Phaethon was a legendary Proxy in the Proxy community, possessing exclusive technology for real-time communication inside Hollows that guaranteed an exceptionally high survival rate for Agents.
None of that was what attracted Jiang Yu, though.
What really set his mind itching was wondering how high Phaethon’s bounty was.
Guided by the legendary Proxy Phaethon, the group wiped out a few waves of Ethereals and quickly exited the Hollow.
Accompanied by a strange sense of liberation, the three of them—along with the Bangboo—passed right through the wall out of thin air.
Leaving the Ether-filled Hollow behind, all three felt much more relaxed.
Anby checked her physical condition.
“The oppressive weight of Ether is gone.” “We’re out…
We’re finally out!
Aha!” Billy shouted in excitement.
It seemed even cyborgs were affected by being inside a Hollow.
As soon as he returned to an area with network coverage, Jiang Yu—true to his Earthling habits—pulled out his phone.
Three text messages popped up, along with a missed call.
Jiang Yu opened his phone to check them.
One was from his landlord demanding rent, one was a mass advertisement from a Bangboo merchant, and one was a recruitment notice from the bar named Afterlife.
A Bangboo?
He couldn’t afford one right now.
Afterlife?
Damn, wasn’t that a bar?
He had heard the services there were wilder than usual.
He might be broke, but he certainly wouldn’t stoop so low as to become a gigolo at a bar.
The missed call was from the hacker Rein, probably calling to press him for the payment regarding her investigation into Whitey.
Money, oh money…
I really can’t live without you.
*Beep beep!* A car honked from the curb.
Nicole rolled down the window and shouted to Anby and Billy, “Hey!
You two!
Get in!” Then her eyes landed on the exceptionally good-looking guy at the back.
She had already heard about him from Phaethon—supposedly a formidable guy who had saved Anby and Billy.
“Hey!
Handsome!
Thanks for saving Anby and Billy.
The Cunning Hares will definitely repay this favor!” Jiang Yu looked back at the girl with pink twintails in the car, who radiated an unmistakable air of cunning.
Needless to say, this was Boss Nicole—the owner of the Cunning Hares whom Billy had babbled about countless times.
“It was nothing,” Jiang Yu said with a wave of his hand.
Before parting, Billy asked for Jiang Yu’s contact info, promising he would definitely come to him to upgrade his weapons in the future.
Anby gave Jiang Yu a serious look before climbing into Nicole’s car.
By the look of it, she seemed to be reminding him that he still owed her twenty thousand Denny.
Jiang Yu was left speechless and watched the car drive off.
Thinking back on his ordeal in the Hollow, he started to regret selling affix weapons so recklessly.
A single blade with negative affixes had almost gotten him killed in the Hollow.
It seemed selling affix weapons wasn’t a viable way to make money after all.
He needed to find a more reliable path.
As for working a regular job?
Who works a nine-to-five after getting transmigrated?
Suddenly remembering the Carrot he had discarded, his heart tightened.
The usage count had been exhausted, so it shouldn’t be of any use anymore, right?
Musing to himself, Jiang Yu boarded the shuttle back to Seventh Street.
…
Sixth Street, Random Play.
When Phaethon asked for payment, Nicole claimed her commission wasn’t complete yet, as there was still a safe left behind in the Hollow.
At the mention of that safe, Anby and Billy’s expressions turned awkward.
After all, nobody wanted to face that terrifying monster again—the one capable of crippling them with one strike and sending them to the grave with two.
“Based on our observations prior to evacuation, the target safe is located within the activity range of a super-high-threat Ethereal.
Its registered name in the Wiseint Association’s Ethereal index is ‘Dullahan,’ a high-tier Ethereal entity.
“However, strangely enough, the Dullahan described in the index isn’t as powerful as the one in the Hollow,” Anby analyzed for everyone.
“Exactly, that’s the one!
It’s the super-high-tier Ethereal mutated from the Red Fangs Gang boss after being corrupted by Ether!
Anby and I tried to snatch the safe by force, but that guy was way too strong.
One slash sent both of us flying!
If Jiang Yu hadn’t covered for us, I almost would’ve missed seeing my big sister Monica ever again!” Billy chimed in with lingering terror.
Thinking about the safe, he continued, “Boss Nicole, what’s actually inside that box?
Is it really worth us risking our lives like this?” “Hmph, you’ll find out soon enough.
Take a look at this.” Nicole pulled out a fang-shaped pendant and showed it to everyone.
“A tooth pendant?
Is it a gift for me?
Yay!” Ling joked.
Nicole snapped back, “In your dreams!
This is a small storage device that belongs to Whitey.
I picked it up in the building before I got out of Fourteenth Street!” After some discussion, the Phaethon siblings decided to use the HDD System to export the contents of the sketchy drive, then leverage the computing power of the Inter-Knot to repair the file.
Once Nicole tracked down the safe’s exact location, the commission would resume.
In the end, to get a discounted rate on the commission, Nicole persuaded Phaethon to create yet another alt account.
Under Anby’s aggrieved, teary-eyed stare, Ling reluctantly agreed.
Having created alt accounts so many times she could do it in her sleep, Ling was long accustomed to the Cunning Hares’ shenanigans.
Up until this moment, the Phaethon siblings had no idea that a massive “DANGER” target had already been painted on their main account.
…
Seventh Street, inside a rented apartment.
The room was clean and tidy, with every item neatly arranged in its place.
Jiang Yu lay on the soft sofa, hands clutching his rumbling stomach.
His phone lay face-up beside him, displaying his balance: 0.00 Denny.
His landlord had sent two messages demanding rent, alongside a quick message from Rein: “You there?” *You there?
Can you settle my commission fee?* Jiang Yu naturally filled in the rest of Rein’s sentence in his mind.
Delaying the rent for two days wasn’t a big deal, but he had to figure out a way to pay Rein’s commission fee.
There was no helping it.
Rein lived paycheck to paycheck; her situation right now probably wasn’t much better than his.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have texted him twice.
*Gurgling sound…* His stomach growled again.
Holy crap, he was genuinely going to starve to death.
Was he going to become the very first transmigrator to die of starvation?
That would be way too pathetic.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
Jiang Yu picked up his phone and opened the recruitment ad from the Afterlife bar downstairs.
– “Afterlife” Bar Hiring Notice: – Male Host (3 positions): 50,000 Denny / hour + 20% commission.
Requirements: Handsome features, minimum height 175 cm, well-proportioned physique; athletic background preferred.
Any species welcome.
– Junior Bartender (1 position): 50,000 Denny / day + 15% commission.
Requirements: 3–5 years of bartending experience.
Any species welcome.
– Waiter (Multiple positions): 20,000 Denny / day.
Requirements: No experience required.
Any species welcome.
– Due to the impact of Hollows, many people didn’t hold down fixed jobs in one location.
As a result, temporary positions were common, and payment models across New Eridu had become quite flexible.
Staring at the words “50,000 Denny / hour,” something deep inside Jiang Yu was screaming hysterically.
“So what if it’s being a male host?
Bring it on!
Wealthy sugar mamas, please ravage me mercilessly!” …