"Ahh—you, you! How did you get behind me?! You scared the whiskers off me—!"
Like a kitten whose tail had just been stepped on, the cat-eared girl bristled instantly, spinning around in shock to stare at Sam Li.
Her eyes widened, making sure she wasn't seeing things.
The person before her, dressed in a vintage outfit and carrying a birdcage, was none other than Sam Li—one of the members of the notorious Hare's House. He was the one responsible for handling commissions on their behalf.
It was him. The one who took the job to destroy the Red Fang Gang. The one who accepted the commission to kill White Boss.
But!
The cat-eared girl couldn't figure it out.
She had been the one tailing him—so how did he suddenly end up behind her?
Before she could make sense of it, Sam Li spoke again.
"Miss Cat, why have you been following me?"
In truth, Sam Li had noticed her long ago.
Since noon, he had felt someone's gaze lurking in the shadows. At first, he ignored it. But the hidden observer grew bolder and bolder.
When he was at the Woof Lottery newsstand, they peeked from the rooftop.
When he ate ramen at Koi Ramen, they hid behind a wall, licking their lips.
When he drank coffee at Master Tingman's café, they lurked in an alley, hopping around noisily as if they weren't even trying to be discreet.
And when he finally left for home, they followed yet again.
Sam Li had reached his limit. So instead of waiting, he took the initiative to confront them and see what they were after.
His calm demeanor only made the cat-eared girl even more nervous.
"I—I'm not 'Miss Cat'! My name is Nekomiya Nekomata, and I'm not with the Red Fang Gang… meow…"
She had wanted to dispel his suspicions.
But her heart was still racing from the scare, and in her panic, she blurted out the wrong thing.
Instead of clearing things up, she only made it worse.
Seeing Sam Li frown, Nekomata quickly tried again.
"I'm not a bad person! I followed you because I need your help. I know you work for the Hare's House—can you take my commission?"
Sam Li glanced her over. "Nekomiya Mana… a Nekoyashi?"
Nekomata nodded hastily. "Mhm! Just call me Nekomata, meow…"
According to her original plan, she was supposed to tail the weakest member of the Hare's House, gathering intel on their strengths and weaknesses.
To avoid arousing suspicion, she had intended to set up a "chance encounter" and naturally hand over her commission—leading the so-called "evil" Hare's House straight into a trap.
But reality had thrown her a curveball.
Even the "weakest" member had such sharp instincts. No wonder the Hare's House was one of the most feared factions in New Eridu.
Good thing!
Good thing she hadn't acted impulsively and attacked them outright. If she had tried to take on all four of them at once, she would have been doomed.
But now that she had been caught, there was no choice but to abandon her original plan.
If she wanted to keep up the act, she had to go all in.
Raising both hands in an exaggeratedly cute gesture, she pleaded, "I know you're Sam Li, a full-time employee of the Hare's House! As a professional agent, will you accept my commission… meow?"
Such a flimsy excuse. Such terrible acting.
It was obvious she was lying.
But Sam Li didn't call her out on it. Instead, he watched her with amusement, curious to see what she was really after.
"Tell me your commission."
Nekomata straightened up, her tone growing serious.
"It's simple! Years ago, Miguel, the leader of the Red Fang Gang, stole my family's heirloom. I've tried countless times to sneak into their territory and take it back, but I've never succeeded, meow…"
As she spoke, a look of sorrow crossed her face.
Clearly, that emotion wasn't fake.
Sam Li gave it some thought. "So, you want us to retrieve your family's heirloom?"
Nekomata nodded eagerly. "That's right! When I heard you guys killed the Red Fang Gang's leader the other day, I knew this was my chance. Please, I'm begging you—help me! I'll offer 30% of the heirloom's value as payment, meow…"
Seeing that Sam Li remained unmoved, Nekomata panicked.
Did he think the payment was too low?
Afraid that her plan would fail, she quickly upped the offer.
"Alright, 70%! Those heirlooms are worth a fortune, way more than your entire Hare's House put together, meow!"
By industry standards, large-scale commissions like this usually required an upfront deposit—a certain amount of Dennies paid in advance as a sign of trust.
But right now…
It was clear that Nekomiya had no intention of paying an advance.
Still uncertain herself, she looked at Sam Li pitifully. "My family's heirloom is in your hands now…"
A commission that landed right in his lap.
Of course, Sam Li wouldn't refuse. He might as well accept it first and figure things out later.
As for whatever scheme this little cat had in mind—he wasn't worried in the slightest. In fact, he was curious to see just what she was plotting.
Sam Li nodded. "Hare's House will take the commission."
With that, he turned and walked away, birdcage in hand.
Nekomata beamed, calling after him. "It's a deal! I'll come find you at the Hare's House tomorrow morning, meow!"
Once Sam Li had disappeared down the street, she could no longer contain herself. Leaning against the wall, she burst into laughter.
Perfect!
It worked!
She had thought her plan would fall apart the moment she was caught. But to her surprise, this employee named Sam Li was ridiculously easy to fool. With just a few improvised excuses, she had tricked him into accepting the commission, putting everything back on track.
Her smugness faded as she watched Sam Li disappear into the distance.
For a moment, a flicker of pity flashed in her eyes.
"Hare's House, Hare's House… It's not like I wanted to get you all killed, but you took out White Boss. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for doing too many bad things."
After all, they were strangers—so why such deep hatred?
It was simple. Revenge for White Boss.
To ease her own conscience, Nekomata kept reminding herself: Hare's House was full of villains.
Before setting her revenge plan in motion, she had scoured the forums for information. Over 80% of clients had left scathing reviews about Hare's House, with countless people exposing their so-called crimes.
Some complained that they were too reckless—blowing up a client's house mid-mission…
Some accused them of robbing other Hollow scavengers, stealing their loot…
Some even ranted about how much they ate—polishing off seven bowls of ramen and two bottles of premium lubricant in a single meal…
A quick browse through the forums revealed an endless list of similar grievances.
Judging from all those complaints, Hare's House was undoubtedly a den of criminals, a notorious black-market syndicate with blood on its hands.
Eliminating such a group would be doing a great service to the people of New Eridu. The Public Security Bureau should be thanking her for it.
Thinking about that, Nekomata felt much better.