A ghost—a pink ghost—loomed over the entirety of Lamington County.
Within a few short months, the underworld had been turned upside down.
Countless gangs had fallen and been absorbed into a newly formed organization.
Even more astonishingly, the leader of this gang was a little girl with pink hair.
Was it because of her overwhelming strength?
Far from it.
This pink-haired girl gently took the time to understand every one of her subordinates, helping each of them resolve their troubles.
She opened training courses and taught them the skills best suited to them.
Under her guidance, common thugs became professional chefs, pastry cooks, independent media creators, hardware repairmen…
They all found respectable livelihoods.
The only requirements were that they return every protection fee they had previously collected and contribute a portion of their income as membership dues.
To thank her, the gang members even gave her an affectionate nickname: “Little Mama.” “Pfft, cough, cough.” Elysia spat out the tea she had just sipped.
“Did you learn your naming sense from some other pink-haired girl?” “Absolutely not!” everyone below swore in unison.
“There can only be one sun in the sky.
You’re the only pink-haired girl in our hearts!” In truth, she had mainly decided to guide these people back onto the right path because, aside from collecting protection money, they had not committed any serious crimes and still had a chance at reform.
Had they been murderers, robbers, and local tyrants who terrorized the innocent, she would have hauled every last one of them to the police station long ago.
Obviously, the gangs here were deeply abnormal.
However, after climbing high enough, she finally learned why the city’s gangs followed the rules so obediently.
The current godfather of the entire city had once been a rising star in the police force.
Later, rumors claimed that he had been ostracized and had resolutely resigned before entering the underworld.
His unparalleled competence earned the previous godfather’s deep appreciation, and he was entrusted with important responsibilities.
After taking over, he issued a series of rules that strictly restrained his subordinates.
Those whose hands were stained with too much blood were dumped into the river under the pretext of cleaning house.
Later offenders were punished with beatings for minor violations and sealed inside concrete pillars for serious ones.
Most importantly, he paid everyone a salary.
He also had the connections to lead every gang toward greater prosperity, even establishing numerous businesses right beneath the Lamington County government’s nose.
Naturally, everyone accepted his authority.
I get it.
He went undercover for three years, then another three, and eventually became the boss himself, right?
Originally, Elysia’s impression of the godfather had gone no further than that, until one of her subordinates brought her a piece of news.
“Some time ago, I saw a convoy parked outside the godfather’s place for a long while.
The vehicles had moth emblems painted on them.” The godfather has connections to MOTH?
Mm.
That makes perfect sense.
In fact, MOTH had long since confirmed the location where Origin had fallen.
That was why they had arrived with such precision.
However, there was absolutely no possibility that they had searched only Vostok 51.
Who could have known that the infant would remain in the orphanage instead of being adopted by an outsider?
Moreover, finding nothing during their first search would only deepen their suspicions regarding the latter possibility.
Therefore, she had good reason to suspect that MOTH had made arrangements throughout the area surrounding Vostok 51, and that the godfather might very well be one of the hidden agents they had planted.
She reflected on everything she had done over the past few months.
A girl barely over ten years old had defeated every opponent in Lamington County and built an entire gang from nothing.
Given MOTH’s intelligence network, they should have noticed her long ago.
Yet she was still serving as gang leader in complete peace.
What does that mean?
MOTH is evaluating me, and this godfather is most likely the examiner.
MOTH is still hunting me.
Elysia felt a little embarrassed.
As for the possibility that the two sides had merely crossed paths by chance, could a chance encounter not also lead to an instant rapport?
After all, wherever MOTH extended its reach, the local powers tended to submit one after another.
Only much later did Elysia realize that she had severely overestimated MOTH’s influence at the time.
Before the First Honkai Eruption, MOTH was merely a relatively large crisis-response organization.
It was nowhere near the level it would later reach, when it could mobilize the resources of the entire world.
Gaps in its intelligence network were perfectly normal.
