"This operation cannot afford any mistakes."
With everyone present, Von Lycaon began explaining the mission details.
A certain Hollow Raider had discovered a laboratory deep within Lemnian Hollow, suspected of conducting inhumane and illegal experiments. Their task was to investigate the laboratory, verify the situation, and if it was indeed illegal and inhumane, eliminate it on the spot while collecting evidence.
"Punishing evil and eradicating wrongdoing is our bounden duty!"
Upon hearing the mission content, Ju Fufu's spirits soared.
Ever since she was little, she had dreamed of becoming a great hero—upholding justice and punishing evil had always been her creed and guiding principle.
"Yes, yes, yes! But you also need to pay attention to your own safety!"
Arden gently patted Ju Fufu's head, a caring smile on his face as he reminded her.
"Mm… with Brother Arden here, you'll definitely protect me, right?"
Ju Fufu burrowed into Arden's arms and rubbed against him like a little kitten.
"Of course… whoever dares hurt my little kitty—my little tiger! I'll tear them apart!"
"..." x4
Watching Arden and Ju Fufu openly display affection without regard for their surroundings, the four members of Victoria Housekeeping were left speechless. After all, every single one of them was a lone (wolf)/(shark)/(ghost)/(weirdo).
"Ahem!"
Von Lycaon coughed lightly, reminding them of the occasion.
"Daoist Arden, do you have any suggestions regarding personnel deployment?"
Since the discovered laboratory covered a large area and had a very complex internal structure, the team needed to split into two groups to minimize the chance of missing anything.
This was also why the mayor had requested assistance from Yunkui Summit—Victoria Housekeeping alone was somewhat short on manpower.
...
The group division was quickly decided.
Corin Wickes, Von Lycaon, and Alexandrina Sebastiane formed one team—all members of Victoria Housekeeping.
With strong assault, break capability, and support, plus both ranged and close-range combat options, it was an exceptionally balanced team.
The remaining group consisted of Ellen Joe, Ju Fufu, and Arden Xu—an equally reasonable lineup.
The shark girl handled strong assault and close combat, Ju Fufu covered break and close combat, and as for Arden, he was essentially an all-rounder. Using talismans to coordinate with Ellen and Ju Fufu, he could function perfectly as both support and ranged backup.
"Please take these talismans."
Before the operation, Arden took out several talismans and handed them to Von Lycaon's group.
"They're communication talismans with built-in positioning functions. Lemnian Hollow has been extremely unstable lately—please be extra cautious."
Among New Eridu's six major Hollows, Lemnian Hollow was already the most active one, and recently its activity had intensified even further.
For example, last time, Ju Fufu and Arden had nearly been trapped inside due to spatial shifts caused by Hollow tremors.
Of course, that wasn't the main point.
The key issue was that Arden had just performed divination for this operation.
The result was extremely vague, filled with heavy uncertainty. It seemed that… the process would not go smoothly, but it wasn't severe enough to result in casualties.
Arden believed that Lemnian Hollow might experience another tremor, and since the team lacked a high-level Proxy, making preparations in advance was necessary.
He even suspected that the laboratory itself might be causing the Hollow tremors—though for now, that was only speculation and still required verification.
"Thank you, Daoist Arden. We'll be careful."
Von Lycaon didn't underestimate the situation despite Victoria Housekeeping's past achievements. He carefully stored the talismans, then looked at the only Victoria Housekeeping member not in his team.
"Ellen, follow Daoist Arden's arrangements at all times. Understood?"
"Got it, got it!"
The shark girl looked impatient, but everyone knew that aside from her low endurance, she was actually very reliable when it came to getting things done.
"Wuwu… I'm clearly the senior disciple."
Hearing Von Lycaon entrust the team to Arden instead of herself made Ju Fufu feel a little down.
"Hehe, the senior disciple should be leading the charge! The upcoming battles will still depend on you, Fufu."
"Really?"
"Absolutely!"
With just a few words, Arden lifted Ju Fufu's spirits again.
"It's getting late. Let's begin the operation."
"Mm!"
...
Arden's team was currently engaged in battle with a massive wave of Ethereals.
"Celestial Talisman Arts:Haste, Might, Fortify!"
As the support, Arden applied buffs.
"Rawr~~ Fufu shows her might!"
Next, Ju Fufu, acting as the break unit, smashed the Ethereals into a staggered state.
"When is this gonna be over already… Sharknami!"
Finally, Ellen, as the main assault, finished them off with a powerful strike.
The coordination was nearly flawless—nothing like a newly formed team, but more like comrades who had fought together for years.
"All done!"
In no time at all, the three of them wiped out the large group of Ethereals blocking their path.
"Hah…"
Letting out a breath, Arden wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead.
"Let's take a short break."
As a temporary support, he was fairly relaxed, but Ju Fufu and Ellen had expended a lot of stamina. After pushing this deep, the three of them had already eliminated more than a dozen waves—several hundred Ethereals in total.
Although Lemnian Hollow was known for having both numerous and powerful Ethereals due to the foul miasma, this was still excessive—something felt off.
Because of that, Arden believed it was best to proceed cautiously rather than rush ahead.
"Mmm… shark tail, so nice."
As they headed toward the resting spot, Ju Fufu followed behind Ellen, watching the shark tail swaying back and forth with clear envy.
To better receive Arden's buffs, both Ju Fufu and Ellen had several talismans attached to their bodies.
Ellen had hers pasted onto her smooth, thick tail, while Ju Fufu could only stick hers on her forehead. Though she also had a tiger tail, it was covered in fur, making it impossible for talismans to adhere.
When the forehead ran out of space, the only option left was the thighs.
As a side note, the talismans placed on her thighs were all proper runes—there were no universally beloved sus characters involved.
"Wanna touch it?"
Sensing Ju Fufu's gaze, Ellen turned around and asked.
"Mhm, mhm, mhm."
Ju Fufu nodded like a pecking chick.
"Nope!"
Ellen hugged her tail and refused, looking slightly tsundere.
"..."
Ju Fufu's expectant expression froze.
"How can this be? Brother Arden already touched it when he helped you stick the talismans on. Why is it not allowed when it's me?"
"Hmph! No means no!"
...
Inside a relatively intact building, Ju Fufu, Arden, and Ellen took a short rest.
"Perverted uncle…"
"Please call me Daoist Arden… Arden Xu is fine too, or Brother Arden."
Arden corrected Ellen's way of addressing him, though he knew words alone wouldn't be very effective, so he added another line.
"Unless you want me to go to your school and tell your friends about your part-time job."
One of the shark girl's weaknesses was her school friends.
"Got it… Brother Xu!"
Left with no choice, Ellen compromised and chose to use "Brother". After all, she had been hearing Ju Fufu call him "Brother Arden" the entire way.
Calling him "Brother Xu" shouldn't be too abrupt.