Nicole’s eyes lit up a little at the question. It was the excited gleam of someone whose plan was getting recognized and needed.

  “It took you this long to catch on?” The familiar curve—mixing smugness and shrewdness—touched her lips again. “Of course I can.”

  She leaned forward a little, a shared-secret enthusiasm in her tone. “Just like I said before, my plan is working. Based on the intel I’ve got—and it’s pretty solid—the people from Echo Quarry are making their move tonight.”

  “Who’s leading the team… I don’t have all the details on that yet. But the timing is right.”

  She paused and added, “They’ve probably been getting ready and planning this for a while. They were just missing some… key information. And the stuff I sold them earlier about Blighted Hand Wilbur and his crew… that probably filled in the last, most important piece they needed. So it makes sense they’d act tonight. To keep things from dragging out and changing, they set it for—tonight!”

  Nicole looked at Pandora. Her tone was sure. “The accuracy on this intel… I’m pretty confident. So… want me to go into detail?”

  Pandora nodded. She listened quietly, only now and then asking one or two short, sharp questions when it mattered. She needed the full picture.

  As Nicole laid it out, the whole chain of events, like a puzzle put together out of blood and profit, slowly unfolded.

  It all started with an accident.

  An ordinary apprentice living on Sakura Road—a street once famous for spring blossoms, still with some decent housing. This guy was bold and weirdly curious.

  One day, he noticed the long-abandoned City Botanical Garden nearby, which before had just tough weeds and vines, had gotten… crazy lush. Not normal growth. It was wild, almost unnatural. Unnamed shrubs, vines, ferns spread fast and thick, climbing over the garden’s rusted railings, spilling onto parts of the street and sidewalk.

  The weirdness caught the apprentice’s eye. In the ruins, any “weirdness” could mean danger, or… a chance. He went for the chance.

  After getting ready, he went into the abandoned garden alone—now a tangle of out-of-control plants, eerie and wrong.

  And then… he accidentally found out the garden was home to a special kind of zombie. They weren’t aggressive and bloodthirsty like normal ones. Their movements were… sluggish. Dull.

  But the creepy part was that these zombies’ bodies had a visible, web-like connection to the garden’s wild plants and fungi. It looked like a network of nerves or veins. Pale, thin filaments came out from under the zombies’ skin, digging deep into plant stems, leaves, even the tangled roots underground. Like they weren’t separate anymore, but part of the overgrown garden.

  Even weirder, because of these special zombies and their strange link to the plants, the whole garden’s ecosystem had changed. A once super-rare, precious alchemy ingredient, the Blood-Weep Worm—which usually needed very specific, harsh conditions to grow—had started spreading there naturally.

  These worms were dark red with fine golden rings. They held a super useful active substance for potion-making. Expensive. High demand.

  The bold apprentice carefully gathered the worms at first, then sold them in Ascension Road as a top-tier potion ingredient. He made a tidy sum.

  But the good times didn’t last. Word got out. His steady sales of high-quality Blood-Weep Worms caught the eye of Ascension Road’s famously ruthless and greedy second-ranker, Blighted Hand Wilbur.

  Wilbur had a sharp nose. He sensed these worms weren’t coming from some normal source. That kind of stable, high-quality supply probably meant a new resource point—one nobody fully controlled yet. So Wilbur started tailing the guy, checking him out.

  But the apprentice wasn’t a complete fool working alone. When he realized he was being watched, he didn’t try to handle it himself. He went straight to Ascension Road’s rival, Echo Quarry. He laid out the whole situation—the garden, the special zombies, the Blood-Weep Worms, all the intel he had—in exchange for the Quarry’s protection and backing.

  Logically, this meant Ascension Road was a step behind. The intel and the upper hand were with Echo Quarry. Ascension Road should’ve backed off, or at least tried to talk and work out a deal to share the spot.

  But… there was already bad blood between Ascension Road and Echo Quarry. Old grudges, clashes over interests and ideas. Blighted Hand Wilbur and his senior third-rank backer, The Blood Tonic Aldrich, weren’t about to give up a prize they could already see.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  So a fight over the garden started, in the open and in the shadows. Over time, it got worse, pulling even the once-quiet Sakura Road into the mess. The old calm was gone, replaced by regular clashes and bloodshed.

  During all this, Blighted Hand Wilbur, looking for more of an edge, had once bought key intel about Sakura Road’s layout and personnel movements from an independent info broker who was neutral at the time, not tied to any side. That broker was Nicole.

  The deal went fine at first. But after getting the intel and getting what he wanted, Wilbur turned on her right away. Even tried to have her killed.

  That backstab left Nicole barely alive, cost her dearly, and set her grudge with that crew in stone.

  Three months ago, Blighted Hand Wilbur finally made it on his third try to break through to the third rank. Now a third-ranker, his power jumped. Teaming up with The Blood Tonic Aldrich, who’d been third rank for years, they launched a surprise attack they’d planned for ages. They hit hard, from inside and out…

  And took complete control of the garden.

