"This commission comes from a media company. I can't say which one specifically, but you can probably guess—it's one of those listed under the TOPS Financial Alliance."
"According to the client's report, one of their female journalists, Joanna, accidentally drove into this Hollow. She's carrying some very important materials."
"Our mission is to find her. However, according to Goodenough's intelligence—" Kafka paused mid-sentence, her gaze sliding toward Nicole and Billy. "You two. Is that gang fight really so fascinating to watch?"
Kafka's lips curved into a knowing smile.
"Huh? Oh, no, sorry! I wasn't listening carefully just now. C-could you repeat that? Really sorry!"
Nicole flinched under Kafka's tone, hastily turning away from the ongoing fight.
"Same here, Miss Kafka," Billy added with a nervous chuckle. "My audio receiver's been acting up, haha…"
"It's fine," Kafka replied lightly. "That was just a summary of the commission details. No need to get so tense."
Hearing that, Nicole felt a weight lift off her chest. For a moment, she had worried Kafka might punish them by making them join that chaotic brawl.
But—what did she mean by "just a gang fight"?
If it were a normal turf dispute, she'd agree. Gangs fighting over power and profit wasn't anything unusual. But this one… this was different.
These weren't ordinary thugs. The gangsters fighting on their side moved more like bodyguards—shielding the group from ambushes, taking hits, and charging into battle without hesitation.
And yet, there was something deeply wrong.
Nicole realized the gang members protecting them had no will of their own. They followed Kafka's commands blindly, like puppets. When one fell or became useless, Kafka discarded them without a flicker of emotion.
It was obvious—they were under her control. Nicole guessed Kafka must have done something to them before entering the Hollow.
If that were the extent of it, it might've been tolerable. But what truly unsettled her was that their number wasn't shrinking—it was growing.
Every time a skirmish broke out, new gang members joined the fray. Those who saw their "allies" protecting Kafka's group mistook them for traitors and attacked, only to be subdued—and then turned into more of Kafka's thralls moments later.
In other words, Kafka could control anyone on the spot.
At that moment, Nicole fully grasped the gap between the Cunning Hares and Goodenough. Despite watching for so long, she still couldn't figure out how Kafka was doing it.
---
"Miss Kafka is so beautiful!" Eous buzzed admiringly beside her.
"Oh? Sweet talker. You're quite cute yourself," Kafka replied with a soft laugh.
Watching the Bangboo fawn over Kafka, Nicole could only imagine the look on Belle's face back at the video store.
But judging from Belle's total lack of surprise, it was clear she already knew about Kafka's ability.
No wonder—Jiang Ge and Phaethon had worked together for years. The Agents under his command were bound to be familiar with Phaethon's methods.
---
"Alright," Kafka said at last, clapping her hands once to gather everyone's attention. "Let's review what we know."
"What's up?" Anby asked warily, still eyeing the "zombies" fighting nearby.
"Just sharing intel. From what we've gathered through interrogation and previous investigation, this gang was hired by another of Goodenough's clients."
"That's not surprising," Nicole said with a wry smile. "Stuff like this happens all the time."
Kafka nodded and continued. As she spoke, the group learned the details that had been left out of the official briefing.
The missing reporter, Joanna, had apparently gone to extreme lengths to secure her position at the company—going so far as to sell her body. Through various connections, she'd gotten involved with the son of a powerful conglomerate executive and became his mistress. But once their affair was exposed, panic drove her to flee recklessly… right into the Hollow.
That young master had used his power and influence to commit all sorts of appalling acts.
"Goodenough once conducted a background check on him," Kafka said evenly. "During that investigation, they uncovered claims that he'd once thrown someone into the Hollow—kept them in a cage, and recorded the entire process of their corruption by Aether."
She paused briefly. "Of course, that came from one of his subordinates. Without that recording, it's just hearsay."
Nicole frowned. "If he's already a client of Goodenough, why didn't he just hire us instead of some street gang?"
Kafka smiled. "Because he doesn't want Goodenough to have another piece of leverage on him. Gangs, on the other hand, are easy to erase once the job's done."
"This…" Nicole hesitated. Just how much dirt did Goodenough already have on people like him? She decided not to ask. Kafka's calm smile suddenly felt a lot more unsettling.
Meanwhile, Eous continued circling Kafka with unrelenting enthusiasm.
"Miss Kafka, are you free tonight?"
"Miss Kafka, wanna see Eous do a backflip?"
"Miss Kafka, let's go watch a movie together!"
Belle's exasperated voice came from inside the Bangboo. Watching the once-fearless leader of the Cunning Hares behave like this, Nicole could only sigh.
Wise, you should really see what your little sister's turned into…
"Hey sis," Belle added cheekily, "could you ask if Miss Black Swan's free sometime?"
Nicole groaned. "You two siblings, honestly…"
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A/n: While I am a new translator, I have a Patreon! While it may be a bit empty right now both this and the other book on my page has advanced chapters posted on patreon. Set up for my web novel will be 2 chapters for every book a day and if you go to my patreon you'll see the set up there.
patreon.com/deadlygoober