"No need to thank me—we're brothers, after all."

Sol Mercer waved his hand dismissively.

"Still, what's going on with the manager?" Billy looked at the Bangboo dangling from Sol Mercer's hand, clearly confused. "Even if Sol Mercer was itching for a fight, there was no reason to seek out the Ethereals like that."

The swarm of several hundred Ethereals hadn't even been on their original route. Eous had deliberately led them there.

If Sol Mercer hadn't been around, they'd all be dead.

Nicole, visibly irritated, glared at the red-eyed Bangboo. "Proxy, what's going on? How far are we from the safe?"

Slaying Ethereals and collecting their cores was nice and all, but the mission was to retrieve the safe—this was completely off track.

And the number of Ethereals they'd faced? Absurd. Without Sol Mercer, their only options would've been death—or death a little later.

"…"

The red-eyed Eous ignored her entirely, as if he hadn't heard a word.

The hacker controlling Eous was genuinely stunned. He'd lured the group into an Ethereal stronghold, thinking they'd be slaughtered.

Instead, they'd wiped out hundreds like it was nothing.

"Proxy, what the hell is wrong with you?! Say something!" Nicole's panic was rising fast.

Without a Proxy's guidance, they were screwed in the Hollow.

And because they'd hired Phaethon for this job, she hadn't bought any extra Carrots.

If Eous was out of commission, then no matter how strong Sol Mercer was, they'd be trapped in here, slowly consumed by Ether and turned into Ethereals.

"…"

Still no response from Eous.

"Is the manager mad? Because Nicole always puts things on credit?" Anby speculated.

"Ah, so that's it!" Billy smacked his forehead in realization.

"No, it's not!" Nicole instantly retorted. "I promised to pay in full this time!"

She'd worked with Phaethon enough to know they weren't petty like that.

"I think someone's hacked the video store," Sol Mercer said, gently shaking the red-eyed Eous. "This Bangboo's under outside control now."

He was sure it was the virus from that USB drive—the hacker had likely infiltrated the siblings' system.

Right now, they were probably in a battle of wits against the intruder.

"What!?" Nicole's face went pale. "We're still in the Hollow—we can't do this without a Proxy!"

Inside a Hollow, space was unstable, prone to random distortions.

If the Proxy failed, forget finding the safe—they might not even leave the Hollow alive.

"Stay calm. Trust that they'll handle it."

Sol Mercer patted her shoulder reassuringly.

He believed in the siblings—after all, that hacker hadn't struck him as particularly smart.

And even if they couldn't fix it, he had a spare Carrot in his phone bought off the Inter-Knot. No way they were getting stuck in here.

"I guess that's all we can do right now…" Nicole sighed, clearly anxious.

She didn't know about Sol Mercer's backup plan, and the idea that her life was in someone else's hands didn't sit well with her.

"We'll rest here until Eous recovers."

Sol Mercer continued calmly.

This was a safe place for now—the major Ethereal group had been wiped out, and it would take a while before any reinforcements arrived.

"Makes sense." Nicole sighed again, agreeing with the idea.

The four of them cleaned up Ethereal remains and found a concealed corner to rest.

Nicole snatched Eous from Sol Mercer and gave it a good, vigorous shake. "You better get your connection back up fast, or you can kiss that overdue payment goodbye!"

After venting her frustration, Eous remained unresponsive—still as dazed and vacant as ever.

Nicole dropped it and leaned back against the wall with a defeated sigh.

"This is driving me crazy!" she grumbled, brows furrowed with anxiety. "Just when we were finally getting somewhere, now we're gonna end up as monsters in this Hollow?"

With Sol Mercer's addition, the Cunning Hares had finally been turning things around. They were about to cash in big on this job.

Two good things happening at once—how did it all fall apart?

"Nicole, don't be too down." Anby met her gaze, offering comfort. "Look on the bright side—if we do die in here, at least we won't have to pay off the Cunning Hares' debts."

"Thanks, Anby…" Nicole said weakly. "That really helped."

"If you're feeling hopeless, you could always rest in my arms," Sol Mercer joked as he opened his arms next to her with a mischievous grin.

"Scram, scram, scram~" Nicole waved him off in annoyance. "This is not the time to be hitting on me."

She was still the boss of the Cunning Hares—no way she'd let herself act weak.

Two minutes later…

Nicole rested against Sol Mercer's chest, boredly counting fragments of Ethereal cores.

Well, if we're gonna die, might as well indulge a little…

Anby kept watch nearby, occasionally glancing at the two of them with an amused smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Billy, meanwhile, cradled Eous and gave it gentle taps, trying his best to fix the red-eyed Bangboo the old-fashioned way.

Thirty minutes passed.

A squad of Hollow Investigative Association investigators passed by, with Public Security officers in tow.

Nicole quickly slipped out of Sol Mercer's arms, visibly tense.

Sol Mercer, however, stared at the two officers with narrowed eyes.

One was a tall, ponytailed girl with a striking figure under her Public Security uniform—confident and commanding.

The other was petite—barely chest-height—but with an expression and mannerisms full of wizened gravity.

"Boss Nicole, should we trade Proxy intel for one of their Carrots?" Billy asked, spotting a glimmer of hope. "Just a suggestion, of course—the final decision is yours."

Getting caught as Hollow Raiders would mean serious prison time—but offering up valuable Proxy data might earn them leniency.

"From a pragmatic standpoint, Billy's suggestion has merit," Anby added calmly.

Nicole closed her eyes. "No. We can't."

She may love money more than life, and always have a backup plan.

But betray someone who always extended her credit? She just couldn't.

"We don't betray friends," Sol Mercer agreed with Nicole's call. Then, his gaze lingered on the Public Security officers. "But maybe… there's another way to get a Carrot from them."

"I beg your pardon!?"

Nicole and Billy turned to him, both stunned.

Even Anby looked curious—wondering what Sol Mercer was up to.