"You liar! You don't even know them! How can you possibly know the one they're searching for?!" The fish Seller snapped at the girl, his face turning an angry red.

​"Who said she doesn't know us?" Jinx asked with a slight frown, taking a deliberate step forward, her posture radiating subdued danger.

​"Huh?!! Master?!!" The girl exclaimed, her former bravado replaced by pure shock, surprise, and utter disbelief.

​"I see you are still running your little rackets, Lina," Jinx said, a rare, small smile touching her lips.

​"I learned from the best, Master!" Lina shot back, her smile instantly mirroring Jinx's.

​"Huh?! So you are in this together?!" The Seller roared, realizing the group wasn't just wealthy, but connected to the thief. He dropped Lina unceremoniously, turning to face the intruders.

​"So arrogant," Jinx muttered. She didn't shout; she simply unleashed her Celestial energy. The energy spread out like an invisible dome, instantly stunning the fish Seller and paralyzing everyone within a hundred-meter radius.

​"A... A Celestial Rank Warrior?!" The man stumbled backward, his eyes glazed over with shock and fear. In the Star Nation, this rank commanded respect, fear, and untouchability.

​"Yes!! Show him, master!!" Lina jumped to her feet, pumping her fist in pure exhilaration.

​Jinx walked toward Lina, grabbing her ear and pulling it firmly. "I told you and the others to stop this petty thievery! It's beneath you. Wait, where is that woman?" she asked, her frown returning.

​"Ouch. Ouch. Ouch..." Lina muttered painfully, unable to resist Jinx's grip.

​Sunny watched the interaction, recognizing the dynamic between a tough mentor and a mischievous student. He turned to the stunned Seller.

​"What did she steal?" he asked, his voice returning the man to reality.

​"Th-that fish. It is worth one hundred thousand Galaxy Crystals," the Seller stammered, pointing at the fish.

​"Huh?! One Hundred thousand?! For just a fish?" Jinx asked, genuinely startled by the audacious price gouging, turning her head to the Seller.

​"At least, if you want to cheat someone, call a price someone will believe," Lina quipped, earning another hard tug on her ear from Jinx.

​"This is one hundred thousand. I don't want to see you again," Sunny stated, tossing a heavy pouch of gleaming Galaxy Crystals at the seller. The man caught it, stared at Sunny in disbelief, then opened the pouch. His eyes widened at the sight of the genuine crystals.

​"Wow! Thanks. Thanks!" He quickly pocketed the money and hurried away, completely forgetting the fish and the thief.

​Sunny and Star finally turned their full attention to Lina.

​"You said you know who we are looking for. Tell me." Star tapped her Cosmic Brain screen, and a flickering holographic picture of her Elven brother and sister appeared before Lina.

​"Hmm... I don't know the boy," Lina said, studying the image intently. "But I think I know who might know the lady!" she declared with a slow, decisive nod.

​Star looked at Sunny, then at Jinx, a surge of fragile hope visible on her face.

​"Okay. You naughty, take us to this person," Jinx said, finally releasing Lina's ear.

​"Come on, Master! Everyone will be so happy to see you!" Lina said, walking back into the village maze, the three powerful figures following the small street urchin.

__

​"Where did you know her from?" Sunny asked Jinx as they walked.

​Jinx sighed, her expression growing guarded. "The man who adopted me wasn't a saint to begin with. After he ran from the Beastify Nation—He picked me and some other orphans up. We all grew up together... in the worst place imaginable."

​"And where is that?" Star asked, genuinely curious about the shadow life of this woman.

​"The underground. The forgotten shadows of the Star Nation cities. You can say I have a reputation there," Jinx said with a familiar, confident smirk.

​"Of course. As the Queen of Shifters," Sunny nodded. He knew her legend before he met her—a thief who used her unique Shifter abilities to execute impossible heists and had never been caught, until she decided to steal from Matilda.

​The group followed Lina through increasingly dilapidated sectors of the village, turning into an uninhabited location surrounded by thick, untamed forest. After several minutes of walking, they came upon a small, derelict wooden hut.

​"Come on!" Lina said with a bright smile, pushing open the rickety door and rushing inside.

​The three looked at one another, then followed. They surveyed the hut—it was small, messy, and appeared abandoned. Lina, standing in the center, pushed a button disguised as a knot in the wood. A section of the floor smoothly slid away, revealing a dark, hidden stairway leading down.

​"Come on, Master!" she urged, rushing down the stairs.

​"Don't teach Ellen all these tricks, Jinx," Sunny said, stepping into the dark, secret tunnel.

​"Huh? But she will need this kind of survival skill!" Jinx grumbled, offended by the restriction placed on her sisterly guidance.

​"She might be your sister, but she is also his daughter, destined for a higher path. Please, don't teach her these... underground skills," Star added gently, stepping in behind Sunny.

​"Fine then! But she must still learn how to survive, just in case!" Jinx muttered defiantly and followed them down.

__

​The tunnel opened into a vast, dark cavern. Lina came to a stop in the center.

​"Come on everyone!! It's only me!" she yelled into the dark.

​Sunny, Star, and Jinx watched as lights flickered on—not high-tech energy lamps, but simple, repurposed lanterns. The light revealed a sprawling, makeshift home filled with children of countless ages, the oldest looking barely seventeen or eighteen. The rest were much younger, huddled together.

​"Who are these—"

​A young man, lean and serious, stepped forward and froze instantly, his eyes fixing on Jinx.

​"Elder Sister Jinx?!" he called out in shock, a mix of reverence and desperate surprise in his voice.

​"Yes!! It's Master!!" Lina yelled, clearly reveling in the astonishment on her chosen family's faces.

​Jinx moved her gaze slowly across the cavern—an entire community carved out of the earth. The children had turned this forgotten space into their home. She stopped her gaze on the young man, her usual sharp demeanor softening with concern.

​"What happened? Gina had all the money for a better life. I left enough to get you all into a city district. Why are you all... in this place? Living this life?"

​The young man didn't hesitate. His answer fell into the sudden, heavy silence of the cavern, a hammer blow of tragic reality.

​"Gina is dead."

​His simple, cold word stunned Jinx into a daze, the shock of losing her surrogate mother figure finally reaching her heart.

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