Lucy walked to the back of the truck and opened the doors—sure enough, the vehicle was loaded with supplies.
"Then why did you come back so late?"
Piper yawned. "What else? Ran into robbers from the Dog King Gang. There were a ton of them, even had rocket launchers. We almost didn't make it."
Hearing that, Lucy rushed over to Piper.
She gave her a once-over, and after confirming he wasn't injured, finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then her expression hardened.
"The Dog King Gang? How bold of them—to go after you when you were alone. I officially declare they're our next target."
But Piper just shook his head. "No need."
Lucy looked puzzled. "You don't want revenge?"
Piper still looked lazy. "Already wiped them out."
Lucy froze. "What? You took out the entire Dog King Gang by yourself?"
The Dog King Gang was just a small Outer Ring group, but their leader was the younger brother of Razor, head of the Mountain Lion Gang. They were no pushovers, which was why they dared to rob freely.
Lucy knew Piper's strength—there was no way she could take down the whole gang alone.
Piper climbed back into the cab, pulling out two axes as she explained, "Of course I didn't do it alone. I ran into a powerful ally on the road. He helped me deal with the Dog King Gang, and I helped him fight Ethereals in the Hollows. That's why I'm late..."
"You said you fought Ethereals?"
"Yup. Not just any—Notoriety-class ones."
Ignoring Lucy's shocked expression, Piper placed one of the stone axes in front of her.
"These things are way too heavy. Help me carry one—I need to go report to Big Sis Caesar."
After placing down the axe marked with golden patterns, Piper picked up the other and headed off.
Lucy snorted. "Can't even carry your own weapon. Piper, your strength's really slipping."
Come on, it was just an axe.
Even if it was made of stone, it couldn't be heavier than her spiked club. She could lift three or five of those without breaking a sweat.
But the moment she grabbed the axe and took a step, she was yanked back.
Wait a second.
Something was off—it was heavier than expected.
Unwilling to back down, Lucy grabbed it with both hands and barely managed to lift it.
Wobbling slightly, she followed Piper to see Caesar.
...
A few minutes later, they found Caesar in a training yard.
Piper laid out everything that had happened on the road—how she met Sam Li and ventured into the Hollows with him.
She especially described the battle.
Rock beasts summoned one after another, a golden greatsword...
But before she could finish, Lucy cut in.
"Oh, I get it now. You went to the movies and got scared Big Sis would be mad, so you're making up some story to fool us with a scene from the film?"
Piper quickly defended herself. "It's real! Sam Li is like a magician—he just lifts his hand and a rock eagle soars through the sky. One more wave, and he summons a rock lion. And that golden sword at the end—he split the Notoriety Ethereal, the Locomotive, clean in half!"
Lucy shook her head. "I don't believe you!"
Piper turned to Caesar. "Big Sis, you believe me, right?"
Caesar hesitated, then gave a small nod.
But judging by her expression, she didn't believe it either.
It just sounded too far-fetched.
No one had ever seen someone manipulate rock like that—not even heard of it.
And catching a rocket barehanded? Not even Caesar herself could pull that off.
Seeing their doubt, Piper suddenly remembered something. She grabbed the axe with golden patterns and held it up.
"This axe? He gave it to me. Same golden markings as those beasts and that sword he summoned..."
Caesar glanced at the axe, and the golden patterns instantly caught her attention.
She gripped it tightly, gave it a try...
Embarrassingly, it didn't even budge at first.
Lucy chimed in, "That thing's ridiculously heavy. No idea where Piper bought it."
Piper corrected her. "Didn't buy it. Sam Li conjured it."
Still frowning, Caesar tightened her grip and gave it her all—this time, she managed to lift it.
She walked over to a cracked concrete wall and brought the axe down with full force.
Boom!
When the dust settled, there was a hole the size of a door smashed into the wall.
Caesar burst out laughing. "Not bad! That's one sharp axe. Piper, tell me who forged it. I want one too!"
Piper sighed. "I told you, it was conjured by Mr. Sam Li..."
What else could she say? She'd already shown them the axe and still no one believed her.
Caesar grinned. "Alright, I believe you. Which gang is this Sam Li from? I like him—let's have him join the Sons of Calydon."
Piper replied, "He's an agent from the Hare's House General Services Agency."
At the name "Hare's House," Lucy looked a little surprised.
"You mean that infamous Hare's House?"
Caesar raised an eyebrow. "You know that group?"
Lucy nodded. "I've heard of them. Really popular on New Eridu's forums—probably the most talked-about agency out there."
Caesar asked, "They powerful?"
Lucy shook her head. "Not powerful—just infamous. Word is, they'll do anything for Dennies."
Piper immediately pushed back. "That's gotta be a misunderstanding. Sam Li doesn't seem like a bad person at all."
But Lucy still didn't buy it. "The stuff you're saying is just too out there…"
Catching rockets with bare hands...
Summoning rock beasts...
A giant golden sword that's over ten meters long...
To Lucy, it all sounded made up—something Piper cooked up to impress Caesar.
What frustrated her even more was how delighted Caesar looked, like she actually believed it.
Piper, how could you fool such a gullible big sister and still sleep at night?
So sly...
Lucy said seriously, "This is exactly why I said you shouldn't go out for supplies alone. Next time, I'm going with you."
Piper immediately agreed. "Perfect. I'll introduce you to Sam Li. Once you meet him, you'll have to believe me."
Caesar laughed heartily. "It's been ages since I've been to New Eridu. Bet that one robot's already forgotten about us. Let's drop by and see if that guy's still alive."
...