Seeing Keqing deep in thought, seemingly suspicious about Sam Li's identity, Paimon quickly stepped in to cover for him.
"Ahem, Keqing, didn't you say you wanted to keep investigating this city? Let's look around sowhere else. Everyone here seems to have a phone—it looks pretty interesting. Why don't we go get one too?"
Keqing paused for a mont, then nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking."
She wasn't in a rush to contact the New Eridu authorities. She wanted to understand this world better first. If ti allowed, she even planned to enter the Hollow again to assess the severity of the disasters here—sothing she needed to discuss thoroughly with Ningguang once she returned to Liyue.
Sam Li said calmly, "Let's head back."
Paimon chid in, "Yeah, let's go back for now. It's been a long day. Let's rest at Hare's House first."
With that, they all got back in the car.
...
On the way back to Hare's House, Billy brought up Arataki Itto.
"Arataki Itto told about you guys before. You're friends of Brother Arataki too, right?"
Paimon nodded. "Of course! I didn't expect Arataki Itto to make it all the way here."
Billy then shared his past adventures with Arataki Itto—fighting in the Hollows, racing cars, and even battling bugs together.
Those were great tis.
They had planned to et up again, but after all this ti, Brother Arataki still hadn't shown up.
Did he forget about this place?
Billy sighed. "Flying Paimon, if you see Brother Arataki again, tell him Billy invited him to co to the New Eridu arcade to try out the new fighting ga…"
Paimon nodded. "Got it. I'll rember."
Before long, they arrived back at Hare's House.
The whole way, Paimon chatted endlessly with Billy, while the Traveler quietly observed the world around them, hoping to find soone in need—perhaps triggering a special quest.
But clearly, this place was different from anywhere in Teyvat. No one posted requests, and no one seed to need help.
Just as the group got out of the car...
Before they could enter Hare's House, sirens suddenly blared. A patrol car from the Public Security Bureau pulled up at the entrance.
Two officers stepped out—Zhu Yuan and Qingyi from the Janus District Branch.
Zhu Yuan approached slowly, speaking seriously. "We received a report that there were so suspicious individuals at Hare's House."
Qingyi smiled slightly. "No need to be nervous. We're just here to take a look and register so information."
As she spoke, Qingyi carefully examined Keqing, Hu Tao, Xiao, the Traveler, and Paimon.
She instantly recognized that they weren't regular citizens. That boy with the tattoos, in particular, gave off a terrifying aura, with a clearly detectable fighting spirit...
So strong!
Every ti she saw Sam Li, he was always surrounded by powerful individuals.
Of course, Sam Li himself was the strongest of them all.
Qingyi asked, "Do you all have city ID cards?"
Keqing and the Traveler exchanged a confused look—they had no idea what an ID card was and couldn't answer.
Sam Li stepped in. "They're all my friends, from the outer ring. They don't have city-issued IDs."
He didn't have one either—not even for New Eridu.
The Traveler quickly nodded. "That's right, we're all Sam Li's friends… from the outer ring."
She'd heard the term "outer ring" a few tis already but still didn't know what it ant. Was it everything outside the city?
If so, then as people from Liyue, she and Keqing did count as coming from the outer ring.
Qingyi gave a slow nod and, following procedure, recorded their information.
"Alright—Miss Keqing, Miss Hu Tao, Miss Ying, Mr. Xiao, and... Miss Paimon. Hope you all enjoy your stay. If you need anything, feel free to visit the Janus Branch at Lumina Square."
"Thanks. Goodbye—" Paimon waved to Qingyi and Zhu Yuan as they left.
After the two officers were gone, Paimon let out a big sigh of relief.
"That was close. I thought they were here to arrest us again…"
The Traveler also relaxed. "Those two were officials from around here. That short patrol officer looked kind of weird, didn't she? She reminded a bit of Scaramouche…"
They didn't seem like normal people made of flesh and blood.
More like puppets brought to life.
Off to the side, Billy sighed. "Strange. Who reported us this ti? Just having a few extra people and we get reported... If this were a business job, it'd be ruined already."
Anby said calmly, "Might've been the people next door. Their staff was spying on us just now."
Billy shook his head helplessly. "They're always like this…"
If they hadn't been using so much of the neighbor's electricity and internet, he would've gone over to confront them by now.
Just then, Nekomata ca rushing over, eyes sparkling with excitent.
"Sam Li! Nicole just sent a ssage!"
Hearing that, Billy imdiately forgot about the report and hurried over.
"What did Nicole say?"
Nekomata grinned. "She said she's already reserved a table at Lumina Square. Tonight, as the owner of Hare's House, she's treating Sam Li's friends to a feast—on Sam Li's behalf."
On his behalf?
Hu Tao raised an eyebrow, instantly catching the subtext.
No doubt about it.
That was a declaration of territory.
But Hu Tao wasn't about to back down. She smiled confidently. "If Boss Nicole is treating us, of course we're going. I'll be joining with Consultant Zhongli."
Traveler: "..."
Xiao: "..."
Keqing: "..."
Paimon, ever the foodie, didn't notice the tension. "I heard the food here's amazing—I can't wait to try it!"
...
anwhile, on the other side of New Eridu...
Zhu Yuan and Qingyi had just left Hare's House and parked their patrol car by the roadside.
Zhu Yuan frowned slightly. "Just like Ya said, those people really are here for Sam Li—and every one of them is incredibly strong."
Not long ago, Hoshimi Miyabi had ssaged her, asking her to keep an eye on Hare's House.
Apparently, a powerful and mysterious group had entered the city recently, and they seed to be looking for Mr. Sam Li.
So after receiving the tip-off, she and Qingyi rushed over—and sure enough, they ran into Keqing, the Traveler, and the others.
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