The moment Nicole and Anby appeared,
Ellen bit down and crunched her lollipop in one go. With a casual motion, she pulled out a massive pair of scissors, nearly as tall as a person. Her eyes were filled with laziness and impatience.
"One, two… so only two targets? I thought there'd be more."
"Trying to find an artifact in this cluttered warehouse is already hard enough, and now we've got intruders. Boss, let's take care of these two cave robbers first."
As she spoke, Ellen raised the huge scissors.
At the same time, frost had quietly formed along the blade, and even the surrounding air turned bitterly cold.
Seeing this,
Nicole and Anby quickly stepped back—Nicole raised her suitcase while Anby drew the sword from her waist.
They had expected to run into other cave robbers.
But this girl with the oversized scissors? Just one look, and Nicole—drawing from her years of experience—knew she was trouble.
Before Nicole could react,
in the next moment,
several new figures appeared.
Leading them was a sharply dressed Lycaon, tall and composed, eyes bright and alert—clearly not someone ordinary.
To his left stood a nervous young maid clutching a chainsaw...
To his right was a full-figured woman in a maid outfit, wearing a gentle, beaming smile...
But the most shocking of all—
she was floating in the air, feet not even touching the ground?
A ghostly human?
A shark-type human, a wolf-type human, a timid chainsaw maid, and what looked like a ghost woman...
What a bizarre group.
Sensing the hostility in their gaze,
Nicole quickly chuckled, "Ahahaha, we're all just cave robbers, right? What happens in the Hollows stays in the Hollows—no need to fight and hurt each other's pockets. Since you've claimed this warehouse, we'll be on our way..."
As she spoke,
she shot a glance at Anby.
As the saying goes—know when to fold.
But before Nicole could finish, she was interrupted by Corin.
Corin's nervous eyes suddenly lit up. "I remember now! You're from the Hare's House Universal Agency—I saw you on the news! Didn't that big brother come with you?"
Hearing that,
Nicole looked puzzled. "Big brother? You mean Sam Li or Billy? If we know each other, that makes things easier. Let's put our weapons down..."
Rina gave a faint smile. "No wonder you looked familiar. So you're from Hare's House. Makes sense—this Hollow is entering its decline phase, cave robbers are swarming in, and of course, the hottest agency on the forum would be here too. Ellen, lower your weapon. They're not enemies."
Once Ellen set down the scissors,
Rina continued, "Allow me to introduce us—we're with Victoria Housekeeping. A pleasure to meet you both."
Seeing their sudden shift in attitude,
Nicole didn't quite know what was going on,
but she wasn't about to reject kindness. With a light cough, she replied, "Uh, nice to meet you too..."
In truth,
Victoria Housekeeping? She'd never heard of it.
And judging by their team? None of them looked remotely normal. Definitely not a typical housekeeping company.
Seriously, what kind of legit housekeeping service would show up in the Hollows?
At that moment,
Lycaon, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"Back in the Dead End Hollow, thank you for helping Corin escape the Dead End Butcher's pursuit."
Nicole looked stunned. "Uh… what?"
There was a thing like that?
How come she didn't know?
Judging by how serious he looked, he didn't seem to be lying.
Nicole straightened up. "Ah... it was nothing, just lending a hand. Don't mind the slander on the forum—we at Hare's House actually love helping people."
Rina smiled softly. "We never believed the forum anyway."
Then,
Nicole cleared her throat. "Since you've got this warehouse now, Anby and I will just head out. Anby, let's go—"
Just as she turned around,
Lycaon's voice rang out from behind.
"Hold on a moment, Miss Nicole."
Nicole turned, confused. "Is there something else?"
Lycaon spoke slowly. "To be honest, we from Victoria Housekeeping are here to locate a rare artistic treasure. We've heard your agency specializes in this sort of task. If you can find the artifact, I'd be willing to pay handsomely for it."
Nicole's eyes lit up. "How much, exactly?"
Lycaon replied, "One million."
A million right off the bat.
Nicole was shocked. "Seriously? A million? Just to find something?"
"Of course."
As he spoke,
he pulled out a photo. It was a picture of a Bangboo sitting on a toilet, deep in thought. That was the artifact they were here to find.
Nicole took the photo and nearly burst out laughing.
This bizarre thing?
Was worth a million?
Coming to the Imperial City Hollow really paid off.
Lycaon asked, "So, Miss Nicole, will you help?"
Nicole nodded. "Leave it to us. Our people from Hare's House have already checked other warehouses—they might've already found what you're looking for."
Just imagining the million Dennies made Nicole grin uncontrollably.
This trip had been more than worth it.
Anby nudged her. "Nicole, they're staring at you."
Nicole quickly stifled her grin and coughed. "So then, Mr. Lycaon, can we consider the commission accepted?"
Lycaon nodded. "Of course. You're also welcome to continue searching here."
Hearing that,
Nicole jumped with joy. "A million! Anby, let's go find that strange little masterpiece!"
With that,
Nicole charged toward the pile of stage props.
Anby sheathed her sword and followed.
Once they were out of earshot,
Rina floated over to Lycaon and quietly asked, "Lord Lycaon, judging by their appearance, they seem no different from any regular agency on the streets. Their competency is questionable. Is it really necessary to involve them?"
Lycaon took a deep breath. "Their partners are nearby—especially the one who saved Corin. This is a good chance to get close to him."
That was his real goal.
It didn't matter if Hare's House found the artifact.
As long as they could approach Sam Li and use this as an opportunity to build a connection, Lycaon's objective would be fulfilled.
After a moment of silence,
Lycaon said seriously, "Corin, Ellen, no slacking off. Let's get back to work."
Corin panicked. "Right away, Lord Lycaon! I'll go saw open the safe."
Ellen, already impatient, snapped, "That chainsaw of yours is too slow—let me just cut it open."