Nicole and the others were bustling about in Canvas Alley, but Geno was not with them.
He was wandering around the borders of Canvas Alley, probing Vision Corporation's defenses in this area.
One must always have a backup plan. If things didn't work out with Lycaon, at least they needed to successfully break out.
"Hey!"
"Who?!"
Feeling a touch on his shoulder, Geno subconsciously seized the attacker behind him and pinned them firmly to the ground.
"Meow! It's me, it's me! Let go! My arm is going to break, meow!"
Nekomata hurriedly revealed her identity. If she had been a step slower, she feared she might have literally turned into a 'three-legged cat'.
"It's you. Why did you come here?"
Seeing it was Nekomata, Geno finally let go.
Nekomata rubbed her shoulder, grimacing in pain; evidently, it hurt quite a bit.
"Sorry, I was a bit heavy-handed."
Hearing Geno apologize, Nekomata waved her hand, not minding it much.
"It doesn't matter, this counts as self-inflicted, meow."
Indeed, she could have just come over and said hello properly, but she insisted on playing a prank to scare him.
Now look what happened; curiosity killed the cat, as they say.
"How is the situation?"
Geno asked whether there was a reply from Lycaon's side.
"None yet, meow."
Nekomata shook her head. She had come to find Geno precisely because waiting was too boring.
After all, as someone who grew up here, she was quite familiar with the vicinity.
"I also don't know if that... Vidoya Housekeeping is reliable or not."
"It is Victoria Housekeeping. When questioning others, at least pronounce their name correctly, right?"
Geno felt somewhat helpless. No matter how you looked at it, compared to them, this little clumsy cat was the unreliable one.
"Close enough, meow. Don't mind those details. How about it? Still want to continue investigating? I can help."
Nekomata, having remembered the name wrong, stiffly changed the subject. Geno didn't expose her, and the two continued wandering along the border.
"By the way, I haven't asked. How did you and Nicole's group meet?"
"That, actually, was also a coincidence. I accidentally saw Nicole being chased by the Red Fang Gang, so I saved them. Then I asked the Cunning Hares to help me find my family heirloom. That's the situation, meow~"
Red Fang Gang? Family heirloom?
Detecting the keywords, Geno slowed his pace, calmly staring at Nekomata's side profile, seeming to confirm something.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, let's keep going."
Shifting the topic, his mind spun rapidly, searching every corner of his brain for those keywords.
Finally, he thought of it—he realized why Nekomata looked familiar.
Isn't this girl the little girl from that pendant?
Then the family heirloom she mentioned, could it be the Red Fang Gang's...
Although he couldn't be certain, Geno silently made a note of this matter, keeping it in mind for later.
The two chatted idly like this, touring the entire perimeter of Canvas Alley.
During this time, the two conversed happily. Don't let Nekomata's young age, small stature, and petty mind fool you; she was a genuine person of society.
Moreover, having grown up here, she was extremely familiar with certain routes. With Nekomata's addition, their progress was much faster.
At the same time, the relationship between the two was no longer as distant as it was at the start; they had fast-forwarded to the stage where they could playfully banter with each other.
"You really can't judge a book by its cover. I didn't expect you to know so many things, Nekomata."
"Ehehe, it's just average. These are all essential skills for street survival."
Nekomata recounted the things she had experienced during her years of wandering. Geno was very interested in this; after all, he had been in the Hollow since he gained consciousness and loved listening to others tell their stories.
"Mhm, this is probably also the reason you don't grow tall."
"It is not! I am just still developing! De! Vel! Op! Ing!"
Seeing Nekomata baring her teeth with her tail standing straight up, looking exactly like a bristling kitten, there was only one thing for Geno to do at a time like this.
"Okay, okay, okay, my fault. Can't I apologize to you?"
He patted Nekomata's head, helping smooth the fur of this bristling kitten. Only then would she forgive you and continue being friends with you.
"Hmph, I forgive you. But remember, there won't be a next time."
See, cats are very easy to get along with.
They just have their own bottom line and pride.
Geno watched the tail swaying back and forth behind Nekomata and knew he had coaxed this little cat just about enough.