However, that did nothing to stop the current Elysia from overthinking everything into an elaborate conspiracy.
Since things have come to this, I might as well eat first.
Elysia chose to stop caring.
…
Today was another ordinary day.
Elysia threw off her blanket, climbed out of bed, and left her room with a long yawn.
Managing the gang had consumed her evenings as well, so she could only leave the city after midnight to complete her night lesson.
With one obligation piling atop another, getting a full three hours of sleep in a day had become a luxury.
Fortunately, she was a Herrscher.
Anyone else would have died from overwork long ago.
Quite a few people had gathered beside the veranda, most of them preparing to leave for work.
When they saw Elysia emerge, they quickly stood and greeted her.
Elysia smiled and responded to each of them in turn.
The rich scent of toasted bread greeted her as soon as she went downstairs.
Several subordinates who had found jobs at bakeries were preparing breakfast.
The costs of the equipment and ingredients came from the membership dues.
They had only recently found employment, so forcing them to pay out of pocket would place too much pressure on them.
Besides, they had volunteered to help.
Come to think of it, I said I would use this to make money, but almost none of the membership dues are actually being saved.
Forget it.
I’ll just call it reasonable redistribution.
Elysia casually grabbed a loaf of bread and ate as she walked.
The European Union’s regional bread had to be eaten while hot.
Once it cooled, it became as hard as a brick, reminding her of the baguettes from her previous life.
The assembly hall on the first floor was packed.
A crowd of plainly dressed, even shabby-looking people squeezed together while chatting noisily.
“Cough, cough.” Elysia clapped her hands after entering.
The hall fell silent, and everyone hurriedly straightened their posture.
Somehow, what began as a passing whim has grown to this scale.
Elysia sighed inwardly.
Facing the eager and expectant gazes below the stage, she smiled.
“Mm, everyone looks energetic today~ Before class begins, there’s one thing I’d like to say.
Here, I hope what you gain isn’t merely a skill that teaches you how to work, but also the courage to face life~” And so, she began another day of teaching.
…
Several days later.
“Big Sis Elysia, the godfather has summoned you.” A man stood at attention as he made his report, then handed her an invitation, interrupting her thoughts.
He was the boss of the first duo she had encountered.
Thanks to his enthusiastic attitude toward reform, he had now been promoted to messenger.
I see.
MOTH is finally going to test me.
I truly can’t refuse an invitation from the godfather.
Still, they’re seriously underestimating me.
In that case, I’ll put an end to this test myself!
A determined light entered Elysia’s eyes.
Several hours earlier.
Falco, the godfather of Lamington County, had medium-short dark green hair and intimidating red eyes.
At that moment, his hands were clasped beneath his chin, his elbows resting on a broad table.
His glasses reflected a white gleam of sudden understanding, while the tabletop was covered in investigation files concerning “Elysia.” “Raised in the Vostok Orphanage and supposedly a native-born commoner?
Heh.
I don’t believe it.” As a godfather, he had operated on both sides of the law and encountered many secrets unknown to ordinary people, including the existence of an organization known as MOTH.
He knew that this tightly controlled organization possessed a vast amount of technology surpassing the current era and held considerable priority in the decision-making processes of various nations.
Creating a false identity would be effortless for them.
Furthermore, only a few months earlier, MOTH personnel had established a temporary base here before traveling to Vostok 51.
Then, not long afterward, Elysia of Vostok 51 arrived.
Who would believe that the two sides were unrelated?
Therefore, he strongly suspected that Vostok 51 concealed a MOTH research facility and that Elysia was MOTH’s newest generation of super soldier.
He was displeased that MOTH had turned his territory into a testing ground without his permission.
However, the person they had sent had drastically improved the underworld’s ecosystem, which pleased him greatly.
“Still, she’s risen a little too quickly and is beginning to disrupt the balance of power.
It seems I’ll need to give her a reminder while also asking what the organization behind her intends.” And so, he sent out an invitation.