He originally thought getting a single purple affix would already be great, but he hadn’t expected to pull two at once—and both had pretty good effects.
[Squirming One] wasn’t worth looking at, so he skipped it.
[Gotham Veteran] had a decent effect, but unfortunately this wasn’t Gotham City.
The deflect-and-counter technique from [Brave Bull] was a genuine lifesaver.
Though it had a cooldown, given his current situation, he was more than satisfied.
Not to mention its second effect could reset his Ether erosion state.
*Bang!* The sudden noise startled Jiang Yu so much he sprang straight off the ground.
Looking out, several Ethereals a short distance away kicked aside a crate blocking their path and charged wildly toward him.
Seeing that they were just two small-time minnows, he let out a slight sigh of relief, pulled a pitch-black, shiny pistol from behind his waist, and pulled the trigger before even raising the gun.
The bullet spun rapidly out of the barrel, took a bizarre turn in midair, and shattered the Ethereal’s core directly.
Jiang Yu didn’t even care whether it hit or not; he simply ejected the magazine and slapped it back in.
The pistol affix [Eagle Eye] triggered again.
Within his line of sight, the first shot was a guaranteed hit.
Jiang Yu pulled the trigger, and without suspense, the bullet popped the other Ethereal’s core.
*Thud.* The Ethereal fell to the ground at once, its body slowly dissolving into countless motes of light.
— One day later.
Hunger gnawing at his stomach, Jiang Yu killed the last Ethereal and collapsed onto the ground in complete exhaustion.
He racked the slide—empty inside, even cleaner than his stomach.
That shot just now was his very last bullet.
In the past two days, leave alone meeting a friendly Proxy or Hollow Raider, he hadn’t seen a single soul.
Fortunately, the affix [Brave Bull] could refresh his Ether erosion state.
Otherwise, he would have been corrupted into an Ethereal long ago.
Just then, a few more ordinary Ethereals closed in, all poised to strike as if ready to tear the human in front of them to shreds at any moment.
Yet not a single Ethereal dared to rush forward first.
Though this damned human looked like a lamb waiting for the slaughter, any monster that charged in would get its core blown out by a single gunshot.
Dammit, this bastard shot straight into the sky, yet the bullet somehow grew eyes, turned around, and smashed their cores anyway!
You know full well if you’re cheating or not!
The Ethereals seemed to reach an agreement and launched an attack on Jiang Yu simultaneously.
Right at that moment, an unexpected turn of events occurred.
A rift suddenly tore open in the air not far away.
A petite, slender green figure flew out sideways from the rift, nimbly dodging architectural obstacles as she soared straight toward Jiang Yu.
Flying out from the Hollow, the short-haired girl swept her gaze over the Ethereals ahead and slashed her tachi with the momentum.
The long blade, wrapped in purple arcs of electricity, instantly cleaved several Ethereals in half, turning them into scattering motes of light.
Anby landed steadily and sheathed her blade.
Her eyes scanned the surrounding area, finally settling on the survivor looking back at her.
A handsome, flawless face, with high yet soft brow bones, and bright eyes reflecting her image.
Except he looked like he hadn’t eaten in days.
Anby blinked, suddenly realizing something.
“Are you hungry?” Jiang Yu’s eyes lit up, and his whole spirit revived.
“Mhm!
Mhm!” “Oh.
Hold on.” With that, Anby took off her large backpack and began rummaging through it.
Jiang Yu seemed to catch the scent of food, his entire attention drawn over.
*Rustle, rustle…* Burger wrappers, burger bags, a bunch of small ketchup packets, medicine…
wait, packets of ammunition?
Pre-loaded magazines?
What was this, a whetstone?
There were even strange Pokéball-like gizmos inside.
Jiang Yu felt like he was discovering a new world and looked up in disbelief at the deadpan girl digging through her bag.
“What is it?” Anby’s voice carried a strangely adorable, deadpan tone.
Jiang Yu opened his dry, cracked lips, unsure of what to say.
*Seriously?
A young girl like you carries all this stuff in your bag?* Seeing him silent, Anby flipped her white bangs and lowered her head to keep searching.
A pleasant fragrance brushed past Jiang Yu’s face, leaving him no choice but to patiently wait for her to pull out food.
Finally, a pack of compressed biscuits and a bottle of water were held out in front of Jiang Yu.
“Here.” Anby’s tone was flat, her face completely expressionless.
Jiang Yu took them, immediately chugged a gulp of water, tore open the biscuit wrapper, and swallowed the food down in a few bites.
Expanding upon contact with water, the compressed biscuits began to fill his stomach, which had been starving for a full day.
As a comfortable feeling washed over him, Jiang Yu flopped back onto the ground.
Alive for another day—awesome!
“That will be twenty thousand Dennies total.” Anby swung her backpack back on, throwing out the line in a very flat voice.
?
Jiang Yu raised his head from the ground and looked up in confusion at the standing Anby: “What did you say?” “Twenty thousand Dennies total.” “How much?” “Twenty thousand.” Jiang Yu lay back down, pulling out his pants pockets and coat pockets inside out.
Completely empty—as clean as his face.
Guess I’ll have to pay with my ass.
Anby ignored him (she didn’t accept payment in rear ends anyway).
After adjusting her headset’s recording function, she began recording again.
“This is Anby Demara, official employee of the Cunning Hares handyman agency.
Due to an incident, I have fallen into a companion Hollow.
I do not possess a Carrot, nor do I have a Proxy assisting me.
The probability of getting lost in the Hollow is as high as 96.4%.
…” “Um, if I may ask, Miss Anby…
is your Cunning Hares a legal organization?” Jiang Yu, who had been playing dead on the ground, suddenly blurted out.
“Of course it’s legal.
Our Cunning Hares Agency specializes in taking on all kinds of tasks and commissions.
If you have any needs, you can contact us.
Additionally, while biscuits and water are very cheap outside the Hollow, inside the Hollow, this is their price.” Facing Jiang Yu’s question, Anby not only answered with absolute composure, but also gave a reason Jiang Yu couldn’t counter.
*Fine, fine, Cunning Hares, right?
I’ll remember you.* *Still, something’s not right…
this girl named Anby doesn’t seem to have a Carrot either!* Just as he was about to pat his pants and leave…
A dramatically chuunibyou voice suddenly rang out.