After Billy's over-the-top rant, Nicole sat silently, completely speechless.
No bullets, no gun oil… the more he complained, the more familiar it all sounded. Wait a minute—was he talking about the Hare's House instead of the Defense Force?
Before she could explode, Nekomata's eyes lit up, and he jumped in, eager to get his own complaints in.
"I want to speak too! The Defense Force is way too stingy…"
Since they could say whatever they wanted, might as well go all in. This was the perfect chance to vent everything—expose the shameless exploitation of the Defense Force… not the Hare's House. Definitely the Defense Force.
"Meow! The Defense Force commander must've grown two banks where his conscience should be—they've been withholding all our Dennies. We can't even afford mackerel anymore! We're starving out here! Please, Mr. Mole, take us in—we want to overthrow the Defense Force's tyranny!"
"Yeah! Overthrow the Defense Force! Gun oil freedom for all!"
"Overthrow the Defense Force! Mackerel freedom, meow!"
"Down with the Defense Force! Long live the Resistance!"
"…"
Nekomata and Billy went back and forth, one fiery line after another.
Nothing about it felt fake—just raw emotion.
Not even a trace of acting.
Watching the scene unfold, Soldier 11 furrowed her brows at first, wondering if they were overdoing it. The Defense Force wasn't that bad… was it?
But still—this was an act. And the more passionate it looked, the better.
She gave Nekomata and Billy an approving nod, clearly pleased with their performances.
Even she almost believed them.
But while some were basking in success, others were fuming.
Nearby, Nicole sat on her suitcase, seething, tiny fists clenched, wishing she could knock some sense into the two of them.
Those two had taken advantage of the situation to trash-talk the Hare's House instead of the Defense Force.
The nerve.
Still, she held it in—for the sake of the mission.
Shortly after their grand performance, Mr. Mole's voice crackled through the comms again.
"Boohoo… that's so sad. I can't imagine how awful your lives were in the Defense Force—can't even get a proper meal. No wonder you're so desperate to join us. Well, your suffering ends here! The Resistance welcomes you!"
Soldier 11 felt a surge of relief and responded quickly, "Then… where do we meet?"
Mr. Mole replied, "No rush. First, finish the task I gave you—set the listening and transmission devices in the specified spots. Alright, poor little soldiers, we'll talk again soon... Oh, is Phaethon nearby? Dear Phaethon, your little mole is signing off now. Looking forward to our next chat..."
Before anyone could object, the comm went dead.
He'd hung up on them without hesitation.
For a moment, everyone looked around… then burst into laughter.
Success.
Billy placed his hands on his hips. "Hahaha! Who would've thought I had such acting chops? Fooled that little mole so easily! If a movie director saw that, do you think they'd cast me as a Starlight Knight? Man, I'd love that!"
Nekomata beamed beside him, mimicking the pose.
"Meow! Rule number three of street survival: if you want to live well, never slack on your acting skills!"
Their fun didn't last long.
Bonk! Bonk!
Each of them took a hard flick to the forehead. Billy and Nekomata clutched their heads in pain.
Nicole pulled her hand back, furious. "Billy! Nekomata! What's with all that anger? You two planning to betray the Hare's House or what?"
Billy panicked. "Nicole Boss, no way! You told us to play traitors, right? I was just getting into character—had to make it convincing for that mole. I swear, I'm loyal! Totally loyal! No complaints at all!"
Billy was clearly desperate.
Nekomata, still owing the Hare's House a million Dennies, had even less wiggle room.
"Nicole, we were just acting for the money! We've got to earn Dennies for the Hare's House, right? And we did great! Totally fooled that mole, meow!"
Seeing how earnest they were, Nicole finally cracked a smile.
"Now that's better. Don't worry—once this job's done, you'll have all the gun oil and mackerel you want!"
That got Billy and Nekomata jumping with joy.
"Nicole Boss, you're the best! I'm getting emotional here."
"Stop, stop, stop! Enough with the acting!"
"Mackerel freedom, meow! You're not gonna deduct it from my allowance again, right?"
"Of course not—relax…"
Nicole was in high spirits too. This commission had gone smoother than expected.
Sure, it involved dealing with the military...
But it hadn't been nearly as tough as she imagined. A bit of acting, and the job was basically in the bag.
And the pay? Ridiculously good.
The deposit alone was 150,000 Dennies. Add the rest, and it'd easily top 300,000.
That kind of money could wipe out almost all their debts.
As Nicole, Billy, and Nekomata were still quietly celebrating...
Belle stepped forward.
"Soldier 11, what's our next move?"
Soldier 11 responded seriously, "First, follow the spy's instructions. Get the listening and transmission devices into the designated spots. Once I catch him, I'll deal with that mole myself."
With that, she led the team to pick up the devices from the location Mr. Mole had specified.
The C97 Hollow was far bigger than anyone expected.
Years ago, it hadn't been a Class C disaster zone—it was a terrifying Class A.
At the time, a notorious Ethereal had occupied the area. Any cave diver or official investigator who entered was immediately attacked.
Eventually, the Hollow Special Ops Division and the Defense Force joined forces in a massive campaign to take it down.
They succeeded—eliminating the notorious threat once and for all.
Since then, with no Ethereal menace left, the C97 Hollow had become a haven for cave divers, frequently crawling with opportunists.
Later, the Defense Force drove them out and repurposed the Hollow as a military training ground.
They regularly held drills and tested new weapons there.
Recently, for example, the Defense Force had been testing a new precision-guided artillery cannon inside the Hollow—designed for more effective strikes against the Resistance.
Mr. Mole wanted Soldier 11 to install those devices to spy on the weapon tests and sabotage them if possible.
But—
C97 Hollow was different from other zones.
Normally, when a notorious Ethereal is destroyed, the Hollow quickly collapses.
That's exactly what happened with Dead End Hollow.
But not here.
After the Notoriety Ethereal's death, while the Ether density in C97 dropped slightly, the Hollow's size barely changed. In fact, it was even larger than Dead End.
...