As I waited for the Bangboo to arrive at the designated location, I figured—why not talk about Hollows for a sec?

  “Hey Elf, give me a quick rundown on Hollows,” I asked my AI companion, stretching a little.

  There was a long pause. Then, “Really? Just... really?!” Elf’s virtual avatar appeared on screen, steaming like a broken kettle. “Master, you’re already seventeen—and you’re telling me you don’t know what Hollows are?!”

  “I do know,” I said, waving her off while zily scrolling through my screen. “They’re like, uh... big space globes that are super unstable and stuff.”

  “That’s a spectacur oversimplification. Did you actually graduate school?” Elf groaned, her voice pitching up like she was about to combust.

  “Hey! I graduated just fine, thank you very much,” I said proudly. “I even joined extracurricurs! ...Not that I remember what they were.”

  Elf sighed hard, her little chibi avatar pcing a hand to her forehead. “Sometimes I wonder if spoiling you was a mistake…”

  “I am not spoiled!” I said indignantly. “I just happen to have well-off parents, a top-of-the-line AI, and a tendency to invest emotionally in fantasy MMO raids more than real life!”

  She stared at me. I coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject.

  “Anyway! I do know about Hollow Zero. It’s the biggest Hollow ever, the one that swallowed the old capital. And there are six ‘Original’ Hollows—Cretan, Lemnian, Papago, Hawara, Pursenas, and Solove. They can even spawn smaller Hollows, like little mutant babies or something.”

  There was a pause from Elf. Then, “...Stop reading that off your notes.”

  I quickly slid the notepad under my desk. “I wasn’t.”

  “You were.”

  "Qingyi, who's this... 'helper' you mentioned?" Zhu Yuan asked, her tone neutral but the subtle furrow of her brow revealing her discomfort. Working with Proxies wasn’t her favorite arrangement—and that was putting it mildly.

  "Not as mysterious as you think," I replied lightly, hands in my coat pockets. "They’re technically part of the HIA. Completely legal... somehow. Don’t ask me to expin the paperwork."

  From the corner, two HIA staff—Sophia and Ethan—visibly stiffened.

  "Um… Miss Qingyi, do you mean that person?" Sophia’s voice cracked slightly as her face turned pale.

  I couldn’t help the amused hum that escaped my lips. Right on cue, a helicopter buzzed overhead, and a modified Exploreboo dropped onto the scene, nding with an overly dramatic thud. It looked mostly standard—except for the suspiciously oversized mechanical backpack it wore like it was ready for war.

  "It's TrustME! We’re doomed," Ethan muttered under his breath.

  "I don’t appreciate the tone, Ethan." The voice crackling through the Bangboo’s speaker was undeniably female, slightly distorted, and dripping with artificial cheer.

  "Ah—y-you misheard me! I meant… with you here, maybe we’ll discover a brand-new Ethereal species!" Ethan backpedaled so fast he nearly tripped on his own words.

  I gave him a sideways gnce. "Rex. I’ve worked with TrustME! twice. Both times were... chaotic, sure, but not fatal. Probably coincidence."

  Zhu Yuan folded her arms. "So it was TrustME..." she muttered, her voice a whisper of resignation. You could almost hear the mental image of a mountain of paperwork forming in her head.

  "Yup!" came the chirpy reply from the Bangboo. "Aren’t you gd, Miss Zhu, that I’m here to help save the day?"

  The little machine even struck a pose—likely mimicking its operator’s enthusiasm.

  "Anyway, are you all done prepping? What’s the Hollow analysis looking like?" TrustME! asked, voice buzzing cheerfully from the Bangboo’s speaker.

  Ethan, checking his notes, responded. "The Hollow has stabilized at a small size—about six city blocks. Spatial fluctuation has stayed at Rank C for the st three days. Should be safe enough for a small unit of six."

  The Bangboo nodded as if satisfied. "Perfect! Don’t forget the Data Transmitter."

  Ethan gave a thumbs-up before handing the compact device to the Bangboo. Without missing a beat, it turned and began marching toward the Hollow’s entrance.

  "Seth, hold this position and secure the perimeter," Zhu Yuan ordered firmly.

  "Yes, ma’am!" Seth, the eager rookie Investigator, saluted with maybe a bit too much energy. Still, his enthusiasm was appreciated. I, being a Novice, knew that every squad needed someone to watch the gate—and someone to screw things up inside. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be me this time.

  Zhu Yuan and I took the front, with Ethan and Sophia behind us. Two more Agents covered the rear. Once we passed the Hollow’s threshold, the world twisted.

  What greeted us was a warped city block—deserted, grim, bathed in flickering red light. The ws of architecture and logic bent slightly, like a dream where nothing is quite where it should be.

