They had only known each other for less than half an hour, yet Arataki Itto had already heard multiple times that Sam Li was the ace employee of Hare's House.
This left Arataki Itto rather confused.
He looked at Sam Li with a puzzled expression. "When did you quit Wangsheng Funeral Parlor? Did Hu Tao approve?"
Sam Li was speechless. "..."
Nearby, Nicole furrowed her brows after hearing that.
Wangsheng Funeral Parlor—was that the organization Sam Li used to belong to?
And Hu Tao… could that be his former boss?
Nicole thought for a moment, glanced at Sam Li, then at Billy, and suddenly it all clicked.
In other words, both Sam Li and Billy used to be part of some organization in the outer ring. After leaving, they ended up in New Eridu and joined Hare's House.
That person named Hu Tao must be someone like Caesar.
Seeing Sam Li frown slightly, clearly not wanting to talk about it, Nicole understood immediately.
Everyone in Hare's House had a past they didn't want to bring up.
She quickly smiled and changed the subject. "Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao—that's all in the past. Right now, Sam Li is our ace employee at Hare's House!"
Billy chimed in too. "Exactly, Brother Arataki. No need to dwell on the past."
Arataki Itto, of course, had no objections. "Whatever! I'm the boss of the Arataki Gang, not Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Their business has nothing to do with me..."
Then, as if something came to mind, he looked at Sam Li again. "Oh right, how's Brother Guoba doing? Did he come here too?"
It had been more than half a year since they last met.
Thinking back to all the bug fights he had with Guoba, Arataki Itto suddenly felt a bit regretful. He really should've gotten out and about sooner—whether to find the Traveler or Guoba...
Beside him, Sam Li shook his head. "Guoba didn't come. But if you want to see him, I can take you back."
Billy immediately objected. "Don't be in such a rush! You finally made it here, and we just caught the C41 Hollow's collapse. We've got to search for resource boxes. Come with us, Arataki! We'll split the Dennies we earn."
Arataki Itto looked surprised. "Resource boxes? You mean treasure chests? There are a lot of them here?"
Billy nodded. "You can call them treasure chests if you want. They're full of goodies either way."
Then he pointed to a nearby truck container.
"See those? That's what we call resource boxes. They've got W-Engines, old-world treasures, Dennies, drive disks..."
"W-Engines? Drive disks? What are those?"
"Don't worry, Brother Arataki, you'll find out soon..."
Billy gave Arataki Itto a look of pity—like he was a backwater bumpkin from the outer ring who didn't even know what a W-Engine or a drive disk was.
He remembered when Sam Li first joined Hare's House—he hadn't known what those things were either. That outer ring they came from really must have been remote.
Billy sighed. "No worries. Now that you're in New Eridu, you'll get your W-Engine and drive disk eventually..."
Arataki Itto laughed. "I don't need that kind of stuff!"
Billy sighed again. "Once you see them, you'll change your mind."
...
Everyone turned to the truck beside them.
Inside, a dozen or so resource boxes were piled up in disarray—likely found by those Hollow Raiders from earlier.
Now that the raiders had been taken out by high-level Ethereals, Nicole had no choice but to claim the truck and the boxes.
"Billy, quit yapping and get over here. Open one up—let's see what treasures are inside."
Billy ran over immediately. "On it, Nicole! Let me handle it."
He jumped onto the truck and hauled one of the boxes down.
But every box had a lock. To open them, they'd need to return to New Eridu proper.
Billy sighed in frustration. "Nicole, we don't have any tools to break the locks. If we want to open them here, we'll have to force them..."
Before he finished his sentence, Billy had already pulled out a gun and aimed it at the supply box.
Nicole rushed to stop him. "Don't shoot! What if you damage the contents? Let's think of another way. Worst case, we haul them back and open them in New Eridu."
Sam Li stepped forward. "Let me try."
Seeing him approach, Billy suddenly remembered—Sam Li could pick locks. During a mission for the Defense Force, Sam Li had saved them with that very skill.
"Sam Li, give it a shot."
Billy placed the box in front of him.
Sam Li calmly placed a hand on it, quickly sensing the complex mechanical structure inside.
More intricate than a standard lock.
But to him, it made no difference. With a bit of Geo power, he could easily manipulate the core and unlock it.
Soon enough, the box popped open.
Everyone crowded around to look.
Inside, they found a stack of old-era blueprints.
Billy picked one up and looked it over. "What's this?"
Anby said seriously, "Looks like mechanical blueprints from the old era. We could sell them to Belobog Industries or another company—they'd fetch a good amount of Dennies."
Nicole was clearly pleased. "Alright, the priority now is to find more resource boxes. Let's not open the rest yet—we'll crack them all open once we're back."
Just as she finished, she tossed the opened box back onto the truck.
"Billy, you drive this one."
"Got it, Nicole. Brother Arataki, hop in the front seat!"
Billy was already sliding into the driver's seat, calling out to Arataki Itto.
Itto looked curiously at the truck. He figured it was some kind of vehicle—but why four wheels? Why so big?
There weren't any vehicles like this in Inazuma.
Was Liyue really this advanced?
...
While Arataki Itto was helping Hare's House search for treasure chests in the C41 Hollow...
Far across the universe, on the eastern edge of Teyvat, in the distant island nation of Inazuma.
On the streets of Inazuma, at the Arataki Gang's base—
Kuki Shinobu and a few gang members had spent the whole day helping Yae Miko fix the shrine roof.
She normally wouldn't have bothered.
But if this meant Yae Miko would go easier on the boss—and stop throwing him in jail at the drop of a hat—then she was willing to help.
Returning to the Arataki base, Kuki Shinobu called out.
"Boss? Boss? Itto? You home?"