One early morning.
Ding ding ding!
Hugging Baal in his sleep, Sol Mercer groggily woke up, reaching for the phone at his bedside. A flood of long messages filled the screen first thing in the morning.
[Koleda Belobog: The 1 billion denny project deposit has already been transferred. If there are any issues, you can come straight to me—I'll personally help resolve them!]
[Zhu Yuan: The New Eridu Public Security bonus should have already been credited, along with the payment Qingyi and I promised you earlier. Oh, and the bounties for the Invincible Fist King and the Dead End Butcher are also included.]
Sol first glanced at his bank notifications. One was a transfer from Belobog Heavy Industries' corporate account, one from the New Eridu Public Security's public account, and one from Zhu Yuan's personal account.
Altogether, it came to exactly 1.5 billion denny—a staggering sum.
"All credited first thing in the morning. Efficiency really is top-notch."
Sol sat up sharply against the headboard, tossing Baal—who had been lying on his chest—aside in the process.
The sheer thrill of such a massive payday instantly drove away all sleepiness.
Still, Sol didn't rush to pull from the gacha. Instead, he first replied to the two messages.
[Sol: Koleda, the funds are received. Belobog Heavy Industries' efficiency leaves me very satisfied.]
Koleda instantly replied: [Of course. Our Belobog Heavy Industries is the most reputable company there is!]
[Sol: Mm, that I already know. By the way, how's the engineering project at the Cretan Hollow?]
[Koleda: The presentation is finished. We're currently in a review meeting. Our chief technical specialist, Grace Howard, will provide the most comprehensive support for the project. At the latest, by the end of next month, we'll begin full-scale excavation.]
Thinking of that sultry steel witch, Sol nodded quietly to himself. [Good, I'll leave it in your hands.]
Koleda, recalling yesterday's results, added with genuine gratitude: [By the way, thank you for cracking Vision Corporation's major case. Thanks to you, Belobog Heavy Industries secured another huge project. For years to come, we'll have no shortage of contracts.]
[Sol: Don't mention it. Honestly, I didn't think that far ahead.]
On the other side, Koleda hesitated, but remembering Sol's contribution, she finally braved her embarrassment and typed: [Anyway… thank you… Sol-oniichan.]
Even lying in bed, Sol could almost see Koleda's shy, tsundere expression. He smiled unconsciously. [Love to hear it—could you send it as a voice message?]
Koleda bit her lip, her face twisting in struggle.
Typing out "onii-chan" was already excruciating enough. Sending a voice message felt like torture. Not even with Grace Howard had she ever called someone "one-san"—at most, just sis.
But since she had already called Sol "onii-chan" during negotiations, one more time wouldn't make a difference.
Leaping from her chair, Koleda furtively checked her office like a thief, then quickly shut the door and drew the curtains. With burning cheeks, she sent a voice note: ["Thank you… S-Sol-oniichan…! I still have work, so I'll stop here for today!"]
She ended the chat right away, picking up a folder to pretend-read with exaggerated seriousness.
If her ears weren't glowing as red as her hair, and if the file were actually out of its envelope, it might almost have looked normal.
"As if hearing celestial music, my ears are momentarily blessed."
Listening to the bashful little bear-CEO's voice note, Sol couldn't help but smile.
Starting the morning with a flustered loli president's voice—that was the true blessing of an old Proxy!
Beside him, woken by the noise, Baal was smiling too, secretly wishing her own little sister would one day call like that.
Sol patted Baal on the head, then replied to Zhu Yuan's message: [Zhu Yuan, I got the bonus. You're working pretty early, huh.]
Zhu Yuan's reply came in a second: [No choice. The Vision Corporation case is too complicated—we're neck-deep in work. And Vision Corporation's CEO, Perlman, has gone missing. Things are a mess.]
Sol's brows knit. [The New Eridu Public Security let Perlman escape?]
In the original timeline, Perlman had to wait for that Exaltist group's rescue before escaping. How had he slipped away this early?
[Zhu Yuan: Sorry. Perlman seemed prepared for arrest. He had a secret passage in his home—we were a step too late. Based on intel, he's likely hiding in the Outer Ring Hollow now.]
[Sol: Alright. Will that affect the Canvas Street case?]
It was reasonable, though. Perlman wasn't stupid. As the major boss of New Eridu's dark district, it was natural he'd have not one but several escape routes. Catching him would never be easy.
Zhu Yuan explained earnestly: [Not much. With Director Justin Bringer pushing hard, the Vision Corporation trial will proceed—just postponed a bit. At most two months, we'll have a result.]
[And the Public Security is still hunting Perlman. If we catch him, the case could wrap up this month.]
If Perlman was caught, they could try him directly as the company's representative.
If not, they'd have to prosecute the entire upper management—much more time-consuming.
[Sol: Got it. Seems like the Bureau is taking responsibility seriously.]
He knew this was Justin Bringer trying to lock in his own achievements. But regardless of the man's motives, as long as he got the job done, that was enough.
Zhu Yuan, with some guilt: [You flatter us. Failing to catch Perlman was our negligence. We're just making up for it. The only thing I regret is that our dinner will have to be postponed for quite a while.]
[Sol: That's fine. A meal between friends is never too late, as long as you remember. I'll let you get back to work—see you.]
Zhu Yuan rubbed her throbbing temples, then smiled faintly. [See you, Sol.]
At that moment, Qingyi, who was calmly brewing tea at the desk, spoke softly: "Zhu Yuan, have a cup of tea to clear your head. You've been up all night."
"Mm." Zhu Yuan drained the tea in one gulp, her spirit immediately lifting. "Sometimes I envy you, senior. You can split your focus in two."
"This is one of the few advantages of being an Intelligent Construct."
Qingyi sipped her tea lightly, while her intelligent core processed case leads in parallel.
"Outer Ring Hollow, Outer Ring Hollow… a den of hidden dragons. Perlman better not be running into Pompey's arms."
Zhu Yuan sighed, weighed down.
The Outer Ring Hollow was practically lawless. The Public Security usually didn't commit resources there—they had their own system of order.
Chances were, they'd eventually need Sol's help.
At least, given the Bureau's external contractor rates, they could probably tempt that money-minded Nicole Demara into action.
But all that would depend on finding Perlman's trail first.
Meanwhile—
Sol ended his chat with Zhu Yuan, washed up quickly, and cleansed away lingering fatigue.
He woke up Nekomiya Mana, rubbed the cat's head for good luck.
Then had Baal perform the Kagura dance, receiving the blessings of Ei.
After confirming all possible safeguards were in place, Sol solemnly turned to the day's main event.
1.5 billion denny. A total of 150 pulls. He couldn't afford to be careless.