With a heavy heart, Nicole was about to leave the welfare home with the others when she suddenly hesitated.
Then she took a deep breath and said, "Wait here for a moment. I'll be right back."
She wanted to check on the little boy one more time.
Nicole stood outside the hospital room, took a moment to compose herself, and forced a smile before opening the door and stepping inside.
"How are you feeling? Did you eat enough?"
"Sister Nicole, I'm full! The hamburger was delicious—and so was the fried egg!"
Fried egg? What fried egg?
Nicole had no idea what he was talking about, but she didn't have time to think it over. Her attention was immediately drawn to the boy in front of her.
"You… how did you get down from the bed in your condition?"
Ever since the Ether corrosion flared up, the boy hadn't been able to move his legs and had been bedridden ever since.
But now…
Nicole saw him standing, carefully holding onto the edge of the bed, taking slow, steady steps.
Seeing her stunned expression, the boy beamed.
"It's the special medicine you gave me! Sam Li said you mixed it into the hamburger, and after I ate it, I could stand up and walk again!"
He let go of the bedframe with excitement—and didn't fall.
Nicole stared in disbelief.
She knew for a fact there was no special medicine in the hamburger. It had just been an ordinary meal.
So how had the boy recovered from his Ether corrosion?
She rushed over and examined him carefully. The wounds on his head and arms—once covered in signs of corrosion—had completely healed.
How was this possible?
Just earlier, when she'd last seen him, his condition was critical. What had changed?
Suddenly, Nicole froze as something clicked in her mind.
Sam Li had mentioned he'd used a special medicine to treat the boy… Could he have been telling the truth?
Still frozen in shock, she heard the boy call out to her in concern.
"Sister Nicole? What's wrong?"
Nicole quickly recovered and smiled. "It's amazing—you're healed!"
The boy was just as overjoyed. "Yay! I can finally go outside and play with the others! Sister Nicole, I want to go out!"
Nicole took a deep breath and said seriously, "The medicine is still working. Your body's healing, but you need to rest for a bit longer. Be good and stay here a few more days, okay?"
The boy quickly nodded. "Okay! I'll listen to you!"
...
Nicole immediately called the director of the welfare home to share the good news.
The director was shocked and kept thanking her over and over.
Nicole smiled modestly. "Even if it's just an honorary title, I'm still the director of this place. This is what I'm supposed to do."
For once, the usually cheerful Nicole seemed a little flustered.
At the same time, Anby, Billy, and Nekomata—having heard about the boy's recovery—hurried into the ward to see him.
When they saw him out of bed and walking, they were all wide-eyed in shock.
"He really recovered? Nicole, that special medicine worked way too fast!"
"It wasn't mine. It was Sam Li's. This was all thanks to him. Thank you again, Sam Li—you really saved me this time."
Earlier, when Sam Li claimed he'd cured the boy, Nicole and Nekomata had thought he was joking.
But now, seeing the boy healed and walking on his own, they had no choice but to believe it—Sam Li really had some kind of miracle medicine.
...
An hour later, after handling things at the welfare home, Nicole said goodbye to the director and left with Sam Li, Billy, and the others.
Once they were in the car, Nicole looked at Sam Li again.
"Thank you… again."
Sam Li smiled lightly. "Billy already said it—Hare's House is a team. We're supposed to support each other."
Nekomata grinned. "Exactly. So about that one million I owe you…"
Nicole said seriously, "What one million? I forgot about that a long time ago."
Nekomata lit up with joy. "Great! I forgot too! Cats are famously forgetful, you know."
Billy covered his face. "..."
Anby: "..."
...
While Sam Li and the others were leaving the welfare home...
Elsewhere in New Eridu—deep within the A37 Hollow...
Xiao moved through the air like a gust of wind, spear in hand, and smashed the massive Ethereal's skull with a single blow.
"That's the fifth one. There are even more monsters in this Hollow than in the last."
Since entering A37, Keqing, Xiao, Hu Tao, the Traveler, and the others had already encountered five high-level Ethereals—one of them even beyond the infamous classification. All had been taken down through their combined efforts.
As for the regular Ethereals—they were too many to count. Xiao alone had already slain hundreds.
The battle stirred memories for Xiao—of the Archon War over a thousand years ago, and the great disaster that struck Liyue five hundred years ago.
But compared to those times, this was far easier.
Now he had Keqing and the others fighting alongside him. And these Ethereals, compared to the enemies he once faced, posed little threat.
They made quick work of every fight along the way.
...
Keqing, Hu Tao, the Traveler, and Paimon had long known how strong Xiao was—none of this surprised them anymore.
"Bringing Xiao along was the best call…"
"He really made short work of that monster."
"I bet he didn't even go all out. If he had, that thing wouldn't have lasted half as long…"
"Miss Proxy! Miss Proxy! What are you thinking? Come on, show us the way! We want to go deeper into the Hollow. Are there any stronger monsters down there?"
...
Belle stood there, completely dumbfounded.
What… was going on?
Why were these people so powerful?
They treated high-level Ethereals like they were nothing—especially that one beyond even the notorious tier, which they defeated with ease.
And that flying Bangboo even said the tattooed teen—Xiao—wasn't using his full power?
That was insane.
As a Proxy, she had worked with many agents—but never seen power like this.
Wait… no.
There was one other person who reminded her of Xiao's strength.
Sam Li, from Hare's House.
He cut through high-level Ethereals just as easily.
He could even fly.
...