After being refused treatment and registration at the hospital, Pei and One-Denny-Boo had no choice but to leave with the injured cat.
The staff said that pets should be treated at a pet hospital. But the pet hospital near Lumina Square had already closed for the night. If they wanted treatment, they would have to wait until morning.
However, it was clear that Pei couldn't stay out that long. It still needed to take care of Zhong Yan at home, and if it stayed out too late, he would surely start worrying. It had to be back before midnight.
"Eh-ne. (One-Denny, I'll leave my Dennies with you. Tomorrow morning, take your friend to the pet hospital, okay?)" Pei said, handing over its wallet—its hard-earned savings, which should be enough to cover the medical expenses.
However, facing such a large sum of Dennies, One-Denny-Boo shook its head vigorously and refused: "Eh-ne eh-ne! (No, no! I'll find another way to help my friend. You should keep your money!)"
As a Lucky Bangboo, One-Denny-Boo had been created to bring people wealth. Yet ironically, it had lived alone for a long time without a master and had barely accumulated any Dennies. Now, it was trapped in such a desperate situation.
While the two argued back and forth, a sinister gaze stretched out from the shadows.
Someone had been watching them.
From the darkness, a man—looking to be in his early thirties—stepped into the light, rubbing his hands together eagerly.
"You two trying to get that cat treated?" he asked.
The two little Bangboo turned their heads in confusion, only to find a smiling stranger.
Seeing their innocent faces, the man continued, "Turns out, I have a friend who's a vet. If you want the cat treated, you can come with me to his place. You'll just have to pay the regular medical fees."
Hearing that, both Pei and One-Denny-Boo's eyes lit up. With the minds of children, neither even considered the possibility that he might be lying. One-Denny-Boo couldn't help but exclaim, "Eh-ne?! (Really?! Thank you so much!)"
And just like that, without any precautions, they followed him—completely unaware they were being led farther and farther from the busy streets.
When they reached a dim, isolated alley, the man suddenly stopped.
Confused, One-Denny-Boo asked, "Eh-ne? (Why aren't we moving?)"
But before it could get an answer, two figures sprang from the shadows and knocked it unconscious with a punch.
Seeing this, Pei immediately realized it had been tricked. It quickly drew its twin blades to prepare for a fight.
"This one's a bit tricky—combat-type Bangboo," one of the men muttered.
They didn't underestimate Pei just because it was a Bangboo. Instead, one of them pulled out a small canister from his pocket.
The next second, colorful mist burst from the nozzle. Pei felt its legs go weak, and it collapsed to the ground, completely losing the ability to resist.
"Eh-ne... (One-Denny...)" it thought helplessly as its consciousness faded.
The last thing it saw was One-Denny-Boo being stuffed into a bag—soon followed by itself.
...
Meanwhile, back at Zhong Yan's home.
He had returned much earlier and noticed a note Pei had left behind.
The note explained it had gone to meet a very important friend and might return late.
At the time, Zhong Yan hadn't thought much of it. In fact, he was happy Pei had friends.
By midnight, knowing he had school the next morning, he simply went to bed—believing it would be back by dawn.
It wasn't until the next morning, when his alarm dragged him out of bed and he noticed Pei wasn't charging at its station, that he realized something was wrong.
Without hesitation, Zhong Yan created a shadow clone to attend school in his place. Meanwhile, his real body activated Kamui and traveled to the siblings' video store.
At dawn, Wise was downstairs tidying up the shop, preparing for the day's business.
Before he could finish, Zhong Yan appeared.
"Zhong Yan? Shouldn't you be in school? What brings you here?" Wise asked, puzzled.
Zhong Yan quickly explained, "Pei's missing. It left last night and hasn't come back. I think something happened. Doesn't Fairy have a way to track it? I need help."
Inside Pei's body was a tracking chip. Zhong Yan couldn't monitor its location himself, but Fairy could—her high processing capabilities could bypass all device delays.
Hearing the urgency, Wise immediately relayed the situation to Fairy, who was standing by in the records room.
"Confirmed. Locating Pei's position now. Data confirms: Pei took the subway from Ninth Street to Lumina Square last night, then suffered an unknown attack. The tracking signal was lost. Last known location: an unnamed Companion Hollow."
Apparently, someone had damaged Pei's chip and dragged it into a Hollow.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Yan didn't hesitate—he set off immediately toward the Companion Hollow.
...
While Zhong Yan launched a rescue mission, on the other side—
Pei slowly awoke from its drugged sleep, its body sluggish and uncoordinated.
It took it a long time to piece together that it had been kidnapped.
It quickly took in its surroundings.
It was a derelict construction site, overgrown with Ether Crystals—a clear sign it was now deep inside a Hollow.
More disturbingly, the area was littered with the wreckage of other Bangboo—most of them reduced to little more than mangled parts.
It was a Bangboo's nightmare.