Afterwards, Elysia and Vill-V headed to the survivor settlement.
The perimeter of the settlement was hastily fenced off, and inside, tents of various sizes and standards were pitched haphazardly, without even wind ropes secured.
The ground had been roughly leveled but was filthy and cluttered with all sorts of trash, reeking with a foul stench.
Many people, unable to get a tent, could only lie sprawled out on the open ground, resting wrapped in plastic sheets.
“It’s a complete disaster,” Elysia sighed inwardly.
The branch heads she had previously contacted had already organized personnel and set out, but more than half of the governments in other regions were still sitting on the fence.
As for the European Alliance Council, they had merely promised on television broadcasts to rescue the disaster area with all their might, and then there was no further word; who knew how long it would take for them to actually arrive.
“When one side is in trouble, all sides just watch,” Elysia sighed.
“We can only rely on ourselves.
Lannington City has completely turned into a dead zone, and only a little over thirty thousand people survived.
Anyone with eyes can see that reconstruction is a bottomless pit.” Vill-V picked up a soda can from the ground and tossed it into the following robot behind her.
“Very realistic, isn’t it?” “Too realistic.” Elysia didn’t feel particularly discouraged.
“Since that’s the case, we’ll do it ourselves.” “Fine, it’s best if you can persuade him.
I’ll clean up the perimeter.” Vill-V left with her robot.
— Elysia walked to a relatively tidy tent and pushed aside the curtain.
Inside sat a man, back to her, smoking cigarette after cigarette, with a high pile of cigarette butts beside him.
His back was still straight, but his aura had faded, like a collapsed iron tower.
Light spilled in from outside the curtain, yet he remained buried in the shadows.
“Godfather Falco, I’m here,” Elysia greeted him.
He didn’t respond.
“Godfather?” Elysia asked again.
“Why am I still alive?” he merely muttered, turning around stiffly, lifting his lifeless eyes.
“Why didn’t I die along with this city?” Elysia was silent for a moment.
More than a decade of hard work was enough to show that he deeply loved this city, but in an instant, everything had turned to nothing.
“Since we are still alive, we can rebuild it,” Elysia looked him straight in the eyes.
“What’s the point?” He gradually came to his senses, took another drag of his cigarette, and then mocked himself.
“It’s meaningless, Elysia.
Everything I dedicated myself to is gone.” “Rebuild?
With what?” He laughed helplessly.
“Elysia, don’t speak empty words.
The roots of this city have been dug up.
We can’t even come up with the funds for reconstruction, and the entire city has become a dead zone; it’s impossible to live here.” “Damned Honkai, damned Herrscher.” He lowered his head and cursed.
Even though he was speaking words of resentment, his tone was incomparably desolate.
It seemed the Fire MOTHS had already partially disclosed information about the Honkai.
“Then what if I said that the Herrscher’s authority could be used by us?” Elysia calmly played her trump card.
“What?” He looked up.
“The authority of creation.
You’ve seen it, Godfather.
If it could be used for construction, think of the potential.” “Moreover, driving the authority requires consuming Honkai Energy.” “Is this true?” He immediately understood what she meant.
“Absolutely.
I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to disclose specific details, but I promise it is indeed feasible.” The epicenter of Great Honkai was undoubtedly a forbidden zone for life, but the extremely high concentration of residual Honkai Energy would generate a large amount of Honkai Energy crystals.
If utilized properly, it would absolutely be a rich mine, and as extraction progressed, the concentration of Honkai Energy could be gradually reduced, restoring the original ecology.
In fact, Elysia had already thought of the arrangements regarding the first Divine Key, and she was confident she could persuade the higher-ups of the Fire MOTHS.
Falco gazed into Elysia’s eyes, meeting her gaze without hesitation.
For a long time, his eyes gradually brightened: “If it really is possible, I still have quite a few connections outside.
Once the infrastructure is completed, we can attract investment.” “That’s still thinking too far ahead.” Elysia walked to the door and pulled open the curtain.
The afterglow of the sunset filtered in, illuminating her face.
“Godfather, I hope you can first comfort the survivors in the settlement.
At least don’t let them lose hope.
Leave the rest to me.” Watching Elysia bathed in the sunset glow, he was somewhat dazed.
“You’ve walked ahead of me, Elysia.
That’s a good thing, too.” “Back when I was traveling around the European Union, weren’t you right behind me~” Elysia teased.
“True.” He revealed his first smile of the day.
“As for why we must rebuild Lannington City,” Elysia stepped into the final rays of sunlight and turned to say, “it is because what we are rebuilding is not just a city, but a spirit.
This city will become a monument to humanity’s eternal refusal to submit to the Honkai.” — “The situation with the survivors is about settled.
With the Godfather here, it can at least remain stable for a while.” Elysia walked up to Vill-V, who had been waiting outside for a while.
“Impressive, Elysia.
How many things have you done today?” “Destroyed a group of terrorists at dawn, rushed back at noon to snipe the Herrscher, rescued survivors with you in the afternoon, then traded with Uncle Kevin to recommend you to the Fire MOTHS, and persuaded the Godfather to rebuild the city in the evening.” Elysia counted them one by one, unable to help but exclaim, “It really is a lot.” She suddenly remembered that she seemed to have forgotten her own forces.
“By the way, with the headquarters gone, what about the branches in other places?” She really didn’t have the energy to recover them one by one.
“Actually, the headquarters didn’t have many people most of the time.
After I trained your previous subordinates, most of them were sent out to be branch heads.
They are absolutely loyal.” As she said this, she took a USB drive out of her pocket: “The management regulations, financial reports, personnel lists, and information on properties in various places are all in here.
After working together for a long time, they are very familiar with the procedures.
And as long as you don’t die, those local bullies won’t dare to act up.” Vill-V, you are simply a superhero.
“Thank you, Vill-V~” Elysia breathed a sigh of relief.
This was one of the few pieces of decent news she had heard today.
“Then let them govern themselves for the time being.” Elysia dialed Kevin’s number, blinked, and said, “Let’s go take a look at the Fire MOTHS’ base.”