That day, after completing their commission, Ju Fufu and Arden Xu emerged from Lemnian Hollow.
"Phew… that was close. We almost didn't make it out!"
"Yeah, who would've thought the Hollow would suddenly destabilize and cause the Carrot data to fail!"
Ju Fufu and Arden complained as they walked, both of them looking rather disheveled.
"Good thing, Brother Arden, you're good at pathfinding spells…"
Just thinking about the possibility of getting lost in the Hollow, never finding their way out, and eventually being eroded into an Ethereal made Ju Fufu shudder with lingering fear.
"Spells have their limits. If only we had a reliable Proxy."
Arden couldn't help but sigh as well.
Yunkui Summit didn't have any Proxies of its own, and all Carrot data came from the Hollow Investigative Association, which inevitably came with issues of timeliness.
Just like this time—mid-mission, the Hollow environment suddenly changed, and the Carrot data couldn't adapt in time, placing Ju Fufu and Arden in real danger.
"Brother Arden, should we recruit a reliable Proxy? Or maybe even bring one into Yunkui Summit directly?"
Ju Fufu offered her suggestion.
If the Hollow environment changed, a dedicated Proxy could react immediately—far more quickly and effectively than the Carrot data provided by the Hollow Investigative Association.
"..."
After thinking for a moment, Arden shook his head.
Recruiting a Proxy was easy, but recruiting a trustworthy one was far more difficult—not to mention the issue of trust itself.
Porcelumex had quieted down quite a bit after the "honey trap" incident, but there was no guarantee they wouldn't tamper with Proxy candidates.
"No rush. Let's wait a bit longer. In a few months… or maybe a year, some very powerful Proxies will join Yunkui Summit."
This wasn't the result of Arden's divination, but rather a memory from before his transmigration.
Something already confirmed in Zenless Zone Zero Version 2.0—the sibling video sellers would join Yunkui Summit. They were Phaethon, widely regarded as the strongest Proxies in all of New Eridu.
As for the blank period in between… they'd just have to endure and make do for now.
...
"Master Yixuan!"
After returning to Yunkui Summit, Arden reported the investigation results and their experiences to Yixuan together with Ju Fufu.
"Arden, Fufu, you've worked hard."
This investigation involved the Exaltists, so Yixuan took it very seriously.
There had long been signs of Exaltists activity in Waifei Peninsula, but recently they seemed especially active—making an investigation necessary, just in case.
"Although I really want you both to rest properly, there's another important task here that I need to trouble you with."
"Not a problem at all! As long as it's about punishing evil and upholding justice, just leave it to us!"
Before Arden could say anything, Ju Fufu eagerly accepted the task.
...
This time, the mission came from Mayor Mayflower.
Those involved weren't just Arden and Ju Fufu, but also collaborators sent by the mayor.
Lemnian Hollow—the designated rendezvous point.
"I am Von Lycaon, executive of Victoria Housekeeping Co. On behalf of Victoria Housekeeping and the mayor, I welcome the two Daoists from Yunkui Summit."
As expected of the de facto leader and external representative of Victoria Housekeeping—their service attitude and manners were impeccable.
Of course… there were also less ideal parts.
"Yo! Long time no see, perverted uncle!"
Leaning casually against the wall with zero elegance, a Shark Thiren girl in a maid outfit waved lazily as a greeting, all while calling out a rude nickname and wearing an utterly exhausted expression.
"Haa~~ so sleepy!"
"Ellen, this is working time. Maintain proper decorum and manners."
Von Lycaon reminded her sternly.
"Tch, got it."
The shark girl reluctantly walked over, stood straight, crossed her hands in front of her, and bowed slightly.
"Victoria Housekeeping Maid, Ellen Joe, at your service."
For the sake of salary and bonuses, Ellen was really pushing herself.
"Heh, I told you—we'd meet again soon."
Arden looked at Ellen and nodded inwardly.
Compared to JK-uniform Ellen, maid-outfit Ellen had a completely different charm.
Arden imagined Ellen looking at him with disgust and saying, 'Serving the master… you pervert uncle!'
Resistant, yet still fulfilling the master's demands and striking the appropriate poses… nice!
Thinking about it that way, being called a perverted uncle didn't seem like such a loss after all. (This may not be another misinterpretation)
"..."
Off to the side, Ju Fufu glanced at Arden lost in fantasy, then looked at Ellen—young, pretty, cute, with a better chest shape than hers and an even thicker tail—and suddenly grew alert.
"You knew each other before? How come I didn't know?"
Ju Fufu began to suspect that Arden had secretly been messing around with a JK girl behind her back.
As an aside, Ju Fufu had never attended school—her cultural education had always been handled by Arden, and after joining Yunkui Summit, Master Yixuan had taught her many practical things as well.
"Ahem!"
Arden gave a tactical cough. Not wanting to get scratched, he quickly explained, "It was just the other day—when I sent Master back and brought you tea milk. I ran into her in an alley…"
"Oh, so it was just a chance encounter."
Hearing that it was merely a coincidence, Ju Fufu finally relaxed—both her heart and her claws.
Clang… clack-clack~!
At that moment, the sound of metal colliding rang out repeatedly.
"..."
Arden saw a metal saw blade roll over.
"Ahhh~~! Sorry, sorry!"
Then, a small and adorable maid scurried over on her short legs, picked up the saw blade, and looked extremely embarrassed.
"Corin, I believe I've emphasized that weapon maintenance and floor dusting are daily required tasks?"
Seeing his subordinates repeatedly losing composure, Von Lycaon looked somewhat apologetic as well.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Lycaon, really—so sorry!"
Corin Wickes bowed deeply in apology, nearly reaching ninety degrees.
"Wah~~ so cute!"
Unlike her wariness toward Ellen, Ju Fufu's eyes sparkled when she looked at Corin.
Even shorter than her—though only by 1 cm—which was quite rare.
"Rina, you can go on standby for now."
Seeing that everyone had arrived and no danger was detected nearby, Von Lycaon said.
"Yes~ sir!"
Suddenly, a gentle yet slightly eerie female voice came from behind Ju Fufu and Arden.
"Rawr~!"
Ju Fufu was startled.
"..."
Arden narrowed his eyes slightly.
To get that close without being noticed—this newcomer was no ordinary person. Of course, that was also because she harbored no hostility.
"Sorry for startling you two Daoists, hehehe."
Rina smiled apologetically.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both. I am the head maid of Victoria Housekeeping, Alexandrina Sebastiane. You may call me Rina—or Onee-san if you like~"
"Onee-san? Gulp…"
Ju Fufu noticed the two generous curves on Rina's chest and swallowed.
They really were… big.
"Floating… a female ghost?"
With her feet not touching the ground as she moved, and accompanied by two ominously shaped puppets, Arden once again drifted into imagination.
I wonder if a traditional daoist's peachwood sword could exorcise a western female ghost.