Back in Cocolia’s office, sometime after Eden’s concert had concluded.
“Cocolia, is this what you called foolproof?” “I put my career on the line, risked a court-martial to mobilize those mech units, and this is the result you give me?” Listening to the enraged shouting from her military partner over the communicator, Cocolia pressed her temples in frustration.
According to her original plan, as long as they could pull off this self-directed drama and “rescue” Eden from the Toxic Pupae assassins she had anonymously hired, every participant would have been able to advance their career.
But unfortunately, the plan that should have been a surefire win ended in a complete and utter failure.
“Relax, Colonel.
You were merely conducting routine training that happened to be in the vicinity of the concert.
No one will suspect you.” “It had better be that way!” a voice seething with suppressed rage came from the other end.
“If I go down, don’t think you’re getting away clean!” The communication was cut.
Cocolia sighed.
She looked at the photographs on her desk, her expression deeply troubled.
The photos showed images of Li Mu, disguised as the Faded Elf, tearing the mech units apart with his bare hands.
If an ordinary person saw someone rip apart a mech by hand, their worldview would likely shatter.
But for Cocolia, who had risen to the position of a Unified Government council member, she knew what lay hidden beneath the world’s calm surface.
She placed another photo on the desk.
This one was of a girl with pink hair.
It had been sent to her by a contact within the Fire Moth after she had forwarded the videos of the incident.
That contact had even warned her repeatedly to drop the investigation immediately.
Cocolia looked at the person in the photo.
Aside from the different hair and eye color, she was practically identical to the light-purple-haired girl who had dismantled the mechs.
In other words, they were the same person!
Did she really think dyeing her hair, wearing contacts, and putting on a mask would hide her identity?
This is reality, not some anime where a simple change in hair color is a perfect disguise.
No, perhaps she had no intention of hiding at all.
Judging from the reaction of her contact within the Fire Moth, this girl who had fought her way out with Eden was likely a high-ranking figure within the organization.
Thinking of this, Cocolia gathered the photos on her desk and fed them into the shredder.
Since she now knew she was in over her head, she had no intention of digging any further.
After all, her own affairs couldn’t withstand much scrutiny either.
In any case, Eden had returned unharmed and had no intention of holding the Far East authorities accountable.
That being the case, it was best to just let the matter die.
Listening to the hum of the shredder, Cocolia fell silent.
“Failure is nothing.
I’ve failed more than enough times already,” Cocolia murmured to herself.
“Whatever does not kill me makes me stronger.” Quickly adjusting her mindset, Cocolia began to consider her next move.
The plan to use Eden’s influence to return to the center of power in the Unified Government had clearly failed, but her ultimate goal remained unchanged.
To achieve her long-held wish, she had to climb, step by step, to the very pinnacle of power.
But how could climbing be so easy?
Every year, countless people vied for advancement, each one eyeing the position above them.
How was she to stand out?
With no background and no connections, she had to achieve a political victory so monumental that no one else could steal the credit.
“One step at a time.” Cocolia rubbed her temples.
For her, the Far East was truly not a good place.
The region was controlled by various financial cliques and powerful families, and it was extremely exclusionary.
As a Slav dispatched by the Unified Government, she was operating under a full set of debuffs.
If she had been sent to her home region of Lucia, she would have had a much better chance of turning things around.
But in the Far East, any attempt she made to achieve something would be obstructed at every turn.
In the end, she was still an outsider, and she didn’t understand the local situation well enough.
“Therefore, I need to find a local ally to help me integrate into Nagazora City’s circles.” But this thought only brought on another headache for Cocolia.
In the Far East, the upper echelons were controlled by one financial clique after another.
As vested interest holders, they were naturally wary of an outsider like her.
“Is there no one with potential who isn’t connected to the local cliques?” —o— The chaos Li Mu had stirred up in his Faded Elf persona had not yet reached the other side of the world.
At this moment, a certain pink-haired elf had just completed her mission and returned to the Fire Moth’s base.
