Regarding the news sent back from Silver City.
Although it couldn't be confirmed one hundred percent, as long as there was even a sliver of possibility, he couldn't ignore it.
Not to mention, this was far more than just a sliver.
Thus, Andrew immediately put down everything he was working on. With a bit of apology, he asked Belle to bring Astra Yao and Evelyn to Silver City later.
He prepared to head out first, one step ahead.
Although she was a little unhappy in her heart, knowing what the Felyne meant to Andrew, she agreed directly.
First, he immediately went upstairs and strapped the Blazing Light Tachi, which was displayed in his room, onto his back.
He didn't care if it would attract attention.
Andrew chose to directly equip the Odogaron Set stored on the 'Leaping Tracker,' as it was relatively easier to don.
After simply packing up, Andrew couldn't wait a moment longer and immediately began to rush toward Silver City.
The urgency in his heart made him wish he could be faster.
Faster, and faster still.
Disregarding the Wyvern Gem that had only been recovering for half a day since last night and wasn't fully restored, Andrew drove wildly at the limit of the Gouram's motorcycle form.
Once he exited the New Eridu checkpoint and reached the Outer Ring.
Confirming that the surroundings were no longer within the jurisdiction of Public Security, Andrew directly utilized the state of 'forceful brute flying' he had used when crashing into the Diablos previously.
Caring nothing for energy consumption, he accelerated directly to the Gouram's limit.
The speed, originally theoretically capped at 320 kilometers per hour, soared directly to nearly 400 kilometers per hour, and was even continuously increasing at a faint rate.
If it weren't for the need to sustain this all the way to Silver City, a pure, momentary burst of limit-breaking speed could have been even faster.
However, this was also the reason Andrew went to Silver City alone.
On a motorcycle at this speed, the airflow scraping against the body was something not even Evelyn could withstand.
And if Evelyn, who had undergone countless training sessions since childhood, couldn't hold on, then there was no need to mention Astra Yao and Belle, who had almost no systematic training.
It was also by relying on this method.
Andrew arrived at the gate of Silver City at the fastest possible speed, cutting the original theoretical minimum time by nearly a third.
It was just that, apart from Andrew, it seemed no one else could achieve this method.
"SCREEECH—"
Accompanied by the braking, the tires and the ground emitted a piercing sound of friction.
The tires left an extremely long, charred black skid mark on the ground, narrating the power possessed by that extreme speed just now.
At the same time.
The Ether energy in the Wyvern Gem was completely exhausted. It hadn't fully recovered to begin with, plus the overdraft just now.
Even if he wanted to use it again, he would have to wait until tomorrow.
But Andrew simply didn't have time to pay attention to this.
At the gate of Silver City, the attention of the large group of people standing there was also attracted by this massive braking sound.
Simultaneously, Andrew, having parked the vehicle steadily, also looked toward the group of people at the gate.
He wanted to find that familiar figure.
At a glance, standing at the gate, apart from the members of the Silver Squad led by Anby, most were Andrew's acquaintances.
Caesar, who for some reason had changed into a jacket, and those three red-skinned piglets with depressed faces.
Following their gazes, Andrew saw a figure he had never seen before next to Caesar—a blonde young girl with a side ponytail, draped in Caesar's coat.
Now Caesar's original coat had been found.
It was the lace dress she was wearing under the jacket.
It looked completely out of place with the leather jacket she wore on the outside.
To be precise.
It should be that her entire person, whether in temperament, clothing, or demeanor, looked a little out of place with the Outer Ring.
And standing beside them was a figure Andrew was familiar with to the point of knowing it like the back of his hand.
Leaving aside that the other party hadn't changed that set of equipment even now, even if they had changed and turned their back to hide from him...
Andrew had absolute confidence he could recognize the other party's identity at a glance.
And for Meow-Da, it was the same.
Although Andrew had changed his armor and mount, Meow-Da still recognized Andrew immediately upon seeing him.
Unable to hold back, as soon as the motorcycle stopped steadily, Meow-Da immediately raised his right paw high and waved it continuously.
"Boss! I've come to find you, meow!!!"
Subsequently, the impatient Meow-Da immediately charged toward Andrew.
"Meow-Da!"
When it came to Meow-Da, he was incomparably excited.
