“Now is not the time to worry about whether you have a license or not, you pervert! All we have to do is follow the damn train! THEN STOP THE DAMN TRAIN!!” Nekomata was fuming from Li Qianqiao’s sudden braking, completely forgetting to add her verbal meow tic.
“Got it, got it.” Li Qianqiao dodged Nekomata’s screaming, started the engine, and continued forward.
“Good thing there’s no Public Security in the Hollows, otherwise we’d be invited over for tea. Sigh, I should go get my license after this is over. I wonder if the tuition fees are expensive?”
While Li Qianqiao was still muttering to himself, Belle received an alert from Fairy.
“Master, a large obstruction has been detected ahead.”
Looking forward, they indeed saw an abandoned railroad car not far away.
However, for some unknown reason, this railroad car was lying across the bridge at a seemingly impossible angle.
Belle quickly warned him.
Li Qianqiao saw it and slammed on the brakes again, causing Nekomata to crash into his armor once more.
Bang!
“Me-OW!” Hmm, that crisp sound… what a good, solid head!
“You damn pervert! What’s wrong with you this time?!” Nekomata clutched her forehead and roared at the culprit.
“You’d better not tell me there’s a red light ahead!”
Nekomata was absolutely furious!
Why did everything go wrong when she was with this guy?
Could it be… he was cursed?!
“How could that be? I’m an upstanding young citizen of the new era. Why would I do anything illegal?” Li Qianqiao pointed at the railroad car ahead.
“Look, check out Thomas’ mangled corpse over there.”
Looking at the railroad car blocking their path, Nekomata couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Why is there a railroad car here? Proxy, are you sure you didn’t mess up the route?”
“No, the route is correct. Judging by the external damage on this railroad car, it must have been thrown here by an Ethereal.”
“To have that kind of monstrous strength, it must be the Dead End Butcher.” Li Qianqiao got off the bike to inspect the railroad car and assess the damage.
“Our next destination is on the other side of this railroad car. Well, do you guys have any ideas?”
Nekomata thought for a moment.
Looking at the surroundings, she could probably squeeze through on her own, but doing it while carrying Eous was impossible—not to mention Li Qianqiao and his motorcycle.
“How about I just kick this thing apart with Crimson Smash!”
“Hmm, that’s a good idea, but denied. It’d make too much noise and attract the Dead End Butcher.” Belle shot down Li Qianqiao’s proposal without a shred of hesitation.
“U-Um, excuse me sir…” Just as everyone was at a loss, a faint, timid voice drifted over.
“Meow?! Who’s talking? Is it the railroad car?! And it’s a cute girl’s voice, too!”
“Ehh~! Do railroad cars come equipped with AI these days? Then, cute Miss AI, could we trouble you to let us pass?” Li Qianqiao smiled.
He obviously knew it was Corin on the other side, but playing the fool occasionally was fun too.
“Uhh…” Belle looked speechlessly at Nekomata and the chaos-loving Li Qianqiao, feeling a wave of exhaustion.
“A-Qiao, why are you joining in on the nonsense? Don’t scare the young lady on the other side.” Wise said.
“Little Li…”
Even though Belle wasn’t physically there, Li Qianqiao felt a wave of Conqueror’s Haki radiating through Eous, making him break into a cold sweat.
Nope, I’ll die!
Backing down decisively is not shameful!
“Yes, ma’am! I’ll stop messing around!”
“Um… are you investigators from the Hollow Investigative Association?” Corin’s timid voice sounded again.
Just as Belle was about to answer, Li Qianqiao patted Eous, crouched down, and whispered, “Sis Belle, outside identities are all self-proclaimed anyway. Why not just play along…”
“Ah? O-Oh, ahem! Announcing your affiliation before asking questions is industry standard.”
“Eh? I-Is that so? I’m sorry, I didn’t know about this rule.”
“Um… My name is Corin. I work for a housekeeping company. I’m a Gemini, Rh-negative blood type, I like cleaning, and my citizen ID number is…” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“Stop, stop, stop!” Li Qianqiao hurriedly interrupted Corin’s self-introduction.
“Are you on a blind date or something? Wait, hold on. While you’re at it, why don’t you tell me your measurements too?”
“W-Waah! I-Is that required too? I… I understand…” Seeing Corin about to walk right into Li Qianqiao’s trap, Nekomata stepped forward to urgently stop him!
“Eat my flying kick, meow!”
“Pfft!”
Nekomata’s flying kick landed squarely on Li Qianqiao’s face, successfully saving the innocent young girl from being swindled.
A truly joyous occasion.
The kick packed quite a punch.
Although it didn’t break his armor’s defense, Li Qianqiao was sent flying several meters away.
Clearly, Nekomata was quite strong.
Li Qianqiao got up, his eyes flashing with dissatisfaction.
Who knew such a tiny body packed so much strength?!
Damn it!
I was this close to getting a beautiful young girl’s precious personal data!
“Don’t listen to his nonsense! Little Corin, why are you in a place like this?” Nekomata asked gently after dealing with Li Qianqiao.
“J-Just now, a really strong Ethereal passed by here. I got separated from my companions while trying to avoid it!”
“I don’t have a Carrot here. If you’re investigators, you must know the route out of the Hollow, right?”
“C-Could you please take me with you?”
Nekomata thought for a moment and asked Eous, “Probably an ordinary person who got lost in the Hollow. But why would someone from a housekeeping company be here? Proxies, what do you think?”
“Unless we smash through the railroad car to the other side, our only option is to turn back and take another route if we want to stay on schedule.” Wise offered a practical assessment.
