Just as Mo Wang had predicted, Nicole immediately went to find another Proxy after leaving Sixth Street.
But with the Cunning Hares' limited funds, she couldn't afford anyone decent. All she could get was some unreliable small-timer.
"Boss, is this Proxy reliable?" Billy asked, looking at the sleazy-looking old man wandering aimlessly in the Hollow ahead.
"Probably... I mean, he's so old, he must have been in a lot of Hollows, right? It'll be fine," Nicole said, though she didn't sound very convinced.
"Or maybe he's so old and still a low-level, low-priced Proxy because he's a total fraud?" Billy retorted.
Why did the skilled Cunning Hares even need a Proxy? Because Hollows were dangerous, unpredictable labyrinths. Without a Proxy to guide them, they could easily get lost and die.
That's why Nicole, even when she was broke, would always try to hire a Proxy. But most of the good ones were either untrustworthy or had already been snatched up by the big factions. A Proxy like Mo Wang, who was skilled, reputable, and reasonably priced, was the perfect partner for them.
Too bad their boss had lost all their money.
"It's fine. If he tries anything funny, Anby, you take care of him," Nicole said. If this guy tried to pull a fast one, she would show him the wrath of the Cunning Hares' number one merciless female assassin.
Anby just gave her a deadpan look.
"Hey, what are you guys mumbling about back there? If you don't keep up, I'll leave you behind," the old man yelled.
"Coming, coming! We're right behind you!" Nicole's expression changed in an instant, and she hurried her team along.
The unreliable old man led them on a winding path through the Hollow. After countless detours and enemy encounters, the exhausted Cunning Hares finally had enough.
"Hey, Proxy, how much longer until we get there?" Nicole asked.
"Don't rush me. You think finding a path in a Hollow is easy? We're almost there," he snapped.
If it had been Mo Wang, they would have been home eating lunch by now.
Finally, they arrived in an open area, where a pile of neatly stacked boxes sat in the center. "There they are!" Nicole's eyes lit up, and she rushed forward. "Finally!"
But Billy and Anby were suspicious. The journey had been too strange.
"Little girl, are you sure these are the boxes you're looking for?" the Proxy asked, his voice laced with a strange tone.
"Yeah, this is the stuff," she said without turning around.
"Hehehe..." he chuckled ominously. "That's... great."
"Watch out!" Anby yelled, drawing her blade.
Dozens of figures emerged from the shadows. They were Hollow Raiders, the most reviled scum in the Hollows.
"What's the meaning of this?!" Nicole's face paled.
"What do you think? Revenge, and a little... robbery," the old man said, his eyes now filled with a cruel glint.
"Revenge? For what?"
"Nicole, I think these are the guys we fought in the Hollow last time," Nekomiya said.
"Hmph, you got away last time. But not this time," the Proxy said, taking off his hat to reveal a ferocious smile. "A little tip, little girl. Brawn isn't enough to survive in the Hollows."
He snapped his fingers, and the Raiders raised their weapons. "Take them out. We'll split the goods fifty-fifty."
"Boss! There are too many of them! What do we do?!" Billy panicked.
"You think this little group of yours can take us on? Do you have any idea who the Cunning Hares are?!" Nicole blustered.
"Heh, of course we know who you are. But you're all half-dead. How can you possibly be a match for us?"
"Hmph~! Then don't blame me for using my ultimate move," she said, her expression determined.
"Ultimate move?" the Raider hesitated.
"In that case—run for it!!!"
She threw a smoke bomb, and the Cunning Hares, well-practiced in this maneuver, bolted.
"After them! I want them dead!" the Raider leader roared.
"Boss! Why does this feel so familiar?!"
"Shut up and run!
"I can't... Nicole, I can't run anymore~"
"Keep running even if you can't! Quick, go get Ancestor Mo Wang!"
...
"Sigh, another boring day with no commissions," Mo Wang grumbled, slouched over his computer.
[Master, if you are bored, you can play chess with me.]
"Heh, you think I'm crazy?" he scoffed. Playing chess with an AI? He wasn't a masochist.
He missed Ai-chan. She may have been an electricity-guzzling monster, but at least she could play games with him. Fairy, on the other hand, had recently developed a strange obsession with smurfing in online chess.
"Sigh, it's about that time. I'll go get something to eat."
Just as he stood up, the door to his room was smashed open. He stared in disbelief at the gaping hole in his door, and then at the equally stunned Bangboo and Belle outside.
"Nekomiya and Anby? What are you...?" He looked at his door, and then back at them, his expression frozen. Great, I'm already in the red, and now I have to pay for a new door?
"Proxy, it's terrible! You have to save Nicole!" Nekomiya cried, and threw herself at him.
"Hold on, what is it this time? Who did she piss off now?" he said, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck like a kitten.
"It's like this..." Anby, though exhausted, calmly explained what had happened.
"Oh, so you're saying Nicole cheaped out on a Proxy, who turned out to be an old enemy in disguise?"
"Yes. There were too many of them. Nicole and Billy are holding them off so we could get help."
"I can't believe it actually happened," he said, and looked at Belle, who just shrugged. He never thought his bad premonition would come true so quickly.
"Proxy~! You have to save Nicole! If you don't, they'll do... things to her!" Nekomiya wailed, rubbing against him like a real cat.
"Who taught you to do that?" he said, his eye twitching. "Alright, alright, it's not the first time. Belle, I'm going out. I'm leaving Eous in your hands."
"Got it, Brother! You can count on me!"
"Huh? Proxy, are you going yourself?" Anby and Nekomiya asked, surprised.
"What else? You're both exhausted. If I just send Eous in, it'll be a suicide mission," he said, and flicked both of their foreheads.
"Ow~ That hurts."
"Why did you flick us? It's all Nicole's fault~" Nekomiya whined.
"Because you're her underlings. Let this be a lesson to you. Don't just hire any random Proxy. You're veterans, and you still fell for such a simple trick. I'm going to give that Nicole a good scolding this time," he said, and then headed towards the back of the store, picking up Eous along the way.
"I didn't think the Proxy would go himself. I guess Nicole will be fine," Anby said with a small smile.
"Huh? Is the Proxy really that strong?" Nekomiya asked.
"Of course. He's the strongest person I've ever met," Anby said, looking at Mo Wang's retreating back.