Hare's House's reputation was plummeting, and recently, many former clients had blacklisted them. As a result, their customer base was shrinking fast.
Forget about big contracts—these days, even small jobs were hard to come by.
To make matters worse, competition in every industry was getting fiercer, and even the Proxy business was becoming cutthroat.
For Hare's House, this was just another nail in the coffin.
Nicole might always talk big about their future, but talk didn't pay the bills. In reality, things were worse than she had ever imagined.
Resting her chin on one hand, she fell into deep thought.
"The three of us are way too well-known in New Eridu. If we go out looking for clients, people will recognize us immediately. But—if we hire a new employee, no one will know they work for Hare's House. That way, it'll be easier to land contracts…"
As much as she hated to admit it, this was the truth.
Just hearing the name Hare's House was enough to scare off most potential clients.
But Anby's earlier suggestion had given Nicole a breakthrough.
If they could just hire a new employee, they could start getting jobs again. More jobs meant more Dennies to pay off their debt. Less debt meant a better reputation. A better reputation would attract more business…
Nicole slapped the couch.
"I knew I should've hired someone ages ago! This is the perfect time to bring in a normal employee!"
With two troublemakers under her command, she was constantly stressed.
A reliable new hire would at least take some of the burden off her shoulders.
Hearing this, Billy hesitated. "Uh, boss… maybe take a deep breath? We're drowning in debt—how are we supposed to afford another employee? We can't even pay salaries, and our reputation is in the gutter. Who'd be dumb enough to work for us…?"
Before he could finish, Nicole yanked open her suitcase, pulled out a stack of A4 paper, and smacked it onto his face.
"Billy, shut up! Are you questioning my intelligence? Stop wasting time—Anby, Billy, start writing the job ad!"
Billy blinked. "Wait… we're writing it?"
Nicole gave him a look. "Obviously! Do you think we have spare Dennies to pay for an ad?"
If they had that kind of money, she wouldn't be this exhausted.
Without missing a beat, she shoved another stack of A4 paper into Anby's hands.
Now, the three of them sat side by side on the couch, each holding a sheet of paper and a marker.
Staring at the blank pages, none of them knew where to start.
Billy finally spoke up. "Boss… what should we even write?"
A good question.
Nicole thought for a moment, then dictated, "Write this down: 'Industry giant Hare's House is hiring! No education required, no work experience necessary, no restrictions whatsoever! Free meals and lodging! Competitive salary! Guaranteed promotion and pay raise after hiring!'"
Yes! That sounded perfect!
Billy frowned. "Wait—when did we become an industry giant? Also, Anby and I have worked here for ages and never got a promotion or a raise. Are we really offering that to a newbie?"
Nicole didn't even blink. "Are you stupid? It's an advertisement. Do you understand advertising?"
Anby nodded seriously. "Got it. Nicole means advertisements are all lies."
Billy: "…"
With the job description settled, the three of them gathered around the table, markers in hand, and started scribbling away.
"Make sure your handwriting is neat enough for people to read, at least," Nicole muttered as she wrote.
Billy, for some reason, doodled a tiny self-portrait at the bottom of each ad.
Anby, after finishing each one, added a note in parentheses: (Nicole says advertisements are all lies.)
Once they had written enough copies, they split up and went out to plaster them all over the city.
…
Time passed, and before long, evening arrived.
Sixth Street.
A young man in ancient-style clothing wandered along the street, carrying a birdcage. Strangely enough, there was no bird inside.
That man was Sam Li.
For the past few hours, Sam Li had been exploring the city on foot. Without a single Denny, he couldn't take the subway, so he had no choice but to roam the streets, taking in the sights of New Eridu. After wandering for a while, he eventually found himself back on Sixth Street.
As the sky darkened, Sam Li murmured, "I should find a place to stay for the night."
A proper traveler—especially one playing the role of Zhongli—couldn't exactly sleep on the streets.
Just as he was deciding which hotel to check into…
Ding!
A system prompt rang in his mind:
[System Notification: The host has been detected with zero Denny while having an urgent need for Denny. Task 'External Wallet' has been triggered!]
[Task – External Wallet: As the one playing Zhongli, you, like Zhongli himself, have a habit of never carrying money. To avoid sleeping on the streets and being taken in by the Public Security Bureau, find a stable and reliable 'external wallet' as soon as possible.]
[Time Limit: 24 hours]
[Task Completion Reward: Jade Shield]
[Warning: Failure to complete this task may result in arrest by the Public Security Bureau or the Criminal Investigation Task Force.]
[Please make your choice within 10 seconds: 10, 9, 8, 7…]
…
A new mission.
If this were Teyvat, Zhongli wouldn't need to worry about Mora—he had Hu Tao's Wangsheng Funeral Parlor as one wallet and Childe as another.
But here in New Eridu?
No money. No "wallet."
Finding a reliable financial backer was now a top priority.
After a brief silence, Sam Li took a deep breath.
"I accept."
With his knowledge and skills, landing a guest scholar position—or something similar—shouldn't be too difficult. The real problem was that he had only just arrived in this world. He didn't even know where New Eridu's job market was.
"…Might as well ask around."
Up ahead, he noticed a group of people gathered around a wall.
Curious, Sam Li joined them.
As he approached, he overheard bits of conversation.
"Hare's House is hiring! They promise immediate promotions and pay raises, plus free food and lodging. Sounds like a sweet deal."
"Sweet deal? Take a closer look at the fine print. See that note at the bottom? 'Nicole says advertisements are lies.'"
"Huh? Let me see—"
"Classic Hare's House. No real business skills, but they sure know how to make people laugh."
"I can't believe there's still an agency honest enough to admit their ads are scams. This is hilarious."
"Who in their right mind would apply for this job?"
…
Industry insiders were already well aware of Hare's House's reputation. Even regular passersby had heard stories of their ridiculous business practices.
And now, with such a blatant job ad, it had turned into nothing more than a public joke.
But suddenly—
A hand reached out from the crowd and tore the job posting off the wall.
A calm voice followed.
"Excuse me, how do I get to Hare's House?"
The group immediately fell silent. All eyes turned toward the person who had spoken.
Seeing no response, Sam Li asked again, his tone unchanged.
"Can someone tell me where to find Hare's House?"