Humming an unknown tune, the pink-haired girl walked into the base, like a forever lively, forever optimistic, and forever smiling lovely elf.
It was Elysia, returning after a Honkai disaster annihilation mission.
“Heeey, did you miss me?
♪~” Elysia greeted everyone she met.
Usually, anyone she greeted would be infected by her vivacity and respond politely.
But this time, the reactions of the people she greeted were a bit strange.
Upon seeing Elysia, they seemed to look at her with a kind of disbelief before hurrying away without a word.
This left Elysia feeling rather puzzled.
She took out the small mirror she always carried and looked at her flawless face and her neat, yet beautiful, attire, a confused expression on her face.
“There’s nothing wrong with my appearance, so why is everyone looking at me so strangely?” Elysia couldn’t figure it out for the life of her.
She wanted to ask someone for an explanation, but anyone she tried to stop would flee as if they were afraid of being associated with her.
“Why is it like this…” Elysia’s expression fell, and she pouted.
It seemed something had happened that she didn’t know about.
She decided to get to the bottom of it.
Although everyone in the base was avoiding her, she knew there was one person who certainly wouldn’t.
“I’m so sad.
I feel like my beautiful maiden’s heart is about to wither away.” “So, I’ll go find my dear Mobius and replenish my pretty-girl energy!
♪~” Just as Elysia was thinking this, her communicator chimed with a pleasant notification.
She opened the interface and saw that the communication was, surprisingly, from Mobius herself.
Elysia accepted the call, and a woman in a lab coat with unnaturally pale skin and flowing green hair appeared on the screen.
It was Mobius.
However, at this moment, this friend who, in Elysia’s memory, was always impatient with her, had a very peculiar expression on her face.
The moment the call connected, Mobius stared at Elysia’s current state and froze.
“Elysia?
You’re not in prison?” “Mobius, I’m a law-abiding beautiful girl.
How could I possibly end up in prison?” “Law-abiding?” Mobius’s voice suddenly shot up an octave, as if she had heard something unbelievable.
Elysia was utterly bewildered.
However, after seeing her surroundings, Mobius nodded.
“I’m glad to see you haven’t been caught yet.” “Doctor, you’re being very strange.
I’m not some criminal, why would I be ‘caught’?” As she spoke, the expression on Mobius’s face grew even stranger.
“I understand.
Don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret for you.” “However, if you ever require treatment for dissociative identity disorder, you can come find me.
I’m still very interested in your body.” With that, Mobius ended the call, leaving a baffled Elysia standing alone.
“Mobius, what was she talking about…” Elysia was more confused than ever.
What was this feeling, where it seemed like everyone knew what was going on except for her?
Just then, a notification popped up on her open communicator.
[SHOCKING!
SINGER EDEN KIDNAPPED IN FRONT OF THOUSANDS!
AND THE CULPRIT IS HER!] Elysia’s heart clenched.
“Eden was kidnapped?” She hurriedly clicked on the news story and found a lengthy article detailing how Eden was publicly abducted on stage after arriving in the Far East.
Just as she was about to scroll down to see what the so-called culprit looked like…
[THIS INFORMATION IS IN VIOLATION OF REGULATIONS] [404] Elysia closed the communicator, her cheeks puffed out angrily.
“Who on earth kidnapped Eden?
That’s just too cruel!” “No, I can’t just let this go.” Elysia’s heart was filled with anxiety.
According to the report, the kidnappers were extremely vicious.
She didn’t dare to imagine what Eden might be going through.
Therefore, she decided to head to the Far East herself and rescue Eden.
Just as she made up her mind, the sound of rushed but perfectly synchronized footsteps grew rapidly closer.
Elysia looked up to see a squad of fully armed Fire Moth soldiers.
The soldiers fanned out in front of her.
“Elysia, your kidnapping of Eden has come to light.
Please come with us.” “…?” “You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say will be used as evidence in court!” —o—