Soldier 11's visit this time felt more like a farewell.
A goodbye to Sam Li, and a goodbye to Anby.
After passing on her final message to Sam Li, Soldier 11 stood up and prepared to leave for the Federer District—to carry out a near-impossible mission.
But just as she turned to go, something seemed to cross her mind.
She paused, looked back at Sam Li, and said,
"If the Defense Army goes back on their word and starts troubling Anby again… please, promise me you'll protect her."
Sam Li met her gaze. "Is that a request?"
Soldier 11 answered seriously, "Of course it is. I'll pay you a commission—so you can't back out later."
With that, she took out every last Denny she had—scattered notes and coins that added up to around 140,000.
It was everything she owned.
Not that she'd be needing money anymore.
She knew Sam Li was someone who honored contracts to the letter. So once he accepted payment, she trusted him not to walk away.
With that final act, all of Soldier 11's lingering worries were gone. She turned and disappeared around the corner.
...
After watching her leave,
Sam Li finished the last of his coffee, then passed on Soldier 11's message to Anby.
Anby simply replied, "Got it."
Now it was Sam Li's turn to head for the Federer District. He couldn't just sit by and watch his client walk into certain death.
Just as he got up,
Master Tingman's voice called out behind him. "Mr. Sam, you forgot your Dennies."
He was referring to the stack Soldier 11 had left behind on the table.
Master Tingman quickly gathered the notes and handed them to Sam Li.
Sam Li replied calmly, "Please credit it to Hare's House."
"Of course," Master Tingman said. "Go handle what you need to—I'll take care of it."
Sam Li nodded. "Thanks."
Then, with his birdcage in hand, he walked along Sixth Street, heading toward the Federer District.
...
Halfway there, his phone rang—it was Billy.
As soon as he picked up, Billy's panicked voice came through:
"Sam, something bad happened—Anby's missing!"
Sam Li's expression tightened. "Slow down. Tell me everything."
Billy spoke quickly, "This morning, Nicole asked Anby to go out and buy burgers. But she still hasn't come back. And just now, she sent me this weird message, saying she was sorry, saying goodbye… that she had something important to do. She's not gonna do something crazy, is she?"
Then Nekomata's voice chimed in on the line:
"She messaged me too, meow. Told me to eat more burgers—eat her share too. Do you think she's not coming back?"
They had both tried replying, but hadn't gotten a single response.
Sam Li asked, "Where's Nicole?"
Billy answered immediately, "She went out looking for Anby. Hold on—Nicole just sent me a KnockKnock message. Let me check… She says she found out Anby went to the black market this morning. Nicole's headed there now, and she wants Nekomata and me to help search. She's asking you to help too."
Sam Li responded right away. "Don't worry. Leave it to me."
...
After hanging up, Sam Li thought back to his recent encounter with Soldier 11.
He paused to consider it all—and things started falling into place.
Anby had probably gone to the Federer District as well.
Maybe she found something in the black market.
Maybe something in Soldier 11's message gave her a clue.
Opening his chat app, Sam Li saw a new message alert. As expected, it was from Anby:
"I'm sorry, Sam. I couldn't say goodbye in person."
"After I'm gone, please look after Nicole, Billy, and Nekomata..."
"Nicole might seem harsh, but she's truly kind. All those missing Dennies? I'm sure she used them to help others…"
"Billy likes to show off before fights. Please watch his back so the Ethereals don't catch him off guard…"
"Nekomata doesn't know how to care for her bluefish. The ones she raised are long dead. I didn't want her to feel sad, so I bought a few replacements and put them in her tank. If you ever see them die, please help her again…"
...
It was a flood of messages.
Rather than a goodbye, it felt like a will.
After reading them, Sam Li became certain: Anby had learned about Soldier 11's mission—and had gone after her.
They might've clashed constantly,
but their bond had never truly broken.
Sam Li tapped out a message to Anby, asking what was going on.
As Billy said, there was no reply.
He tried messaging Soldier 11, letting her know Anby was missing.
Still no response.
With a sigh, Sam Li put away his phone and quickened his pace.
...
As he neared the Federer District, he noticed the surrounding neighborhoods had all been evacuated.
Leaping onto a nearby rooftop, he spotted it in the distance—a massive, black sphere.
The Hollow.
Just as the forums had said.
He was about to keep moving when a voice called out from below.
A patrolling security officer had spotted him.
"Resident on the roof, please come down immediately. Warning! This area is under jurisdiction of the Public Security Bureau—vacate the rooftop at once!"
But in the next instant, the rooftop beneath Sam Li twisted and shifted—transforming into a giant rock eagle that launched into the sky.
Before the officer could even react, Sam Li had already leapt onto the creature's back and soared toward the Hollow over the Federer District.
The officer was stunned.
Snapping back to his senses, he immediately grabbed his radio and called it in.
"Reporting in—we've got someone flying overhead…"
...
As Sam Li rode the stone eagle toward the Hollow,
elsewhere outside the disaster zone,
more patrol officers had spotted the creature in the sky.
Every one of them stared in awe.
None of them had ever seen such a massive eagle before.
If they hadn't been outside the Hollow,
they might have mistaken it for a high-tier Ethereal.
...
Meanwhile, deep within the Hollow—
On a deserted street cloaked in darkness,
Soldier 11 was leading several members of the Obol Squad toward their mission target.
"Our job this time," she said,
"is to hold off the high-ranking Ethereal waiting for us up ahead…"