I'm a Big Villain in Honkai: Star Rail, Annihilating the Astral Express Crew From the Start

Oleg was not swayed by the envoy's reaction.

"This is Wildfire's demand."

"If the corresponding supplies are not received in three days, then... you should know what will happen."

The envoy could no longer stay.

He stumbled to his feet and hurriedly left the meeting room, as if a terrifying monster was chasing him.

In the Upper District, in the office of Grand Protector Cocolia.

The envoy knelt on the ground, trembling as he reported the latest demands from the Underworld to Cocolia.

"Triple the supplies?!"

Cocolia stood up abruptly, fury blazing in her eyes.

"Those guys! Do they think that repelling one wave of Silvermane Guards entitles them to make outrageous demands?!"

She was shaking with anger, and she grabbed an ornament from the table and smashed it on the ground, sending shards flying.

Cocolia paced back and forth, her chest heaving.

However, after the anger, only cold, hard reality remained.

The mineral supply was still cut off.

The Upper District had already begun to experience severe energy shortages, factories were shut down and paralyzed, and residents' lives were in distress.

Worse, the Silvermane Guards' crushing defeat not only demoralized the army, but also resulted in the loss of a large number of personnel and equipment.

They couldn't even organize an effective counterattack anymore.

Forcefully control the mining area in the Underworld?

The last failure proved that it would require a greater price, and it might not even succeed.

Wildfire was no longer the loosely organized militia it was thought to be.

They were organized, disciplined, and even had ancient machinery...

Cocolia felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.

She ruled Belobog from on high, but she was being held by the throat by a group of Underworld residents she had abandoned.

She had to admit, she had no other choice.

She angrily closed her eyes, took a deep breath, as if to swallow all the humiliation.

"...Agree to their conditions."

Her voice was squeezed out between her teeth.

"Grand Protector?!" The envoy looked up in shock.

"I said, agree to their conditions!" Cocolia roared, "Go and inform them immediately! Restore the mineral supply!"

Her hands were clenched tightly, her nails almost digging into her flesh.

Shame.

This was a shame she had never experienced before.

Chapter 51: Heading to the Upper District

The news quickly reached the Underworld.

In Jiang Mo's shelter, he received a briefing from Natasha.

The Grand Protector had agreed to the conditions, increased supplies, and partially lifted the blockade, allowing special personnel from the Upper and Underworld to travel back and forth.

A smile appeared on Jiang Mo's face.

Everything was going according to his plan.

By exploiting the information gap, the Upper District's arrogance and disdain for the Underworld, and the armaments that Wildfire had prepared a year ago, he had successfully forced the Upper District to open the passage.

Three times the supplies would be enough to significantly improve the standard of living in the Underworld and consolidate Wildfire's ruling foundation.

The opening of personnel exchanges opened the passage to the Upper District for him.

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the vaguely visible outline of the Upper District in the distance.

That was his real goal.

Before long.

The passage between the Upper and Underworld, after years of isolation, was finally conditionally opened to a portion of the population.

As Jiang Mo had expected, the rules set by Cocolia's government were incredibly strict, but they also left loopholes for him to exploit.

An official notice was posted on the bulletin board, the handwriting was neat, but the content made some Underworld residents feel absurd.

The notice read: "In order to improve the living environment of orphaned children in the Underworld and promote harmony between the two districts, Upper District families may apply to adopt orphans under the age of fourteen (those with excellent conditions may be extended to sixteen) from the Underworld, providing education and training to supplement Belobog's future pillars."

Jiang Mo looked at the words "future pillars" and could only sneer.

It was just a change of name to find cheap future labor.

Another rule concerned the consumption privileges of the wealthy.

"To promote economic prosperity, Underworld residents who can prove they possess sufficient assets (the specific amount to be determined by the administrative district's finance department) may apply for short-term access to designated commercial areas in the Upper District for consumption purposes."

This regulation was practically a dead letter for the now universally impoverished Underworld.

Finally, there was one about Wildfire.

"Senior representatives of the Wildfire organization may apply for temporary passes to enter specific areas of the Upper District for official business, but they may not remain in the Upper District for more than forty-eight hours and are prohibited from carrying contraband."

Jiang Mo didn't particularly care about these restrictive rules.

All he needed was a legitimate identity to enter the Upper District.

Subsequently, he submitted an adoption application to Wildfire in the name of "Jiang Mo," an orphan.

