It wasn't difficult to get in touch with the Shieldless League. In fact, after Hintleyya appeared, Noah knew how to contact the Shieldless League.
The contact method was on the contract Hintleyya used to approach her. The seemingly nonsensical Originium Hand Sanitizer company actually did exist, and the fact that Hintleyya used it to approach her indicated that the company itself was under the management of the Shieldless League.
And this so-called Originium Hand Sanitizer company also left complete contact information, the meaning of which was clear: it was a signal, a signal that the Shieldless League had no intention of being Noah's enemy.
The reason for sending Hintleyya over actually also conveyed this meaning. After all, the Shieldless League couldn't possibly not know that Kuro was by Noah's side. Even if Hintleyya had ten lives, she wouldn't be able to get past Kuro's protection, so this was clearly not an attempt to kill her, but rather a test.
Noah dialed the phone number left by the Originium Hand Sanitizer company. After a few busy tones in her earpiece, a slightly frivolous male voice came through.
"Hello, welcome to Originium Hand Sanitizer. Is this for business cooperation or after-sales service?"
"...I suppose it's business cooperation," Noah's lips twitched. "Can we talk privately?"
"What a troublesome customer, but of course. Our business motto is sincerity, even if you can't see my sincere eyes over the phone. But as long as your price is right, there's nothing we can't cooperate on." The other party still sounded glib, but their meaning was already quite clear: the Shieldless League valued the price Noah could offer. As the new spokesperson for the Commercial Federation, Noah's hidden value was already enough to make the Shieldless League look at her with new eyes.
Although the Shieldless League itself might not be willing to become the black hand of the Commercial Federation, if Noah could provide the Shieldless League with enough benefits, that would be another matter entirely.
In the end, the Shieldless League was an assassin organization, and the essence of an assassin organization was still to take people's money and eliminate their troubles.
"I will offer enough chips."
"Good. You still owe our Hintleyya a meal, don't you? Why don't you let her take you to a greasy spoon in an alley? Maybe we'll run into each other?" The other party finally gave the meeting location, and only then did Noah breathe a sigh of relief.
Although the Shieldless League had actively contacted her, they had always maintained a silent attitude. Additionally, Hintleyya had never left the company, indicating that they likely hadn't given up on monitoring her. This surveillance had both good and bad aspects. The good part was that her connection with the Shieldless League remained unbroken; the bad part was that her own situation would gradually be figured out by the Shieldless League. While Noah was considered wealthy, she was definitely not so rich that the Shieldless League would open a special VIP channel for her.
The Shieldless League's willingness to approach her was mostly due to her status as a spokesperson.
And this identity itself, probably only Noah knew, was merely because the Commercial Federation thought she was easier to control.
So, there were some misunderstandings in her communication with the Shieldless League. One side couldn't quite figure out what confidence Noah had as the new generation spokesperson for the Commercial Federation, while the other was communicating with the inherently dangerous Shieldless League despite knowing her own identity was not optimistic. Both sides were probing, but probing didn't mean they couldn't cooperate, so it just depended on who figured out the other's true intentions first.
However, as long as they could meet, Noah was confident she could find the other party's weaknesses, which was one of the reasons she insisted on meeting them.
But since the other party mentioned having Hintleyya lead the way, did that mean Hintleyya was also a very important figure in the Shieldless League? Noah tilted her head and thought for a while, then dismissed the idea. If she were truly important, she wouldn't have been a 'salary thief' in her company all this time. Was the Shieldless League unable to pay salaries? Did she have to clock in on time at the cat cafe in her own company?
—
"Achoo!"
Miss Hintleyya, who was currently petting cats on company time, suddenly sneezed, startling the diligent and somewhat shedding cat next to her, which immediately flew off. Hintleyya rubbed her small nose. Ever since she came to this company, she felt like her previous life had been meaningless. Not only was she not required to stay at her post all the time, she could freely visit the free cat cafe, the cats' service level was extremely high, and she even received a salary.
How to describe happiness? Happy.
The Shieldless League is a black-hearted company. It's a good thing Roy hasn't contacted me in two weeks; he'd better forget my contact information. It wouldn't be bad to just say goodbye to the Shieldless League forever. Who would want to be a scared assassin when they could live a good life? Honestly, these two weeks have made Hintleyya feel a subtle shift in her life's pursuits. Slowly slacking off in a stable life is quite nice.
It's much better than high-risk jobs like assassination, security arrangements, or even intelligence gathering.
No wonder someone like Manner Lim Kwong eventually became an office worker. Indeed, being an office worker itself isn't the problem; the problem is bad treatment. Look at Manner, who used to be so bitter and resentful; now he even greets people when he's at work. This rapid improvement in his mental state is so fast that Hintleyya isn't used to it.
Giving an office worker timely departures and high pay can basically cure most of their psychological illnesses.
This was true for Manner, and even more so for Hintleyya. Ever since she started living and eating at the company, Noah often greeted her in the cafeteria. Although Noah was the target, there was no assassination mission currently assigned, so Hintleyya had no reason to refuse Noah's kindness.
Now they were meal buddies, to the extent that if Noah was so busy working overtime that she forgot to eat, Hintleyya would knock on her door to call her.
Counting the time, it was indeed almost mealtime. Hintleyya patted her stomach, which might have expanded a bit since she started working, and decided to go find Noah first. Noah had surely forgotten to eat again because of work.
Oh, what would this boss do without a model employee like me?
Hintleyya cheerfully moved the cat employee off her, stood up, stretched, and skipped towards Noah's office.
"...Hmm?"
"Yo, Old Ma, are you going to eat too? I'm looking for the boss." After two weeks of desensitization training, Hintleyya could now face Manner Lim Kwong, who suddenly appeared in front of her, with a normal mindset. "Is she working overtime again until it's dark? Aren't you her assistant? What kind of assistant hints about eating every day and lets the boss work overtime? Do you like to slack off too?"
"...No, I'm going back to eat with Maria later." Manner looked at the little assassin from the Shieldless League in front of him and didn't get angry. "She might be looking for you. Go on in."
"Alrighty!" Hintleyya didn't feel anything was amiss. She waved her hand and walked into the office. Inside the office, Noah was sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, lost in thought, her fingers gently tapping the armrest of her wheelchair, as if waiting for something.
Hintleyya raised her hand and greeted her.
"Boss, it's time to eat."
"Mm." Noah nodded slightly, turned her wheelchair, and smiled. "This time, I want to eat out? My treat, how about it?"
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