The Secret Code of Monsters.

Chapter 161: Greedy Elephant

"The world is bigger than you think, Rose."

She pulled her hand away abruptly, holding the cigar in her mouth, and turned to the glass filled with silver light.

She looked down at the black city through the soft veil of the silver moon.

Before winter, the moonlight has not yet shaken the leaves off the branches, nor frozen the lake, but has seeped into the cold mist, making people wrap their collars and sleeves tightly and shiver in the wind.

But when she looked down at the girls walking through the alleys, seeing them holding their heads high, greeting each other in a proper manner, wearing long skirts, animal skins or men's suits, she always thought of summer and rarely winter.

Anne took a deep breath, and the smoke she exhaled made the glass even more hazy.

"We have a better choice, don't we?" Rose followed lightly and stood beside her. "Look, we are all better off because of you. We can stop, stop expanding, stop asking for help from big shots, and stop dealing with those troubles..."

"We should be the rats of this city, rats that hide from the light but live well."

Rose raised her feet and tapped the glass with her fingertips.

dong dong.

"That's Mary."

"Her husband was in debt to the Gold Teeth Gang, and he died in his bed. You helped her out—and now she's one of the sharpest hands we have."

"That's Mrs. Durham."

"Because of you, she was spared from being consigned to the flesh trade by those foul-mouthed dirty men. She is one of the few among us who can read, write and do math. With her, those cunning merchants can't cheat us out of even a penny..."

"Annie."

"Many people have been protected by you, and many people are grateful to you."

"You shouldn't do that for..."

Rose paused.

"You shouldn't have pushed those girls off the cliff. Let's just do this, okay?"

Anne could tell what Rose was hinting at.

Unfortunately, what Rose said didn't count.

"I'm looking for an opportunity, and I'll give anything for it."

This made Rose extremely disappointed.

She took a few steps back, away from the tall woman in front of the window.

Since coming to London, she has become less and less like herself.

The Elephant Gang is becoming less and less like the Elephant Gang.

They expanded frantically, recruiting criminals on a large scale, both men and women, no matter how outrageous the things they had done before - this greedy elephant was not afraid of eating too much, but was afraid that if it swallowed too slowly, hunger would catch up with it and swallow it whole, skin and bones included.

Why is this happening?

The taciturn woman is as silent as the moonlight tonight.

Rose felt complicated.

The woman at the window saved her life and changed her future.

The gangs under our feet used to have very few people, but they were able to trust each other.

And now.

Mr. Anne has changed.

New faces continue to emerge in gangs every day.

Rose suddenly realized that she shouldn't have come today.

I shouldn't be curious about the invitation.

You shouldn't care about other people's affairs.

All she wants is to survive and live well.

People who are good for nothing...use their bodies and lives to make the final contribution.

"If one day I am useless, Annie, where will you send me?" Rose asked in a trembling voice.

Anne's angular face was immersed in the cold silver light.

"You're not the only 'handyman' in the gang."

she says.

"Don't you know very well?"

The room fell into silence.

"…I see."

After a while, Rose gently placed the handkerchief on the desk.

"I will be useful...always useful, sir."

She pushed the door open and left without looking back.

Someone came in.

It was the woman who opened the door for Rose.

She brought a plate of sliced ​​apples and tomatoes and a steaming cup of coffee.

The woman put her things in order, put the pens scattered on the table back to their places, folded the unfolded letters, and sealed them one by one in the drawer.

Then, he turned on the gas lamp.

"This child has a bad temper."

"This is not the first day you've known her." Anne rubbed her forehead as she spoke. It was only then that she paid attention to her extremely painful mind. "She went to that party."

"What?" The woman was surprised: "How...how dare she..."

"There's nothing she dares not to do. If we're close enough to Buckingham Palace, maybe in a few days, you'll see her in the newspapers." Anne smiled, her gloomy and cold expression softened in the dim yellow light: "You know who our Miss Vansittart is."

The woman followed suit with a sneer: "You greedy, lawless wolf cub." She took the cigar handed to her, put it out in the ashtray, and pulled out a chair for her master.

Then, he spread out his slender fingers and rubbed her again and again.

The pain did not ease, but the tense nerves gradually relaxed.

"Yes."

Anne thanked him softly, picked up the coffee and took a sip, put down the cup, stretched her shoulders, tapped the soft armrests with her five thick fingers one by one, and fell into deep thought.

The woman serving her stood quietly behind and relieved the pain for her master.

Approximately a few points.

"I got a name and I saw a new world, Mulin."

Anne's voice was steady.

"The Art of the Invisible."

she says.

The woman behind him listened quietly.

"I don't understand, does this represent an 'invisible' spell, or does it mean that there is a corresponding 'visible' spell?" She muttered to herself, and was obviously not satisfied or content with the knowledge she had gained at a cost: "...How is the progress of that matter?"

Mu Lin paused. "It's difficult, Annie. We have contacted the monks of the church, the kind of 'detectives' dressed in black... These people are very vigilant, and the girl can't get anything valuable from them."

"One was even arrested."

"I'm not surprised," the woman sitting on the seat said calmly, "Knowledge is priceless."

"It seems so, sir." Mu Lin sighed: "Do we have to do this? At such a high price?"

"It's worth it no matter how much it costs." Annie said, "It's a whole new world, and it's the real power of this world. It's much more powerful than knives and guns... You don't know how terrible that power is. If the Elephant Gang wants to survive for a long time, we must master this power."

Mu Lin didn't say anything and concentrated on massaging her head.

After a while, she moved her fingers downwards, from her head to her neck.

"Some girls, like Rose, have noticed something is wrong: a lot of people have disappeared. We can't go to the East District to kidnap people in the short term. Blackie is targeting us." Mu Lin's voice was calm, as if she was talking about an insignificant matter.

"Don't worry about the darkie," Anne said, just as calmly as she did. "Besides, you won't have to worry about it anymore. The crows have gone to the party, and I think the bitch will either be burned to death or suffer in some dungeon."

Mu Lin smiled and said, "That's the best. Her 'selectiveness' caused us to lose many girls, and we had to rob and buy homeless women and babies for her. We in the Elephant Gang never did this before."

"Mulin."

Anne suddenly knocked on the table and interrupted: "For the sake of power, these are necessary sacrifices."

“…You are right.”

Mu Lin lowered her eyes.

Anne suddenly remembered something and moved her shoulders to ask the woman behind her to stop massaging. Then, she picked up a pen and started writing on a piece of paper.

Ten minutes later, the ink began to dry.

She handed it to Mulin.

"I don't have that much time to tell her stories."

Mu Lin took the paper, glanced at it, and looked surprised.

"This is?"

"Give it to her."

“…I see.” The woman folded the letter twice, held it in her hand, and stepped back a few steps, looking at the thoughtful owner sitting in the seat with concerned eyes: “How are you feeling recently?”

"Put your mind on finding strength, Mulin."

"Not much time."

Mu Lin remained silent, bowed, then pushed the door and left.

(End of this chapter)