Just then, Qingyi came over with Zhu Yuan in tow.
“What we’re afraid of isn’t these low-level Ethereals.” Qingyi explained to Buyuan.
“We’re close to the core area of the Hollow.
Even if we don’t attract the attention of the core area’s Ethereals, there are still plenty of high-ranking ones.” Qingyi’s expression was tense.
“Leave it to me.
Stalling until the military backup arrives won’t be a problem.” Buyuan’s demeanor was relaxed.
“Thank you.” Zhu Yuan’s sudden thanks caught Buyuan a bit off guard.
Seeing his bewilderment, Qingyi smiled and went off to direct the battle.
Zhu Yuan, who had been about to say something more, hurried off as well.
…
Buyuan cleared out the swarming Tyrfings at the very front without the slightest pressure.
Just then, a blade of light suddenly slashed across his chest, sending sparks flying.
“Tch.
Two Thanatos?” Buyuan steadied himself and looked towards the Thanatos that had blinked back to the rear.
“And an armored Hati.
Forget it.
I’ll just stall.” Buyuan decided against revealing more of his capabilities.
“Kabuto!
There’s someone on that building in the distance.” Belle’s voice reached Buyuan’s ear through the earpiece.
“Someone?
Miyabi!
Interesting.
The military actually sent her.
Looks like they’ve also noticed something’s off with Bringer.” Buyuan changed his mind.
There was a need to make an impression in front of Hollow Special Operations Section 6.
“So then, Hoshimi Miyabi, how much can you really see through?” Buyuan’s murmur left Belle puzzled.
In the distance, Miyabi also sensed that the strange armored figure was looking at her.
“I’ve been spotted.
Can he not hold on?” Miyabi was a little confused and considered stepping in to help.
Just then, Buyuan reached down and pulled the horn on the belt’s beetle.
Electricity began to crackle across the armor.
The heavy plating started to shift.
“Cast Off!” At Buyuan’s light utterance, the heavy armor exploded outward in an instant, sending the surrounding Ethereals flying back several meters.
“Cast Off!
Change Beetle!” The mechanical sound effect rang out.
The crimson carapace gleamed under the sunlight.
The vivid red horn slid upward and locked into place on the helmet.
The bright blue compound eyes kept the helmet’s color from looking monotonous.
“Clock Up.” The surrounding scenery gradually slowed until it was nearly frozen.
Gripping the Kunai Blade, Buyuan’s form darted through the horde of Ethereals with ferocious speed.
He zeroed in on the two Thanatos that had just emerged from a rift and drove the Kunai Blade deep into their cores.
As he calmly walked back to his original position, he took note of Hoshimi Miyabi.
She carried a certain pressure about her.
“Impressive.
Wonder how a fight would go.
Power from beyond this world is suppressed in the end, I guess.
If I had the Hyper Zecter, it’d be a different story.” Buyuan released the Clock Up.
In an instant, flames erupted everywhere.
The two Thanatos dissolved into Ether crystals and dispersed in the span of a breath.
“What incredible speed!” Miyabi’s eyes were full of shock.
“What just happened?!” The surrounding PubSec officers naturally couldn’t make out what had occurred.
“Alright.
Your backup’s here.
I’ll be taking my leave now.
Clock Up.” Buyuan appeared beside Eous and swiftly departed.
“What just happened?” Eous’s little eyes were filled with pure confusion.
“No time to zone out.
Lead the way!
We’ll be in trouble if that Void Hunter catches up.
Dealing with those Ethereals is just one fully charged attack for her.” Buyuan released his transformation and immediately felt the pressure dissipate significantly.
Because of his own circumstances, he couldn’t unleash Kabuto’s full power and still had to bear the immense strain the thing placed on him.
“What!
A Void Hunter!
Then let’s get the hell out of here.” Belle hurriedly piloted Eous in a frantic dash, forgetting entirely to ask about his ability to shed his armor and that ridiculous speed.
….
“Phew, finally out.” Eous adorably wiped away nonexistent sweat.
“Get in.” Buyuan pulled the car out of the parking lot.
“What was that earlier?!
A boom, then a whoosh — I didn’t even get a clear look at what you look like after shedding that armor — and then you were all the way over there.” Belle, piloting Eous, was exceptionally worked up.
“So the famously renowned legendary Proxy Phaethon is actually an idiot?” “Eh?” Belle’s whole being froze.
What was going on?
“I remember asking you for a novel account.
Did you two really not check it?” Buyuan’s words carried a hint of doubt.
“What do you mean?
And we trusted you back then, that’s why we didn’t go looking!” Belle’s tone carried displeasure.
“Oh.
Then you can go take a look now.
Most of the information related to Kamen Rider should be visible there.” As soon as Buyuan finished speaking, he saw Eous’s eyes take on a deeply contemplative look.
“En-nah-nah~” Watching Belle’s maxed-out initiative, Buyuan was a bit speechless.
After setting Eous down at the coffee shop, he took his leave.
“Ah.
Another fine day, done.” “Tomorrow, Inter-Knot and the inside of PubSec should both be buzzing with rumors about Kamen Rider.” “Hollow Special Operations Section 6 will also start paying attention to me as an unknown variable.” “Got Qingyi owing me a favor too.” “And tomorrow, I get to go out with Ellen and the others.” Hiki-Buyuan, you absolute madman.
You’ve practically won so hard it’s comical.
“Baal, I’m back.” Buyuan casually pushed the door open.
“Eh?
Did she go find Belle?” Buyuan noticed Makoto wasn’t behind the door to greet him today.
He decided to put his things away first, then go see what she was up to.
He poured himself a glass of water and headed towards the bedroom.
To his surprise, he found Makoto sitting in front of the computer, utterly engrossed in something.
