As she spoke, Nicole brought the medal and check over for everyone to see.
After letting them take a look, she carefully hung the medal on the wall, right next to the previous one.
Once everything was in place, Nicole smiled and said, "To celebrate Sam Li receiving his commendation, I've officially decided—we're going out for a big dinner tonight at Lumina Square!"
Nekomata perked up, clearly interested. "It's not burgers again, is it?"
Nicole chuckled. "Of course not. This time, it's your turn to choose. Wherever you want to go, we'll go."
Hearing that, Nekomata leapt up with joy. "Yes! Let's go to Manhanquan Fish and have the bluefish buffet!"
Billy looked less than thrilled. "..."
Sam Li frowned slightly. "..."
Anby didn't object. "..."
Without delay, Nekomata eagerly pushed everyone to get moving.
But just before they headed out, Billy hesitated as a thought struck him. He asked cautiously, "Nicole, we just earned another 100,000 Dennies... How much do we have left in the account?"
Nicole turned and shot him a glare. "Why do you care? As long as you've got enough to eat, quit asking and get moving."
Billy: "..."
He couldn't help but worry—would they be back in debt again in just a few days?
...
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, another three days had passed.
Maybe it was thanks to the free publicity during the Public Security Bureau interview, but they'd been receiving small commissions nearly every day.
Though all the jobs were trivial, each one brought in twenty or thirty thousand Dennies. Nicole was quite pleased.
In her own words, Hare's House had officially moved past the debt crisis and entered a phase of rapid growth. Every employee should work harder, and then harder still, to help the agency grow and thrive again.
During this time, Nicole had even planned to take Sam Li to the toy store on Sixth Street to pick out a new W-Engine.
But Sam Li had lost interest in W-Engines and politely declined her offer.
...
Early in the morning, just like always, Sam Li had breakfast at Lumina Square, then took his birdcage to the coffee shop on Sixth Street to start his day.
On the way, he ran into Zhu Yuan and Qingyi on patrol.
From Qingyi, he learned that an Outer Ring gang called the Mountain Lion Gang had been getting active lately, showing up frequently near the old construction site Hollow close to the city.
Qingyi warned him not to go near that area for now.
Sam Li agreed right away.
He only cared about Notoriety Ethereal—gangs like the Mountain Lion Gang didn't interest him at all.
Still, it wasn't the first time he'd heard of them. A few days ago, when he and Piper were attacked by robbers, their leader had mentioned that his boss was Razor, head of the Mountain Lion Gang.
Could they be in the city to avenge that incident?
Sam Li didn't dwell on it.
After parting ways with Zhu Yuan and Qingyi, he arrived at Master Tingman's coffee shop on Sixth Street and sat at his usual spot.
He ordered a New Eridu Special.
Sipping his coffee, he listened to the radio playing in the shop.
The broadcast reported news about the Old Capital Metro Hollow.
According to the Hollow Investigation Association's observations and on-site inspections, the prior conclusion that the Hollow was reviving had been incorrect. They publicly apologized to all departments and citizens of New Eridu.
Standing by the entrance, Master Tingman shook his head at the radio. "The Hollow Investigation Association is getting more amateur by the day. Can't even tell the difference between a Hollow's revival and decline."
Sam Li remained calm. "..."
Of course he knew the real reason.
The Hollow hadn't been misjudged—he'd killed the Notoriety Ethereal known as Locomotive, which had caused the Hollow to enter a decline again.
At the same time, he was already thinking about where to find the next Notoriety Ethereal.
He needed to gather 200,000 system points soon so he could exchange them for a Seven-Day Statue and test its effects.
Sam Li spent the entire morning at the coffee shop without a single client showing up.
Eventually, he told Master Tingman to put it on Hare's House's tab, then took his birdcage and headed home for the day.
...
Not long after Sam Li left, it was nearly noon, and school had just let out nearby.
A girl with a shark tail trailing behind her appeared on Sixth Street—it was Ellen, a maid from Victoria Housekeeping Co.
She crossed the road and made her way to a public phone.
Dialing quickly, she finally reached Lycaon. "Boss, I finally got through! I've been trying all day!"
Lycaon's voice came from the other end. "I was out on a job. Just got back from the Hollows. What's up?"
Ellen spoke slowly. "There's a little something I need your help with. Tomorrow is the school's parent-teacher conference, and there's also an outdoor activity. Can you attend for me?"
Ellen hated parent-teacher conferences.
Every time there was one, she had to scramble to find someone to stand in for her.
From the phone, Lycaon asked, "Is this a commission?"
"Sure," Ellen replied.
"Commission fee's three million Dennies," Lycaon said flatly.
Ellen was taken aback. "Huh?! Three million? It's just a parent-teacher conference! I'm your employee—you could at least give me a discount! How about five hundred thousand?"
Lycaon answered firmly. "Ellen, don't break company rules."
Ellen sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll ask Rina—she'll definitely be cheaper. Oh, and... can I get an advance on this month's pay?"
Before she even finished the sentence, the line went dead.
Advance denied, apparently.
Ellen sighed helplessly. "A job where I can't get an advance... why am I still doing this?"
Frustrated, she stomped her foot and dialed Rina.
She repeated her request, asking Rina to take her place at the parent-teacher conference.
But Rina shut her down even faster than Lycaon did. "I'm really busy tomorrow. Ask someone else. Try Lord Lycaon—he's definitely free."
Ellen groaned. "Boss is too expensive—three million Dennies!"
Rina replied, "Then ask Corin. She'll definitely help, and she won't charge you a thing."
Ellen rolled her eyes. "Does Corin look like she could be my parent? Ugh, forget it. I'll just go find an agent off the street. Got any trustworthy agencies to recommend?"
Rina's cheerful voice came back through the line. "I hear Hare's House is pretty good."