Time passed quietly, and before anyone realized, it was already early the next morning.
Sam Li didn't have breakfast at Hare's House. Instead, he brought his birdcage to Lumina Square and bought breakfast from a restaurant.
After finishing his meal, Sam Li planned to stop by the coffee shop on Sixth Street. On the way, he happened to run into Zhu Yuan and Qingyi, so he rode with them to Sixth Street.
In the car, Zhu Yuan brought up yesterday's case again.
"Thanks to your help, we managed to catch the suspect, Cass. If he had escaped into the Hollows, it would've been a nightmare to track him down."
Sam Li replied calmly, "It was nothing."
Qingyi smiled. "Maybe to you, but it meant a lot to us. To thank you, Captain Zhu Yuan personally went to Chief Bringer and filed another commendation for you. If all goes well, it should be approved by tomorrow."
Sam Li nodded. "Thank you, Captain Zhu Yuan, Miss Qingyi."
Soon, the patrol car pulled up in front of Master Tingman's coffee shop.
Zhu Yuan and Qingyi still had other districts to patrol. Once Sam Li got out, they drove off again.
At the coffee shop entrance, Sam Li, as always, picked a table by the roadside and placed the birdcage on the table.
He called out, "Master Tingman, one New Eridu Special, please."
Right after he spoke, Master Tingman came out carrying a cup of coffee.
The reason he was so fast was because the moment he saw Sam Li getting out of the car, he knew exactly what he was going to order and had already prepared it.
Placing the coffee in front of him, he said, "Mr. Sam Li, there's a legend going around about you on Sixth Street."
"Oh? What kind of legend?"
"They say that apart from suspects, only you get the Public Security Bureau's pick-up service."
"…"
These days, Sam Li had become quite well-known on Sixth Street.
People who frequented the area all knew there was an agent who liked to walk birds and sip coffee outside Master Tingman's place, waiting for clients.
Not only was he unafraid of security officers—he even got chauffeured by them.
Rumors even said that Zhu Yuan and Qingyi were Sam Li's personal backers.
Though Sam Li didn't care, he still clarified, "Rationally speaking, Officers Zhu Yuan and Qingyi are just friends. There's nothing else between us."
He spent the whole morning at the coffee shop.
At one point, Belle from the video store stopped by, had a coffee with Sam Li, and paid the bill.
Around noon, just as Sam Li was about to settle up and call it a day, Soldier 11 showed up again.
As soon as they met, Soldier 11 said seriously, "Golden Rock Spear Ethereal Slayer—interested in joining Obol Squad?"
Sam Li declined without hesitation. "Sorry, I don't intend to break my contract with Hare's House."
Hearing that, Soldier 11 looked visibly disappointed. "What a shame. If we could fight side by side, we might be able to crush the rebels."
After speaking, she sat across from Sam Li and called for Master Tingman to bring her a Moonsoil Latte.
Noticing she seemed troubled, Sam Li asked calmly, "Something on your mind?"
Soldier 11 hesitated, then said, "The rebels have been increasingly active lately, causing a lot of damage. It's been tough for the defense forces. Our intel says they've also made contact with some people from the Outer Ring. I suspect they're planning something even bigger."
As she spoke, she turned to look toward the distant Zero Hollow.
It was as if she could already sense the looming threat—unease etched across her face.
Sam Li said coolly, "If high-tier Ethereals show up, just let me know. That's within Hare's House's scope of business."
Soldier 11 smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be coming to you when the time comes."
After that, she said no more. She quietly finished her coffee, then stood up and paid for Sam Li's bill.
It felt like her whole reason for coming was simply to have a cup of coffee with him.
After she left, Sam Li watched her lonely figure fade into the distance. He could tell there was a lot she hadn't said—including her concern for Anby.
With a sigh, Sam Li picked up his birdcage and left Sixth Street.
...
At that moment, on the other side of New Eridu.
Inside Hare's House, the all-purpose agency.
Anby had gone out to buy hamburgers...
Nekomata was carefully placing seven or eight bluefish fry she'd bought on the street into a fish tank, then gently sprinkled in some feed.
She didn't want to rely on Nicole anymore. She was going to achieve bluefish freedom on her own, from the ground up.
Nicole seemed especially busy today. She had left early and hadn't returned since.
In the whole of Hare's House, only Billy was idle—sitting on the couch watching TV.
He tried to change the channel.
After mashing the remote for a while and getting no response, he realized the batteries were dead.
He started rummaging through drawers for batteries.
No luck with batteries, but he did stumble upon a long receipt.
When he saw what was on it, Billy was stunned.
"Medicine for Ether corrosion? Nutritional meals? Barbie dolls? Kids' clothes and shoes? Textbooks and school supplies? What the heck? Why did Nicole buy all this stuff?"
Staring at the long list, Billy was completely baffled.
Could it be... all of Dennies' missing money went into this?
Thinking he'd uncovered a big secret, Billy went looking for others in Hare's House to share it.
But Nekomata wasn't the least bit interested. She pushed him away. "Don't get too close. The fish seller said bluefish fry are timid. Don't scare them."
Billy was speechless. "…"
The cat-person who didn't eat fish had somehow taken up fish farming.
Just then, Anby returned with a bag of burgers.
Billy immediately ran up to share his discovery. "Anby, check out this receipt! I finally figured out where all of Nicole's Dennies went!"
Anby didn't even flinch. "I saw it a long time ago."
Billy covered his face, defeated. "…"
So basically... aside from the newcomers Sam Li and Nekomata, among the original three members of Hare's House, he was the only one who didn't know this secret.
Still frustrated, he saw Sam Li return with the birdcage.
Billy spun around and darted up to him. "Sam Li, look what I found—it's a receipt Nicole had hidden! There's a bunch of weird stuff on it that Hare's House doesn't even need!"
Sam Li took a look and said, "Most of it's children's stuff."
Hearing that, Billy suddenly had a revelation. His eyes went wide with shock.
"Yeah! Children's clothes... children's textbooks... children's toys... Don't tell me Nicole has a kid hidden somewhere?!"
Sam Li: "…"
Anby: "…"
...