After Ellen Joe left, Sol Mercer returned to his room.
He awakened the [Stellar-Grade Cognitive Computer]—Artemis, beginning a new day of deduction and calculation.
The [Emperor Armor], now powered by a multi-stellar energy link, had reached a preliminary form—proof that he was on the right path.
The [Emperor Armor] would no longer be limited to the single Ultimate Emperor Armor drawn from the System. Its power might rank at the Solar Tier, formidable enough to dominate on Earth, but elsewhere—it would be woefully insufficient.
His new vision was for the [Emperor Armor] to transcend form itself—to become a kind of arcane art, a divine technique, one that could be constructed from nothing through skill-driven energy invocation. Its only limit would be the number of stars he could control.
Whether one million or a hundred billion stars, the difference was merely in quantity, not essence.
At present, the overall structural design had been completed.
However, to achieve a finalized, perfect data model still required astronomical levels of computation. But that only needed time, not Sol's active attention.
Until the ultimate form was realized, he decided to build a few prototypes to play with.
After all, with his skill Imaginary Manifestation, he had infinite material resources.
Thus, in his spare research hours, various armors were born in his hands: the Photon Armor, the Standard Emperor Armor, the Ultimate Emperor Armor, and several experimental variants.
Among them were seven high-grade armors—each powered by light energy, each in a distinct color, each designed in the shape of a Starlight Knight.
The Rainbow Squad was complete.
The main framework and energy system remained identical—only the skin had been reskinned for fun.
…Two days later…
Zhu Yuan called.
"What's up, Zhu Yuan? Are your uncle and aunt forcing you to go on blind dates again? Do you need me to step in like last time?"
Sol's tone was teasing, his grin playfully crooked.
Zhu Yuan flustered immediately, her voice nervous. "No, no, not this time! They haven't pushed me into any blind dates since last time."
Indeed, they hadn't forced her into any more setups—they had simply decided Sol Mercer was her top choice.
Of course, that wasn't something she could say out loud. After all, he'd only been helping her out; she couldn't very well lust after the man who rescued her, could she?
"So, what's the issue then? Got a tough opponent you need me to handle—some black eating black job?"
Sol chuckled lightly, voice dripping mischief.
"Not exactly…" Zhu Yuan bit her lip, hesitating before continuing. "Actually, we received intel on Perlman. He's hiding out with a biker gang in the Outer Ring. Since the Canvas Street case was handled by your Cunning Hares, I thought you should know."
"Oh, that."
Sol nodded in realization—it was well within expectations.
Last time, he'd directly intervened, wiping out a large Vision Corporation force hidden in Canvas Street.
That incident had clearly spooked Perlman. Before the Public Security could even show up, the man had already vanished.
No surprise—he was the so-called King of Escape. That sharp instinct had kept him alive this long.
"Director Bringer assigned this case to us, so Qingyi and I will be stationed in the Outer Ring for a while," Zhu Yuan sighed, her voice puzzled. "It's strange, though. We still had leads to follow on the arms dealers, but they suddenly sent us away. I'm not saying catching Perlman isn't important—it's just… wouldn't it make sense to finish one case before starting another?"
It made sense—her Criminal Investigation Special Response Team had been the ones spearheading the arms trafficking case. Handing it off mid-progress made her uneasy.
"Don't overthink it," Sol said casually. "As long as you're doing your job, that's all that matters."
As for the reason? Simple—those arms dealers were tied to bigger fish that couldn't be easily touched.
So, they sent Zhu Yuan and her team away—to stop them from stumbling onto something inconvenient.
After all, the dealers had somehow obtained recently issued Defense Force equipment. That wasn't something ordinary smugglers could get their hands on.
"You're right," Zhu Yuan said, nodding, her doubts fading. Then she asked, "So… are you guys going to the Outer Ring to track down Perlman too? If you are, I can send over some intel."
"Of course. Why wouldn't we?"
Sol agreed without hesitation. "The Cunning Hares always see a job through to the end."
He hadn't even asked, but he already knew what Nicole would decide.
"Alright, I'll send you the intel later," Zhu Yuan said briskly, then added with a hint of excitement, "See you in the Outer Ring then. I heard it's the freest part of New Eridu—I'm curious to see it for myself."
"Then we'll go take a look together."
Sol chuckled, thinking of the Sons of Calydon. If they were anything to go by, the Outer Ring's "freedom" would be like that of America—
Land of the free, gunfights every day.
"Mm. See you, Sol."
Zhu Yuan ended the call politely.
…
Back at the Cunning Hares, Sol relayed the information to the team.
"So," he asked, "are you all in? If we go, Zhu Yuan's got intel for us. If not, her team can probably handle it themselves."
"We're going—definitely going!"
Nicole Demara and Nekomiya Mana spoke in perfect unison.
Nicole felt guilty about the last time—they'd barely done anything in Canvas Street, yet still ended up with a huge payout and commendation. She owed it to the residents there—and to that hefty commission fee—to follow through this time.
Nekomata, meanwhile, had more personal reasons.
Canvas Street was her old home, and she still had deep feelings for the people there.
Catching the vile profiteer Perlman wasn't just a mission—it was justice.
"We'll come too," said Anby Demara and Billy Kid, a little late but firm in tone.
"Alright then," Sol said with a stretch, smiling. "Rest up tonight. We head out tomorrow. I've got a few friends in the Outer Ring anyway—we can visit them while we're at it."
He was thinking, of course, about Lucy.
Her performance during the undercover operation had been priceless.
He was genuinely curious—what would this meeting be like?
"Boss Sol, I've got a question!" Billy piped up, saluting dramatically. "The Outer Ring's got lots of Hollows but not many mature Carrots. We'll probably need a Proxy to help out."
"Excellent point!"
Sol's eyes brightened, clapping Billy on the shoulder. "I'll go talk to Belle tomorrow myself. She'll definitely agree."
If Billy hadn't mentioned it, he might've forgotten—it had been way too long since he last hung out with Belle. They'd only been messaging over Inter-Knot recently.
"Huh? Wouldn't Wise the store manager work too?" Billy asked, confused.
Sol pretended not to hear, continuing smoothly, "You think Belle's got time? She will when I show up. As for Wise—well, if he wants to come, he can."
No way he'd miss a chance to see Belle again—it'd been far too long since they'd had fun together.
Now, the only question was—should he pick her up on the Kawasaki… or the Ghostfire?
"Alright, that's enough for tonight," Sol said, scooping Nekomata up and heading for the door. "Time to sleep. Big day tomorrow."
And with that, he disappeared into the room next door.