Lumina Square, outside the HIA Club.
The four members of Hollow Special Operations Section 6 received an enthusiastic welcome from their fans.
All kinds of gifts and letters came flooding in like waves, one surge after another.
Even after refusing many high-value gifts, each person still ended up with more than they could carry.
As for Harumasa, one of his gifts was particularly unique—a red string tied with a small bell, carrying a beautiful implication similar to being bound by fate.
Unfortunately, this pretty red string came from a burly, muscular man. No matter how one thought about it, this was definitely not something a man should be giving to another man!
Harumasa was on the verge of tears; if he had known it would turn out like this, he would rather have stayed back in the section for a meeting.
But for the sake of maintaining Hollow Special Operations Section 6's approachable public image, he could only accept the red string with tears in his eyes.
More than ten minutes later.
After putting on the beautiful badge engraved with [Guardian of New Eridu] given by fans, the four members of Hollow Special Operations Section 6 finished taking group photos with the onlookers, finally bringing this pre-mission fan meet-and-greet to an end.
Watching this scene through surveillance from the shadows, Null_Face could not help but reveal an excited smile—his plan was already halfway complete.
"The badge engraved with 'Guardian of New Eridu'—that's a fitting title. The future Hollow Special Operations Section 6 may change its will, but at this moment, they are fully worthy of the name."
The corners of his mouth curled into a mocking smile as he whispered softly, "So dying at this moment and using that name as a tombstone inscription would be a fine choice."
Those badges were his handiwork.
Putting on the badge and connecting to the next-generation VR system was like plugging a virus-infected USB drive into a computer.
There was no way to log out through normal means—one could only remain trapped in data space and enter a state of brain death.
It was even easier than he had imagined. As expected, that Bringer guy was nothing but trash—taken care of so easily.
And now, he would eliminate the youngest Void Hunter, earning tremendous merit and allowing the Creator to reshape this world even sooner.
"Heh heh heh… hahahahaha!"
...
And at this very moment.
The four members of Hollow Special Operations Section 6 finished the fan meet-and-greet and were guided into the lobby by HIA Club staff.
"It's finally over!"
Harumasa let out a long sigh of relief, his face showing the expression of someone who had survived a disaster.
Why were there more male fans than female fans, and why were his male fans so abnormal?!
Could it be that the image of a sunny yet sickly young man really appealed that much to men?
Harumasa took the red string out of his pocket, intending to throw it away, but after thinking it over, he sighed and stuffed it deep back into his pocket.
At least it was someone's heartfelt intention; he couldn't just toss it aside casually. Worst case, he'd hide it somewhere at home and pretend it didn't exist—he'd just consider himself unlucky.
"Is it really that difficult?"
Miyabi shook her head slightly, her gaze filled with confusion.
Clearly, all it would take was a nod, and those enthusiastic fans would be overjoyed.
"Maybe Harumasa is more introverted and not used to scenes like that."
Yanagi stood beside Miyabi, covering her mouth as she laughed softly.
She casually removed the badge from her shirt at chest level.
Given her rather eye-catching figure, badges meant to be pinned on the chest didn't suit her at all and felt somewhat uncomfortable.
"That's right! Harumasa is really too lame—he didn't even do as well as Soukaku!"
Soukaku lifted her head proudly and said cheerfully, "Those big sisters gave me lots of candy—just looking at it, you can tell it's delicious!"
"Mm-hm, Soukaku is the best."
Yanagi patted Soukaku's head and praised her with a smile.
"Harumasa really—"
Harumasa instantly caught the keyword and shuddered violently.
This kind of thing was indeed far too advanced for him.
And Soukaku—he'd remember this grudge!
Harumasa shot Soukaku an inconspicuous glance; later, he'd secretly eat one-third of her candy as punishment.
At this moment, Yanagi adjusted her glasses, her expression turning serious. "Everyone should already know the mission details this time."
"I'll briefly go over them again. Our main task is to assist the Hollow Investigative Association in testing their latest VR system. Our test data will serve as the system's upper limit…"
She effortlessly recalled the in-depth VR system usage manual, reciting all kinds of information as if it were second nature, even though she had only just reviewed it.
Her explanation was concise and clear, without the slightest hint of difficulty.
"Any questions?"
Yanagi looked at the group and asked with a smile.
"I have a question."
Miyabi spoke up first.
The work report for this mission felt like it would be extremely troublesome to write. She still had to cultivate the [Edge of Taixuan] and prepare a gift for her mother.
