When Nicole, Anby, and the others received a letter from the Public Security Bureau, they headed to Sixth Street in search of Sam Li...
At that moment.
In the Tingman Coffee Shop on Sixth Street.
As usual, Sam Li placed a birdcage on the table and asked Master Tingman for a cup of the New Eridu Special Blend. He sipped his coffee while training his songbird. At the same time, he set a sign on the table that read "Agent," waiting for clients to approach on their own.
Only Sam Li from Hare's House would dare to advertise so blatantly among all the agencies.
"Master Tingman, another cup of the New Eridu Special Blend, please."
"Sure, just a moment—"
A short while later, Master Tingman brought over the coffee and placed it in front of him.
"Mr. Sam Li, it's nearly noon. Still no one come by to help settle your bill?"
Sam Li replied calmly, "Not quite. As an agent, I'm waiting for a client."
Hearing this!
Master Tingman quickly realized his mistake and apologized.
"Sorry, Mr. Sam Li. What I meant was, since the internet is so developed nowadays, maybe you could set up an official website for Hare's House and promote it on the forums. It might work better."
Sam Li said slowly, "No need. I prefer to wait for clients to come to me."
Sam Li had indeed considered creating a website for Hare's House.
As a time traveler, he thought about it when he first joined. But he dismissed the idea quickly for two reasons.
First, Hare's House had an unexpectedly bad reputation across the forums—full of trolls and haters. The moment the term "Hare's House" appeared, it would draw a swarm of AI-controlled inorganic life forms...
Not only would it fail to promote them, it might even backfire.
Second, Hare's House was just a tiny shop. Including their boss Nicole, they only had five people—not nearly enough to keep a website running...
Instead of exhausting themselves in online battles with other agencies, it made more sense to stay grounded and focus on completing commissions in the real world, and doing them well.
After Master Tingman left, Sam Li continued sipping his coffee, waiting for a client to approach.
Before long...
A familiar figure appeared down the street, heading his way.
It was Soldier 11 of the Defense Army.
The moment she spotted Sam Li, she walked up quickly and, without a word, sat directly across from him.
Her first sentence was, "Shining Knight of Rock, interested in joining the Obol Squad?"
As always, Soldier 11 was fully equipped—long blade at her waist, a strange ignition device strapped to her back. Despite the few days since their last meeting, she already had a new title for Sam Li.
Sam Li calmly reminded her, "My name is Sam Li."
But Soldier 11 didn't seem to care. She pressed on, "Rock Flying Knight, you haven't answered my question. Want to join the Obol Squad and help me wipe out the rebels?"
In just seconds, she had already given him another new title.
Sam Li shook his head. "Sorry. I have no intention of breaking my contract with Hare's House."
Seeing how directly he declined, Soldier 11 looked genuinely disappointed.
"That's a shame. If you joined us, we could eliminate the rebels hiding in the Hollows so much sooner."
Sam Li: "…"
He wasn't particularly interested in rebels. But if someone commissioned him to take down a high-ranking Ethereal, he'd gladly help.
After a brief silence, Sam Li glanced back at Soldier 11 and asked, "You seem to know Anby?"
The question caught her off guard—she clearly hadn't expected it and froze for a moment.
After a while, she took a deep breath and said, "She's a traitor. She forgot her duty as a soldier, betrayed the Defense Army that raised her... and betrayed me too. I hate traitors."
With that, she picked up her cup and downed it in one gulp, clearly trying to steer away from the subject.
Then she changed the topic herself. "Did you hear about the recent Imperial City Hollow incident? At first, there were rumors that the Hollow had declined. But once the tomb raiders went in, they ran into a ton of Ethereals—some even encountered high-ranking ones. A few people died."
Sam Li frowned. "Oh?"
Since completing the director's commission, he hadn't logged into the Inter-Knot Forum for several days.
Soldier 11 continued, "Just this morning, a blogger claimed that your Hare's House spread those fake rumors about the Imperial City Hollow's decline—just to trap rival agents and monopolize the market. Some are shouting about sending legal notices and suing you, others want to challenge you offline and 'expose' Hare's House. The incident's already trending at the top of the hot search. The forums are in chaos. You better watch yourself."
Sam Li was speechless: "…"
People on those forums seriously had too much time on their hands. The world was practically ending, and they were still spinning conspiracy theories.
Realistically, Hare's House was just a small-time street office. It posed no real threat to any other agency.
Sam Li was genuinely puzzled. Who had so much free time to keep hiring bots and buying traffic just to smear Hare's House on the forum?
If he ever found out who it was, he'd definitely make them pay.
Taking a deep breath, Sam Li said coolly, "The rumors about the Imperial City Hollow's decline have nothing to do with Hare's House. In fact, the truth is quite the opposite. If we hadn't taken down a high-ranking Notoriety Ethereal and forced the Hollow into an actual decline, even more tomb raiders would've died."
Soldier 11 nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. No wonder the Hollow kept flipping between decline and recovery. That finally clears it up."
Lately, Soldier 11 had been closely observing the Imperial City Hollow. When rumors first surfaced about its decline, she didn't believe them outright. Sure enough, the Hollow had recovered shortly after.
But then, just a few hours later, it mysteriously declined again.
After hearing Sam Li's explanation, she finally understood what had happened.
Soldier 11 added, "Our Defense Army recently discovered a rebel outpost inside the Hollow. We were planning to sweep it soon. You killing that Notoriety Ethereal ahead of time really helped us out. Golden Spear Knight, on behalf of the Defense Army, thank you."
Sam Li replied coolly, "It was nothing."
A rare smile broke through Soldier 11's usually stern face.
"The only one in all of New Eridu who dares to call taking down a high-ranking Notoriety Ethereal 'nothing'... is probably you. Well, maybe a few of those old monsters hiding behind the scenes in the government too…"