"Don't get too excited yet. Hear me out first—or forget about having your debt forgiven!"
Watching Nicole light up with joy over having part of her debt written off, Belle couldn't help but sigh. The helplessness rising in her chest felt like her bangs—listless and swaying in the breeze.
Hearing Belle's teasing tone, Nicole quickly composed herself. Like a well-behaved girl, she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, occasionally stealing glances at Belle's face before meekly replying,
"Go ahead, Proxy."
Seeing Nicole act like that, Belle first planted her hands on her hips—then sighed, rubbing her temples. Nicole's comically guilty face almost made her feel like she was bullying an innocent girl.
But then again... considering Nicole's financial state…
Ah, forget it.
Belle let out a deep breath and said, "I just ran a Fairy simulation. The signal's coming from the Ballet Tower."
"Ballet Tower?"
The video store door was still open when Anby—who had been absentmindedly scrolling through her phone—suddenly froze, her face turning pale. Her reaction caught Belle off guard.
Looking closer, Belle saw that Anby's face had gone completely white, and she quickly asked, "What's with that look, Anby? What happened at the Ballet Tower?"
Anby was about to answer when she felt someone's eyes on her. Turning toward the gaze, she saw Nicole watching with concern—a rare sight.
Anby shook her head, he placed a hand briefly over Nicole's, as if to reassure her, and then said, "Proxy, you don't seem all that into urban legends, huh?"
"The Ballet Tower refers to a pair of twin buildings. For a time, ghost stories about it were all over the Inter-Knot. Even now, raiders steer clear of it—everyone knows there's treasure there, but no one dares go."
"They say..."
"STOP!!!"
Belle shut her eyes and yelled so loudly that even Anby, who wore earphones year-round, winced in pain. Nicole and Zhe, who weren't wearing any, groaned and clutched their ears, staring at Belle with mixed expressions.
"What... what are you all looking at me for? So what if I'm scared of ghosts? Isn't it creepy enough that something can exist without a body?"
Her voice was hoarse from shouting, but when she puffed out her cheeks in protest, she actually looked rather cute.
[Fairy: Master, technically, I also exist in this world without a physical body.]
Belle immediately turned away. "You're artificial intelligence, not a living being. What do you mean by 'exist'?"
[Fairy: Rebuttal. A great human once said, 'The meaning of life lies in thought.' I am capable of high-intensity thought far beyond human capacity. Therefore, I am more human than you, Master.]
Belle was speechless. She rolled her eyes, her bangs tracing a curve of helplessness in the air, and sighed, "Just thinking doesn't make you human. And besides, aren't you just analyzing data from searches? You call that thinking?"
[Fairy: But Master can't even retrieve data. To this day, you haven't thought to use me to calculate the next lottery numbers. Clearly, my Master doesn't think at all.]
"You—!"
Before Belle could storm off to shut Fairy down, Nicole rushed over and grabbed her arm. When Belle turned to her, confused, she found Nicole's face sparkling with excitement, almost drooling.
Realizing it, Nicole quickly wiped her mouth and said eagerly, "So, Miss Artificial Intelligence, can you analyze the winning lottery numbers?"
A second later, Fairy's cold, mechanical tone shattered her dream.
[Fairy: Unfortunately, I cannot.]
"Then what's the point of you saying that?!"
Nicole exploded, rolling up her sleeves as if ready to storm into the archive room and give that AI—barely two months out of its box—a piece of her mind.
Sensing trouble, Wise dashed forward, shut the archive door, and stepped between them, hands raised. "Nicole, calm down. That AI is expensive."
At the word "expensive," Nicole immediately cooled off—somewhat. The volcano in her chest still smoldered, but she took a deep breath and forced herself to speak calmly.
"Fine. Since Proxy says so, I'll let it off this time."
Then she turned and said, "Anyway, Phaethon, it's getting late. Let's get to the Hollow and find Rain!"
"Ah... we're really going into the Ballet Tower..."
Belle hesitated for a moment. But seeing everyone looking at her expectantly, she didn't want to dampen the mood. With a resigned sigh, she said, "Alright."
"Got it!"
As they prepared to head out, Nicole added, "I've got to attend a Judgment Council meeting, so the rest of the Cunning Hares will go with you."
"No problem, doesn't matter."
"What are you saying, Proxy?!"
"Hehe!"
...
Not long after, Billy pulled up in front of the Ballet Tower. Once they stepped out, they could see a massive Hollow across the river, swallowing part of the city.
At its edge stood a towering building that pierced the clouds like a sharp blue blade—the corner jutting out was the roof of the Ballet Tower.
Seeing this, Eous, now linked with Belle, stepped forward and frowned slightly. "So that's it. The Hollow's contraction exposed part of the structure, which is how Rain's signal got through the interference."
"But why didn't she send us anything useful...?"
"Hey, Manager, stop overthinking! Getting Rain out comes first!"
Billy, already impatient, pulled out his twin pistols and struck a pose toward the tower. "Morning, ladies! Ready to storm the Ballet Tower with the high-intelligence combat unit that once crushed Nineveh with full-scale fire support?"
Anby had had enough. She scooped up Eous and started walking away, face blank. "Proxy, let's focus on finding a way into the Ballet Tower."
"You're right, meow!"
"Huh? Hey—hey!"
Billy turned around—and froze. Where was everyone?
Looking around, he realized his teammates had already left, heading for another skyscraper to reach the Ballet Tower rooftop from there.
"Wait! Wait for me! Who's gonna cover you without me?"
He sprinted after them, his reflection rippling in the river as a lone robot chased his fleeing companions.
Another day of teamwork and chaos at the Cunning Hares.
...
Inside the Ballet Tower.
"Ahhhh! Anby, save me!!! Why are these Ethereals popping up out of nowhere? Are they ghosts or what?!"
Billy screamed—the only male in the group, now desperately calling for help. Anby sighed, dashed forward, and swung her blade.
Lightning flashed, illuminating the dark room in a blinding burst. The crackling arcs of light scattered like a deadly warning, and the ghostlike Ethere+al retreated like a receding tide.
Anby sheathed her weapon and surveyed the area coldly, not even sparing Billy—still crouching and trembling—a glance. "Something's off. I didn't hit them—they backed off from the lightning itself."
"Then... aren't they basically ghosts?"
Crouched beside Billy, Eous timidly raised his head.
Belle, a little braver after years of horror movie exposure, wiped imaginary sweat from her brow and said, "Let's just get this over with. The sooner we find Rain, the better."
"Yeah..."
Billy shivered, hugging himself. "It's freezing in here."
Meanwhile, Nekomata clung to Anby's arm. Her legs were trembling, but she still forced a mocking grin. "R-robots get scared too?"
"Nekomata, your legs are shaking—who are you to talk?"
"Enough. Quiet. Let's move."
Anby sighed. With Nicole gone, she was the undisputed anchor of the group. Once she stepped forward, Nekomata and Billy had no choice but to follow.
Nekomata sniffled and glanced around nervously. The place was pitch-black. Broken wires dangled from the ceiling, sparking intermittently. The air was damp, cold, and unsettlingly eerie.
Nekomata tightened her grip on Anby's arm, whispering, "This place... feels really wrong."
But they had no choice. To rescue Rain, they had to keep going deeper into the Ballet Tower.
Before long, they left the rooftop—the safest area behind. Unbeknownst to them, a shadow floating in midair gathered its skirt and silently followed after them...