So… where should he take Jane Doe?
The giant was troubled by the question, but his hands never stopped.
The thunder hammer crashed down. The tactical mech's logic core was pulverized, and its metal shell collapsed into silence.
Ignis swept his gaze across the battlefield, scanning the ground littered with shattered mech fragments to make sure none of them were still moving.
That morning, he had smashed open another storage zone wall. Just like yesterday, they'd started selling entry tickets and escort services again. After a full day of word spreading, even more people were willing to pay to come in and seek thrills. Nicole Boss looked at the dense crowd of people and simply couldn't hide the smile on her face.
This storage zone, however, was filled almost entirely with autonomous tactical mechs. Not only were these things difficult to transport out, but after years of erosion inside the Hollow, their logic cores had descended into chaos. Once accidentally activated, they had zero friend-or-foe recognition and would immediately attack anything nearby.
Fortunately, the propellants in their cannons and firearms had also been degraded by Ether erosion, making proper firing unreliable—otherwise, there would've been no chance to escape.
Even so, there had been a significant number of injuries and deaths. But that was just how Hollows worked. Once you stepped inside, all responsibility rested on yourself. Whether you struck it rich or died horribly, those were consequences you bore alone.
Of course, some people demanded compensation from the Cunning Hares. But who was Boss Nicole? Compensation? Don't be ridiculous—she'd sooner put a hole in your head. Besides, it had been clearly stated from the start: what they sold was only the right to enter. No additional services, unless you hired members of the Cunning Hares as escorts.
Naturally, her words sparked objections—but they were utterly powerless. Most of these people weren't professional Hollow Raiders, just ordinary citizens acting on impulse. Lacking real understanding of Hollows, driven by greed, spur-of-the-moment courage, and a bit of hype from the Inter-Knot, they'd rushed into the C41 Hollow.
For customers this unreasonable, Nicole chose the simplest solution. After she demonstrated the destructive power of the dragon's breath canister shells, most people quickly calmed down. And this time, Nicole was far better prepared than yesterday—she'd even drawn up contracts.
The contracts clearly stated that any accidents occurring during Hollow exploration bore no responsibility on the Cunning Hares.
Those who lost both legally and physically had no choice but to leave. Staying would only waste time; they were better off getting the injured out for treatment.
To be honest, after casualties started appearing, Ignis wanted to stop Nicole. But she moved faster than he did, assigning him a task: clear out the dangers in this storage zone.
"Sure, you call it clearing threats, but isn't this a bit much?" Billy said, setting down the autocannon and shaking his arms. "The recoil on this thing is insane. Even my arm hydraulics are getting loose. You looked completely fine when you were firing it earlier."
He was grouped with Ignis. Nekomata and Anby were in another team. Both groups were clearing autonomous mechs from the storage zone.
"These two containers are packed full of mechs. Luckily, only about half of them can still move."
Ignis swept his gaze across the two stacked containers. Through their damaged shells, he could see more mechs inside—motionless, shoved askew by their accidentally activated counterparts. When the Salamander's gun optics passed over them, all he saw was cold darkness.
"Strange. Their batteries should've been completely drained by now."
"I'm no expert in this stuff—asking me won't help. And aren't you a robot too? Don't you understand them?" Ignis nudged one of the inert metal hulks with the bottom edge of his shield.
"My tech's clearly different from theirs, and I don't even understand mechanics. I get maintenance done outside. If I could maintain myself, why would I spend that money?" Billy shrugged and picked up the autocannon again, slinging it onto his back.
Billy stood only 1.8 meters tall, so the autocannon had to be carried on his back and released from the strap when needed.
Billy's origins were just as mysterious. It was known he belonged to a regional suppression–type intelligent system from the Old Capital, but he rarely showed overwhelming combat power. After equipping the autocannon Ignis provided, however, his fire-control system finally displayed its true strength. A 40mm cannon used for direct-fire shooting—despite such an unassuming posture—was able to repeatedly hit the logic cores of multiple tactical mechs while on the move. Even a ground-based fire-control AI wouldn't do much better.
"Normally, these mechs were meant to protect humans," Ignis said, staring at the main camera of a tactical mech, now completely overgrown with Ether crystal clusters. "But once activated, they immediately attack. It's like their friend-or-foe systems are completely gone."
"Did you forget? Hollows can distort machines too," Billy said as he walked over. "These autonomous tactical mechs only have very basic intelligence. They're hard to erode—but once erosion does happen, they become some of the most dangerous enemies in a Hollow."
"Metal bodies that are hard to destroy, heavy weapons, and Ether-battery engines with massive output. Back when we ran into these things, our goal was always to destroy them outright." The robot tugged at his red biker jacket, the autocannon bouncing slightly.
"Without this thing, dealing with them used to be a pain. I'd draw attention with gunfire, Anby would sneak in and try high-voltage shocks to disable the legs, and Boss Nicole would prep special ammo and look for a chance to finish them."
"Sounds like the Cunning Hares used to be a lot more cautious," the Salamander said, giving up on figuring out the mechs' condition. If he were a tech-sergeant, maybe he could've done something—but right now, he was just a half-baked think tank. These machines didn't even have souls for him to probe.
"Well, that's why it's called 'the cunning hare has three burrows.' Things only got more aggressive after you joined. Anby's chainsword is no joke either—it can pry open mech armor plates. And the thing I'm holding now? Even more absurd." Billy scratched his head, messing up his white hair. "Sorry to my pistols, but this thing is just too good. What kind of brutal wars did your era go through that made weapons like this necessary?"