Habitually catching the pouncing Meow-Da and immediately hugging him, Andrew asked excitedly:
"That's great, it's really you! Meow-Da, how did you find your way here from the Forbidden Lands?! How are Lone Bird and the others?"
Meow-Da raised his head and said proudly:
"Ever since you and that Rathian disappeared together in the Rathalos nest, Boss, I followed the Scoutfly to find your last traces, and then I kept waiting there for you, meow!"
His tone was relaxed, as if it were some trivial matter.
"I just waited and waited there, waited for a long time, so long that I've already forgotten the time."
Meow-Da tried to count the time on his little paws, but without a notebook specifically for recording, relying solely on memory, he really couldn't count it clearly.
Even counting all his little paws wouldn't be quite enough.
Shaking his head, the resigned Meow-Da could only continue:
"Anyway, after many days passed, one time I accidentally fell asleep while waiting there, and when I woke up, I went from the forest to here, meow."
"But at the time, although the surroundings were all sand, it was like a maze. If not for a kind person leading the way for me, I would still be unable to get out of that big black ball, meow!"
However, although the tone was relaxed, the hardship of surviving in the wild for a long time did not disappear with it.
Andrew couldn't help but fall a little silent.
With a gentle heft, Andrew's new discovery immediately verified this matter.
Even with the weight of the equipment confusing the senses, Meow-Da's weight was indeed significantly lighter than before Andrew came here.
But Meow-Da didn't feel it was hard; all he felt was the happiness of finding Andrew again.
However, regarding Andrew's previous question about the current investigation status of the Forbidden Lands.
Meow-Da shook his head, indicating he wasn't that clear about it.
"After Boss disappeared, I was searching for your traces in the rainforest the whole time, so I'm not too clear about the investigation of the Forbidden Lands now, meow."
"However, last time we met, Big Sis Lone Bird mentioned that the Toxic Nerscylla infected with the Frenzy Virus, which she originally prepared to hunt, evaporated directly into thin air. No traces could be found at all. It made her look for a long time back then, meow!"
A Toxic Nerscylla infected with the Frenzy Virus?
Andrew couldn't help but frown slightly.
Could this kind of monster, which also disappeared suddenly, have run to New Eridu just like him?
After all, there were precedents like the Odogaron and the Diablos.
It was just that the Forbidden Lands had actually started to have an outbreak of the Frenzy Virus?
That stuff wasn't something a Nulberry could dispel just like that; if ordinary people caught it, it would really be fatal.
But in the current New Eridu, he couldn't help them with anything.
He could only believe in her strength and hope her investigation would go smoothly.
But Andrew's deep thought caused a trace of misunderstanding in Meow-Da.
"But!"
Thinking that saying Lone Bird and the others stopped the search made Andrew sad, Meow-Da immediately spoke up to explain:
"Although only I kept looking for you, everyone actually believes you will definitely come back, meow! Big Sis has been collecting your traces even during missions, meow!"
It was just that Andrew had absolutely no intention of being sad.
After all, as a fellow Hunter, he understood very well.
The Guild had so many transmigrators as precedents, so everyone thought Andrew had simply transmigrated to another world just like those transmigrators.
It was just that after searching for a few days without any new clues, they didn't abandon their commissions to focus on searching like Meow-Da did.
After all, Andrew wasn't there, but the duties belonging to a Hunter would not stop.
The monster invasions wouldn't disappear because of this.
And in Meow-Da's subsequent description, Andrew's thoughts were verified.
As one of the strongest Hunters in the Forbidden Lands, after going from 'one of' to 'the only one,' the burden she shouldered would naturally become heavier.
Only a few days later, she had to pull herself together and fulfill the Hunter's duty to continue the investigation regarding the Frenzy Virus.
After all, this was already a major event that would affect the ecology of the entire Forbidden Lands.
Even though she was already this busy, she still specially made time to come to the forest to find Meow-Da, delivering the Frenzy Virus antibody antidote concocted by Fabius to him, who had been in the wild the whole time.
However, what Meow-Da didn't say was...
In the very beginning, Lone Bird had always thought Andrew had hunted the Rathian and then found a place to have a feast and steal a meal by himself, and would return in a couple of days.
Or that he was secretly hiding to carve materials so he wouldn't have to share.
As a result, she was righteously hit on the head by Alma.
