As soon as the roadblockers confirmed the identities of the Hare's House crew, they immediately put away their weapons and beamed with joy.
"You're finally here! Come on, Caesar's waiting for you."
Just then, one of the Sons of Calydon spotted Billy lying on top of the vehicle.
"Wait—are you... Brother Billy? It's really you!"
Billy climbed down from the roof, dazed as he looked around.
They had finally arrived in Calydon Town, and his sensory modules were nearly fried from the bumpy ride.
Then he looked at the teenager beside him.
"You're... Little Carl?"
Carl's face lit up with excitement. "Brother Billy! You remember me—that's awesome! So how did you end up with the folks from Hare's House?"
Billy's eyes flickered. "Uh... I'm here to help too."
He quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway, Big Sis Caesar is still waiting. Let's get going."
Without another word, Billy smoothly leapt off the car roof.
The rest of the group stayed inside the vehicle as they followed Carl, a member of the Sons of Calydon, deeper into the town.
The further they went, the more surprised Nicole and the others looked.
Aside from Billy, it was everyone's first time seeing an actual settlement in the Outer Ring.
They'd only seen places like this in movies before.
But compared to the fictional depictions, Calydon Town looked even more rundown—almost entirely in ruins at first glance.
Only a handful of buildings still stood, and even those had clearly been patched up later.
Suddenly, Nekomata pointed ahead.
"Look! Are those kids with sticks? Are they training in martial arts?"
Carl nodded as he walked alongside them.
"Ever since that incident, Calydon has been constantly attacked by other gangs. To defend the town, kids have been training in martial arts from a young age at the training grounds. But Big Sis Caesar doesn't agree with that—she says kids shouldn't be on the training field. They should go to school like city kids. If they want to learn martial arts, they should do it in school. But... not everyone understands her view."
As they walked, Carl explained the story of the Sons of Calydon.
Thanks to Billy, his guard was down around the Hare's House team.
Soon, the group saw a large abandoned field ahead.
It had old horizontal bars, sand pits, tracks, wooden posts, punching bags... most of it leftover from the old era.
"This is the training ground of the Sons of Calydon," Carl said.
It was called a martial arts field, but it was really just an outdated workout space.
Without Carl's explanation, Nicole wouldn't have believed it. This place looked ten times more broken down than the orphanage she grew up in.
After passing the field, Carl pointed toward a crumbling area ahead.
"That spot—Caesar plans to turn it into Calydon's very first school."
Nicole followed his gesture and stared at the ruined buildings.
She honestly couldn't imagine how anyone could turn those collapsed attics into a school.
Those structures had to be over a hundred years old.
Even if you patched them up with old materials, who knew when they'd cave in again? Nicole certainly wouldn't dare live in something like that.
Billy, however, didn't seem fazed.
"Actually, the previous boss had already started planning to build a school. If it weren't for that incident, Calydon would've become the biggest gang in the Outer Ring by now…"
They continued walking down the crumbling streets of Calydon.
All along the way, they saw the scars of the town's past.
Thinking back to the shining skyscrapers of New Eridu, the contrast was overwhelming. It was hard to believe these places were only a hundred kilometers apart.
Billy let out a sigh.
"If it hadn't been for that incident, the whole town might've been rebuilt by now…"
Hearing him bring up that incident again, Nekomata couldn't contain her curiosity.
"Billy, what incident are you even talking about?"
Billy instantly deflected.
"That incident... is just that incident."
Nekomata sighed. "..."
Since he didn't want to talk, she dropped it.
Soon after, under Carl's guidance, the group reached the center of Calydon Town.
Inside a rundown building, they finally met Caesar, leader of the Sons of Calydon.
As soon as they walked in, Caesar greeted them with a booming laugh.
"Sam Li, Billy—and... the rest of you, you finally made it!"
It had already been a week since their last meeting.
She couldn't quite remember the names of Nicole, Anby, or Nekomata.
Scanning the group, her eyes landed on Soldier 11.
"She with you guys too? From Hare's House?"
Soldier 11 stood in full gear, eyes sharp—clearly no ordinary person.
Nicole grinned.
"Yep, you can call her Soldier 11. She's our newly hired intern."
Caesar nodded approvingly.
"Got it. Not bad, not bad."
After the greetings, she got straight to the point.
"After I got back last time, I reached out to several gangs and finally tracked down that bastard Perlman. The reason I called you over... is to catch him."
Just thinking about the two million Dennies bounty made Caesar break into laughter.
She needed that money to fulfill the last leader's dying wish—building a school in Calydon.
Nicole spoke calmly.
"So? Where is Perlman hiding? Don't tell me it's far."
Caesar's grin faded into a serious look.
"Not far—just a few dozen kilometers away. He's with the Lion's Tooth Gang now. Even became their strategist."
At the mention of that name, her voice grew cold.
"The Lion's Tooth Gang... they were involved in what happened back then."
Again, the same incident came up.
Nekomata furrowed her brow.
"Since we got here, everyone's mentioned 'that incident' like five times. What exactly happened?"
Nicole, Anby, Sam Li, and the others all turned to Caesar, curious.
Seeing their expressions, Caesar drew a deep breath.
"Alright, no point hiding it anymore."
She spoke slowly.
"That incident... refers to the attack on Calydon over two years ago. A dozen gangs ambushed the town. Most of our elite fighters died in that battle. Many buildings that had just been rebuilt were reduced to rubble again…"
Back then, the Calydon Gang was a major force in the Outer Ring—respected, powerful, and never oppressive. They were beloved by the people.
But then, out of nowhere, over ten gangs struck at once.
Most were caught off guard and didn't even have time to react.
What haunted Caesar the most was...
Even now, she still didn't know why those gangs had attacked—or who was really behind it all.
...