"What if I told you this is already a heavily simplified version?" Ignis sighed. Compared to interstellar warfare, the combat intensity in New Eridu was extremely low. Only places like Hollow Zero—where intense Ether radiation and massive Ethereal swarms overlapped—felt remotely taxing.
"Then I should be glad I don't have to fight in a meat grinder like that." Billy shrugged. "Come on, let's head back. The Carrot Data shows all positions have been checked—nothing was missed."
Almost the moment Ignis turned around, a tactical mech that had been lying quietly inside a wrecked container powered up. Its logic core immediately issued a melee command, and the impact drill on its left arm spun to life.
But the Space Marine was faster.
The shield slammed forward, flipping the mech onto its back. A five-centimeter-thick composite metal plate smashed down, crushing its logic core.
Billy pulled the trigger. The autocannon roared, a sub-caliber armor-piercing shell blasted from the barrel and punched straight through another mech's chest armor. Shrapnel destroyed its logic core. It collapsed the moment it stood—but more mechs began to move, with their rusted joints screeching.
That teeth-grinding sound didn't just come from these two containers. Over a dozen containers here were packed with delivery-ready tactical mechs—and now, all of them were activating.
"To me, this feels like a terrible zombie movie," Billy said, backing up against the Salamander. "We're surrounded by zombies. Ammo's not enough—we can't handle this many targets."
"Then protect yourself. Leave the rest to me." the Salamander raised his shield as the void field of the Iron Halo activated.
The thunder hammer crackled as the giant readied himself.
Zombies, huh? An interesting comparison. The mechs' shambling movements, rusted joints, and peeling paint really did resemble the undead.
"For the Emperor!"
The Space Marine roared and charged.
Shells streaked out alongside Ignis's advance, knocking down several mechs that still had working cannons. Billy's marksmanship was utterly reliable—he'd already been able to suppress active tactical mechs with a long-barreled revolver. With an autocannon, dealing with these barely functional targets was trivial.
Ignis plunged into the mass of mechs, his sheer bulk becoming a kinetic weapon that shattered several on impact. Then the thunder hammer unleashed its power. Wrapped in a disintegration field, the hammerhead reduced metal structures to their most basic molecules with even a glancing blow. Some mechs tried to attack from the sides, but Billy's covering fire arrived in time, cleanly piercing their logic cores.
More mechs surged forward. the Salamander blocked their attacks with his shield; impact drills screeched as they carved scars into its smooth surface. Ignis counterattacked brutally—the shield smashed back, its spikes punching through armor and skewering logic cores.
He stood amid the enemy like a reef against the tide. Tactical mechs rushed him and were shattered in return. Before long, heaps of broken parts piled at his feet. It was a one-sided slaughter. Compared to Guardian-types and Typhon-types, these sluggish mechs were hopelessly outclassed. Ignis moved almost mechanically, repeating the act of smashing armor again and again.
Thankfully, the fight didn't last long. The mechs were reduced to scrap scattered across the ground.
"Nothing's moving anymore," Billy said, scanning the area. All the containers were empty now. A small hill of parts rose around Ignis, while spent casings piled at Billy's feet.
When they returned to Nicole, Ignis saw Lycaon there—the Wolf Thiren butler was chatting animatedly with their boss. They spotted Ignis and waved him over.
"How's the situation? I heard nonstop explosions," Nicole immediately checked on her employee.
"No injuries on our side, but I don't know about Anby's group. Billy's out of ammo. There were too many enemies—the mechs kept activating," Ignis reported concisely.
"So, it's happening here too," Lycaon said, his single visible eye narrowing, his expression grave. "Then this place may indeed be dangerous."
"What do you mean, too?" Ignis caught the implication immediately.
"Oh? You didn't know?" Lycaon lowered his voice. "Belobog Heavy Industries copied your approach and breached the outer wall as well. They brought engineering machinery inside to look for valuables. Some unofficial parties followed them—and were attacked."
"But Belobog's Old Civilization humanoid engineering mech is extremely powerful. One unit suppressed the situation by itself. Still, quite a few people were injured or killed in the first wave."
"Huh? Belobog Heavy Industries is here too?" the Salamander was surprised. So, they weren't exactly clean either. Still, with Gotthardt present, at least Koleda and the others' safety was assured. A Leviathan Dreadnought's firepower and deployable shields far surpassed his own.
"Yes. I spoke with them briefly—they're short on funds lately. After seeing the Inter-Knot chatter, they decided to earn some extra money here." Lycaon's tone was grim. "It seems this 'extra money' isn't easy to earn."
"Wasn't this Hollow supposed to be in recession?" Nicole frowned. "Why are these piles of scrap suddenly so active?"
Just yesterday, this big guy had been casually guiding students around. How had it become this dangerous overnight? Did the heavens decide Nicole was earning too much and trip me on purpose?
"The exact cause is still unclear," Lycaon said. "But this place is clearly no longer suitable for amateurs. Lina and the others are already helping evacuate non-professionals. We should leave as well."
"I agree," Anby's voice came from behind. The girl's chainsword had chipped teeth, and her body was covered in scrapes. "This place is dangerous."
The white-haired girl was being carried by Nekomata. The small Cat Thiren was injured too—her left-side fur was scorched.
"Anby's hurt!" Nekomata shouted in panic.
===BREAK===
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