcycle?
And Andrew, noticing Hoshimi Miyabi's gaze, instantly understood what she was thinking.
Smiling slightly, he didn't offer much explanation.
Andrew stepped forward and straddled the driver's seat of the Vaulting Tracker. He yanked the Ether Engine that was hanging on Icebrink's hilt as an ornament off and firmly buckled it into the designated slot.
Gently exhaling a breath of turbid air, Andrew held the motorcycle handles and said softly,
"Transform."
The next moment.
Amidst Hoshimi Miyabi's involuntarily widening eyes, following Andrew's command, the metal began to flow crazily.
The shape belonging to the Gouram began to dissolve, flow, and change continuously.
Just a few seconds later, an incredibly massive heavy motorcycle, the Gouram, appeared in front of Hoshimi Miyabi.
Looking at Hoshimi Miyabi in front of him, Andrew smiled and patted the Gouram beneath him, saying confidently,
"Relax. I guarantee you will arrive at the scene a step earlier than everyone else."
____
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