At one o'clock that afternoon, the sun was blazing in a cloudless sky.
Phaga held out his hand. The sunlight poured down, and a prickling itch spread across his skin—like countless ants biting at once.
It wasn't truly harmful to him, but it still put him in a foul mood. His wrists, his neck—anywhere the sun touched—took on a faint reddish flush.
"Tsk."
Phaga clicked his tongue and snapped his arm outward. An Ether crystal—about two fingers wide and nearly half a meter long—shot from his palm and detonated with a sharp bang.
In the next instant, an umbrella appeared, indistinguishable from the Kunmutu he'd used before.
He opened it and finally blocked out the sun.
"So we're moving out this fast? I thought we'd at least wait until tomorrow."
He tilted his head. Standing beside him were Yanagi and No. 11.
Yanagi shook her head slightly, voice low.
"We can't. The food shortage is far worse than we expected. At our current reserves… we might face internal disorder the day after tomorrow. If we're lucky, we get a week."
"No. 11," she added, turning to her, "is the army assembled?"
No. 11 glanced over and slid her goggles up.
For a split second, Phaga felt a strange sense of déjà vu looking at her face—an inexplicable familiarity he couldn't place.
He set it aside and listened as No. 11 answered coolly, "Yeah. They're assembled. Same as the original plan: you handle the quiet raids, and I'll lead the army in broad daylight to sweep and loot. The point is to draw attention and buy you time."
"But the Outer Ring is a mess right now. A lot of soldiers are tied up on assignments. Even pushing as hard as I can, I can only gather five thousand troops. Still, don't worry—I can hold off the vampire clans' forces for at least two hours. They won't be able to interfere with you."
Yanagi's lips curved in a helpless, self-mocking smile.
"Imagine that—going back to a place we've lived for decades, and we're the ones getting called 'sneaky.' But fine. I doubt we'll need to sneak back for much longer."
The moment she finished speaking, Yanagi caught an unusual set of footsteps. She turned—and saw Ellen sprinting in with Zhu Yuan slung over her shoulder.
Zhu Yuan's scream carried across the area as her long legs flailed wildly in the air, perfectly matching the rhythm of Ellen's tail.
Yanagi and Phaga both laughed softly, watching as Ellen leaned into a turn and skidded sideways, carving a groove nearly ten centimeters deep and a full three meters long into the ground.
"Phaga, I'm back," Ellen said as she stood up and walked over. Her cheeks were flushed, and she tipped her face up like a kid waiting for praise, staring straight into Phaga's eyes.
Phaga couldn't help smiling. Like he was doing a magic trick, he pulled out a lollipop from his sleeve. With a quick flick of his fingers, the wrapper vanished, and he held it out to her with a resigned sigh.
"Alright, alright. I get it—my Ellen is amazing. But you don't have to stand there looking like you're begging to be praised."
"I do!" Ellen huffed. "I worked my ass off to squeeze a few extra minutes out of an already brutal schedule!"
She took the lollipop from him and turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
But her body was honest. Step by step, she drifted closer, slipping into the Kunmutu's shade with him to escape the sun.
Phaga smiled and took her hand.
Ellen still kept her head turned, but the red on her cheeks deepened. With candy in her mouth, her words came out muffled.
"Just so you know—I'm only hiding under your umbrella because it's too hot out. Letting you hold my hand counts as rent."
[Then what about my rent…?]
The moment she finished, a small hand popped out behind her.
It struggled for a long while, hauling an entire body up inch by inch. The black-and-white doll panted like it was dying, sounding weak even when it complained:
[Hey, Miss Shark—don't you run that fast by squeezing me dry? Even that stinky vampire who holds your umbrella gets rent. What about me?]
Ellen rolled her eyes, grabbed the black-and-white doll off her shoulder, and pinched its big belly.
"I let you come out of the Hollow and even gave you a degree of freedom. That's already generous. Now you're paying the price for that freedom."
"Honestly. Couldn't you be a little more obedient? When I need you, you're never around. I have to go looking for you myself."
[Waaah… how was I supposed to know when you'd need me? Miss Shark, you're bullying me…]
The doll's eyes shimmered with tears, like it was ready to cry the next time Ellen scolded it.
Ellen's brows shot up.
She distinctly remembered that it hadn't been this personality at the start. Had it picked up habits from being around the wrong people? Was it catching Ruby's dumbness?
Had its brain actually been infected into this state?
Whatever. A dumb Ethereal doll was still usable.
After Ellen's sprint back—Zhu Yuan, who'd been carried the whole way, finally recovered after a short rest.
She stood, then solemnly pressed a phone into No. 11's hands.
No. 11 frowned, staring at the phone in her palm before lifting her gaze to Zhu Yuan. "This is…?"
"We have another Public Security colleague undercover in New Eridu," Zhu Yuan said. "She's monitoring the vampire clans' movements around the clock. If she gets critical intel, she'll call that number."
Then she emphasized, very clearly, "But unless it's truly urgent—urgent enough that you must get an answer—you are absolutely not allowed to call back. Understand?"
No. 11 immediately grasped the stakes. She snapped into a crisp stance and saluted. "Understood!"
Zhu Yuan returned the salute.
Halfway through, she suddenly felt someone press down on her left shoulder. When she turned her head, that person was already walking past her right side.
She looked again—just in time to see Yanagi give her a small nod.
"Let's go. It's getting late."
Then Yanagi rolled her neck and raised her voice. "The two from Victoria—we're moving out!"
"Mm. Got it."
Phaga answered and followed Yanagi forward.
Only at the very end did they split, boarding two different trucks.
"Mm~~ Phaga, you finally got up here. This kitty was about to fall asleep waiting."
Nekomata immediately started teasing. Then her nose twitched, and her eyes brightened.
"Mmm… something smells really good all of a sudden. Mmm~ Fish! Too bad I can't eat it…"
But the moment her gaze met Ellen's ice-cold stare, Nekomata's expression instantly dimmed. She scratched the back of her head awkwardly.
In the back seat, Harumasa—already seated and hugging Eous—waved at Phaga with a grin. "I'm counting on you this time. I'm very weak, you know."
"Then how did you end up joining Section 6?" Phaga climbed in and joked back.
"Sigh. The Chief personally singled me out." Harumasa spread his hands. "Seriously, don't doubt me—I really do have a serious illness."
"Alright, alright, I can tell." Nicole cut in impatiently. "Phaga, Ellen—seatbelts. Nekomata, you too. Stop lying on the seat gossiping. We're rolling!"
Up ahead, No. 11's truck lights turned on.
Nicole immediately shoved the gear lever forward, eased off the clutch, and the engine roared—thundering in time with her swelling excitement.
The instant the lead truck pulled out, Nicole let out a shout and slammed the accelerator.
"Charge! Strip [Warehouse No. 1] clean!"
"Hmph."
Maybe she'd caught Nicole's swagger in the rearview mirror. In the front truck, Yanagi let out a soft laugh. Then she picked up the radio and spoke calmly:
[Everyone, stay focused. Before we depart, we'll confirm the details one last time.]
[Grain depot team: Ellen, Harumasa, Nicole, Nekomata, Eous. Team leader: Phaga.]
[Hospital team: Yanagi, Soukaku, Koleda, Anton, Zhu Yuan, Qingyi. Team leader: Miyabi.]
[As planned, we will infiltrate New Eridu under the cover of No. 11's forces. We will load thirty trucks with grain and five trucks with medicine as quickly as possible.]
[I know this will be extremely difficult. Even so, I ask all of you to give it everything you've got.]
[Wishing you victory in all your battles!]