Just as Geno hesitated about whether to lure these people away, an accident occurred.
"Hey, who are you people?"
One of the guys in the group, looking every bit like a small-time punk, shouted at the other group not far away while brandishing a metal pipe. He had an attitude that suggested he thought he was third in command of the universe—Heaven first, Earth second, and him third.
Consequently, the rest of his group also entered a state of alert.
Guys appearing here at this time were, in all probability, competitors of the Red Fang Gang.
They were members of the Red Fang Gang who had heard rumors about Boss White's treasure from somewhere, so they wanted to enter the Hollow to try their luck.
However, the guys walking toward them were extremely strange.
Everyone was wearing a uniform and had a mask on their face. Most importantly, the opposing side had more people and carried weapons; one look was enough to tell they were not people to be trifled with.
The punk realized something was wrong as soon as he finished speaking, and he immediately cowed.
"Boss, these comers don't look friendly."
The one acting as the Boss also looked grim. How could he be so unlucky to run into such a group? But he still tried to maintain his imposing manner, not wanting to lose face in front of his underlings.
"Hey, what path do you guys walk on? We of the Red Fang Gang saw this place first. If you know what's good for you, get lost."
But the other party showed no intention of paying him any attention, which made the Boss lose even more face.
"Hey, didn't you hear me talking to you? Are you deaf?"
Swish.
The punk only felt a gust of wind blow past, and then heard a thud, as if something had fallen to the ground.
He slowly lowered his head, only to see a severed hand on the ground with a finger stretching out, blood oozing out drop by drop. It looked extremely familiar.
"Boss! Your hand!"
"Ugh... Arghhh!!"
Pain instantly flooded the punk Boss's nerves. He hurriedly clutched his own wrist, trying to stop the bleeding, while his mouth gaped open, sweating profusely, unable to even make a sound.
It hurt too much.
But what followed was even more cruel. That group of people began chanting something unknown, and soon, several Ethereals appeared beside them, their bodies emitting an ominous red light.
They swayed as they walked toward the gang of punks. In mere moments, the gang was torn to shreds, their remains scattering all over the ground with wet thuds.
Some tried to resist in the middle of the slaughter, but it was useless against absolute power; they were still finely minced into meat sauce.
"My Lord, no traces found."
"Hmph. Expand the range and continue the search."
"Yes."
In the few words spoken by that group, not a single sentence was related to the tragedy before them, as if they had merely stepped on a few ants in passing.
Afterward, the group left in another direction.
Meanwhile, several hundred meters away, Geno, who had witnessed this massacre with his super vision, wore a dull expression, his limbs stiff.
It wasn't that he was scared by the scene, but rather, watching the Ethereals summoned by the guy dressed like a sacrificial priest gave him an inexplicable feeling.
It was as if those summoned Ethereals were calling out to him.
Yet, his memory held absolutely no record of such existences.
Only after they had left did Geno slowly come back to his senses and rub his head.
He glanced again at the fragments scattered on the ground. Let alone recognizing who was who, it would be difficult to even determine how many people there had been.
Geno had no choice but to pile them up and light a fire to burn everything clean.
At the same time, he silently memorized the attire of those people in his heart, planning to look up information later.
On the other side, far away on Sixth Street, the Proxy siblings and Nicole were burning with anxiety because they couldn't find Geno and Twiggy.
"It's already dark. Could those two have run into trouble inside the Hollow?"
Belle paced back and forth in the store with worry, making Wise, who was sitting on the sofa, feel a bit dizzy watching her.
"Belle, don't panic yet. I've already asked Fairy to investigate. There should be results soon."
However, before Fairy could respond, Nicole came knocking at the door.
"Proxy, big trouble! Those guys from the Red Fang Gang said they must find Boss White today! What are we going to do?!"
Nicole pushed open the door to the studio in a panic, bringing even worse news.
"Why are these guys suddenly in such a rush?"
"Heaven knows! Anyway, they said if they don't see Boss White today, they'll go all out against us."
Nicole seemed to have already imagined that terrible scene; she covered her face with one hand, her expression looking dead awful.
Why were these wild dogs so annoying!
"There's no other way. Since we can't find Geno and the others for the moment, let's go check the location where the safe dropped first. Fairy, is that okay?"
[Reply: This is a piece of cake for me. Assistant Number Two's skepticism is obviously superfluous.]
"Who is Assistant Number Two? You..."
Wise looked speechlessly at the big blue-and-white eye lighting up the screen, instantly feeling a burst of anger.
But clearly, now was not the time for bickering; it was better to solve Nicole's problem first.
"Belle, how about I pilot Eous this time and take Nicole and the others into the Hollow?"
Wise felt that Belle's state wasn't very good, so he proposed taking her place in controlling Eous.
"It's fine, I'll go. It just so happens I can search for Geno and Twiggy's location while I'm at it."
They had gone to Geno's house earlier to find them but came up empty. From the surveillance footage retrieved by Fairy, they knew the two had driven into the Hollow, but their specific location was unknown.
This was a good opportunity to search for the two of them.
"Then let's not delay and set off. I can't stand those guys who are as annoying as wild dogs anymore."
Nicole's tone couldn't be described as good. Not only had she been annoyed by the Red Fang Gang's pursuit over the past two days, but she was also being rushed into action. Anyone else wouldn't be in a good mood either.
Thus, the trio from the Cunning Hares, bringing Eous along, entered Crete Hollow once again.
Following the route they had taken before, they soon arrived at the original site of the incident.
"Right, this is the place. The safe fell right here back then, and the Ethereal that Boss White turned into was wandering around that safe. Now there's nothing here... Could it be that he really was finished off by Geno and his team?"
The thought that the Dullahan might have already met its end made Nicole think of the powerlessness she would face when dealing with the Red Fang Gang in the days to come.
But soon, Fairy's words cheered her up again.
[Warning: High Ether concentration individual nearby. Preliminary assessment identifies it as a high-risk Ethereal individual.]
"Nicole! Something is approaching. Watch your safety."
As soon as the voice fell, the target detected by Fairy charged straight out in front of them. It was precisely a Dullahan.
"This is?! Talk about finding exactly what you were looking for without even trying! Billy! Anby! Let's go!"
____
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