Suddenly,
a patrol car stopped on the street in front of Sam Li. The window rolled down quickly, revealing Zhu Yuan.
She looked rushed and called out urgently, "Sam Li, there's a Hollow disaster in the Federer District! Do you have any friends or relatives over there? If so, contact them right away and tell them to evacuate as soon as possible!"
Sam Li shook his head. "No, I don't."
Zhu Yuan let out a breath of relief. "Good. It's dangerous over there. According to data from the Hollow Investigation Association, this incident is unusual. Be careful yourself too…"
Before she could say more,
Seth's voice called from inside the car. "Captain Zhu Yuan, the Hollow Investigation Association is pushing us again—we should get going."
Zhu Yuan answered seriously, "Right…"
Before Sam Li could even say thanks, she rolled the window up and the car sped off toward Federer District.
Watching the convoy of patrol cars disappear into the distance, Sam Li muttered,
"Federer District… isn't that pretty close to Sixth Street?"
According to the radio, this Hollow disaster was rated B-level.
There shouldn't be any Notoriety Ethereals involved, and with the Public Security Bureau and the Hollow Investigation Association on it, they should be able to handle it.
If they wanted to resolve it quickly, sending in the elite team from the Hollow Special Operations Department would be enough.
Just then,
Master Tingman came out of the coffee shop. He looked toward the end of the street where the patrol cars had disappeared, then turned to Sam Li, who was frowning.
"There's no need to worry, Mr. Sam," he said calmly. "These kinds of incidents happen often in New Eridu. Sixth Street had one in the past too. As long as it's dealt with early, it's not hard to eliminate. With the Investigation Association and Security Bureau handling it, they'll clear it out in a day or two. If the elite team from the Special Operations Department steps in, they can suppress the effects in a single day."
Clearly,
this wasn't Master Tingman's first time seeing something like this—he was entirely unfazed.
Sam Li replied slowly, "Thanks for the reassurance."
He wasn't worried that the professionals wouldn't be able to handle the disaster.
What bothered him was the people of New Eridu—the thought of them suffering made his heart ache.
And then,
he paused.
Since when did he start caring so much about the city and its people?
He figured it might be the influence of the role he was playing—taking on Morax's persona had started to affect him bit by bit.
Just as he was debating whether to go check out the disaster site himself…
The café's broadcast chimed in again:
"Please remain calm, citizens. Hollow Special Operations Unit 6 has already been dispatched to the Federer District…"
"Reminder: do not believe any rumors circulating on the forums. Beware of misinformation and fraud…"
Hearing this,
Master Tingman smiled. "The elite team's on it, and it's Unit 6 no less—the most reliable one. No need to worry anymore. Mr. Sam, would you like a refill?"
Sam Li nodded. "Yes, please. Another New Eridu Special."
Since Unit 6 was already handling it,
Sam Li dismissed the thought of heading over.
...
All day long, the broadcast continued with updates on the Hollow disaster.
Sometimes it would report that the situation was resolved, then a while later, say that a new Hollow had broken out. An hour after that, it would claim things were under control again…
This went on in a cycle.
Even Master Tingman started to question the credibility of New Eridu's broadcasting station.
But fortunately,
by afternoon, the Hollow incident in the Federer District had finally subsided completely. By evening, it had disappeared without a trace.
According to official reports from New Eridu,
apart from minor property damage to a few buildings, most citizens' belongings remained untouched.
Most importantly, thanks to the swift response from the Hollow Investigation Association, the Security Bureau, and Unit 6,
not a single life was lost.
However…
That very night,
a conspiracy theory post surfaced on the forum.
The post claimed the Hollow event wasn't as simple as it looked—that it could be part of a joint conspiracy between rebels and forces from the Outer Ring. And that worse disasters might be coming.
Below the post, some users even accused New Eridu's officials of covering up the real details of the disaster…
But these kinds of posts were nothing new.
They quickly got buried under the flood of discussions, and few people saw them.
...
Back on Sixth Street, in front of the café.
Sam Li had just finished his last cup of coffee and was about to ask Master Tingman to put it on Hare's House's tab when the man said:
"You've been coming here nearly every day for the past two months. Let me treat you this time."
Though others often offered Sam Li coffee,
this was the first time Master Tingman, the café's owner, had done so himself.
Sam Li smiled faintly. "Thanks."
With that, he picked up his birdcage and headed back to Hare's House.
Since Sam Li joined Hare's House,
they'd landed several big commissions—some worth half a million, even over a million Dennies.
It brought in a lot of money, and for a while, things were quite comfortable.
Even Nicole, who was usually quick to lose her temper, had softened noticeably. She even gave Sam Li a day off herself.
She handed him some Dennies and told him to enjoy himself.
Sam Li didn't need the money, so he declined.
He already lived leisurely—either sipping coffee or walking his bird.
When word got out that Sam Li had no commission today,
Billy immediately invited him to the arcade.
They played Snake, Soulhound, and some PVP fighting games.
The entire day flew by.
At checkout, they discovered they'd spent nearly 40,000 Dennies.
Billy was shocked, clutching his head in despair. "We're dead! If Nicole finds out we dropped that much in the arcade, we're screwed!"
Sam Li gave a soft laugh. "Nicole's been in a good mood lately. She probably won't mind."
Just as the two of them stepped out of the arcade,
a loud crack of thunder echoed from the sky.
Already on edge, Billy nearly jumped out of his skin. "Damn, that scared me—I thought it was Nicole yelling at us!"
Sam Li stayed silent.
He looked to the sky in the distance.
Lightning danced behind dark clouds, making it clear that a storm was approaching.
But that wasn't what caught his attention.
What Sam Li was really watching…
was the Hollow beneath those clouds.
It looked larger than usual, the lightning making it stand out starkly.
Through its pitch-black surface,
Sam Li could faintly see a massive creature, as huge as a mountain, roaming deep within—like it was ready to burst out of the Hollow itself.
Billy looked at Sam Li in confusion. "Hey, didn't get your fill yet? Want to head back and play a bit more?"
Sam Li shook his head, eyes still fixed on the horizon.
"A storm's coming," he said quietly. "And if we're being honest… something big might be about to happen."
At that moment,
a blurry vision flashed through Sam Li's mind—
a memory, perhaps,
of Morax marching off to war beneath a downpour.
There had been thunder then, too.
...