The Sorceress's Plight, Sefni's Resolve

Rootvine District, Wood Thorn Street.

Even by the standards of Rootvine District, this was an old, badly neglected neighborhood.

The people who lived here now were working-class families who needed very little to get by.

For one reason or another, most struggled to keep food on the table.

Some were burdened by illness, others by accidents. There were also plenty of destitute gamblers and drunks.

The paint had long since peeled from the buildings on either side of the crowded road, exposing the brickwork beneath.

The damp, dark conditions had left the walls covered in moss and mold.

Only the cheap alloy-plastic doors and windows held up. Most had been warped by force, but their frames remained sturdy.

People could go years without seeing the sun, but their clocks still told them it was time to get up.

The men had left early for work. Elderly residents who had trouble getting around went through the trash cans out of habit.

The women looked after their children while mending clothes and cleaning mildew from damp bedding.

On the sixth and top floor of Building 545, Emma opened her eyes.

"Damn it, why can I still smell it?" Emma pouted in frustration.

She had washed her face ten times to get rid of that damned liquid.

She had nearly scrubbed her skin off with the towel, yet she could still catch a faint whiff of that strange smell.

"It's all that pervert's fault! I didn't even make good use of yesterday's Void Abyss tide!"

Emma gritted her teeth.

What had happened yesterday was the greatest humiliation of her career.

Then came a knock at the old door.

Emma stepped across the creaking floor of cheap synthetic plastic and asked cautiously, "Who is it?"

Sefni's voice came from outside. "It's me, Emma."

Emma breathed a sigh of relief, slid back the old mechanical bolt, and found the elderly woman outside.

After letting Sefni in, Emma hurriedly asked, "How is Michelle?"

Sefni's withered, stooped body began to change.

Before long, she had become a tall, ordinary-looking middle-aged woman.

Sefni sighed. "She's stable now, but the doctor said she needs a new liver and stomach. Otherwise, she won't be able to leave her bed."

Emma's face filled with anger. "That damned Wolf Fang Gang! If Michelle hadn't been afraid of exposing us, she would've killed them all."

The Sisters’ Society currently had six members, all disguised as ordinary people.

Michelle worked as a flower gardener under her civilian identity.

On her way home from work one day, she had run into members of the Wolf Fang Gang, who had harassed her.

Michelle was close to Emma, Annie, and the others. She had been afraid that using her powers would cause trouble and drag them into it.

But even after she submitted, they had beaten her badly enough to leave her seriously injured.

Sefni sighed. "There's nothing we can do. We were born into a desperate age."

Then she asked, "What did you find out about that Gheros?"

Emma replied, "Aside from being a pervert, there's nothing wrong with him."

"I looked into his connections. Ever since he was little..."

After going over Su Yi's background, Emma said, "Don't worry. He definitely has nothing to do with the company."

A thoughtful look entered Sefni's eyes.

Emma turned and ran to a hidden compartment beneath her bed, pulling out a little jar caked with dirt and covered in patches.

She opened it and scooped out a large handful of loose change.

She counted roughly 54 Void Abyss Coins.

Emma hurried over and held them out to Sefni. "Auntie, I saved this from the odd jobs I've worked."

"I heard even the cheapest bionic liver costs 100 Void Abyss Coins..."

"This is all I have."

At the sight of the crumpled coins and Emma's little hands, covered in calluses and cuts, Sefni could no longer hold back her tears.

She pulled Emma into her arms and sobbed softly. "Why did a genius like you have to be born in such a desperate age?"

"Do the Great Twins think we still haven't done enough to atone for our past sins?"

Emma held Sefni in silence, not knowing what to say.

After a dozen or so seconds, Sefni took a deep breath and let her go. She pushed the money back toward Emma. "You have a long road ahead of you. You'll need money for many things."

"I still have some."

As she spoke, Sefni seemed to make up her mind.

Emma said quickly, "It's okay! I don't need money. I've saved enough nutrition beans to last me a year and a half!"

"I can go out and earn more today..."

Sefni cut her off. "It's all right, Emma. Focus on your training."

"Your soul is so pure. You're the future of the Sisters’ Society!"

"Leave worldly matters to us."

"I've thought of a way to earn the money to save Michelle."

Emma looked worried. "Auntie Sefni, please... don't do anything dangerous. If something happened to you, I..."

Tears rolled down her cheeks and pattered onto the floor.

Over the years, she had seen too many loved ones and friends persecuted and lost.

Sefni cupped Emma's face. "It's all right. It's all right."

"I still want to see my Emma become a Saint. I'm not about to die."

"My plan to make money is simple. Gheros said he had an opportunity for me, so I'm going to hear him out."

Emma looked unconvinced. "Him? He's just a low-level thug! What kind of money-making opportunity could he have?"

"Call it intuition," Sefni said. "I have a feeling he has connections."

"That's why I asked you to investigate him. I needed to know whether his background was clean."

"As long as he wasn't sent by the company or the Alliance, we can use him!"

"Besides, he's accepted the Twins' blessing now. That gives us leverage over him."

Emma nodded in understanding. "I see!"

Then Emma said anxiously, "He... that man's a real pervert..."

Sefni didn't quite understand what Emma meant. She stroked her head. "I know my limits. I'm well aware of what work I will and won't do."

While Sefni was making her decision, Su Yi had already arrived at the company.

Alton and the other two were beaming. Clearly, showing off to their families and acquaintances yesterday had brought them an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and happiness.

At the routine morning meeting, Aldo assigned everyone their debt-collection jobs for the day on Su Yi's orders.

To everyone's surprise, Su Yi did nothing to make their work difficult.

Even Scissors, whose face was bruised and swollen, was left alone. Su Yi hadn't so much as asked him to pay yesterday's fine.

That struck them as strange.

It went against everything years of experience had taught them.

After all, a new boss was supposed to put the old boss's subordinates in their place.

But Su Yi hadn't.

Uneasy, they took their assignments and headed out.

Su Yi watched them leave, a cold smile touching his lips.

Then he took out his phone and sent Winter the locations of all five groups.

He sent their detailed profiles as well.

He had handpicked every location assigned to them.

The places were remote, with complicated terrain—ideal for an ambush.

Alton asked quietly, "Boss, if they all die so suddenly, won't we be short on people?"

Su Yi smiled. "That's exactly what I want."

"It'll give us an excuse to shift our business in a new direction."

Is anyone reading? Leave a comment or vote, folks. I'm getting scared writing in here all alone!