After a moment of contemplation, the New Eridu Public Security Superior Officer looked at Golden and Platinum Bangboo and said earnestly, "Professor Arche was your master. He entered Hollow Zero with you. Before his disappearance, he must have entrusted the most crucial items to you..."
Upon hearing this, the two Bangboo remained utterly indifferent, refusing to relinquish the vital dennies.
Seeing this, Cloud Retainer grew impatient. "Why make things so difficult? Hand them over to me."
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Cloud Retainer flicked her whisk, instantly binding the two Bangboo and flinging them into the air.
Immediately after, she gave another light flick, sending Golden Bangboo and Platinum Bangboo spinning in a dizzying whirl.
A crisp metallic sound rang out as a single dennie, shimmering with silver light, fell to the floor.
Then, like a sudden downpour, countless dennies rained down one after another, clinking and clattering as they struck the floor of the New Eridu Public Security Bureau.
In the blink of an eye, the once-empty ground was now buried under a gleaming mountain of dennies, leaving Zhu Yuan staring in stunned disbelief.
"Their bodies actually concealed this many dennies?"
Zhu Yuan made a rough estimate — just the dennies scattered across the floor easily amounted to over a hundred million, an undeniable fortune.
Suddenly, Cloud Retainer gave her whisk another flick, and another dennie dropped from Golden Bangboo's body. Then, with a gentle motion, she slowly lowered both Golden Bangboo and Platinum Bangboo back to the ground.
Golden Bangboo wobbled, feeling the world spin. "Hmm? (So dizzy)—"
Platinum Bangboo hadn't recovered either, staggering and turning in circles several times before plopping onto the floor. "Hmm? Hmm? (What's happening? So dizzy)—"
At that moment, Cloud Retainer, Moon Carver, Mountain Shaper, Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, Sam Li, and the New Eridu Public Security Director all fixed their gazes on the pile of dennies before them.
Cloud Retainer spoke calmly, "These mundane coins... are they what you sought?"
The Director wasn't certain either of what Professor Arche had ordered the Bangboo to bring back.
He slowly bent down, scooping up a handful of dennies from the pile, and examined them closely.
To his astonishment, he found that each dennie was engraved with countless tiny sequences of zeros and ones. The numbers were so small that they could only be discerned when held right before his eyes.
Beside him, Zhu Yuan and Qingyi each picked up a few dennies to take a closer look.
Upon seeing the strange patterns, Zhu Yuan gasped. "These numbers—are they the message Professor Arche sent back?"
Qingyi nodded slightly. "It resembles a kind of binary virtual language. We'll need to bring in an expert."
The Director pondered for a moment. "Please wait here..."
The matter of "Professor Arche's relics" was of utmost importance — it could directly affect the direction of their next operation. Whatever it took, they had to uncover the truth.
Just then, Sam Li seemed to notice something.
He gently lifted a dennie into his palm. The coin floated up, slowly splitting apart from the center into over a dozen thinner layers.
Witnessing this, Zhu Yuan exclaimed, "Even the interior of the dennies is packed with encoded data..."
Qingyi's eyes gleamed with intrigue. "As expected of Professor Arche. Whatever he sent back must be extraordinary."
Soon after, the New Eridu Public Security Director summoned a team of specialists from headquarters to analyze the hidden data.
When the experts arrived and saw the mountain of dennies, they were all dumbfounded. None of them had expected there to be so many.
The Director asked calmly, "Well? Can you decode them?"
One of the experts took a deep breath. "Of course. But... it might take some time."
The Director smiled. "That's fine. But this matter is urgent — try to decode them as quickly as possible."
And so, the experts began their work, gathering all the dennies into one place.
Using supercomputers brought from headquarters, they scanned each dennie inside and out, recording every piece of data hidden within...
This was only the first step.
Each stage of the process required over a dozen people and just as many supercomputers working nonstop for one or two days to finish scanning everything.
Given that, Sam Li and the Adepti weren't going to wait around.
Sam Li decided to stop by Sixth Street for a cup of coffee before returning to the Hare's House...
Meanwhile, the Adepti had received a private chat from Keqing, hinting at some urgent matter.
As Sam Li and the others prepared to leave, the Janus District Superior Officer said solemnly, "Mr. Sam Li, Adeptus Xianyun, Adeptus Houzhang... Once the information Professor Arche sent back is deciphered, I'll have Zhu Yuan and Qingyi notify you immediately."
Sam Li nodded slowly. "Very well—"
The Adepti replied calmly, "If there's nothing else, we'll take our leave."
The Superior Officer turned to his subordinates. "Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, drive the Adepti back."
Zhu Yuan immediately nodded. "Leave it to me and Senior Qingyi—"
However, the Adepti didn't seem fond of cars.
When it came to speed, they could easily outpace any vehicle simply by using their immortal techniques. More than that, they preferred to walk among mortals, to observe the lives of the people — perhaps even stumble upon something unexpected or inspiring.
Sam Li, on the other hand, was much simpler.
He got into Zhu Yuan's car and asked to be dropped off at Sixth Street.
Upon arriving, he treated Zhu Yuan and Qingyi to a cup of coffee.
He'd planned to charge the bill to the Hare's House' account, but Zhu Yuan and Qingyi insisted on paying, leaving him no choice but to let them.
...
While Sam Li treated Zhu Yuan and Qingyi to coffee on Sixth Street, at that very moment, inside the Hare's House—
Nicole, Billy, Anby, and Nekomata had waited half the night, but the group from the Sons of Calydon still hadn't arrived.
Nicole couldn't take it anymore. "Billy, message Caesar on KnockChat! Ask what they're doing — why aren't they here yet?"
Billy sighed helplessly. "I already did. They said they went to the bank to withdraw money."
Nicole frowned. "Withdrawing money? Why is that taking so long?"
Billy rubbed his face. "I heard the bank was packed..."
Nicole huffed. "Send another message. Tell Caesar to hurry over — say there's a ton of dennies waiting for her."
Billy groaned. "I already said that."
Nicole crossed her arms. "Then say it again—"