Out of curiosity and to gather more information about the White Guy, Hu Tao decided to personally discuss the relevant matters with the client.
After dark, at the client's request over the phone, Hu Tao arrived on the rooftop on time to await her arrival.
Soon after, a red figure gradually ran towards Hu Tao from a distance, moving nimbly across the rooftops, appearing very agile.
As the figure approached, Hu Tao clearly saw her appearance: a Cat-Xian with brown skin, a petite and delicate figure, wearing a red and white sleeveless top, black shorts, and red armored leg guards.
After confirming no one was around, the figure confidently jumped in front of Hu Tao: "Hi, hello, I'm the client, Nekomiya Matana. You can just call me 'Nekomata'."
"Sorry, I didn't want anyone from the Red Fang Gang to see me here, so I arranged to meet you at this time and place."
Hu Tao waved her hand, putting on a professional smile: "It's fine, we will do our best to meet our clients' needs."
Suddenly, she changed the subject: "However, to better complete your commission, I must first understand one thing:"
"Why would you, someone unaffiliated with any gang, want to hold a funeral for the Red Fang Gang's White Guy, and specifically state in the commission that your existence should not be revealed to anyone from the Red Fang Gang?"
Nekomata pondered for a moment before slowly speaking: "I was once an orphan adopted by the Red Fang Gang's boss, the White Guy. The Red Fang Gang once had ideals, and everyone talked about protecting everything in our homeland."
"But it eventually fell into decadence due to the White Guy's corruption, and I left the organization, never returning there again."
However, tears welled up in her eyes: "But no matter how disappointed I am with the Red Fang Gang… the White Guy did take me in after all, and the Red Fang Gang was once the closest thing to a home I had…"
"And now, due to the White Guy's death, the Red Fang Gang has become even more chaotic, and no one even thought of holding a funeral for him…"
Then, she choked back tears and said: "So… the only way I can repay this kindness… is to give him a proper funeral… even if he doesn't even have a body…"
Finally, Nekomata could no longer suppress her inner sorrow and quietly began to sob. Hu Tao, feeling empathetic, comforted her by her side.
However, when Nekomata finally stopped sobbing under Hu Tao's comfort and looked up again, Hu Tao was surprised to see deep hatred in her eyes: "One day, I will take revenge on the Cunning Rabbit House for killing the White Guy…"
Suddenly, she realized Hu Tao was still beside her and quickly covered her mouth: "Ah! Um… could you pretend you didn't hear that? It's just my personal business."
What Nekomata didn't know was that Hu Tao had a deep connection with the Cunning Rabbit House, and the facts she learned from Nicole differed from the "facts" Nekomata knew, so she immediately sensed something was wrong.
However, since Nekomata's mental state was not good at the moment, Hu Tao did not directly question her but changed her approach: "Well, as service personnel, we naturally want to provide the best possible service to our customers."
"If you need us to, we can investigate the White Guy's true cause of death while arranging the funeral for you."
At this point, Nekomata had mostly recovered, so she immediately became alert: "What do you mean? Is there more to the White Guy's death?"
"Although I don't quite understand your relationship with the Cunning Rabbit House, I feel like you're defending them!"
Hu Tao quickly waved her hand: "No, no! It might just be that the rumors we've heard are different."
"From what I understand, the White Guy was killed by the Public Security Bureau. The missiles they fired while pursuing the White Guy blew him and two employees of the Cunning Rabbit House into the Hollow."
Then, she tentatively asked: "Could it be that you personally saw the White Guy being led into the Hollow and killed by someone from the Cunning Rabbit House? That would be big news."
Nekomata was stunned. After a moment of contemplation, she murmured: "It seems… I don't know how he died either…"
Hu Tao continued to guide her thoughts: "Miss Nekomata, do you remember where you heard this news?"
Nekomata then murmured: "It was from…" However, she didn't continue, but suddenly shivered: "No, I think I've been tricked! Those hateful guys might want to use me to kill someone!"
So, she gratefully took Hu Tao's hand: "Thank you, Hall Master Hu. If it weren't for your guidance, I really don't know what I might have done! I wouldn't even have known I was being used."
Hu Tao seized the opportunity to say: "In that case, why don't you directly confirm it with the people from the Cunning Rabbit House? Of course, if you don't want to show your face directly, I can also sound them out for you; I've dealt with them before."
Nekomata thought for a moment and said: "Then I'll leave it to you, Hall Master Hu! You're such a good person, can I be friends with you?"
Hu Tao happily extended her hand: "Of course, just call me Hu Tao from now on!"
…The next day, guided by Hu Tao, Nekomata finally cleared up her misunderstanding with Nicole and the others, and Nicole and the others also gained a lively and adorable new friend.
It was then that Nekomata finally learned about Hu Tao's relationship with the Cunning Rabbit House.
However, she didn't feel angry, as Hu Tao's careful choice of words was merely to help resolve the misunderstanding, and she had also
Meanwhile, Nicole had already found out the whereabouts of the safe, and Tetsu had successfully repaired the data disk.
So, Nicole, Amber, and Billy prepared to re-enter Crete Hollow to defeat the elite Remnant that the White Guy had become and retrieve the safe.
After understanding the truth, Nekomata strongly requested to accompany them into the Hollow to give the White Guy a final send-off.
Hu Tao thought for a moment, considering Nekomata's commission and the principle of "respect for the deceased," and decided to also enter the Hollow to restore the White Guy to a human corpse and transport him out for a complete funeral.
Of course, before this, she had not explained her special ability to Nekomata, as even if she did, Nekomata wouldn't believe her, so it was better to wait until they entered the Hollow.
However, an unexpected accident occurred.
After entering the Hollow, IES's status seemed somewhat abnormal. According to Rin, it was because the HDD connection seemed unstable.
However, after a while, the connection between the HDD and Crete Hollow was directly interrupted! IES also reverted to an ordinary Bambou, leaving everyone in the Hollow at a loss.
At this moment, on the other end of the communication fiber—
"Oh, the famous Ropemaker Phaethon, it seems he's nothing special after all."