Nicole thought the Dullahan was going to attack Anby and hastily shouted a warning.
The next instant, a crimson glare flashed.
The load-bearing pillar where Jiang Yu sat was cleaved cleanly in two from top to bottom by a terrifying red arc of blade light.
Everyone instinctively froze.
That single slice felt as though it had cut straight through all their hearts.
It was too strong—a level of power far beyond what any of them could contend with right now.
*Boom!* The load-bearing pillar collapsed, kicking up a thick plume of dust and smoke.
Anby stared wide-eyed at the spot where Jiang Yu had been sitting just moments ago.
Now it was nothing but a pile of rubble shrouded in rolling smoke.
*”No big deal.
Let’s work together to take out this Dullahan first.”* Jiang Yu’s slightly cheeky grin surfaced in her mind, his words still echoing in her ears.
Was he really gone just like that?
Amid the swirling dust, an anomaly suddenly erupted.
A terrifying purple blade arc flashed through the smoke.
To everyone’s shock, a tall silhouette staggered backward out of the haze.
The Dullahan, who had been cutting down opponents like child’s play only moments before, was now clutching its severed arm.
Its entire right hand—the one holding the demonic blade—had been sliced clean off.
Without the boost from the demonic sword, the Dullahan’s aura rapidly weakened, dropping back down to the level of a high-grade Ethereal.
Jiang Yu walked slowly out of the smoke, dual blades in hand.
The moment the Dullahan spotted Jiang Yu, it instantly dropped into a guarded stance, treating him like the ultimate threat.
This human was far too bizarre.
He had emerged completely unharmed from its full-power strike and had even managed to unleash a blade arc of comparable power in an instant.
Just as the Dullahan was questioning whether this guy was using cheats, Jiang Yu tossed Anby’s blade back to her.
Understanding his intent, Anby caught the blade and charged the Dullahan.
The other two members of the Cunning Hares finally snapped out of their emotional rollercoaster of shock, grabbing their weapons to join the fray.
Without its demonic sword, the Dullahan was like a venomous snake with its fangs pulled—completely at their mercy.
Jiang Yu picked the perfect moment to step back into the fight, catching an opening to deliver a clean horizontal slash that bisected the Dullahan at the waist.
As the Dullahan’s body slowly dissolved into nothingness, the battle finally came to an end.
With the fight over, everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
Nicole sprinted excitedly toward the safe she had been obsessing over, but then remembered something.
She immediately veered toward Jiang Yu and threw her arms around him in a tight hug.
“Thank you for saving my safe!
The Cunning Hares will never forget this favor!” Nicole said with immense gratitude.
Feeling the softness pressed against his chest, Jiang Yu offered an embarrassed smile.
“Don’t mention it.
It’s all part of the job.
By the way, earlier you mentioned Dennies—” “Huh?
What Dennies?
I have no idea what you’re talking about!
I’m going to check my safe now!” Nicole played dumb and slipped away, flatly denying what she had said before.
“Brother Jiang Yu…
Oh wait, no!
Boss Jiang Yu!
That slice of yours was absolutely insane!
You were like the Starlight Knight incarnate!
You’ve gotta teach me when you get the chance!” “Sure, sure, whenever I have time.” Billy gave Jiang Yu a heavy bear hug as well, but Jiang Yu shoved him off with fierce resistance.
Because the metal was digging into him painfully.
Anby gave him a gentle punch from behind, merely looking at him with a serious expression.
Her neat nose twitched twice as if sniffing the air.
Without saying another word, she turned and walked toward the safe as well.
Jiang Yu scratched his head in confusion.
Before he could figure it out, a sudden pang of pain shot up his thigh.
Looking down, he saw Eos.
Eos smiled and held out a tiny hand, apparently offering a fist bump.
Jiang Yu bent down and bumped fists with the Bangboo.
In front of the HDD screen, Wise was rubbing his chin.
Jiang Yu’s astounding strike had been somewhat unnaturally powerful.
He suddenly noticed his younger sister smiling exceptionally happily.
“Belle, what’s wrong?” “Huh?
N-nothing…” Nicole rushed to the safe with shining eyes.
“Finally…
finally…
I found you—!” She picked up the safe and rubbed her face happily against it.
“Though I hate to rain on your parade…
it’s still too early to celebrate!
Nicole, calm down and listen to me…
It’s all the fault of that evil hacker!
It deleted the escape data I set aside for exiting the Hollow.” Belle controlled Eos to stand beside Nicole, tilting its big head up to speak to her.
Nicole’s face fell as she asked in alarm, “Are you saying we can’t get out—?!” Her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed onto the floor, saved only when Anby caught her in time.
“Haha…
After going through all that trouble to get back to square one…
I can’t believe this is the end of the line,” Nicole lamented miserably.
Billy tried to scoot over and lie down next to her, but Anby ruthlessly pushed him away.
“Darn it, I haven’t even had dinner with the lovely Monica yet.
I’m so unwilling…
But to go out after such a heart-pounding battle…
I guess I can die with no regrets.” “Calm down.
Let’s think of another way,” Anby said evenly.
*Carrots…
Carrots.* *To get out of a Hollow, I still have to rely on Carrots.
Looks like I’ll need to grind more money and farm traits or items that let me escape Hollows.* “Uh, there’s no need to be *that* pessimistic.
I actually have one last resort!
But I need Nicole-nie to nod and agree.” Belle’s voice came through Eos into Nicole’s ears.
Nicole bounced up from the floor as if injected with adrenaline.
“I agree!” Belle explained, “That evil hacker said the contents of the safe have value similar to Rosetta Data.
With it, one can freely enter and exit Hollows.
If that’s true, we should be able to use it to get out—assuming you’re willing to let me open it.” “I agree!
I literally just said so!” “Eh?
Can you really agree so easily?
How are you going to explain it to the client?” “This is a matter of life and death!
If I can’t get out, who’s going to hand the safe over to him anyway?
Just open it!
You already know the password, right?” “That’s right!” Belle controlled Eos to open the safe, revealing a single memory card inside.
“Though…
I don’t know what’s stored on it either.
If forcibly reading it causes serious side effects…” “Hold on, there’s one thing I don’t quite understand.” Anby suddenly interrupted Belle.
“Your real body is outside the Hollow.
You could easily just walk away.
Why take the risk to come back and help us?
Do you have some ulterior motive?” Billy was already holding his revolvers, adopting an alert posture.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yu had found a clean piece of heavy rubble to sit on.
The demonic blade in his hand was now inserted into a scabbard he had salvaged from a corner.
Once sheathed, the blade completely lost the terrifying aura it had displayed moments ago.
“Anby!” Nicole scolded softly.
“What a strange question,” Belle replied, sounding a bit bewildered before offering a matter-of-fact answer.
“I’m your Proxy!
Since I promised to lead you out, I will definitely lead you out!
If I fail, the reserved HDD System commands will automatically post a rescue commission on the Inter-Knot.
When that time comes…
I…” “Don’t worry.
If we make it out, no matter what happens, we’ll come to your shop to rescue you!” Nicole promised.
“Hmph.
Even if you say sweet things like that, I’m not giving you a discount on the commission fee!” Belle inserted the memory card into Eos’s external card slot, speaking to Nicole with a touch of playful tsundere pride.