But before anyone else could say anything, Li Qianqiao had already inserted Mission Memory and drawn the Faiz Edge from the Auto Vajin’s handlebar.
“We just need to cut open this piece of junk, right?!” Nekomata watched Li Qianqiao standing in front of the railroad car, completely baffled.
“Wait, what are you doing?”
“What am I doing? Busting down the door, of course! Miss on the other side, please stand back. Careful now!”
“Huh?” On the other side, Corin was just getting ready to use her buzzsaw to saw through the railroad car.
Before she could process what Li Qianqiao had said, a screeching metallic cutting noise erupted.
“Ahhh—! W-What’s happening?!” Startled by the sudden noise, Corin tripped and fell.
She saw a strange glowing red blade of a sword pierce through the metal wall of the railroad car right in front of her.
Then, it sliced downwards, creating a long slit.
Corin cautiously picked herself up.
Just as she approached the railroad car to check the situation, a pair of strange hands suddenly gripped the edges of the slit!
“Ahhhhh—!” Corin’s face filled with absolute terror.
The hands seemingly ignored the solid metal, forcefully prying the steel walls apart.
The sound of groaning, twisting metal filled the air, and Corin’s heart rate skyrocketed.
Finally, the gap was slowly forced open, and the strange hands retracted.
Through the opening, Corin could faintly see a bright yellow glow.
Suddenly, a head with two massive, single glowing yellow eyes thrust through the gap and stared straight at the trembling Corin.
“Heeere’s Faiz!”
“…”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH——!!!” A piercing scream shattered the silence of the Hollow.
Corin would never, ever forget this day.
…
“You idiot! Look at what you’ve done, meow! You scared little Corin into fainting!”
“I-I didn’t mean to! I didn’t think she would actually pass out…” so noisy…
“You…”
“Hey, hey, stop arguing! Corin is waking up!” Belle said, looking happily at Corin as her eyes slowly opened.
Nekomata ran to Corin’s side, inspecting her from head to toe.
“Hmm, looks like she’s okay!”
“W-What happened to me?” Corin rubbed her head, feeling like she had forgotten something.
Li Qianqiao walked up to Corin, gave a picture-perfect 90-degree bow, and shouted loudly, “I am so sorry! It was my fault! I caused Miss Corin to faint from fear! Please punish me!”
Corin looked at Li Qianqiao.
Catching sight of his bizarre armor, she instinctively shivered.
Seeing him apologize so formally, she managed to force a smile and say it was fine.
Seeing that Corin had forgiven him, Li Qianqiao breathed a sigh of relief.
Being hated by a beautiful young girl is the saddest thing of all…
Corin quickly recovered from the shock and elegantly curtsied to the group.
“A pleasure to meet you, Sir Investigator! The one speaking to me just now was… this Bangboo… I’m sorry, I’m not questioning your Bangboo’s identity!”
“Are you really an employee of a housekeeping company?” Belle asked, pointing at the massive buzzsaw next to Corin.
“Umm… our company’s business is quite extensive, and it includes Hollow-related operations…” Corin answered shyly.
Then, remembering something, she turned to Belle excitedly.
“Oh right! You investigators are in a hurry, right? I-I can help! As long as you can take me out of this Hollow! P-Please!”
“I think it’s fine.” Everyone turned to Li Qianqiao.
“I already busted open the railroad car, so we can keep moving forward. Taking Corin along is just a matter of convenience; it won’t hinder our objective.”
“I think it’s fine too. Having extra combat power along the way is good, as long as she doesn’t ask too many questions.” Belle agreed with Li Qianqiao.
“Yeah, I agree with A-Qiao and Belle. Taking her to an exit is no problem, but she is a stranger, and both sides have things to keep hidden.” Wise also agreed.
“Little Corin, we can let you tag along, but you must promise not to say anything unnecessary along the way, okay?” Nekomata said.
“Mhm!” Corin happily nodded and agreed.
Li Qianqiao got on his motorcycle and gestured for everyone to hop on.
“Hurry up, little Corin!”
Nekomata, already seated, patted the spot behind her.
Corin silently got onto the bike.
Li Qianqiao’s mouth twitched, and he clarified, “Miss Corin, Nekomata didn’t mean you have to stay dead silent the whole time. She just meant don’t pry into our business.”
“Oh, is that it? I’m so sorry for misunderstanding!”
“It’s fine. Hold on tight! We’re moving out!”
On the road, Wise asked Corin if she could help with the remaining track switches, and Corin immediately agreed without asking any questions.
It had to be said, having more people made things much more efficient.
Thanks to Li Qianqiao’s motorcycle, they also cut down on travel time significantly.
Before long, all the track rerouting was complete.
While heading toward the deceleration zone, Fairy detected a Hollow exit.
“Attention. A Hollow exit has been detected within a 100-meter radius. The commission for the housekeeping company employee, Corin, can now be completed.”
“Huh? Phaethon? Did you say something?” Nekomata was confused by the sudden voice.
“Nothing. Fairy just said our guest has arrived at her stop.” Belle said.
“R-Really? We found the exit? T-That’s wonderful…” Corin breathed a happy sigh of relief and thanked everyone profusely.
“Umm, this… this is actually my first time meeting a Bangboo Investigator. Could you tell me your names? Next time, Corin and her companions will personally visit to thank you!”
“A personal visit won’t be necessary.” Li Qianqiao interjected, speaking to Corin.
“You just need to remember that we are good citizens of New Eridu, living Lei Fengs. That’s all!”
“I see. It seems that would be inconvenient. I’m very sorry, I spoke out of turn. Then I shall take my leave!” Corin bowed deeply and solemnly to the group before exiting the Hollow.