"Ling, I didn't deal with that special Etherals from before."
"I was careless and let them escape," Hoshimi Aya said, talking about her encounter with the Twin Etheralss.
"It's fine,"
"Aya, even if you didn't resolve it, someone else eventually will," Ling said, shaking her head while controlling Eous's body.
Soon, Hoshimi Aya brought Eous back to the Video Store, but Hoshimi Aya was now carrying three cups of milk tea.
...
Several days later.
The agreed-upon day arrived.
Today was the day they were supposed to retrieve the storage unit from Rain.
Zhe, Ling, and Hoshimi Aya arrived at the back street of the arcade, where they saw a pink-haired girl wearing a hood waiting for them.
It was Rain.
"Hello to both managers and Miss Aya."
"You arrived five minutes earlier than the agreed time," Rain greeted them.
"Rain, you look quite well," Ling greeted her with a smile too.
"Although I've been hiding outside these past few days, Victoria Housekeeping has taken very good care of me."
"In a little while longer, I should be able to return to a normal life."
"Everyone, I owe my narrow escape this time entirely to you."
"I really don't know how I can repay you," Rain said gratefully.
"Don't say that. We were able to save the airship thanks to you being there,"
"And Aya was the main person who saved you," Zhe said with a smile.
"...Rain, we didn't get a chance to ask you before."
"How did you get entangled in this matter?" Hoshimi Aya inquired, as she wasn't very clear on this part of the plot.
But the person herself was right here, so asking her would clear things up!
Upon hearing this, Rain recounted how she agreed because the other party offered too much money.
"That's only human nature."
"This isn't your fault, Rain."
"If it were us, we would have done the same thing," Hoshimi Aya nodded in agreement.
Bowing to money during financial hardship was not a shameful thing.
"Wait a moment, Aya."
"This plot feels a bit familiar."
"We received a similar commission a couple of days ago."
"It specifically named Aya to go, and the amount was huge."
"They didn't provide detailed explanations of what needed to be done."
"However, because the risk was too uncertain, I turned it down," Ling frowned, saying that fortunately, they still had enough currency, otherwise, they might have considered such a risky and uncertain commission.
Zhe coughed slightly, his throat feeling sore.
Because the purpose of these inquiries was too strong, they had already sent the commission information to the head of the Hoshimi Family, Soichiro, through other channels.
It would be awkward if Rain, out of gratitude for their help in investigating, was discovered by people from the Hoshimi Family.
"Mhm, I've finished cracking the storage unit," Rain changed the subject, taking out the storage unit at the same time.
She somewhat understood Zhe's intention, which was not wanting her to know about the commission.
"Oh right, when I was kidnapped, I overheard some other information too."
"Their operation this time was also aimed at eliminating Perlman, and I also heard an unfamiliar term: Beast Ghost."
"I don't know what it is though."
"I won't bother you with investigating further matters then," With that, Rain took Hoshimi Aya's contact information and left.
"Aya, that's so strange."
"The three of us are here."
"Why did Rain specifically ask for yours? Speak up!"
Ling looked at Hoshimi Aya and questioned with a smile, "When did you hook up with such a top-tier hacker?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's because I look quite tall and imposing,"
"You know, I'm a full 1.7 meters tall."
"It's normal for her to lose control when she sees my magnificent figure," Hoshimi Aya said narcissistically. As for why Rain asked for her contact info, how would she know?
But the information about the Beast Ghost came out so quickly?
However, it seemed normal. The special Etherals known as the Beast Ghost permeated almost all the current plotlines of this game.
It was normal for it to be revealed this early.
"Eeeh~!"
"Aya, I didn't realize you were so narcissistic."
"Let's go. Koleda and the others should be arriving soon," Saying this, Ling pulled Hoshimi Aya along as they walked back, with Zhe following behind the two.
...
Inside the Video Store.
As the three returned, they saw Grace and Koleda.
The group entered the secret room.
"Proxy, I heard that in order to find someone who could crack this storage unit, you got involved in another major incident," Koleda looked at them and said.
"It was Nicole who told you, right?"
"This time was indeed perilous. A few from Cunning Hares almost had a brush with death," Zhe said, narrowing his eyes.
"As long as you all are safe, that's what matters."
"Lately, I always feel like the entire city is surging with undercurrents. I wonder if it's because I keep thinking about that monster, affecting my mood," Koleda pondered.
Recently, she had been constantly uneasy because of this matter.
"Sigh~ I used to always hope to crack the data in the storage unit sooner."
"But now, facing it, I feel a little nervous," Koleda said, crossing her arms.
"It's alright, little one. No matter what we find inside the storage unit, we will face it together," Grace took on the role of an older sister and comforted her.
"Mhm, Grace is right," Zhe nodded.
Seeing this, Ling took out the storage unit and handed it to Fairy for decoding.
Ultimately, only an audio data segment was detected, with the system recording time set just before the Old Capital fell.
As this audio segment began to play, Koleda heard her father's voice, and it sounded like he was injured.
Koleda immediately became tense but was soothed by Grace.
Finally, the group heard the familiar term 'Beast Ghost' once more.
"Tsk!" Hoshimi Aya let out an impatient sound.
But since it wasn't convenient to say, she really wanted to mention the organization known as the Praise Society.
Ling and Zhe, however, fell into thought. This was the second time they had heard this term today.
Something from over a decade ago was connected to today's events.
It was impossible for it to be simple, no matter how they looked at it.
Koleda and Grace also noticed the abnormality of the three and started asking about it.
Ling explained that they had learned about the term Beast Ghost from another person today.
...
At the same time, on the rooftop of a nearby building not far from the Video Store, two figures stood.
It was Lykann and Lina.
The two were eavesdropping on the contents inside the building.
---------------------------------
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