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But as if deliberately blocking the moment when he was about to leave, a green dot appeared on the village bridge west of the Rivet Town map.
Could it be that that damn kid Eric has come back again?
Kong turned around and raised an eyebrow, indicating that Banya and Xier, who were about to finish their work, were back to work.
"Hmm? These marks are... 'friendly forces', right? But why... are there so many of them?" At his reminder, Bronya's vigilance, which had just been let down, was slightly raised.
……
The village bridge on the west side leads directly to the large mining area. Few people go in and out from this side, not because it is farther away from the rock, but simply because the periphery of the mining area always gathers some not-so-friendly vagrants, causing some small vendors who travel between the various mining towns that have not yet fallen to dare to run here over time.
Now the homeless people have been settled down by the Dihuo, Rangers and company members, and the criminals have been locked up in a mine in the mechanical settlement, making the road leading directly to the mining area much safer.
But this is still not a "necessary condition" for a group of children to appear here.
"Team 'Little Heartthrob'! Is Eric really coming this way?"
"I'm definitely not mistaken. He was heading in this direction when he set out this morning."
A very cute girl in the team nodded repeatedly.
"As long as the information is correct, the Mole Gang will be able to complete the commission from Father Eric!"
"Boss, it's so late, could he have already gone home? There's more than one road leading to Panyan Town—"
Julian scratched his head, looking like he didn't want to get involved in this mess. "Eric is not one of our team members. He has done so many bad things. Is it really necessary to care about him?"
"Don't talk nonsense, Thousand Faces! Our goal is to recruit all the children from the lower classes into the Mole Gang. If we do this well, Eric's father might be willing to let him join us. As long as we teach Eric how to help Dihuo share the work, he can also earn some pocket money, and maybe he won't steal anymore!"
It has to be said that although Hook has the inexplicable self-confidence and arrogance that is typical of a kid her age, what she said is absolutely correct.
"If Eric returns, Team Luke who is exploring from the other side will inform us. I know we are all tired, but Eric's father must be more troubled if he can't find him. The Earth and Fire can't spare any manpower. This is a task that only the Mole Party can accomplish. Come on!"
"oh oh!"
"Oh."
A group of children raised their hands, either excitedly or listlessly, and began to "march" towards Rivet Town.
It seems like there is no idea that this is a Rift Boundary Pollution Zone.
...They looked so energetic that Sambo, who was hiding in the dark, was speechless.
The Masked Fool's "good show" did not include these children, and he did not want to involve them.
I heard their movements from far away and thought they were just looking for the little thief nearby, but did these naughty kids really dare to go in?
Although Hook and the children seemed to be advancing recklessly into the heart of the Rift, as clever little kids from the lower district, they did not make much noise after entering the town. Julian was the rear guard, and Hook, the only destiny walker, was leading the way. It seemed like that was the case.
"Boss Hook, what should we do if Team Luca doesn't join us on time?"
"Then don't go near the market. Pay attention to those corners where monsters may appear."
Hook gave orders in a very clear and logical manner, and it was obvious that her prestige among the children was not entirely due to her loud voice and domineering words.
"Well, I'm sure I'll be scolded badly when I go back—"
Staying up late and wandering around is a serious offense in itself, and running to an abandoned mining town so late at night, some children can already imagine the scene of their buttocks being beaten up when they get home.
"It's okay, Captain Julian. Let Eric take the blame for you. You can tell the adults loudly that you had to stay out all night just to help Eric!"
The little girl named Alina successfully stabilized the morale of some boys.
As a "little heartthrob", her ability to stabilize the morale of the troops is very strong. The precocious thinking of underground children has successfully won her fans that she should not have at this age.
But Sangbo, who was following behind them, was already sweating profusely - Can you guys not be so easily influenced by girls? ?
He took a somewhat annoyed look at the "object-finding device" in his hand, which he was about to hand over to Sora through "coincidence". After thinking for a long time, he finally decided to follow the children, in case these little fools encountered any accidents.
The Masked Fool plays with people's hearts and uses the whole world and even himself as materials for drama. Sambo especially likes to offer the performance of the fooled to Aha in exchange for favor.
But Sambo is very self-aware... He can be a bastard, or he can be a small character who entertains others, but he has a bottom line, which is that he cannot target children.
Exchanging children's happiness for adults' pleasure is a tasteless behavior that does not conform to his aesthetic of joy. I believe Aha would not be willing to appreciate such low-level fun.
If anything happened to the kids, not only would he feel bad, but the Lord Envoy who was clearing the Rift at the other end of town would also be furious - he had never seen such a serious believer of joy, but considering that he had even "fooled" Lord Boshi, perhaps this was the key to why Aha appreciated him and gave him power.
"Isn't Luka here yet?"
"No, Julian, don't go in there anymore?"
Sambo touched the left front of the group of children, looked at the houses near the village bridge from the top of the pipe, and saw a not-so-obvious ice-blue light spreading from the direction of Hook and others.
"Bad news... How come there are creatures from the outer world wandering here... I shouldn't have taken the easy way out just now..."
His face, which was always grinning, fawning and asking for a beating, actually showed a hint of seriousness. He stared at the wandering monster, put his hand quietly on his lower back, and pulled out a throwing knife.
"I can't let them discover my location, and I have to deal with those idiots that come over here... Well, I'll just steal it from here."