So, it would be best if there were a way to get it done quickly.
Tsukishiro Yanagi answered decisively, "I've already convinced the staff to submit the work report directly for us once we're done. Section Chief, you just need to inform the department head afterward."
"I have no more issues."
The corners of Miyabi's mouth lifted slightly, her mood instantly improving.
As expected, Yanagi was the most trustworthy—she handled everything flawlessly.
A friend to whom one could entrust even a will.
But right now, she no longer wanted to think about gloomy things like wills. She wanted to live on with absolute conviction.
She had friends to protect, family to accompany, and promises to fulfill…
"Me! Me!"
Soukaku eagerly raised her hand.
Yanagi saw through her thoughts at a glance. "HIA will provide work snacks and leisure snacks. I asked them to increase Soukaku's portion."
"Yay! Sister Yanagi is the best!"
Soukaku hugged Yanagi around the waist and rubbed against her affectionately.
"I…"
Harumasa was just about to speak.
Yanagi cut him off sternly, "No sick leave. You've already used up this month's cold allowance."
That's right—even after Harumasa was healed by Sol, he still frequently took sick leave.
Upholding a people-first principle, she still approved six sick days per month for Harumasa, excluding rest days.
But if he wanted even more sick leave, she would hold the line and absolutely refuse!
"No, that's not my question."
Harumasa wore a smug smile and said lightly, "Stereotypes are a no-go, you know!"
He silently remembered everyone's special leniency toward him in Hollow Special Operations Section 6, always indulging his sick leave requests.
He kept it firmly in mind so he wouldn't push his luck and become ungrateful.
"Oh? I actually guessed wrong?!"
Yanagi's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
It seemed she still didn't understand everyone well enough—she needed to observe and record more carefully.
"If you guessed right every time, that would be strange."
Harumasa couldn't help but complain, "What kind of deputy section chief acts like a prophet who predicts everything in advance?!"
Yanagi pressed her forehead lightly. "So, Harumasa, what's your question?"
Harumasa crossed his arms and pouted. "I just want to ask—about how long will this mission take?"
"There's no specific time limit. We just need to fully collect our data. However, if we defeat all the test monsters, that also counts as completing the mission directly."
"After all, defeating all the monsters means we've reached the VR system's limit. Repeating with more monsters would be meaningless."
Yanagi answered instantly, without hesitation.
She had thoroughly read the VR technical guide; a question like this was nothing.
"I see—that's not too troublesome, then."
Harumasa stroked his chin and said briskly, "With our strength, dealing with virtual data shouldn't be a problem."
"..."
Miyabi pondered for a moment, then looked at Harumasa. "I hope the difficulty will be higher. If you want to clock out early when the time comes, I can approve it."
"Hm?"
Harumasa was briefly stunned before quickly realizing. "Section Chief, are you planning to test the results of your cultivation in the virtual world?"
Miyabi nodded slightly. "Yes. I've made some progress with the [Edge of Taixuan], and the VR system might be a good place to test it."
In the real world, there was no place where she could freely unleash her power.
Even in a Hollow, she had to worry about damaging the Hollow's structure and triggering a chain of problems. Yes—she already possessed the ability to damage Hollow structures.
Though it was far from as terrifying as when Sol once obliterated half a Hollow with a single punch, it was already enough to severely affect almost all derivative Hollows.
She had once practiced swordsmanship inside a Hollow together with Belle. Thanks to Belle's abilities as the legendary Proxy Phaethon, they were ultimately able to make it out.
"Uh, there's no need to clock out early."
Harumasa scratched his head and laughed brightly. "I actually have a similar thought as the Section Chief."
Since his body recovered, he hadn't gone all out even once.
After the Section Chief put it that way, he really did feel a bit itchy.
Besides, he also wanted to see just how far the Section Chief had progressed now with the terrifying sword techniques she learned from Sol.
Yanagi nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Since everyone is ready, let's go test the next-generation VR system."
She also wanted to try her own skills—after all, the one who had improved during this period wasn't just her friends.
Half a month ago, Sol's guidance in Hollow Zero was mainly directed at the Section Chief. But he didn't forbid the others from learning, and she benefited greatly as well.
Her raw power hadn't increased much, but her techniques had improved by leaps and bounds.
Since the VR system was a virtual world, exerting force shouldn't be an issue—and unlike reality, there was no need to worry about causing excessive destruction.
===BREAK===
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