Thirteen years old, just meeting the application criteria.

In the "Special Skills" section of the form, he simply wrote "None."

He didn't expect some Upper District do-gooder to suddenly have the whim to adopt a half-grown stray kid, nor did he need such pity.

What he needed was a stepping stone.

That night, Jiang Mo went to Natasha's clinic.

The clinic was brightly lit, and Natasha was sorting the newly delivered medicines.

She looked somewhat weary, but more than that, she had an air of relief and stability.

Wildfire's victory had also secured a more stable supply of resources for her clinic.

"Sister Natasha, I need your help," Jiang Mo's voice sounded at the door.

"Jiang Mo? What's wrong so late?" Natasha was surprised to see Jiang Mo.

Jiang Mo didn't beat around the bush and said directly:

"I want your parents in the Upper District to adopt me."

Natasha suddenly raised her head, the medicine in her hand scattered on the ground, her face filled with astonishment.

"What?"

"My parents... adopt you? Why?"

She didn't understand.

With Jiang Mo's hidden status in Wildfire, he could do whatever he wanted, so why use this method?

He could enter the Upper District through Wildfire, using his high-level status, and although there was a time limit, it was enough for him to handle many things.

Jiang Mo calmly gazed at her: "I need a legitimate identity to go to the Upper District. That's all."

"Don't worry, I won't disturb their lives. I just need a guardian in name only."

Natasha fell silent, her heart churning.

"Jiang Mo, you've done so much for Wildfire, and you've helped me..."

"But my brother, Vahk..."

"Once I get permission to go to the Upper District," Jiang Mo's expression didn't change in the slightest, "I will fulfill my promise and let you see him."

"Really?"

Natasha's vision instantly blurred with tears, and all sorts of complex emotions intertwined on her face.

In recent years, this was the first time she had heard such a definite answer from Jiang Mo.

She nodded vigorously: "Okay, I'll write to my parents."

"They... they will agree."

For her brother's sake, she was willing to gamble one more time, placing her hope on this child.

The reply from the Upper District came faster than expected.

After receiving their daughter's earnestly worded letter, Natasha's parents were filled with doubts and confusion about this "adopted son" they had never met.

But out of deep love for their daughter, and certain vaguely worded hints in the letter—

Regarding Jiang Mo's importance to the Underworld and to Wildfire, and the instruction, "Helping him might lead to finding Brother Vahk, just listen to him"—they ultimately used some connections.

The adoption procedures were quickly completed.

A silver-gray card printed with "Upper District Access Permit" and a formal document of "Adoption Certificate" were delivered to Jiang Mo.

On the night he received the permit, Jiang Mo prepared to leave.

Seele had led a team to a more distant Stellaron area to carry out a material search mission today. According to the plan, she would be gone for a whole day and would not return until tomorrow afternoon.

Jiang Mo stood in the center of the room, which was now much better than he remembered it being, and looked around.

This was the first real "home" he had had since coming to this world.

He thought for a moment and took out a bulging cloth bag from under the bed.

Inside were Winter City Coins he had accumulated through various "reasonable" means during this period, enough for an ordinary Underworld family to maintain for a year.

He gently placed the cloth bag at the head of Seele's bed, with a note pressed beside it.

The note contained only a few words:

"I've gone to the Upper District. I'll come back for you later. The money is for you, take care of yourself. —Jiang Mo."

It wasn't that he didn't want to say goodbye in person, but he felt there was no need to add unnecessary sadness.

Between him and Seele, there was no need for too many words.

Besides, this wasn't a permanent farewell.

He would return to the Underworld.

Early the next morning.

Jiang Mo, carrying a small bag, walked towards the passage leading to the Upper District.

As he stepped out of the passage, the dazzling sunlight made him squint.

Natasha's parents, a well-dressed, kind-looking middle-aged couple, were there to meet him.

They were typical Upper District middle class, running a small business.

"You must be Jiang Mo," Natasha's mother said, looking him over with a gentle tone. "Natasha has told us all about you. From now on... you'll live well in the Upper District."

Jiang Mo nodded politely, "Thank you."

They took Jiang Mo back to an apartment on the edge of the administrative district.

The room wasn't large, but it was clean, tidy, and warmly decorated, far surpassing anything in the Underworld.

After symbolically assigning him a small room, Natasha's father said:

"We know you have your own ideas. Natasha has also told us that we won't interfere too much. This is your identification and some pocket money. From now on, take care of yourself."