"It split open by itself?"
One of the younger gang members slowly lowered his pickaxe, staring at the crack spreading across the Ether Crystal in front of him, unable to hide his confusion.
From the crack, streams of pale green light seeped out, spreading in all directions.
"Could it be a high-quality Ether deposit? If that's the case, we're gonna be rich!" another gang member said, his eyes lighting up as he moved closer.
"This Ether Crystal wasn't glowing earlier, and it didn't look like it contained any Ether at all. But now there's a change... It's possible," another added.
"We might really hit the jackpot!"
"Huh? What's going on?"
Not far away, the boss frowned when he saw his men huddled around the Ether Crystal instead of working. He strode over.
"Boss, this Ether Crystal probably has high-grade chunks of Ether inside!"
Hearing that, the boss's eyes lit up too. He shook the mechanical gauntlet on his hand and approached the crystal.
Most of the other Ether Crystals had disappeared along with the Hollow, along with the Ether inside them, leaving them to scavenge whatever valuables remained in the ruins.
But now, this special crystal had given them another shot.
"Tsk tsk, if this really is Ether, and this big, it's gotta be worth a few million Dennies!"
"Even if it's low-quality, it's still worth seven figures!"
"Brothers, crack it open!"
Everyone picked up their tools again, but just then, a deep thud echoed out.
It came from the Ether Crystal itself.
It sounded like a giant's heartbeat.
The next moment, a shockwave exploded outward, centered on the black shell.
"Ahhhhhh!"
"Nooo! I just found an artifact!"
"We're flying!!!"
The blast sent everyone flying before they crashed heavily onto the ground. Many of them landed on the rubble, screaming in pain and cursing loudly.
But before they could even gather their wits, the Ether energy released by the shockwave condensed into clusters, from which Primitive Ethereals began to emerge.
"Wait, we're not inside a Hollow! How are there Ethereals here?!"
One of the gang members panicked when he spotted the Ethereals, quickly grabbing his weapon. Thanks to his shout, the others realized it too. Despite their injuries, they scrambled to their feet in a panic.
Around the black giant shell, the leaking Ether formed a small, concentrated zone, allowing the newborn Ethereals to linger a bit longer than normal.
Even so, they wouldn't last long.
But for the scavenging thieves, even this brief moment was enough to spell disaster.
The Ethereals immediately locked onto them as their prey, snarling as they charged forward, ready to tear them apart.
Seeing this, the gang fell into chaos. The boss quickly shouted,
"Brothers, come with me! Hold them off! This is our chance to get rich, we can't let it slip away!"
Hearing that, a few underlings grabbed their crude firearms and melee weapons, shouting to pump themselves up, trying to fight off the Ethereals.
But none of them noticed their boss slowly backing away, planning to escape.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Boss! I'm outta here! You guys hold them off!!!"
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your wife!"
One of the gang members, realizing how bad the situation was, bolted immediately, money the last thing on his mind.
His cry shattered what little courage the others had left.
"You bastard!" the boss roared.
But it was already too late. The gang scattered like frightened birds, those who could still run sprinting away at full speed, tossing their weapons aside as dead weight.
Those too injured to move could only watch helplessly as their comrades fled.
"Boss, don't leave us behind!"
A limping gang member with an injured leg cried out as he saw the boss about to run too.
"Screw you! Who's got time to worry about you?!"
The boss snapped back, punching away a pouncing Ethereal before turning to flee—only to find two more Ethereals already blocking his path, eyeing him hungrily.
"Damn it... I'm screwed..."
...
"Senior, are you okay?"
Zhu Yuan held the steering wheel tightly, driving steadily down a street that had only been cleared recently. She glanced back at Qingyi, a little worried.
"Hoo... I'm fine. Don't worry."
Qingyi was lounging on the back seat, her pale legs dangling off the edge. One hand rested naturally on her stomach while the other pressed the back of her hand to her forehead.
The Hollow shrinking and forcibly ejecting her hadn't been pleasant at all. It almost broke her.
Thankfully, she had recovered by now.
Zhu Yuan turned her eyes back to the road, nodded at Qingyi's words, and let out a breath of relief. Qingyi's sudden collapse earlier had really startled her.
Thinking about the upcoming report she had to file at the Public Security Bureau, Zhu Yuan yawned. After everything that had happened, she was exhausted.
Suddenly, a figure dashed out in front of the car. Zhu Yuan snapped back to full alertness and stomped on the brakes.
With a screech, the car came to a stop just in time, avoiding a collision. The figure stumbled back, startled. When he saw the logo on the car, his face instantly changed.
Zhu Yuan's face darkened too.
"Cops! Don't run this way!" the man shouted toward the side street.
But Zhu Yuan moved fast. She threw the door open, drew her service pistol from her waist in one smooth motion, and pointed it at the man trying to flee.
"Hands up!"
The man's clothing made it obvious—he was a thief scavenging from the ruins!
Even though the Hollows were gone, the crime was still the same.
"What did you say?"
Another thief rounded the corner and froze mid-sentence when he saw Zhu Yuan aiming the gun at him.
Damn it! Why did I have to be deaf at a time like this?!
"Officer, let me explain..."
"Save it for the Defense Force," Qingyi said calmly, having already gotten out of the car. She crossed her arms and stared at the thief with an easygoing look.
Due to certain circumstances, the Janus District was currently under the Defense Force's jurisdiction. However, since a large number of them had been sent off on a retrieval mission, constables had been reassigned to assist.
As for these criminals caught in the Janus District—they were being handed over to the Defense Force.