"Wise eyes and clear mind, let all traces be revealed! Open!"
After the shark girl awakened and everyone had rested enough, Arden cast a pathfinding spell and continued forward.
Along the way, the group encountered several more Doppelgangers.
However, even the Doppelganger that simulated Hoshimi Miyabi had been defeated—there was no way the other Doppelgangers could pose any threat to Arden and his team.
Could this illegal laboratory hidden deep within the Hollow be researching plasma?
With so many Doppelgangers present, it was absolutely impossible for them to have formed naturally—Arden's suspicion was entirely reasonable.
…..
"Phew… we finally found the laboratory!"
Ellen looked toward the distant cluster of buildings and the human guards patrolling nearby, letting out a heavy sigh of relief.
Human guards rather than Doppelgangers meant they had reached the laboratory—the mission objective. The constant fighting along the way had seriously irritated Ellen Joe, and she felt that if things dragged on any longer, she might "power down" again.
Thankfully, she believed she could hold on until the mission was completed.
They didn't act immediately, instead resting briefly in a concealed spot—mainly to let Arden recover his condition.
"Ugh~~ if only we had a professional Proxy, I wouldn't be this exhausted."
Taking a sip of water handed over by Ellen, Arden complained softly.
All along the way, identifying directions through spellcasting, avoiding spatial traps, bypassing Ethereal gathering zones, and determining where spatial rifts led—everything had been handled by Arden. Even if they were minor spells, constantly casting them was still draining.
After a short rest.
"Keep the noise down as much as possible. Don't let the researchers or the person in charge escape."
After giving the reminder, Von Lycaon took the lead and quietly approached the laboratory.
"Mm."
The others followed closely behind.
…..
Human guards were far easier to deal with than Doppelgangers. The group quickly neutralized them—some were knocked unconscious, while those who refused to go down and insisted on resisting were dealt with far more harshly, even losing their lives.
This was not the time to show mercy.
Without the protection of guards, the illegal laboratory was completely exposed. Von Lycaon began assigning tasks—some cleared armed personnel, others captured researchers and the person in charge, while the rest searched for experimental materials, equipment, and data.
Boom~!
Ju Fufu kicked the door open with one foot. "NEPS open up!"
"….."
The room beyond the door was extremely spacious, but no one responded to Ju Fufu.
Arden followed Ju Fufu inside. After seeing the scene within, his eyes narrowed.
"This is… a storage area for experimental materials?"
Large glass containers filled with liquid, steel cages protected by force fields, pristine white operating tables—and within these facilities were Ethereals and plasma specimens.
The sole exception was a silver-haired, short-haired girl lying on an operating table.
Life-support equipment beside her indicated she was still alive, but the bandages covering her body suggested she wasn't far from death.
"This is…"
Arden walked closer. Upon seeing the girl's face, his pupils contracted. "Anby?"
"No!"
The thought was rejected the moment it surfaced.
Arden remembered that not long ago, Nicole had messaged him saying that the Cunning Hares had gained a new member named Anby who loved eating hamburgers. She even complained that the team's food expenses had skyrocketed and used that as an excuse to demand a "welcome red envelope" from him.
Naturally, Arden had rejected it without hesitation… Your Cunning Hares welcoming a new member has nothing to do with Yunkui Summit, right!?
At most, he would mail them some fast-food burgers and instant noodles so they wouldn't starve.
"Not Anby… then that is…"
Arden noticed the bandage covering one of the silver-haired girl's eyes.
"Twiggy?"
That was it—it had to be Twiggy.
Arden remembered from the game's storyline that Twiggy was rescued by an unknown organization and later became a villain, ultimately exiting the story in tragedy.
In the original New Eridu, this mission might also have existed, but due to Hollow tremors and invalid Carrot data, Victoria Housekeeping Co was forced to retreat. The mission was ultimately aborted, and Twiggy lost her final chance at rescue.
However, in this version of New Eridu—because of Arden's existence—the worldline had shifted. With his profound daoist techniques, the mission successfully continued.
Twiggy, huh…
Arden hesitated over whether to save her. Although Twiggy was a villain in the game's storyline, it was clear she wasn't purely evil—she was simply shaped by her environment and experiences.
A bit unhinged, but her abilities seem pretty solid.
Despite lacking much direct combat power, she had still caused considerable trouble for Anby and Phaethon—proof that she was quite capable.
She's worth saving!
Having made his decision, Arden then faced a not-so-small problem.
After all, this mission was led by Mayor Mayflower. As both evidence and one of the "experimental materials," what justification could Arden use to take Twiggy away?
"Hmm… got it!"
Quick-witted as ever, Arden soon came up with a solution.
…..
After thoroughly searching the laboratory, everyone regrouped in a room filled with experimental materials and equipment.
"Lycaon, this girl…"
Skipping the pleasantries, Arden pointed at Twiggy on the operating table and made his request. "May we take her back to Yunkui Summit for handling?"
"You want to take her? I'll need a reasonable explanation."
Von Lycaon neither refused nor agreed—he countered with a question.
"Of course there's a reason…"
Arden presented the excuse he had prepared. "You might not believe it, but her name is Yiji. She's Master Yixuan's long-lost distant cousin."
Anby is Anby, Twiggy is often called Little Anby, Silver Anby is Big Anby, Soldier 11 is Fire Anby, Master Yixuan is Mega Anby—so saying Twiggy was Master Yixuan's distant cousin didn't seem entirely wrong, did it?
"She's… the sect master Yixuan's distant cousin?"
Yet for some reason, Von Lycaon simply didn't believe Arden's explanation.
How could there be such a coincidence—finding a long-lost relative during a completely unrelated mission?
Moreover, as far as Von Lycaon knew, Master Yixuan had no such cousin. Her only close relative, an older sister, had perished during the Old Capital's fall ten years ago.
"I can be sure she really is Master Yixuan's distant cousin. If you don't believe me… look!"
As he spoke, Arden pulled out a photo of Yixuan that he always carried with him.
Though it was a secretly taken photo of Yixuan stretching lazily, her face was perfectly clear. He held the photo beside Twiggy's face for comparison. "Don't they look alike?"
"Uh… they really do look similar."
Von Lycaon looked from the photo of Yixuan to the sleeping silver-haired girl. He had to admit that their hair color, facial structure, and eyes were remarkably alike.
"Master's cousin? Why haven't I heard of—mm! Actually, there does seem to have been a cousin?"
Halfway through speaking, Ju Fufu caught Arden's suggestive glance and immediately changed her tune.
Though she didn't know why Arden would go so far as to fabricate a family connection just to take this unconscious girl away, Ju Fufu had always trusted him.
Unfortunately, the laboratory's head captured by Rina did not receive such considerate treatment.
"No, no! She's material we picked up. According to our deductions, she should be Silver—"
Thud~!
Arden kicked the blabbering laboratory head unconscious on the spot.
Then, he turned to look at Von Lycaon.
As long as Lycaon agreed, Arden could take Twiggy back to Yunkui Summit.
"Brother Wolf! I'll be taking her with me. If there are any issues, let the mayor ask my master directly."
"…."
Von Lycaon glanced at the laboratory head who had been "silenced" by Arden. There was clearly more to the girl on the operating table, but since Arden had said as much… Lycaon felt it would be more appropriate to let the mayor decide.
"Send my regards to Sect Master Yixuan."
With those words, Von Lycaon tacitly approved Arden's actions.
"Many thanks!"