  TrustME!’s Bangboo rummaged through its backpack, pulling out a device that hissed faintly. A soft electrical pulse radiated outward as it activated.

  "Okay! Mapping in progress," she announced. "Now let’s head toward the core. This area used to sell pet spiders, right? Not like we’ll run into a Spider Ethereal or anything. Haha... that’d be messed up!"

  Her attempt at casual humor made my synthetic skin prickle. I swear my combat systems winced.

  "AHHH!" Sophia shrieked, her voice cracking the tension like a gunshot.

  Zhu Yuan and I spun toward her, weapons already drawn. For a moment, I expected a Beast Crawler—but what stood there was taller, thinner, and so very wrong.

  Long, jointed legs. No signature explosive core. Just dozens of green, lidless eyes glinting in the hollow light on it's body.

  "So... Spider Ethereals do exist. Huh." TrustME! said, almost impressed.

  "Qingyi, on me—prepare to engage!" Zhu Yuan barked, already moving forward.

  "With pleasure!" I replied, dashing to her side as our boots struck the impossible ground, and the battle began.

  I rushed toward the spider Ethereal, baton-staff poised—but the thing shrieked. Not just a sound—a screech that drilled straight into my skull, like an arm set to scramble thoughts. My body locked for a second. Just long enough for it to retreat, skittering backward with unsettling grace.

  It stopped a few feet away, watching. Silent. Still.

  Zhu Yuan stepped in beside me, weapon drawn but not firing. Her brow furrowed as she stared the creature down. "That's... not normal," she said quietly, tension in her voice. "Why is it just watching us?"

  "I really don’t like this," I muttered, eyes flicking between its twitching legs and those unblinking, soulless eyes.

  Before either of us could guess at its behavior, TrustME!’s voice burst through the Bangboo’s speaker with static-ced urgency.“Heads up! Hostile signatures inbound—a lot of them!”

  Zhu Yuan didn’t hesitate. With practiced calm, she raised her suppressor and fired a single round. The spider Ethereal shrieked again—but this time it wasn’t sonic. It leapt. Too te.

  The bullet caught it mid-air, and it burst apart in a violent fsh of sickly green light and charred twitching limbs.

  "Move!" she barked, pivoting sharply.

  We followed TrustME!’s Bangboo, sprinting down the warped street. The Hollow around us buzzed like a frayed power line. I chanced a gnce over my shoulder—and instantly regretted it.

  Dozens of spider-like Ethereals poured into the street where we’d just been. Long legs, clicking joints, eyeless heads turning in slow, deliberate motion. They weren’t chasing.

  They were sniffing. Searching the area where we killed the first one.

  “Let’s call that one Webber!” TrustME! chirped through the Bangboo with casual cheer. “Rest in pieces, buddy.”

  “I don’t like that she names them,” Sophia said under her breath, face pale.

  "I don’t like that she’s cheerful while they hunt in packs," Ethan added.

  “Every. Damn. Time…” Zhu Yuan muttered, her voice tight, eyes scanning ahead. She gripped gun rifle like a lifeline as we reached the roundabout—a twisted open space at the Hollow’s center.

  The Bangboo skidded to a halt. “Drop the transmitter here,” TrustME! said. “You know the drill—hold position, murder anything that gets curious.”

  We nodded. Ethan dropped to one knee and pulled the transmitter from his pack, setting it in the center. Sophia covered him with shaky but ready hands.

  The device blinked alive.Beep… beep… beep.A pulse surged from its core, warping the air. Space flexed like water around it.

  I felt it. The static charge in the air, the shift in pressure, the ethereal stink of something approaching.

  "They're coming," I said grimly, eyes narrowing as the alleyways and hollowed ruins around us began to stir.

  Zhu Yuan raised her rifle and squared her stance. "Hold the perimeter. Protect the transmitter. Shoot first, shoot again ter."

  The Bangboo’s eyes glowed, reflecting its pilot’s glee.“Let’s do some pest control, team~”

  Spiders. Dozens—maybe hundreds—of them poured in from every direction, swarming the perimeter like a wave of twitching bck legs and glistening shells. They lunged at us, ignoring the support squad entirely. Fine by me—Ethan and Sophia were free to back us up without drawing aggro.

  I tightened my grip on my staff.

  One spider leapt.

  Whack.I batted it mid-air, sending it smming into the wall with a satisfying crunch.

  Another nded near the transmitter—crack!—Zhu Yuan put a bullet through its shell. One skittered too close, and she kicked it aside like a soccer ball, her movements precise and deadly.

  But I felt myself slowing down.The webs—they were staining the ground, thick and sticky, making each step heavier, stickier. My footing was compromised.

  "Here I go!" TrustME!’s voice rang out, giddy and unbothered.

