"Yes, that's right. Target acquired. Besides Mikael and Elysia, there's also that little girl, yes, the one called Seele."
"Just keep an eye on them. No unnecessary action, avoid exposure... Anadiya, I'm talking to you. Did you make contact with the target without authorization?"
"Yes, I did. He is a legendary figure, after all."
"Ugh... Well, knowing him, in the few moments you interacted, he probably already deduced our entire operation."
Anadiya instinctively wanted to retort, but instead simply said, "Understood, Chief Elvin."
Elvin was speechless. What did "understood" even mean? It wasn't an apology, nor was it defiance. Honestly...
"Oh, right, Anadiya! You've been on field duty, so you probably don't know my connection to them... Hehe... I have autographed photos of Mikael and Elysia, and signed notebooks! Interested? Only 998, two photos and a notebook, the whole set!"
Anadiya paused, then gently asked, "Chief Elvin?"
"Huh? What's up? This is a limited-time offer! If that's too pricey, I also have a personally written compilation of Mikael and Elysia gossip, reviewed by Fuxi and Nuwa themselves... I can give you the first volume for free! If mailing is inconvenient, I'll be in Attica in a few days... Hehehe, we can do an offline transaction..."
"Chief Elvin... are you ill?"
Anadiya hung up, navigating the noisy slums, clutching the SD card she'd just received from Mikael. The air reeked of sweat and decay. She wrapped herself tightly in her large cloak and hood, occasionally coughing—beauty attracts unwanted attention in such a place.
While not afraid, trouble was best avoided. Small troubles could escalate, potentially exposing her identities, which would be a disaster.
Someone bumped her shoulder. Anadiya smirked, her fingers deftly retrieving her phone and a silver coin from the thief's pocket. "Amateur."
By the time the thief realized he'd encountered a pro, Anadiya had vanished into the darkness.
Creak... Bang! The old metal door slammed shut, showering rust and paint chips. Anadiya moved silently through the darkness until a cold touch against her neck made her stop.
The teenager had already recognized her scent, retracting the knife before she could speak.
"Anadiya." Kosma said softly, turning on the light.
"Why the theatrics with the SD card? If he... wouldn't our efforts be wasted?"
Anadiya didn't reply, instead looking down at the teenager, who was half a head shorter than her, and lightly rapping his head. "Let's see to your injuries first."
"Uh... mm..." Kosma fell silent, obediently lying on a makeshift bed of three metal chairs.
The wound on his abdomen had scabbed over. The splinter hadn't penetrated deeply, or perhaps Mikael had helped in secret?
His left hand was more severely burned. His homemade smoke grenade had exploded almost instantly, and unlike professional ones, it used a small explosive charge to disperse the smoke quickly. Injuring himself was unavoidable.
Fortunately, the black powder wasn't that powerful. Anadiya cleaned the residue from Kosma's palm, disinfected it with iodine, applied ointment, and bandaged it carefully, tying a small bow on the back of his hand.
"I'm sorry, Kosma. I put you in danger."
"I had my reasons for passing the SD card through him. Kosma, you know... I'm an official investigator. I can only report. I can't do anything. But he's different. He's not official. Maybe... maybe he has other ways to resolve this..."
"Okay! It's over now. Rest up for a few days!"
Anadiya smiled, but Kosma remained silent. "Anadiya, you still won't tell me..."
"Still won't tell me... the source of these disasters over the years..."
"Don't think too much." Anadiya put on her tattered cloak. She walked to the rusty door, then turned back. "I can't help it... Kosma, your birthday is in a few days. Why don't you guess what I'm getting you?"
"..." I'm not a child. I don't need gifts. Does that sound cool? Wait, that sounds too distant... What should I say? Should I act excited like a kid... I can't...
"Ana..." Huh? Where did she go?
Anadiya continued through the night. The city's power grid had long since failed, resulting in true darkness.
She'd been here for over a year, growing accustomed to it. After all, one could only perceive darkness because light hadn't entirely vanished. She looked up. A sliver of the moon peeked through the clouds.
A flash of white caught her eye. Anadiya blinked. The pale gray was striking in the dark alley. She couldn't have been mistaken.
But when she looked again, it was gone. "Probably just a white cat. Honkai beasts aren't that small."
She dismissed the thought, navigating by memory to a basement door.
Suddenly remembering something, she put on an ugly, Honkai beast mask.
Tap—tap tap tap tap—tap tap tap—tap—tap—tap. She knocked the prearranged signal. Three seconds later, the door flew open, a dark figure pulling her inside.
"You're Chrysalis (Cocoon) Number 141?" The figure wore an identical mask, his voice barely older than Kosma's.
"No, I'm a spy sent by Lucien."
The Chrysalis member visibly relaxed, the knife at her waist retracting.
"Who came up with that code? It's... unique." Anadiya couldn't help but complain.
The Chrysalis member stiffened, replying coldly, "You don't need to know. You risked exposure to contact me. What intel do you have?"
"I've discovered Lucien's motive for mobilizing Fire Moth's Intelligence Division."
"Yes. Their target is Mikael and Elysia. They arrived today."
"Mikael's team... I mean, Mikael, right? What is Lucien doing? Mikael has left Dusk Street before, and he didn't seem to care. What's going on?"
The night deepened, and the heavy fog rolled in again.
Anadiya had barely left the Chrysalis hideout when her surroundings blurred.
She moved towards the side of the street, leaning against a wall.
Soon, everything was obscured.
Mikael, Elvin, Kosma, and the Chrysalis member... Anadiya shook her head, mentally reaffirming her identities:
I am Anadiya, twenty years old, former special agent of the United Government's Eastern European Intelligence Bureau, current Deputy Chief of Intelligence Division 2, Ministry of Humanity. My mission is to report Attica's current state to the United Government. To do so, I used Kosma to film the black market transactions.
I am Ana, eighteen years and twenty-seven days old, a member of Fire Moth's Intelligence Division, a deep cover agent within the United Government. I lost contact with headquarters, but it has been restored, and I've received a new mission: monitor Mikael and Elysia.
I am Chrysalis Number 141, name and age unknown. I am a Chrysalis spy within Fire Moth's Intelligence Division. Mission: monitor Fire Moth's Intelligence Division.