Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

The next morning, Michael, having learned from yesterday's mistakes, returned to Twilight Street dressed in tattered, dirty clothes.

As he walked, he didn't forget to hug his arms, shivering from time to time, pretending to be freezing – but it seemed he was overdoing it. Ever since he struck that pose, Pardo and Immer's giggles hadn't stopped.

Pardo, on the other hand, was now the most warmly dressed, walking cat-like in a jacket that reached her knees, stepping on Michael's shadow.

Immer trailed behind, his small frame doing the hardest work – carrying a load… In short, he was carrying supplies that they might need, such as weapons and electronic devices.

But it wasn't practical to leave these things exposed, so Michael came up with an idea. He had Immer put everything in burlap sacks and carry them on his shoulders.

…

The effect was indeed good. He blended perfectly into the surroundings, but the comedic effect was a bit too much.

Twilight Street wasn't devoid of the wealthy. On the contrary, the more chaotic a place was, the more unbalanced the distribution of wealth tended to be.

For example, as Michael scanned his surroundings, the scenery changed constantly, evolving from the initial low houses and shacks to buildings with rusty security bars.

Up close, the mix of rust, sweat, and mildew, mixed with the flying dust, assaulted the nose.

But as they continued forward, the road gradually became smoother. The low walls on the side of the road were painted gray. Beyond the walls, they could see double-story villas and gardens. If they ignored the gray steel forest and the dust and flies dancing freely in the air, it actually looked like some wealthy people's villas in the suburbs.

At a street corner, Pardo called Michael to a stop:

"Okay, okay! Big Brother Michael, going any further would be too close!"

Michael stopped and breathed a long sigh of relief.

"You don't need me to go with you?"

"No need, no need! It's just gathering information, it's not that dangerous."

"Uh, that…" Immer put down the burlap sack, straightened his back, and raised his hand to ask, "Sub… Big Brother Michael, I still don't understand. Aren't we supposed to be looking for Vill-V? How did it become looking for this 'Brother Bing' from the 'Youth Gang'?"

Pardo stuck out her tongue, mocking, "Uncle Immer is just so lame, he doesn't even understand this."

"Hey! Why is Michael 'Big Brother,' Ellie 'Big Sister,' and I'm 'Uncle'!"

Michael stopped the two kids from arguing. He joked, "Immer, you're really a straight-laced boy… Even if Pardo grew up in Twilight Street, finding Vill-V would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Instead of that, it's better to rely on the local gang forces. They have countless underlings and informants. It's easier to find someone that way."

"But, Big Brother Michael, why are you so sure that Vill-V is in Twilight Street?"

"Well, the main force of the Fifth Squad is still searching in the city. It doesn't matter if we're here or not. Even if our judgment is wrong, does it cause any loss to the Fire Moth?"

"No…"

"Then that's it!"

Michael gave Pardo a wink. Pardo took off her jacket, tied it around her waist like a skirt, and took out a black cloth to cover her face tightly. Then, with her hands on her hips, she walked directly towards the underlings in suits and ties, holding old-school brick phones, standing guard at the gate.

"Hey! Where did this wild child come from? Don't go any further!"

The guards warned.

Pardo's eyebrows, visible outside the black cloth, rose. She shouted in a spoiled voice:

"Our boss sent me to ask Brother Bing! Is that scammer who swindled my boss out of 800,000 the other day one of Brother Bing's people!"

Michael and Immer watched the scene on the miniature camera and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hey, what's with that? Who's your boss? Little kid, don't mess around. Go home, your mom is calling you for dinner!"

The guards also smiled wryly, waving their hands to drive Pardo away.

"Brother Bing is entertaining a VIP today. We can't let you little girl disturb him!"

Seeing that her first attempt had failed, Pardo wasn't annoyed. She didn't care about meeting that Brother Bing. She just wanted to stir up trouble with all the gangs in Twilight Street, letting all the bosses know that there was a beautiful scammer going around swindling money. Then, either out of schadenfreude or self-preservation, these bosses would start searching for Vill-V on their own.

But she didn't plan to give up. She took a few steps back, took out a small loudspeaker, and turned the volume to maximum.

The guards, seeing that something was wrong, tried to stop her, but wasn't Pardo's retreat just to create distance?

"Brother Bing! Our boss is asking you, is that blonde female scammer who cheated him out of 800,000 one of your people!"

After pressing the button and setting the recording to loop, Pardo swung her arms and threw the loudspeaker over the wall.

The guards were momentarily at a loss, not knowing whether to pick up the loudspeaker first or catch the audacious little girl.

Pardo made a face at the guards, who were only a few years older than her.

"Tch, what's the use of wearing suits and ties and holding brick phones? Following these big shots, ugh…"

But then she suddenly realized that she was wearing a mask, and they couldn't see her.

So, she turned around, patted her butt, and prepared to leave.

"Beep beep beep, beep beep beep…"

The old-school brick phone in the guard's hand suddenly rang. Pardo suddenly had a strange premonition, and her steps slowed down.

"Boss! What… understood!"

The guard's attitude changed 180 degrees after answering the phone. He bowed and walked to Pardo, squeezing out a flattering smile. "This miss, Brother Bing wants to meet you. He said that he was also scammed by that scammer and has something to ask you."

Pardo was stunned.

Even Michael, who was watching the screen from the corner, was stunned.

Immer was a bit slow, but he wasn't stupid. He looked at Michael's troubled expression and asked softly, "Sub-Captain, this… wasn't in the plan, was it?"

Michael pursed his lips, his hand silently clenching into a fist.

Did this Brother Bing really have a lead on Vill-V? Was he really scammed by a scammer disguised as Vill-V?

Should he meet Brother Bing? Or not?

Michael couldn't give Pardo any instructions. But knowing Pardo, she would definitely choose to run away immediately.

It didn't matter. Since they knew that Brother Bing had a lead, he could just go there himself when there was no one around at night.

"Oh… okay, lead the way." After a brief silence, Pardo pretended to be nonchalant and replied.

Michael covered his forehead.

The scenery on the screen changed constantly, showing that Pardo had entered the other party's territory.

After walking for a while on a tree-lined path, they arrived at a garden.

That Brother Bing looked quite young, like a high school student who didn't do well in school. He was indeed entertaining guests.

But when the camera turned, showing a flash of blonde hair and the delicate face beneath, both Michael and Immer's hearts jumped into their throats.

"Elysia, Elysia!" Michael quickly switched the communication device to public frequency.

"What's wrong, Michael?"

"We… found the target!"

Meanwhile, in the garden, Pardo didn't hide her eager gaze. What Michael didn't know was that last night, when everyone was asleep, Pardo had found a wanted poster with Vill-V's photo in his bag. The reward listed on the poster was – 500,000.

Pardo's eyes were practically turning into little money signs. Her mind was only filled with one thought:

"My luck is over the top!"