The room returned to dead silence.
Tossing and turning, all sleepiness completely dissipated, and Fu Hua’s thoughts once again sank into the events of today.
In order to completely lure away the pack of Ethereals, she ran an immense distance.
A terrifying torrent of black and green surged, biting desperately at her heels.
Thirty to forty intermediate Ethereals carried along five or six advanced individuals.
Under the illumination of the deep purple faint light deep within the Hollow, the aether crystal carapaces on their bodies emitted a chilling and blinding fluorescence, exuding a heart-palpitating sense of oppression.
The hem of her beige-striped coat fluttered wildly with the swift wind, and the grayish-white high ponytail at the back of her head lifted straight up, like a snapping flag, tracing a sharp trajectory through the dim corridor.
She rapidly passed through the narrow corridor, skimming past crisscrossing forks with sharp turns, deliberately heading towards the area with the densest concentration of Ethereals, creating an increasingly intense commotion.
A heavy punch smashed fiercely against the cold wall, and she raised her foot to shatter the abruptly growing aether crystals, her soles stomping viciously onto the metal wreckage, bursting out an extremely harsh and sharp sound that repeatedly echoed within the spacious Hollow, piling up layer upon layer.
The lingering aftermath of the collapse spread far along the arched corridor.
A dozen scattered, wandering lower-level Ethereals nearby were all startled, successively turning their directions and merging into the increasingly massive and terrifying torrent behind her.
Passing through several spatial rifts one after another, until she lured the pack of Ethereals to the core area of the Hollow several kilometers outside the settlement, Fu Hua suddenly stopped.
It was not that she had finished playing, but rather that a tall wall completely blocked by aether crystals spanned across ahead.
The black-purple crystals, like ferocious blood vessels, crazily spread from the base of the wall up to the ceiling.
Among the dense crystal formations, there was not a trace of a gap available to pass through.
Behind her, the pack of Ethereals had already closed in.
Dozens of core crystals lit up together in the darkness, resembling countless pairs of twisted, crimson eyes, locking onto her—the sole target—deadly.
The crystal carapaces collided with each other, emitting a sharp and piercing friction sound that echoed layer upon layer in the enclosed dead end, almost drowning out her steady breathing.
Fu Hua slowly turned around, facing the impending black-green torrent head-on, standing unmoving.
She slightly moved her wrists, the tear at her cuff sliced open by the aether crystal turned outward, revealing the fine mending stitches inside, exuding a few traces of the past.
This place had already penetrated deep into the hinterland of the Hollow.
The perception of Honkai Energy clearly informed her that this place was extremely far from the settlement—so far that the monitoring equipment of the Public Security Bureau could no longer completely cover this area.
Just as she focused on mobilizing the Honkai Energy within her body, preparing to raise a ruckus, a strange figure that abruptly intruded into her perception instantly interrupted her action.
An extremely fierce blue-white arc cut horizontally past her side, penetrating straight through the core area of the pack of Ethereals.
In an instant, all ethereal bodies were severed.
Whether it was the flickering core crystals, the hard crystal carapaces, or the viscous black-green bodies, all of them completely disintegrated amidst this breathtaking yet fatal arc.
The fragments of aether crystals abruptly froze in mid-air for a split second, then turned into a sky full of fluorescent-colored powder, slowly drifting and falling within the dark purple halo of the Hollow.
In the air, there remained only the chilling cold uniquely belonging to the frost-attribute blade slicing through aether crystals, mixed with an extremely faint, refreshing cold fragrance akin to pushing open a wooden window at deep winter dawn and being hit by the fresh air, slowly diffusing.
Fu Hua raised her eyes, looking towards the figure that appeared out of thin air.
The purple micro-light lingering at her fingertips was unassumingly suppressed back into her palm, and then she hid her hands behind her back with a backhand, quietly dissipating a trace of warm Honkai Energy that had not yet fully condensed between her fingers (at this moment, a certain system emitted a sharp screech, cursing Fu Hua for her irresponsibility in the dark room).
On the other side of the plaza, that figure slowly sheathed the blade.
Raven-black long hair hung down, with fluffy fox ears at the tips of her ears.
A pair of crimson-red pupils were cold yet clear, and the light blue haori fluttered gently in the wind, rippling out a soft yet undeniable arc within the dark purple halo deep in the Hollow.
At her waist hung a long sword, the blade engraved with a unique pattern—that was precisely the Demonic Blade, Tailless.
Her action of sheathing the blade was calm and neat.
The moment the blade accurately returned to the scabbard, a clear and pleasant hum rang out, piercing through the surrounding silence.
The newcomer was none other than Miyabi, Chief of Hollow Special Operations Section 6, and also known as the youngest Void Hunter in history.
Immediately following, a petite figure poked her head out from the direction Miyabi had just rushed out from.
The light blue skin was particularly eye-catching, with snow-white short hair clinging to her forehead.
Two blue-and-black pointed horns protruded from her hair, and a thin Tail behind her swayed gently, the tip of the Tail still stained with a bit of fine aether crystal powder, presumably brushed on inadvertently when she hurried over just now.
She was chewing on a snack in her mouth, her pair of clear, large blue eyes filled with curiosity, sizing up Fu Hua without blinking.
She was little Soukaku, a member of Hollow Special Operations Section 6, and also the undisputed darling of the team.
But do not ever be deceived by her soft and cute appearance; all enemies who looked down on her had long since completely vanished from this world.
At this moment, Soukaku’s chewing speed was half a beat faster than usual.
Evidently, the terrifying scene of nearly a hundred Ethereals gathering just now was deemed far beyond expectations even by her.
“Sister Miyabi, who is she?
Is she a human, or a Thiren?”
“Facing so many Ethereals all by herself, how come she isn’t scared at all?”
“How strange, why is she keeping her hands behind her back?”
A series of crisp questions tumbled out one after another.
Soukaku had also just finished chewing the snack in her mouth, her small hand reaching into her portable cloth bag to pull out another energy bar.
She nimbly tore open the packaging and took a ferocious bite, her cheeks immediately bulging roundly like a small beast hoarding food.
That pair of azure eyes consistently and curiously landed on Fu Hua’s hands hidden behind her back, the tip of the Tail shaking gently before coming to a halt, waiting with full anticipation for a response.
“Are you alright?”
Miyabi spoke, her tone flat and waveless, her expression devoid of any ripples.
Hearing these words, it didn’t sound like a concerned inquiry, but rather more like calmly confirming an established fact.
Yet her voice was unexpectedly gentle, carrying a bit of natural dorky softness and cuteness, completely lacking the fierce majesty of being a section chief.
Fu Hua noticed that when she spoke, the pair of fluffy large fox ears on top of her head twitched slightly—this was a unique characteristic of fox Thirens.
For Miyabi, her ears often revealed true emotions even earlier than words: when vigilant, they would stand straight up; when relaxed, they would droop tamely.
At this moment, that pair of fox ears tensed up on top of her head, the tips lifting at an arc of nearly one hundred and seventy degrees, which was a restrained posture unique when facing strangers.
It was neither the tense alertness when facing enemies, nor the complete relaxation towards colleagues, but an observation somewhere between the two, prudent and introverted.
“I am fine, many thanks to the two of you for stepping in to help.”
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”