Just as Billy was about to send Caesar another TapTap message urging the boss to hurry over, suddenly, Nekomata's ears twitched. She seemed to have heard something and quickly pricked them up.

"A car's coming! I'll go check—"

With that, Nekomata leapt off the couch and darted to the door of the Hare's House, shielding her eyes from the sunlight as she peered into the distance.

A truck was speeding down the street toward them.

"Nicole, Billy, Anby!" Nekomata shouted. "It's the Sons of Calydon's truck—they're finally here!"

Hearing that, Billy jumped excitedly from the sofa.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Just wait till Caesar and Piper see five hundred million dennies—they'll be so shocked they won't even be able to speak!"

As he spoke, Billy, Nicole, and Anby all headed toward the door of the Hare's House.

At the same time, the Sons of Calydon's truck crossed the street at full speed before screeching to a halt right in front of the Hare's House.

The moment the vehicle stopped, Caesar, Piper, Lucy, Lighter, and Burnice all jumped out, each of them smiling brightly—as if something wonderful had happened.

Before Billy could even open his mouth about the five hundred million dennies, Burnice was already excitedly recounting their trip to the bank.

Billy had already heard about it earlier in their TapTap chat, so he wasn't surprised.

It was just a bank withdrawal—what was the big deal?

But Burnice beamed.

"Guess how much we withdrew?"

Billy blinked. "How much?"

"Five million dennies!" Burnice declared proudly. "With that, we can buy a ton of new building materials!"

For the Sons of Calydon, who lived out in the Outer Ring, five million dennies was indeed a substantial sum.

Caesar joined in cheerfully. "Brother Billy, surprised? Wondering how we made it? It wasn't even hard—we just helped the Public Security Bureau transport a batch of Bangboo from Bangboo Town to the Janus District Branch."

Caesar, still in high spirits, went on to recount the whole story.

They had originally gone to Bangboo Town to inspect the Hollow Disaster's aftermath, but unexpectedly ran into Sam Li and Zhu Yuan—then Qingyi even rented their truck.

And the most surprising part: Lucy casually asked for five million dennies, and Qingyi actually agreed.

Caesar's grin was broad and genuine—it was clear how delighted she was.

But soon, something felt off.

Why didn't Billy look surprised?

Earning five million dennies so easily should've been shocking. Yet Billy, Anby, Nekomata, and even Nicole—who loved money more than anyone—were all completely calm.

They didn't seem impressed at all.

"Billy, Miss Nicole," Caesar asked, confused, "what's with those expressions? Isn't this a big deal?"

Nicole shook her head. "Five million? That's just pocket change—"

Billy sighed and rubbed his face. "Boss Caesar, seeing how happy you looked, I thought Sam Li had already told you."

He had assumed Caesar's excitement was about the five hundred million dennies.

But no—they were just celebrating five million.

Five million dennies… Was that really worth getting this worked up over?

Then again, Nicole had conveniently forgotten that half a year ago, even fifty thousand dennies would've made her ecstatic for days.

Caesar frowned. "Told me what?"

Billy cleared his throat and said seriously, "Sam Li called earlier. He asked us to tell you that after consulting with Miss Keqing, they've decided to invest in Calydon Town on behalf of Liyue. The first investment amount is... five hundred million dennies."

Hearing that someone wanted to invest in Calydon Town, Caesar's face lit up.

"Brother Billy, please thank Mr. Sam Li and Miss Keqing for me! With five hundred million dennies, we can buy so many more building materials—"

Then she froze.

Wait.

"How many dennies?"

Billy held up five fingers. "Five hundred million dennies—"

Caesar's eyes went wide. "!!!!!"

Piper jolted awake, her drowsy eyes suddenly alert. "Five hundred million dennies? Are you serious? Did we just win the jackpot?"

Lucy frowned deeply. "Billy, did you mishear? I don't appreciate jokes like that."

Even for Lucy, a former heiress from a wealthy conglomerate, five hundred million dennies was an enormous amount.

Seeing their stunned faces, Billy couldn't contain his excitement and waved his arms animatedly.

"Of course I didn't mishear! It's five hundred million dennies! Miss Keqing already transferred it to the Hare's House account—we can send it to you anytime!"

Nicole sighed heavily. "Such a massive fortune, gone just like that."

The money had barely reached the Hare's House' account before it was about to leave again. The thought made her heart ache.

"Give me your account details," she said reluctantly. "I'll transfer it to you now."

Caesar hurriedly pulled out her phone.

Moments later, a ding sounded. The transfer was complete. Caesar's phone displayed the incoming funds notification.

Caesar, Piper, and Burnice quickly huddled together to check the balance.

Five hundred and fifty million dennies.

Their eyes widened in unison as they exchanged dumbfounded looks.

They'd imagined all sorts of possibilities—Billy mishearing, or Billy joking—but none of them expected it to be real.

Just like that, they'd received 550 million dennies. It felt unreal, like a dream.

Burnice gasped. "Wait, wasn't it five hundred million? Why's there an extra fifty million?"

Nicole smiled. "That extra fifty million is our Hare's House investment. Don't forget, you promised me that once Calydon City is built, I'd be the Deputy Mayor. Since I'm the Deputy Mayor, I should help build the city, right?"

Caesar nodded seriously. "Rest assured, Miss Nicole, I won't forget."

They took the chance to discuss several other topics—Calydon Town's reconstruction progress, recent Hollow Zero operations, and the affairs of the Adepti.

As the sun began to set, Caesar and Nicole bid each other farewell. Caesar then stopped by the bank again, withdrawing a large amount of dennies to purchase construction materials and hire workers.

Now that they had funding, Caesar began considering whether to bring in a professional construction team from the city—perhaps the recently renowned Belobog Heavy Industries...

...

Time passed quickly.

Three days later, the New Eridu Public Security Director was sitting in his office as usual when the phone suddenly rang.

He picked it up—and his expression changed to one of shock.

"What did you say? The decrypted data inside the dennies... is Professor Arche's virtual lifeform?"