After hearing Lucy out, Caesar didn't seem bothered at all. Instead, she just smiled and said, "Doesn't matter if it's Vision Company or Blind Company—he's just a wanted criminal. Don't worry, as long as he's in the Outer Ring, we Sons of Calydon will definitely drag him out."
When they first met, Nicole had assumed Caesar was there to cause trouble, which left her with a bad impression.
Then Caesar tried to steal someone from her team, and Nicole's hostility only deepened.
But now—
Seeing how readily Caesar agreed, Nicole finally realized: this woman really wasn't here to stir things up. She was just a straightforward person who wore her heart on her sleeve.
Letting go of her animosity, Nicole smiled and said, "Deal. We'll work together to catch Perlman, and you'll get half of the reward."
Piper couldn't help but ask, "How much is half?"
Nicole replied, "One million."
Caesar was stunned. "That much?"
Even she felt a little tempted. With a million Dennies, they could renovate the old, abandoned school in Calydon and finally build one just for the town.
That way, the kids could go to school with backpacks, just like those in the city.
Lucy remained calm. "A mere million…"
When she was a kid, her pocket money alone exceeded that. But those days were long gone—she had cut all ties with that family.
Soon enough, Nicole and Caesar reached an agreement.
Caesar would investigate Perlman's whereabouts in the Outer Ring. Once she found him, she'd call in Hare's House to assist with the capture—just to be safe.
Confidently, Caesar said, "I know a few gang leaders. I'll get them to help with the search. We'll have Perlman in no time."
Nicole was thrilled and couldn't wait to trade Perlman in for the bounty. "We'll be waiting for good news."
Then Caesar chatted with Nicole about other things—
Like some of Billy's more embarrassing moments...
Once, trying to save money, Billy bought a bunch of so-called "advanced" machine modules off a black market dealer. He rushed to install them on himself, but the moment he did, he lost the ability to speak—he could only make odd "uh-uh" sounds...
It turned out those modules weren't advanced at all—they were just refurbished Bangboo language templates.
As they recounted the story, Caesar, Piper, and Lucy couldn't hold back their laughter.
Billy, covering his face, crouched in the corner. Telling embarrassing stories in front of the whole team at Hare's House... so humiliating.
After chatting for a while, Piper reminded her, "Boss Caesar, we should get going."
Caesar looked at Nicole and the others with a smile. "Alright. Once we find Perlman's trail, we'll see each other again."
Before leaving, Caesar added, "Billy's a great fighter, but he's impulsive. You've got to keep an eye on him."
Nicole replied seriously, "Don't worry. He's totally obedient now. If I tell him to go east, he won't even think about going west."
Billy was speechless: "..."
After Caesar and her team left, Nicole seemed to have something urgent to handle and left Hare's House alone.
For a while, only Anby, Sam Li, and Nekomata remained.
Anby was still munching on her burger.
Nekomata brought out the fish tank again, feeding the fish with burger leftovers while humming a lullaby from Thiren.
"Eat up, kitty, eat and sleep~"
Sam Li, after sipping some tea, grabbed her birdcage and went out for a stroll.
...
Elsewhere.
After leaving Hare's House, Caesar, Piper, and Lucy drove their truck back toward the Outer Ring.
Suddenly, Lucy remembered something. "Hey, we're passing through the Federer District soon. Want to check out that golden statue? The forum's been raving about it—they say someone even awakened powers just by being near it."
Piper shouted toward the cab, "Big Sis Caesar, Lucy wants to check out the golden statue!"
Soon, Caesar's cheerful voice echoed from inside, "Let's go take a look."
Piper grinned. "Alright, speeding up!"
Lucy quickly grabbed the handrail beside her: "..."
The truck sped along. A trip that should've taken half an hour only took ten minutes, and they arrived at the bustling Federer District.
There were so many people that the truck couldn't get through, so they parked it outside and continued on foot toward the main street.
Seeing the massive crowd, Lucy frowned. "This place is on the edge of the city, but it's busier than downtown…"
Piper said calmly, "Makes sense. A lot of people probably came for the statue, just like us."
The three pushed through the crowd.
Before they even saw the golden statue mentioned online, they spotted an enormous Ethereal statue in the distance.
It looked so lifelike, almost like a real Ethereal. Even Caesar jumped and instinctively raised her stone sword.
Lucy shook her head. "Big Sis Caesar, relax. That Ethereal's not real."
Caesar frowned. "I'm telling you, I can feel it—that's definitely an Ethereal's aura…"
What they didn't know was that this massive statue was an actual Ethereal turned to stone by Sam Li.
Soon, they reached the golden statue.
The moment they saw it and felt its presence, even the boldest among them couldn't help but feel reverence.
After a moment, Piper pressed her hands together, mimicking a pose from an old movie, and bowed to the statue.
She whispered, "Dear god, please bless me to hit the jackpot next time I buy a scratch card…"
Lucy was speechless: "..."
Before she could say anything, Caesar followed suit. "Please bless the people of Calydon with better lives…"
Lucy felt awkward praying like that. But after glancing around and seeing others doing the same—some even kneeling, begging for the statue's blessing with no visible effect—she sighed and bowed as well. "Please protect… well, just protect everything."
Then she looked up and stared at the statue.
Suddenly, something caught her eye. She froze. "Those golden patterns… the simple lines… Piper, Big Sis Caesar—the designs on the statue, they're exactly like the ones on the shield and sword!"
Caesar and Piper looked at the statue with puzzled expressions. Sure enough—it was familiar.
Caesar walked up, sword in hand, and compared it directly.
Aside from the difference in thickness—
The patterns matched perfectly.