When Yae Miko and her companions arrived at the town of Calydon, planning to help the Sons of Calydon against another faction...
At that very moment, in New Eridu's urban district.
Early in the morning, Tsukishiro Yanagi arrived at the Hare's House, leading the Adepts along with Keqing and the others to a building on the neighboring street.
"Miss Keqing, as you requested, this is the temporary residence prepared for you."
In front of the building, Keqing, Hu Tao, the Adepts, Xiangling, Guoba, Sam Li, and the Hare's House members all looked up at the five- or six-story building, lavishly decorated and imposing.
Billy exclaimed, "This is the base prepared for them?"
Tsukishiro Yanagi nodded. "Yes. Headquarters originally wanted to secure a larger residence in the city center, but since the Adepts preferred this location, this was the best building we could find."
Hearing that, Billy was even more shocked, doubting his own ears.
These Adepts actually gave up a city-center property just to settle for this building as their temporary base?
Sure, the building looked nice, but compared to the grand villas and mansions downtown, it was nothing. What a massive loss.
Nearby, Nicole was speechless after hearing the news, even clutching at her chest.
It didn't really concern her, but seeing others lose trillions of Dennies in an instant was almost painful to watch—the sheer amount was staggering.
Nekomata jumped in with a yelp: "Meow! Downtown property costs at least a hundred million Dennies per square meter! Here it's only tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands. You really got ripped off this time, meow..."
For Hare's House, this would be an astronomical sum.
But the Adepts seemed unfazed. Their reason for choosing this place was simple—it was close to the Hare's House, just a few steps away from His Majesty the Geo Archon.
Mountain Shaper looked up at the building with satisfaction. "Not bad. Though in the bustling city, its height offers quiet. Cloud Retainer will surely appreciate it."
Cloud Retainer said indifferently, "This Adeptus still favors her residence in Liyue Harbor."
Beside them, Nekomata pressed on: "Do you realize you just lost trillions, tens of trillions of Dennies for this building?"
Nekomata could hardly imagine it—piled up, such money would form a mountain.
But Keqing didn't care about the loss. Instead, she said firmly, "Let's go in and have a look."
After all, it was only temporary.
According to her plan, in a few days she would have the Adepts return to Liyue and bring some Millelith to build something here like the Yujing Terrace.
The moment they stepped inside, Sam Li, Xiao, and several Adepts including Cloud Retainer suddenly stopped.
All at once, they turned their heads in the same direction.
Billy frowned. "What's wrong? Why did you stop?"
Mountain Shaper narrowed his eyes. "We sense a strange aura. Something has broken out over there."
Sam Li said slowly, "It should be a Hollow disaster."
Moon Carver Adeptus frowned. "Let's go take a look..."
At that, Tsukishiro Yanagi quickly protested. "Impossible! The Janus District just replaced all Hollows disaster detectors. If one had occurred, the alarms would already be going off..."
Nekomata reminded her, "What if... the alarms haven't triggered yet?"
Tsukishiro Yanagi shook her head. "Impossible. These are the latest models, highly sensitive. Any anomaly in Ether data is detected instantly..."
But before she could finish—
A piercing siren suddenly blared outside, echoing through the Janus District.
"WARNING! WARNING! A Level One Hollows Disaster has erupted near Ninth Street, Janus District. Response teams are en route. Residents nearby must evacuate immediately!"
"Repeating: Residents nearby must evacuate immediately!"
The sudden alarm left Tsukishiro Yanagi stunned. She turned to the Adepts in shock.
Ninth Street lay several kilometers away.
Yet the Adepts had sensed the Hollows disaster before the detectors—and it was the most severe Level One disaster. This was bad.
Regaining her composure, Tsukishiro Yanagi hurriedly pleaded, "Please, Honorable Adepts, I beg you to act..."
Mountain Shaper answered calmly, "Do not worry. Leave it to us."
Tsukishiro Yanagi quickly offered, "I'll drive you there—"
Mountain Shaper shook his head. "No need."
With that, the Adepts glanced at Sam Li. "We'll go ahead."
The moment the words fell, they stepped outside. Under the astonished gazes of passersby, they transformed—into ranes soaring skyward and celestial deer running through the air...
Once the Adepts departed, Keqing said seriously, "Miss Tsukishiro Yanagi, please drive us there."
Tsukishiro Yanagi nodded quickly. "Of course... Follow me."
The group boarded Hoshimi Miyabi's car and headed toward Ninth Street.
At the same time, on Nine-Part Street in New Eridu.
A black sphere was devouring the streets, buildings, and citizens who hadn't escaped in time.
Unlike previous minor Hollows, this disaster spread at terrifying speed. Many people were swallowed before they could flee.
The entire neighborhood, along with the nearby districts, plunged into chaos.
Citizens crowded the streets in panic. The press of bodies grew so desperate that stampedes broke out.
A citizen glanced up at the sky and widened their eyes.
"What's that? Up there!?"
"A kite? No, it's a giant crane... Could it be a Defense Force shell?"
"Look behind it! A huge deer! Am I dreaming? How's a deer running through the sky?"
Many people ran for their lives while staring in shock at the crane and deer above.
They hoped these were some kind of special Defense Force weapons.
But as the crane and deer slowed and drew closer, they saw clearly—these weren't weapons, but living creatures.
Just like the legendary cranes from old myths.
In the next instant, under the stunned eyes of New Eridu's citizens, the crane flapped its wings toward the void, instantly whipping up a raging tempest.
The Hollows, which had been expanding wildly, suddenly stopped.
At the same time, Cloud Retainer's voice echoed from the heavens:
"This Adeptus shall handle it. You all, depart swiftly."