The group continued deeper into Dead End Hollow, but the little girl Nekomata had mentioned was nowhere to be seen. By now, everyone except Anby was on the verge of collapsing.
'Was Anby always this strong?' Wise wondered, impressed.
She was even tougher than Billy, who was a robot. Wise considered whether he should invest more attribute points into strength later. With his current body, defeating her in any tricky situation would not be easy.
But that was a problem for later. Right now, everyone was struggling to understand why a little girl would even be here. Nekomata guessed the girl had been accidentally left behind during the evacuation.
Then Anby began talking about ghosts, and Nicole trembled slightly. It was obvious she was terrified of anything even remotely supernatural.
Fortunately, just as the group was ready to continue searching, they spotted the little girl standing right in front of them.
Before anyone could say a word, she suddenly turned and dashed away, and the group immediately gave chase.
Nekomata blinked in surprise. There really was a little girl in Dead End Hollow, and it was oddly fascinating.
The group managed to rescue her from several Ethereals. But instead of gratitude, the little girl, stubborn as ever, launched into a lecture and insisted on calling herself 'old lady.' She even threw a punch at Billy.
Judging by the force of her blow, harder than iron, it was clear she had a staggering amount of potential.
Regardless, this was no moment for humor. Based on what she said, the group learned that this area was actually the territory of a High-level Ethereal.
Then something shocking happened. Just as they finished talking about that Ethereal, it suddenly burst through the wall and appeared before them.
It was Dead End Butcher, the terrifying Ethereal of Dead End Hollow. Its enormous form made Nicole gasp, her heart skipping a beat.
A head-on fight was out of the question. They had barely managed the Dullahan before. Facing Dead End Butcher directly would be impossible.
"This… this is too scary! Nekomata, how did you guys even get away from that thing?"
Belle couldn't help blurting out. Nekomata just shook her head and gestured for her to stay quiet. The most important part was still coming.
The group in the video had been incredibly lucky. A Hollow rift had suddenly opened right behind them, and they had been pulled in, narrowly escaping Dead End Butcher's grasp.
Even after that miraculous escape, the scene that followed left Nicole and the others staring in disbelief.
They were now on Canvas Street. Nicole instantly recognized it, but the problem was obvious. This was a demolition zone for the Vision Corporation Project.
They had been told the area was already cleared, but now there were still so many civilians here.
After a moment, Billy and Anby counted the people. There were over a hundred. Vision Corporation seemed to have set up a signal-jamming device to prevent anyone from contacting the outside world.
From talking with the residents, Nicole and the others quickly realized the corporation's intention.
Vision Corporation clearly planned to use the demolition to deal with the unevacuated residents, saving the costs of evacuating them.
After understanding the situation, Nicole seemed ready to retreat. They were just a small group facing a massive corporation, and the odds were against them.
Nekomata, however, was determined not to let the conspiracy succeed. She was resolved to save the residents no matter what.
Billy objectively and calmly chose to support Nicole's decision, but Anby, as the most reliable member of the Cunning Hares, sided with Nekomata in this moment.
Bangboo's record captured a sentence Anby whispered. Although her voice was barely audible, Wise still heard it clearly.
'Never repeat the same mistakes.'
Wise tilted his head in confusion.
'Why would Anby say that?'
It was clearly tied to her past. Even without knowing the details, he could tell it was something that mattered deeply to her.
In the video, Nicole saw Anby choose to stay. Without a second thought, she decided she would help too.
Nicole could have used this moment to benefit herself, but deep down, she wasn't the kind to abandon her friends.
After resolving to aid the trapped residents in Canvas Street, she had Nekomata take Bangboo to call for reinforcements.
Naturally, the reinforcements were the two siblings.
"That's how it happened... Nicole said they would stay in the construction area to gather commission forms and monitor Vision Corporation's movements, so I came to you for help. After leaving the Hollow, I went straight to you. I swear I didn't lie! Nicole and those residents are on the brink of life and death! So please, Phaethon!"
Nekomata's voice trembled with urgency. Wise and Belle exchanged a glance. There was no way they could turn her down.
In a situation like this, how could righteous siblings just stand by and do nothing?
Since they had already accepted the commission, the next step was to discuss a suitable plan.
"I have an idea!"
Belle had Fairy bring up a map that clearly marked the trapped residents and the guarding soldiers.
"You see, because the trapped residents do not have Ether compatibility, the armed personnel only guard the front side where the residents might try to escape. With so many people stationed at the entrance, the forces near the monitoring points are very limited," Belle said analytically.
"Hmm, that makes sense. We can go around through the Hollow and attack them from behind. That should catch them completely off guard."
Wise nodded in agreement after hearing Belle's words, and Nekomata also exclaimed.
"That's a great idea, nya! What then?"
"Then we quickly seize the train parked at the guard post, drive it along the Hollow's railway to Canvas Street, and take the residents inside out of the demolition zone."
Because the train has some degree of corrosion resistance, as long as they leave the Hollow quickly, the residents will not be in danger.
With Fairy helping them plan the shortest route out of the Hollow, that part of the operation posed no difficulty.
And without wasting any more time, the next step was naturally to carry out the plan.
After handing Eous back to Nekomata, he told her to hurry and regroup with Nicole and the others.