  Her Bangboo leapt into the fray, pulling something long and metallic from its overloaded pack. It stabbed the rod into the ground with a mechanical clunk—a second ter, arcs of electricity surged outward, forming a barrier of crackling blue energy.

  Spiders caught inside shrieked in unison, their bodies spasming as electricity scorched their shells. Burnt legs curled inward. A few popped like overripe fruit.

  “Nice!” I yelled. “That gives us some breathing room!”

  TrustME! didn’t respond—she was busy hopping from spot to spot, pnting more of the rods in a zigzag pattern, gradually forming a perimeter of electric death.

  The tide began to turn.

  Minutes passed. We were down to the st stragglers—injured ones, limping, hissing. Ethan gave a thumbs-up. “Data transmission complete!”

  I exhaled. Finally.

  Then, just as TrustME! began collecting the rods with a cheerful hum, she said:“Oh boy. Imagine if the momma’s pissed we just cooked all her babies.”

  "Don’t say that," Sophia muttered, gncing nervously toward the shadows.

  As if summoned by fate—or sarcasm—a piercing shriek rang out, higher and sharper than before. It echoed across the hollowed buildings like nails on gss.

  Zhu Yuan froze mid-step. Then, slowly, she turned to gre at the Bangboo.“You just had to jinx it.”

  A monstrous shape skittered into view—legs sharp as bdes, eyes glowing dimly beneath armored ptes. Unlike the drones we fought earlier, this one had a full body. No mutations. No exposed organs. It looked complete. Intelligent.

  It was the size of a compact car.

  “Ahhh… so there really is a momma,” TrustME! said, voice unreadable. Was that awe? Delight? Or just her normal casual sociopath tone?

  Either way, the air changed. The temperature seemed to drop. Everyone raised their weapons in unison.

  And this time, nobody cracked a joke.

  “Anyway, it’s pretty easy to kill that thing,” TrustME!’s voice crackled confidently through the Bangboo. “No armor under the abdomen. One good hit and she’s toast.”

  For better or worse, her name was TrustME!So… we trusted her.

  The spider’s many eyes locked onto the Bangboo. Then it charged, full-speed, legs pounding like jackhammers.

  “Wait, what?!”We all said it at once.Ethereals never target Bangboos. That just wasn’t how they behaved.

  But this one?

  It wanted TrustME!’s Bangboo dead.

  “AGAIN?!!” she screamed, clearly not the first time this had happened.

  The Bangboo bolted, running circles around the cratered terrain while the monstrous spider chased her, crashing through debris, kicking up shards of crystal and web.

  Then—it stopped.

  The spider lifted its abdomen and id eggs mid-chase, fat green sacs bubbling out and plopping onto the cracked pavement.

  “Oh no you don’t!” I growled, rushing in.One strike—spt.Another—crunch.I smashed them one by one, trying not to gag.

  But the mother didn’t even care. She was still chasing the Bangboo like a woman possessed.

  “JUST KILL IT ALREADY!!” TrustME! howled. Now she sounded panicked.

  Zhu Yuan saw her opening. The spider paused to rear up again—She slid under it like she was on ice, raising her rifle in one smooth motion.Bang.A clean shot to the exposed abdomen. It shrieked, legs curling defensively.

  I took the cue.Leap. Crack.My staff nded dead-center. I jammed it in deeper, focused my ether, and sent an electric surge down its length. The current pulsed through the spider's insides, lighting it up from within.

  The creature gave one final shudder and colpsed.

  I exhaled, panting.

  “It's resistant to ether,” Zhu Yuan muttered, brushing herself off. “That’s why my shots didn’t do much earlier.”

  “Would’ve been nice to know before we fought it…” Ethan mumbled.

  TrustME!’s Bangboo was already poking at something. She wandered over to a medium-sized ether crystal lodged in the ground and tapped it with a rod.

  “Anyway,” she said cheerfully, “There’s probably a few egg sacs hidden around the Hollow still—”

  “That’s not an egg sac,” Ethan began.

  But the crystal peeled open like fruit under her probe, revealing a woven green silk beneath it.

  “Huh.” Zhu Yuan raised an eyebrow. “So it was one.”

  That’s when the thought hit me.

  How did she know?The weak spot… the egg-ying habits… even the aggressive targeting behavior. It wasn’t just intuition—she was familiar with this type of Ethereal.

  I gnced at the Bangboo as it tilted its head like it could read my thoughts.

  “Ether activity’s plummeting,” Sophia said, finally lowering her scanner. Her face was pale, voice shaking. “We’re in the clear.”

  I sighed in relief.

  “Mission complete!” TrustME! chimed. “See? You put your Trust in Me and everything works out!”

  We stared at her bnkly.

  Sophia wobbled.“…Yeah. Hooray…”She looked seconds away from passing out.