After all, monster corpses were important research materials for the Guild. According to Alma's knowledge of Andrew...
He wouldn't secretly hide a Rathian corpse just for so-called 'a little meat.'
Moreover, even if it were for materials, as a Hunter trusted by the Guild to open up wastelands in this place...
He was already deeply trusted by the Guild.
Otherwise, the situation of issuing a quest on the spot to chop whoever they wanted wouldn't occur.
So for mere materials, even if he carved a bit more, they would turn a blind eye; there was no need to hide it at all.
As for the personal situations of Lone Bird and the others, Meow-Da scratched his head with a bit of helplessness and said:
"As for their condition... everything else is quite fine, but ever since Big Sis Lone Bird started taking charge of the kitchen again..."
"Alma and the others, including Big Sis Lone Bird's own condition, seem to have dropped a lot, meow..."
And when Andrew heard that Lone Bird had actually been the head chef ever since he came to New Eridu, his awakened painful memories made him immediately cover his face.
He still remembered it to this day.
When they first met, the impact generated on him when Lone Bird, who vowed solemnly that she could cook, brought out that pot of dark cuisine.
The problem was that she had always eaten what she made herself, so she didn't feel there was any problem with her cooking.
Even now.
Andrew, having it brought up again by Meow-Da, didn't want to recall that painful memory.
It was just that Lone Bird's confidence couldn't be maintained at all after Andrew served her a portion of the Felyne Meal he made himself later on.
After tasting what normal, delicious food should be like, Lone Bird immediately hugged Andrew's thigh and wailed loudly:
"Andrew, you guy! Because of you, I can never go back! You have to take responsibility for me! Otherwise, I won't let go!"
The voice was loud enough for the entire base to hear.
The final result was that Andrew successfully became the squad's super chef, while Lone Bird was responsible for thinking of all methods to find ingredients.
But now, Lone Bird, who still hadn't learned to cook, was forced to take charge of the kitchen again...
He hoped Alma and the others would be okay.
After all, relying on a Hunter's powerful physical constitution, Lone Bird at least wouldn't get food poisoning, but Alma was just a Guild civilian staff member!
Looking at Andrew's expression.
Meow-Da, who immediately guessed what he was worried about, patted Andrew's arm that was holding him, comforting him:
"It's okay, Boss. Isn't there still me when you aren't around!"
As Meow-Da, who could become Andrew's sous-chef, although his cooking skills weren't as strong as Andrew's...
They could still be considered upper-middle class.
So occasionally when they couldn't hold back and came to find him, making a meal to recover their condition seemed to sound actually quite okay.
But hearing these words, Andrew just looked at the completely oblivious Meow-Da with a bit of speechlessness.
After thinking it over again and again, Andrew still gave up on reminding his silly cat about the fact that it had also transmigrated just like him.
If nothing else, at least when Lone Bird discovered that Meow-Da had also disappeared, the sky would probably fall.
However, although their stomachs were pitiful.
Through Meow-Da's description, knowing that at least in other aspects Lone Bird and the others were actually living quite well now...
The last trace of worry in Andrew's heart also completely relaxed.
Habitually placing him on the old spot on his shoulder, Andrew soothingly scratched his chin and rubbed his head.
While soothing him, he also satisfied his craving for petting a cat, which hadn't been satisfied for a long time.
"Thank you for your hard work, Meow-Da. Rest well, I'll make you a big meal tonight!"
And listening to Andrew's words.
Meow-Da, lying back on the familiar spot after a long time, involuntarily relaxed his body completely.
Like a cat that had wandered outside for a long time finally returning to its familiar cat bed.
Home is a place where everyone can truly relax, but everyone has their own definition of home.
For Meow-Da.
Where Boss is, that is home.
And after soothing Meow-Da, Andrew also looked up at Caesar, whom he had ignored before because all his attention was focused on Meow-Da.
And when Caesar discovered Andrew's gaze resting on her.
Her state of being carefree all along was immediately restrained. She unconsciously brushed the hair on the side of her cheek to cover up her embarrassment.
Like a maiden yearning for love.
To be precise, she was a maiden yearning for love.
It was just that the previous farce of 'sending the clock' had successfully made Caesar lose all courage to take the initiative when facing Andrew.
That she could still stand here now without running away was already the result of several days of self-adjustment.
______
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