“Something’s fishy.” Buyuan’s narrow eyes narrowed further.
With a hint of mischief, he made no sound.
He lightened his steps and crept slowly towards Makoto.
Drawing closer, he discovered the little one was reading a novel, and even had the computer connected to play music directly.
“Little thing’s pretty convenient.
Doesn’t even need headphones.” Buyuan muttered a remark, then carefully studied what she was reading.
Gu Lingtian sweep his sleeves with overbearing grace and speak indifferently.
“I’ll just buy them all then.” “G-Gu…
President Gu, I…” The young woman stammered timidly, unable to get a full sentence out for ages.
“Alright, say no more.
I understand everything.
If you like it, buy it.
What I lack least is money.
I have no interest in money.” Gu Lingtian pulled out a bank card without so much as blinking.
“Woman, you cannot escape my grasp.
Starting today, wherever you flee to work, I will buy it.
You belong only to me.” Reading up to this point, Buyuan was struggling to hold it in.
He also glanced sideways at the title.
The Fox CEO Falls for Me: The Wife Cannot Escape Her Fate “Pfft-hahahaha.” In the end, Buyuan couldn’t hold it in.
The water he’d just sipped sprayed out of his mouth.
“En-neh?!
En-na-na!
En-na-na!
En-na-na-na-na!” Buyuan couldn’t understand it, but he knew that aside from the first line, the rest was probably some pretty colorful swearing.
“En-neh!
En-na-na!” “Alright, alright.
So you like reading novels.
Totally understandable.” Buyuan hurriedly comforted Makoto, who was on the verge of a meltdown.
Though he really hadn’t expected Makoto to have been shaped into this by his influence.
What on earth did I do in the past to make the Raiden Shogun of Inazuma this devoted?
Staying at home all day like a perfect little wife.
“There, there.
I’ll buy you a phone when I take you out tomorrow.
That way I won’t be able to see.” What Buyuan was actually pondering in his heart was another matter entirely.
Say, if I input my own birthday as the password later, would I be able to unlock it?
After much coaxing, he finally got the overheated little one to calm down.
“En-neh, en-na-na.” (Sorry, I forgot to cook.) Makoto had clearly realized she’d gotten a bit too absorbed in her novel.
“No worries.
I’ll order takeout.” Buyuan rubbed her head, a bit amused.
Wasn’t this a case of birds of a feather?
Too bad Bangboo couldn’t eat.
Otherwise, he’d have found a way to get her hooked on sweets at all costs.
And if he ever got the chance, he’d take her back to Teyvat and give Miko a round of spot-the-real-Raiden-Shogun.
“En-neh, en-neh.” Seeing that she didn’t need to cook and the cleaning was already done, and that there was absolutely no way she could go back to reading that novel right now, Makoto returned to her charging dock and went into standby.
Bzzz~ Wise: Is the stuff in your novel legit?
Cash Cow: Aside from the Kabuto lore, if you don’t remember a plot point, it means I made it up.
Wise: You wrote this stuff out in the open?
Cash Cow: Is there a problem?
Wise: …
Hearing a knock at the door, Buyuan tossed his phone aside and got ready to dig into his meal.
After eating, he planned to artistically embellish today’s events, then chat for a bit and go to bed early.
He painstakingly typed everything up.
He deliberately left out the parts involving Miyabi.
No helping it — that woman’s popularity was way too high.
If he clout-chased off her, his novel would probably get taken down by tomorrow.
Picking up his phone, he saw two hours had already passed.
There were also several messages from Qingyi and Ellen.
Qingyi: Thanks to you this time.
Section 6’s Chief Hoshimi Miyabi asked about you.
I didn’t cover for you much either — to some extent, we don’t really understand you ourselves.
Qingyi: But you’ve more or less been marked.
Still, it’s a good thing it’s not the military that’s got their eyes on you.
Section 6’s members are relatively mild.
Qingyi: I owe you a favor.
Contact me once you’ve thought of something.
Buyuan: Haven’t thought of anything.
Let it ride for now.
Buyuan figured the more goodwill he built up, the more unexpectedly valuable this favor might become.
Sharkie: Tomorrow, 9 AM.
Meet at the 141 Convenience Store at Lumina Square.
Sharkie: Late means left behind.
Damn Fox: Roger that.
At that moment, Ellen was sprawled on her bed, looking at her phone.
Once she confirmed Buyuan had received the message, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she noticed that beneath his name, it now showed “typing…” Ellen waited a long time without seeing a message come through and guessed he was racking his brain for a topic.
“Serves you right for that stunt last time.” Ellen’s fingers rapidly tapped away.
Sharkie: Not chatting anymore.
Sleep early.
Gotta get up tomorrow.
Don’t be late.
After sending, Ellen smugly swished her tail, exited her chat with Buyuan, and switched over to a four-person group chat.
As for Buyuan, he’d just been about to scramble for something to say when he saw Ellen’s somewhat random message.
He silently stared at the time displayed on his phone.
7:15 PM.
Silence was the word of the day tonight.
In the end, not knowing what else to do, Buyuan got up, went to the living room, and scooped up Makoto, who was charging, in one swift motion.
Under her utterly baffled expression, Buyuan calmly carried her back to the bedroom.
“What are you charging for?
Look at the time.
It’s time to sleep.” As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Buyuan flipped open the covers and burrowed in with Makoto.
“En-neh.” (Used to it.) Accompanied by Makoto’s resigned en-neh, the lights went out.
Makoto tried to struggle in Buyuan’s arms, wanting to switch directions.
But Buyuan gave her no such chance.
“En-neh!
En-na-na.” (Do you have any self-awareness as a fox spirit?!
You’re literally pre-installed with charm, and you make me look at your face every day while sleeping!) In the end, Makoto could only force a shutdown on herself.
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