Seeing how relaxed Sam Li looked,
Piper was filled with question marks.
What did he an by just grab the rocket?
The trigger chanism for a rocket is right at the front. The fact that he reacted faster than a launched rocket was already unbelievable, but to also avoid triggering it?
It was just too absurd.
Piper could only chalk it up to a crazy coincidence.
"That was way too dangerous. If it had exploded, you would've been blown to pieces. Don't ever pull sothing like that again."
Even though she had only just t Sam Li,
after going through a battle together—and being saved by him—their bond had clearly grown closer.
Back in the truck, Piper started it up again.
"We're almost at the Old Capital tro. See that black sphere up ahead?
That's it."
Originally, Piper had just planned to give Sam Li a quick lift.
But after being saved by him, she decided to go all the way and drop him off right in front of the Old Capital tro.
"You said before you were heading there to hunt Ethereals. Since you helped once, I want to help you too. Let kill a few of them for you."
Sam Li didn't really need help,
but seeing how serious Piper looked, he didn't refuse.
He simply nodded. "Thanks."
With Piper's help,
they quickly crossed the wilderness and arrived at the outskirts of the Old Capital tro.
Outside the Hollow,
they could still see the abandoned tracks stretching far into the distance.
Since the station had been consud, the tracks had been left to rot as well.
Piper parked the truck beneath a giant mutant cactus.
She and Sam Li got out together.
Just as they were about to head inside,
Piper suddenly rembered sothing and stopped.
"Wait—did you bring radishes?
If you don't have a radish to guide you, you'll get trapped inside."
Sam Li hadn't brought any radishes.
But the Geo elent could serve the sa purpose.
He had already tested it when he first arrived in this world.
"Don't worry," Sam Li said calmly. "I'm an agent. I have my own radish."
With that,
he stepped directly into the Hollow.
Afraid of losing him, Piper quickly chased after him.
...
In the next mont,
when they opened their eyes again, they were already inside the Hollow, standing atop an abandoned stretch of railroad.
Just like the outside,
the interior was barren and lifeless, save for a few mutated cactus trees—no animals, no other plants.
Sam Li lightly stomped his foot.
In an instant,
countless Geo elents spread outward under his control, covering several kiloters around them.
All the terrain, the landscape, the details—everything was mapped out in his mind.
At last, he located Mr. Cass.
And he also detected a high-level Ethereal nearby.
Without hesitation,
Sam Li set off along the abandoned tracks toward Cass's location.
Seeing Sam Li heading deeper into the Hollow,
Piper called out anxiously,
"Hey, where are you going?
Boss said there's a Notoriety Ethereal sowhere in there! If you go too deep, you'll run into it!"
Piper absolutely did not want to face a high-ranking Ethereal.
But seeing that Sam Li had no intention of turning back,
she hesitated for just a second—
then gritted her teeth and ran after him.
After all, Sam Li had just saved her life once.
She couldn't just stand by and watch him march to his death.
...
At the sa ti,
deeper inside the Hollow, several kiloters away—
Cass had just entered the area.
He carried an Ether observation device, monitoring the surrounding fluctuations in Ether concentration and activity, hoping to locate the Notoriety Ethereal.
In his other hand,
he held the W-Engine—the A-rank Guardian Angel that Sam Li had helped him retrieve.
First, Cass walked a few ters east, then north, then west,
thodically tracking the increasing Ether readings.
The spike was coming from the northeast.
To avoid getting thrown off by the shifting space,
Cass didn't waste any ti.
He quickly packed his things and moved toward the northeast.
Since he didn't have a radish to stabilize the path,
he had to walk a little at a ti, stop, and check the Ether readings again,
making sure he wasn't being misled by spatial distortions.
It was slow, tedious work—
but it was effective.
Soon, he pushed into the deeper parts of the Hollow.
Standing atop a small mound,
Cass looked out over the wasteland.
After ten long years, he was finally back to the place that had once crushed him with despair.
In the distance,
he saw the wreckage of abandoned trains scattered across the tracks,
the shattered carriages torn apart by Ethereals.
He pressed forward.
Finally, he saw the station.
mories from a decade ago ca rushing back.
He rembered the horrifying Ethereal—rged with the front of a train, monstrous and imnse, a nightmare capable of smashing through anything in its path.
"I'm back," Cass muttered.
"This ti, you're the one who's going to feel what it's like to be smashed."
Without bothering to check the Ether readings anymore,
he marched straight toward the station.
...
But the deeper he went,
the worse his condition beca.
Cass's Ether resistance was too low.
The closer he got to the station, the harder it beca to breathe.
His face twisted in pain.
He clutched the Guardian Angel tighter,
his eyes sweeping the surroundings for any sign of the Notoriety Ethereal.
But nothing.
No sight of it.
Still... sothing felt off.
Cass pulled out his observation device again—
and his heart skipped a beat.
The Ether readings were completely abnormal.
Activity was five or six tis higher than before.
Concentration was three or four tis greater.
Sothing was wrong.
The Notoriety Ethereal was definitely nearby.
Gripping the W-Engine in one hand and the observation device in the other,
Cass began shouting into the emptiness:
"Co out, you damn locomotive! I know you're here! I'm back too—co on, kill if you can!"
He scread with all his might,
his voice raw and shaking from anger and fear.
"I know you're close! Co out!
I'm not afraid of you—!"
...
As he shouted,
the observation device started vibrating violently, blaring alarm after alarm:
"Warning: Ether activity anomaly.
Warning: Ether concentration anomaly.
Imdiate evacuation recomnded.
Imdiate evacuation recomnded."
Hearing the blaring warnings,
Cass started trembling.
Not from fear.
From excitent.
He quickly glanced at the device—
the Ether activity was now over ten tis what it had been when he first entered, and the density was seven or eight tis higher.
There was no doubt.
The Notoriety Ethereal—the Locomotive—had heard him.
And it was coming straight for the station.
The observation device kept screaming warnings, but Cass didn't need them.
The air itself was thick with Ether corrosion now.
Each breath was harder.
His body grew weaker and weaker.
He could feel it approaching.
And he was ready.
Even if the Locomotive struck him down in the next second,
he wouldn't be surprised.
...
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