As ti ticked by, Caesar, Piper, and Lucy of the Sons of Calydon continued searching the buildings along both sides of the street for any trace of Golden Bangboo.
Nicole, however, had already given up.
She stared at her phone, watching seven, then eight minutes pass—still no sign of Golden Bangboo anywhere.
It could only an one thing: the Bangboo weren't in this area.
A mont later, Nicole made up her mind.
"Alright, we've been here long enough. Ti to move on. Anby, Sam Li, Billy, Nekomata, Soldier 11—get in the car."
She also sent word to the Sons of Calydon.
Their next destination was the McKen District Belle had ntioned. If they couldn't find Golden Bangboo there, they'd have to call it quits.
But just as Nicole sat down in the driver's seat and reached for the ignition—
Billy's voice burst out, full of excitent.
"Nicole! Up ahead! It's them—catch them!"
Nicole frowned, annoyed.
"Don't yell, I'm trying to pull up the C75 Hollow map."
Nekomata suddenly reached over, grabbed Nicole's head with both hands, and pointed it forward.
"Look—see it now? That's Golden Bangboo! Hurry, Nicole, drive!"
Nicole's eyes shot wide open.
Right there, at the intersection ahead, Golden Bangboo and Platinum Bangboo were walking toward them.
She lit up instantly.
"Sam Li was right! Everyone hold on—!"
She slamd the gas pedal.
And as the vehicle sped forward, she shouted toward the Sons of Calydon's truck:
"We found Golden Bangboo! Get over here and help!"
There was no way she was letting those two escape this ti.
As Nicole drove the off-road vehicle straight at the Bangboos, they noticed the Hare's House team bearing down on them.
They wobbled in alarm, turned around, and took off down the street.
But on a straight road, how could two Bangboo outrun an SUV?
In no ti at all, Nicole caught up.
"Ahahaha! My dear Bangboo—don't run! Just hand over the gear coins and Dennies!"
Golden Bangboo kept waddling forward.
"Mm-hmm mm-hmm! (Idiots—you can't catch us!)"
Platinum Bangboo added,
"Mm-hmm-da! (Hide in the building!)"
The two of them veered off and darted into an abandoned shopping mall at the side of the street.
Nicole hit the brakes hard and leapt out of the vehicle.
"Spread out! Block the exits! We are not letting them escape this ti!"
Having learned from last ti, the team didn't waste ti chasing after the dropped coins.
Nicole kept her eyes locked on the Bangboos.
Soon, she, Anby, Billy, Nekomata, and Soldier 11 charged into the mall.
Sam Li looked up at the building—it had four or five floors—then walked in calmly.
One minute later, Piper's truck pulled up.
She saw the Hare's House SUV parked at the curb and the scattered Dennies on the ground. It didn't take long to piece things together.
Lucy said seriously,
"Looks like Hare's House has them cornered in the mall. Let's go help."
Caesar smiled.
"Teaming up with Hare's House really was the right call."
With that, she ran in first. Lucy and Piper followed close behind.
With Hare's House, the Sons of Calydon, and Belle controlling Eous, the team had ten people in total.
They fanned out and surrounded the building.
Chaos erupted inside the abandoned shopping mall.
"Golden Bangboo's going that way! Billy, grab them!"
"They're slippery, Nicole—I can't get a grip!"
"Idiot! Wrap them in your jacket!"
"Caesar! Block Platinum Bangboo!"
"These two are way too agile. We should've brought Amillion..."
...
They hadn't caught the Bangboos yet, but Nicole had already ordered Billy to seal off several exits.
The two were trapped. It was only a matter of ti.
...
anwhile, Golden Bangboo and Platinum Bangboo were scrambling through the mall.
After spending years surviving in Hollow Zero, they had perfected the art of escape—dodging even the deadliest Ethereals.
In the blink of an eye, they gave Billy the slip and ducked into a storage room.
"Mm-hmm mm-hmm! (That was close! That robot nearly caught us!)"
"Mm-hmm-da! (Damn humans—ambushing us like that!)"
"Mm-hmm mm-hmm, mm-hmm-da! (This is your fault! You said you slled treasure! You said there were mountains of gold!)"
"Mm-hmm-da, mm-hmm! (I wasn't lying! I swear! Wait—I sll it again! It's rich! So rich! It's gotta be gold! I'm gonna forge myself a real golden body!)"
"Mm-hmm mm-hmm! (Wait, soone's outside...)"
"Mm-hmm-da! (Don't worry—we'll sneak past them.)"
Golden Bangboo pressed up against the wall, inching carefully toward another room, silent as a shadow.
As he got closer, the scent of wealth grew stronger.
It was like a mountain of gold and silver was just beyond the door—his little heart pounded with excitent.
"Mm-hmm-da, mm-hmm! (This scent... it must be the God of Wealth!)"
"Mm-hmm-da! (You've been watching too many movies...)"
The two crept up to the room's entrance, pushed open the door, and rushed inside—unable to contain themselves.
Golden Bangboo spread his arms, ready to embrace a pile of glittering gear coins.
Platinum Bangboo did the sa, anticipating a mountain of Dennies.
Then—
They froze.
"Mm-hmm? (Humans?)"
"Mm-hmm-da? (Where's the gold mountain?)"
Golden Bangboo stared dumbly at Sam Li, who sat calmly sipping tea.
That scent of wealth?
It was coming from him.
Crap.
They'd been tricked. Wrong room.
Nicole blinked in surprise as the two Bangboos stumbled in.
Just a mont ago, she'd noticed Sam Li sitting there drinking tea and figured she'd ask him to help trap the Bangboo.
She hadn't expected them to waltz right into him.
She was thrilled.
"Sam Li! Grab them!"
Golden Bangboo yelled,
"Mm-hmm! (Run!)"
Platinum Bangboo shouted,
"Mm-hmm-da! (That drunk bard tricked us! There's no treasure here!)"
But before they could bolt, the door slamd shut.
Sam Li had made his move.
He glanced at the two Bangboo thoughtfully.
"Tell —have you two t a wandering bard recently?"
...
Reviews
All reviews (0)