Twenty minutes later, Ellen drove up to the Dead End Hollow.
With a screech of brakes, Phaga remarked, "Perfect timing—[Carrot] just finished decompressing."
Opening the door, Phaga stepped out carrying his laptop and parasol.
Gazing up at the magnificent, iridescent Hollow before him—like a galaxy turned upside down by reversed magnetic fields—Phaga couldn't help but marvel:
"Truly breathtaking. Just standing here, I can feel the Ether reactions washing over me... Hey, Ellen, what do you think? How does the Dead End Butcher inside this Hollow compare to the one at our school?"
"...Hmph!"
Ellen rolled her eyes, retrieved a pair of giant garden shears from the pickup's trunk, hefted them onto her shoulder, popped a lollipop into her mouth, and muttered:
"Got news yesterday—our school's Hollow got its official name. Not 'Dead End Hollow No. 2,' but 'Doppelgänger.'"
"Doppelgänger?"
Phaga was surprised. Not because the name was awkward—most Hollows had strange names—but because it meant the Butcher he'd torn apart hadn't been the real Dead End Butcher at all.
No wonder the Hollow hadn't collapsed after its death.
But Phaga quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought. Focusing on the Hollow before them, his expression hardened.
"Let's move."
Ellen kicked up the giant shears, slung them over her shoulder, and followed him inside.
...
The moment they stepped into the Hollow, Phaga and Ellen were met with an ear-splitting sound.
Both frowned, and Ellen even covered her ears angrily.
Wooooo!!!
A deafening horn blared. Phaga turned his head—and immediately stumbled back. The gale that followed hit him like a slap across the face, nearly tearing his hat off.
Ellen fared no better. She braced against the wind, clutching her short skirt tight as the pressure forced her eyes shut.
Clang—clang—clang!
A train roared past, missing Phaga by no more than a meter. The suction nearly pulled him in.
But it didn't. By the time the wind died down, the train had already vanished into the distance.
"Where the hell did that train come from? It really should—"
Cough!
Phaga opened his eyes and looked around, just in time to catch a glimpse of Ellen's back.
Her skirt, whipped up by the gale, fell back down slowly. As she leaned forward to brace against the wind, the view beneath...
Ahem!
Gentlemen. Always a gentleman!
What was there to admire about a pair of black stockings—rounded and taut, stitched at the seam, folds stretched tight against her smooth inner thighs? They pulled at his will like magnets, yet beyond that darkness there was nothing more to see.
Phaga coughed twice, clutching his laptop and focusing on the data reflected in his screen, willing his embarrassment away.
Ellen finally pressed her skirt back down. Carrying the shears, she walked up behind him and asked, "What was that train just now?"
Hearing her voice, Phaga's heart nearly skipped a beat. After a deep breath, he said, "Vision Industry. They're carrying out their demolition plan today."
"Demolition? Oh, right."
Ellen tapped her leather shoe against the ground, resting the shears upright.
"Anyway, not our problem, right?"
"Right, not our problem."
Phaga nodded, then suddenly asked, "Victoria Housekeeping has a way to communicate inside the Hollow, right?"
The Hollow was nothing like the outside world.
Outside, signal towers and satellites allowed instant communication. But inside, the high Ether concentration blocked all signals—contact with the outside was nearly impossible.
Even within the Hollow, aside from shouting, only special communication devices worked.
"Of course. Double-tap your earpiece."
Ellen tilted her head and demonstrated by tapping her own earpiece twice.
The rim of her earpiece lit up red.
At the same time, a mechanical female voice spoke in Phaga's ear.
[Notice: Your companion has activated Hollow Mode. Please link with them immediately. Countdown: Thirty, twenty-nine....]
Click!
Before the countdown reached half, Phaga double-tapped his earpiece. A tone confirmed the link—two companions connected.
Two?
Phaga frowned in confusion. Before he could ask, a timid voice came through.
"Is... is this Miss Ellen? And the other one is..."
Soft, shaky, adorable.
A cute girl!
Phaga raised an eyebrow.
Victoria Housekeeping had someone this cute?
He couldn't resist glancing at Ellen, as if to say: Seriously? You sent this girl into a Hollow instead of giving her a normal housekeeping job?
"Hey, what do you mean—wait, Corin, don't cry, I wasn't talking about you."
Ellen yanked off her headset and jabbed Phaga's chest, hissing, "Hurry up and comfort her!"
"I don't know how... Fine, I'll try."
Phaga rubbed his forehead, adjusted his voice, and began:
"Corin—"
"That (sniff)... No need to comfort me, big brother I don't know. It's Corin's fault. The Carrot is gone, and now I'm trapped in here."
Her overly mature words hit Phaga like a jolt to the chest.
"Big brother, did you just join Victoria Housekeeping? Corin doesn't recognize your voice."
"Yeah, that's right."
Without realizing it, Phaga softened his tone as much as he could.
"I joined just last week. My name's Phaga. Pleased to meet you."
"Mr. Phaga, Corin will remember your name."
On the other end, the girl stifled her sobs, clenching her little fists with determination.
"Corin, where are you now? Any landmarks nearby?"
Seeing her mood lighten, Ellen jumped in quickly.
"Corin... Corin ran into the Dead End Butcher. To avoid it, I hid in an abandoned train car. But then the Butcher stepped on it and crushed it. I can't get out..."
"If we force it open, the noise might draw the Butcher. Even if it doesn't, there are plenty of Etherial nearby... and I haven't eaten in so long."
Ellen bit her lip hard.
If that was all the info they had...
Rustle.
She turned. Phaga was already sitting cross-legged, pulling up the Old Capital's rail map from the [Carrot].
"As expected of a full-detail [Carrot]. It even simulated the Old Capital's traffic data on the exact date and time the Hollow appeared."
"The Proxy who sold me this is a genius. I should really turn him in to Public Security—probably worth a fortune."
Phaga muttered to himself.
Ellen finally snapped. "Phaga, this isn't the time for jokes!"
"Lightening the mood. Didn't you notice Corin already sounds better?" he teased.
Ellen's eyes trembled. She hurriedly called out, "Corin!"
"Yes, Miss Ellen. Corin feels much better now."
Her voice was noticeably brighter.
"Good. I'm glad you're feeling happier."
Ellen's tone was uncharacteristically gentle—so much so that Phaga almost doubted his ears.
He glanced at her. If he hadn't been with her all along, he'd have sworn someone swapped her out.
"What are you staring at? Hurry up and figure out where Corin is!"
Ellen snapped softly. Phaga nodded.
Yep. That was the real Ellen.
"The Old Capital's huge. If you just run around blind, you'll never find her. Hold the umbrella for me—don't let the sun hit."
Phaga lifted his left hand, and Ellen took the umbrella, watching him work.
"The Dead End Hollow descended on a weekday, but only one train line passed through the Old Capital at that time."
"When the Hollow appeared, the train derailed, leaving it abandoned."
"Factoring in speed data, plus terrain slopes causing acceleration or deceleration... the train could only have overturned at..."
Phaga's gaze sharpened, his monocle reflecting dense lines of data.
He began calculating slopes, deriving acceleration, sketching diagrams, and solving equations.
Ellen watched silently, holding her breath.
The dense formulas and symbols meant nothing to her anymore.
Not long after, Phaga's eyes lit up. He exclaimed in delight:
"I've got it!"