Rei expected the sewer cleaning service headquarters would smell as bad as a toilet inside a bus station bathroom. But the white hallway with a gray marble floor wasn’t as bad as she thought. Basically, she only smelled dry paint and stone dirt from the ground. Maybe their sewer cleaning equipment smelled worse than their office.

Luna tipped her fist on the glass door at the end of the corridor. It opened automatically, releasing a fresh minty scent.

“Who is it?” a short brown gerbil man asked, sitting behind his desk, typing on his computer. He wore a white shirt with brown suspenders across his egg-shaped upper body.

Rei felt like she has an urge to call him a cutie. However, most rodent Humanimals hated that term, cute. It probably made them felt inferior to people.

Luna approached the desk and held out her arm, projecting her holographic bounty hunter identification. “Sir, we are from the MCPD, here to investigate your mysterious monster problem-”

“More bounty hunters?” the gerbil shouted. “Wow! I didn’t expect to start a hunting season tonight.”

Rei raised her ears. “Excuse me? There were other bounty hunters here?”

The gerbil nodded. “As soon as I posted the bounty, they kept coming here. Asking where the monster is. I only told them what I know.”

Ileon sesang-e! Rei thought.

With other bounty hunters searching for the oil monster in the sewers, that will certainly give Luna and Rei serious competition. Their rivals will not hesitate when the bounty has a good price on its head. Some hunters could attack other hunters to reach the target first, but none of them could kill each other during their job. Too bad Rei and Luna weren’t the only hunters in the city. They could keep all the bounties to themselves, getting richer from every catch or execution. But the city was too bad for only two hunters to handle everything. Every city needed more than one crime fighter to enforce peace.

“Goddamn!” Luna got up and kicked the wall. She definitely didn’t like competition. “How many did you send?”

The gerbil shook his hands in the air. “I lost count.”

She smashed her fist onto the desk, rattling the surface. “Are you serious!?”

“Take it easy! Something is killing my workers down there! I needed every help I can get to keep my business in business! If you wanted to beat the competition, you two should have arrived sooner!”

Luna took a deep breath and stepped back. “Just tell us what you know, and we will reach the competition.”

The gerbil rubbed his tiny mohawk hair and opened the drawer below his desk. He brought out a map and unrolled it on his desk. “This is the city map which only displays the sewer systems.”

Rei stared closely at the map, exhibiting lines across multiple islands, clustered together. The island was like New York’s Manhattan Island, but bigger near the New Jersey coast. Far above New York, too.

“My workers kept disappearing in the levels connected to the abandoned chemical facility.” The gerbil pointed at the map’s middle. “That is where I suggested the hunters investigate.”

Luna smiled. “Thank you for giving us the tip. We will find the monster and neutralize it for your company.”

“It isn’t my company. I’m just the manager here.” The gerbil rolled up the map. “By the way, I can’t share the bounty with an entire pack of hunters. Whoever kills it first, will get the reward.”

Luna giggled with a mischievous grin. “Don’t worry. I know how to beat the competition.”

Her tone tickled through Rei’s veins, but the kitty was glad she was on Luna’s side. For her sake, at least.