With a slight and inconspicuous sound of breaking through the air, Sangbo's seemingly harmless arm suddenly swelled up, and the flying knife took less than a second from being thrown out to sinking into the top of Jing Ling's head.
Hook and his companions did not even notice that the flying Frost Spirit of Rift was nailed to the ground less than thirty meters away from them. Julian climbed onto the eaves with Hook's support to try to see farther and more clearly.
"Boss Hook - there's no sign of monsters ahead!"
"Okay, Julian, you'll be on guard. If a monster comes over, jump down the pipe and Valentin will catch you—"
Of course there are no monsters! My little cuties, don't you see how much I have dealt with for you!
Sambo, who had killed six small creatures of the Rift Valley with his flying knife, was already sweating profusely.
Killing monsters is easy, but avoiding Hook's sight several times almost exposed Sambo. This girl is very cunning. She seemed to have glanced at his hiding place just now.
"Phew...luckily I didn't mess it up."
Contrary to the impression he gave to outsiders, Sambo's concealment skills and agility were very good, and there were only four people on the ground and underground who could see through him.
"Should we give that guy a call and ask him to come over and take over these kids? Oh? He's already moving over here - it seems like he and I share a similar aesthetic sense of pleasure."
"Boom."
Just as Sambo was about to wipe his sticky face and continue to be lazy, he paused, then quickly leaned over, put his ear to the ground, and listened carefully to an approaching vibration.
"…It's broken. It's not the envoy. It looks like a big guy."
236. Rice Light! It is also eternal!
A wanderer in the deep cold, an old friend who is not too old.
The huge body rushed through the narrow streets, blowing up the pipes embedded in the houses along the way. Its arms dragged twisted metal, sparks and lightning, and it made a noise like a herd of cattle in just one move.
Sambo's first reaction after getting up was to throw out the smoke bomb at hand - the specially modified smoke could not only confuse humans, but also produce electronic interference, making it difficult for the dirty thing disguised as a mechanical creature to distinguish between the front and the back.
"My little ancestors, what are you waiting for?"
Placing oneself in the shadows of the stage is no longer the first priority.
We have to rescue Hook and his gang quickly!
He dodged and grabbed Julian and Valentin from the small flat in one hand each. With an anxious look on his face, Sambo picked up the frightened Alina, threw her on his shoulder and ran away.
"What happened, Uncle Sambo! Why are you here?"
"There's a big guy ahead, hurry up and run away, or it will be too late!"
The Mole Party children seemed to have a good relationship with Sambo, and even trusted him. This was mainly because Sambo never cheated on children.
The children who were fleeing along with the others without knowing what was going on finally understood what Sangbo meant when they saw the dust from the street moving towards them. They all stepped even harder with their short legs and ran towards the village bridge.
"I am Lord Dark Hook—er..."
Hook, who originally wanted to stay behind, suddenly lost all his heroic spirit after seeing the Prowler crash into an iron gate, and joined the escape.
But she always kept a distance from the team, thinking that if she couldn't get rid of this terrifying robot, she would have to go up and use the hole machine to buy time for everyone -
"How can he run so fast when he's as fat as a ball?"
"The book says that spherical rolling is the most efficient!"
“Do you see it rolling?”
"Bang!!"
After the children escaped onto the village bridge, the Prowler noticed some old villain's trick on the bridge, so he jumped up and smashed down towards Sambo and the two little boys in front.
"This thing is pretty smart!"
Sensing the sound of wind breaking behind his head and the shadow in front of his vision, Sambo's soft eyes suddenly became sharp.
He tightened his arm muscles again like twisting ropes, lowered Alina to his shoulders, and prepared his two swords to strike—
At the moment when he was about to reveal the true power of the Masked Fool, a figure suddenly flew out from the residential area on the south side and "picked up" the falling Wanderer.
“Husa!!”
"Team Luka!"
The fiery red shadow raised its power arm and sliced fiercely into the falling robot's armpit, blasting it out of its current parabola.
"Hook!"
The young man named Luke successfully intercepted the opponent's jump attack, but he was unable to adjust his posture in the air through the air mass ejected from the heat dissipation vents like the Prowler, and had to spin around and fall straight down:
"I'm late! Eric has returned to town safely! Our Mole Gang's mission is complete, it's time to retreat - Boss Hook!"
The red-haired man's knees made a crisp sound after landing, and his brows were knitted together: "Don't get entangled with it! This guy's tonnage is a bit difficult to deal with!"
"That only works if it's willing to let us go, damn -- hole machine!"
The Prowler, spewing out a large cloud of smoke, stepped on the hollow steel frame of the stockade bridge and made a dent. Without stopping, it swung its circular saw towards Hook and Sambo.
"Whoa!"
The circular saw was turned on on top of the drilling machine, but the girl's physical strength and explosive power were not enough to withstand the crushing of the large machinery, and she fell to the ground.
This is the suppressive power that an elite world-ripping creature should have when facing an ordinary destiny walker.
"Hook!"
Luca shouted, veins popping out on his forehead, and he pressed the mechanical arm against the ground, using the recoil caused by its ejection to fly out again, trying to stop the monster before Hook.
This crazy, random and violent attack would probably break his arm, but Luca didn't care.
He saw that Sambo's movement of leaning forward to sprint suddenly paused for some reason, and thought that the coward was afraid and wanted to sell out Hook, so he immediately fought even harder.
Must catch up——huh? ?