"Alright, we're pretty much done investigating here. Let's go back and find Nicole and the others."
The two had spent quite a bit of effort here; even the sun was ready to clock out and call it a day.
Twisting and turning back to the pre-arranged gathering spot, they were greeted by a smiling Nicole.
"You guys are finally back. There's news from the Proxy."
Nicole and the others were sitting in a circle, looking at the finally returning Geno and Nekomata with smiles on their faces.
Eous had also re-established connection with Belle, and it was now Belle controlling it.
"Lycaon brought good news. He has already used Victoria Housekeeping's connections to report Vision Corporation's violations. Currently, Vision Corporation has been temporarily ordered to stop work. No more explosives will be sent in."
"That's a good thing. Does that mean the supervision of Canvas Alley will also end soon?"
Geno's face was full of joy; this way, the residents of Canvas Alley would be safe.
However, Geno's guess did not meet with the approval of the Proxy and the others. Instead, they wore very complicated expressions.
"According to the news, Vision Corporation has made no move to lift the blockade. They flatly denied their violations and claimed that the residents within Canvas Alley have already been fully evacuated, and do not exist inside Canvas Alley. They even grandly publicized that on-site inspections are welcome."
Hearing this, Geno's heart instantly tightened. Since the other party was so calm, that meant...
"They are going to make a move on the residents here?!"
Arriving at this shocking conclusion, Nekomata was scared into jumping up, forgetting even her usual verbal tic, evidently truly startled.
"But! There are so many people in Canvas Alley! How dare they..."
Speaking halfway, Nekomata suddenly fell silent.
Right, why wouldn't they dare? They were even planning to blow this place sky-high; would they care about a few residents?
"Don't worry, Nekomata. I have already gathered the residents together in advance and had them look out for each other. Moreover, Vision Corporation couldn't possibly make a move that fast. At least they have to wait until tomorrow..."
Bang!
A gunshot sliced through the tranquility of the night. At this moment, everyone's hearts sank.
The residents didn't have firearms, so there was only one answer.
"It's Vision Corporation's people!"
"Quick! Go save them!"
The group sprang up from the ground in a frantic rush, running toward the square where the residents were gathered.
They never expected Vision's actions to be so fast, completely bypassing any bureaucratic wrangling with the authorities.
In fact, it wasn't just them; even Vision's own people hadn't expected it.
"Sir, isn't it too rash for us to do this?"
A soldier dressed as a Public Security officer asked his captain, his gun still pointed at a middle-aged man dressed as a civilian.
His captain was much more composed.
"Don't worry about so much. Just execute the order. This is a directive issued personally by Officer Sarah; just do as told. Besides, we don't plan to kill them all, just preparing to have them move to a different place."
The squad leader shoved, driving the middle-aged man onto the train they had arrived on.
Once everyone was gathered, they would send them into the Hollow to fend for themselves.
Efficient and easy.
As for what happened to them afterwards, that was not something Vision Corporation needed to consider.
"Sir! Bad news! Something happened with the squad over there!"
Just as the squad leader was preparing to continue escorting the hostages, a subordinate ran over in a panic, bringing bad news.
The detained residents had been rescued!
As for who the perpetrators were, naturally, it was Geno and the others.
At this moment, the group was leading the residents to hide in a ruin, while outside was full of guards searching for them.
"Damn it! These inhumane bastards! They actually want to throw everyone here into the Hollow!"
It must be known that not everyone possessed a constitution with Ether Aptitude. The vast majority of residents would turn into Ethereals the moment they were exposed to the environment inside the Hollow.
Vision Corporation had undoubtedly chosen the most cruel execution method!
"What do we do next? We have no advantage if we keep stalling."
Eous (Belle) was panicked right now; she didn't know how to solve the current situation.
Geno appeared much more composed. He began to think about how to resolve the current deadlock.
Canvas Alley was controlled by Vision Corporation, and it wasn't realistic to send so many residents out of the Hollow, especially since some residents had already been taken away.
Clash head-on with Vision? He could do it, but the opponent not only held hostages but he also had unarmed elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people to protect on his side.
Then, there remained only one answer.
Having made his decision, he turned to look at his companions.
"We prepare to break out!"
____
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