As Lycaon sat on a rock, resting and quietly observing Sam Li, the latter also noticed his gaze.
But Sam Li sensed no hostility—only a faint trace of awe—so he simply turned his attention away and looked toward Billy.
While everyone else rested...
Off to the side, the director—just an ordinary person—hadn't taken part in the battle at all. He clutched his old, worn-out camera and had been filming Sam Li the entire time, capturing every moment of the fight.
Now, no longer caring about appearances, the director plopped down on the ground and began reviewing the footage he'd just recorded.
In the footage...
There was the moment when the golden stone pillar came crashing down. Though it had fallen incredibly fast, the camera still managed to catch the shot…
There was Sam Li wielding his spear, relentlessly suppressing the Notoriety Ethereal…
And then the most striking scene—Sam Li hurling a spear clean through the Notoriety Ethereal's body. It was absolutely breathtaking…
Seeing all this, the director was over the moon.
This was practically a perfect movie trailer.
If he showed it to the investors, their jaws would drop.
Without hesitation, the director packed up his camera and hurried over to Sam Li.
"Um… Mr. Sam Li, I'm really sorry, but you can't play the Star-Emblem Knight anymore. However, don't worry—if I get the investment, I'll make sure you play another Golden-Emblem Knight."
Golden-Emblem Knight?
Sam Li frowned slightly.
But when he noticed the camera in the director's hands, it all clicked.
So that's what this guy was up to—he'd filmed the whole battle and now wanted to write a script about a Golden-Emblem Knight, casting him as the star.
Sam Li immediately declined. "Sorry, I'm not interested in acting. You'd better find a professional."
The director opened his mouth, about to say more...
When Nicole's voice suddenly rang out from nearby.
"Sam Li, did you find this thing?"
Sam Li walked over to where Nicole and Nekomata were.
And immediately spotted it—a golden Bangboo, seated on a tiny toilet.
"Yeah, I found it in the safe inside the warehouse storage room. It's made of steel wrapped in gold—definitely a modern art piece."
From the outside, it looked like solid gold.
But when Sam Li picked it up and gave it a little test weight, he noticed something was off. There was clearly another metal inside.
Wrapping base metals in gold like this was common in modern sculptures.
Nicole could barely contain her excitement and whispered, "Didn't you role-play as an antique expert before? Quick, appraise it—how much is this worth in Dennies?"
Sam Li paused a moment before answering, "It's got an odd design, but the craftsmanship is decent. It's only coated in a thin layer of gold, so it's not particularly valuable. If you find someone who really likes this kind of thing, they might be willing to pay a million Dennies—or even several million. But if they're not into it, it'd be hard to sell for even a few hundred thousand."
Hearing that, Nicole covered her face and chuckled.
"Who in their right mind would pay that much for something this weird?
Still, we really hit the jackpot. Victoria Housekeeping offered us a million Dennies just to find this bizarre thing, and you managed to dig it up already. Hold on—I'm gonna go collect that million right now!"
Nicole had absolutely no appreciation for this kind of art.
To her, this strange thing was barely worth a few hundred thousand Dennies. Getting a million from Victoria Housekeeping? That was pure luck.
In her eyes, a million Dennies was a huge windfall—equivalent to two or three months of income for Hare's House.
This time, they'd truly struck gold.
...
Soon after, Nicole led Sam Li, Anby, Billy, and Nekomata over to Victoria Housekeeping and handed the odd golden sculpture to Lycaon.
"Well? Our commission still stands, right? Mr. Lycaon, you're not planning to back out of the one million Dennies we agreed on, are you?"
Seeing the golden Bangboo sitting proudly on its toilet, Lycaon looked a little surprised. He hadn't expected Hare's House to be so efficient.
"This is exactly the item. As for the commission—of course we're not backing out. I hope you won't either, Miss Nicole. Please hand over the item as soon as possible."
"Payment first, then delivery."
"There's no signal in the Hollow. As soon as we get out, I'll transfer the one million Dennies to your office."
"Then we'll hand over the item once we're out of the Hollow."
"..."
Lycaon hesitated for a second but nodded in agreement.
They'd be leaving the Hollow soon anyway.
With the deal confirmed...
Nicole, looking quite intrigued, asked, "Mr. Lycaon, if you don't mind me asking... Who's the one that actually likes this... thing? You? Her? Or that little maid over there?"
Lycaon fell silent.
Ellen rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed. "None of us like it."
Corin quickly shook her head. "It's not for us. We were commissioned by someone else to find it."
"Someone else?" Nicole perked up. "And they hired you instead of coming to us?"
"How much did they pay?"
Corin answered seriously, "Six million."
The words had barely left her mouth—
When Lycaon shot her a sharp glare. "Corin, how many times do I have to tell you—commission rates are confidential."
Realizing her mistake, Corin clutched her chainsaw nervously and apologized in a panic.
"S-Sorry, Lord Lycaon! I won't forget next time..."
...
Nicole stood frozen in place the moment she heard the number.
Six million.
For that thing?
A modern, gold-plated novelty?
Someone actually paid Victoria Housekeeping six million Dennies to find it?
Unbelievable!
Why doesn't Hare's House ever land commissions like that?!
After years of working as a professional agent, Nicole's largest job had been this very one—earning a million Dennies from Victoria Housekeeping.
Six million?
She hadn't even seen a commission like that before...
She'd been so smug a moment ago.
Now her smile vanished completely.
Seeing Nicole's defeated expression, Anby said calmly, "Nicole, don't take it too hard.
Even if that client had come directly to us, there's no way they would've offered six million Dennies."
"Besides, someone who can casually throw around six million isn't going to look for a small-time agency with a so-so reputation."
"Scoring a million from Victoria Housekeeping was already way more than we could've hoped for."
Hearing Anby's analysis, Nicole instantly felt a little better.
"When are we gonna run into a sucker like that? Ugh... Even Victoria Housekeeping can't see clients like that all the time, right?"
Lycaon said nothing.
Rina smiled faintly. "At Victoria Housekeeping, our commission rates have always been that high. If a client thinks it's too expensive, they're free to find a cheaper agency on the street."
Their clients weren't ordinary citizens.
They were tycoons and government officials.
To people like that, a few million—or even tens of millions—of Dennies was pocket change.
...