  Over those three months, the intensive “farming” of the garden and its steady stream of Blood-Weep Worms filled Aldrich’s faction’s pockets and swelled their influence.

  Naturally, the Echo Quarry side wasn’t having it. They’d been building up strength in secret, gathering intel, waiting for their shot to take the garden back.

  And Nicole was the “key info seller” who gave the Quarry side that crucial intel on Blighted Hand Wilbur’s detailed defensive setup.

  It was exactly because of that intel that Nicole figured Echo Quarry had a high chance of launching their counterattack tonight.

  At this point, Nicole couldn’t keep the triumph off her face. She lifted her chin a little, her eyes sparkling with a “praise me” glint. “Well? Now… believe I’m the ‘best, most dedicated info-broker in the Corpse Hall,’ right? Without my intel, how could Aldrich and Wilbur have grabbed the garden so smooth back then? And this counterattack…” Her tone was full of confidence. “My intel is key. The key.”

  Pandora listened quietly. She thought Nicole might be puffing up her own role and importance in the whole mess a bit. But the basic chain of events, who hated who, and the core fight over the prize were probably mostly right.

  As for the “counterattack” Nicole said might blow up in the garden tonight… Pandora’s mind ticked over. That sounded like a decent spot to do some fishing in muddy water. Or rather, a good chance to see both sides’ strength up close, maybe even find an opening to move…

  A decent spot?

  “Tonight…” Pandora looked up at Nicole, asking calmly. “You’ll be there?”

  “Absolutely!” Nicole answered without a blink, her eyes bright with excitement. “Of course I’m going! I wanna see with my own eyes how Blighted Hand Wilbur’s smug face cracks when he loses the garden he worked so hard to steal!” Her voice was full of vengeful satisfaction.

  But she added quickly, her tone turning more careful: “But tonight’s mess will probably involve at least two third-rankers and a whole brawl of second-rank elites from both sides. Even with my sneaking and surviving skills…” She shrugged. “…I could easily get caught in the crossfire or dragged in.”

  “So…” She paused. “I probably… won’t get too close. Unless…” A cold glint flashed in her eyes. “…I see a really good shot to give that bastard Blighted Hand Wilbur… a solid hit!”

  Pandora nodded. That fit Nicole’s style and logic perfectly.

  “And you?” Nicole asked back, her gaze settling on Pandora’s face.

  “Same as you.” Pandora’s reply was short. “I’ll… probably go take a look too.” Her tone was calm, like she was talking about something ordinary.

  “Well then…” Nicole’s eyes brightened in the dim light. She leaned forward a bit, a bright, inviting smile on her face. “Wanna come together?” Her voice held a subtle hint of hope and… excitement at finding someone on the same page. “I can find… the best spot to watch from!”

  Pandora was quiet for a moment. Her gaze went past Nicole, out the window, like she was weighing something. Then she shook her head gently. “No.” Her voice was calm, not giving much away. “Mainly… I might not go.” She paused and added, “I might… have other things to handle tonight.”

  Other things? More important than the “big fight” over a key resource point with two third-rank factions going at it? A flicker of doubt showed in Nicole’s eyes. But she didn’t push. In the ruins, everyone had secrets and reasons they didn’t wanna talk about. Prying wasn’t smart.

  She just shrugged, her face going back to its usual easy look. “Suit yourself. If you change your mind later, or finish your business… you can contact me.”

  “Mm.” Pandora nodded and didn’t say more.

  Some thoughts she kept to herself. For example—she’d definitely be going tonight. But most likely, not as “Pandora.”

  Since she planned to step in, and in a messy fight with at least two third-rankers and a bunch of second-rank elites… just using the second-rank potion-making and marksmanship linked to the “Pandora” name wouldn’t be enough. She needed to be looser. To use some… methods and power that didn’t fit right for the “Pandora” identity to show.

  The scorched-face “Ember” would probably be a better pick.

  ………………

  For the next hour or so, Pandora and Nicole kept talking, going deeper into the garden’s layout, the specific people and skills on the Echo Quarry and Ascension Road sides, and what moves they might pull.

  Pandora used the chance to learn a lot of useful stuff from Nicole: the garden’s inside setup—paths, greenhouses, platforms all choked with wild plants; the state of the streets and buildings around it, which spots were good for ambushes, which were best for a fast getaway; even some “exclusive intel” and inside info that, by Nicole’s own “professional rules,” should’ve cost extra.

  The intel was real. Detailed. Solid. Made sense. Had plenty of specifics. Enough to show Nicole’s worth as an info seller.

  Elsa had been sitting quiet by Pandora’s side the whole time, never speaking up to join in. But she never tuned out. Her usual downcast or soft eyes looked extra sharp in the dim light. She listened silently, carefully, to every word, every detail of the talk between her Lady and Nicole. She burned them into her memory, like the most loyal scribe.

  She knew some of this might not matter right now, but when it was needed, it might help her Lady.

  And that was part of a maid’s job.