Chapter 43 Leona's Second Visit

A new week, a new job.

Yan Shi sat in his office and sighed heavily.

Even if I work overtime until midnight last night, I still can't be late for work today.

She had just arrived at the headquarters and when she saw Lin Cai in the lobby, she felt that Lin Cai looked listless.

So after she left last night, Lin Cai stayed in the Forest of Life camping again?

As Yan Shi pondered this, he turned on his computer and was shocked to find a report submitted by Yu Junxun, stating that the Wood Elf household registration, which had not been established for over twenty years, had been fully completed.

She opened the system and checked again; indeed, forty-six more elves had been added to the household registration overnight.

She roughly knew what Lin Cai had been doing last night.

There's something a little strange. Yan Shi himself tore open the world barrier and returned to the surface world directly, without needing to take an airship and then transfer through the portal. How did Lin Cai and the others get back to headquarters?

Due to its unique nature, there should be no large-scale human technological products in the vicinity of the Forest of Life.

It took several days to get there; last night, it probably wasn't until at least midnight, that Lin Cai and the others finished registering their Wood Elf household registration. Now they're already at the headquarters, clocking in and out as usual.

Yan Shi didn't understand, but he was greatly shocked.

She browsed through the information on the intranet system, preparing to first take a general look at the weekly reports compiled by various departments of the General Administration, and then make a list of urgency levels to handle as appropriate during working hours.

The main reason is that Yan Shi, as the bureau chief, does not have a bureau secretary.

Normally, this sorting work was done by Sheng Chunqiu for her. But since Sheng Chunqiu went to the Forest of Life last week because of the troubles with the Wood Elves and then went missing, some important official business submitted to Sheng Chunqiu has been directly delivered to Yan Shi.

At first, she was curious and checked everything, but later she found that this made the work too stressful.

She came here to work a day and just get by, not to exploit herself and become a corporate slave!

So Yan Shi only watched selectively, except for a few particularly important ones, and treated the rest as entertainment.

The main reason is that the Otherworld is far removed from Yan Shi's life, and the barrier between them is impenetrable. Aside from official documents and reports, she rarely has access to the Otherworld.

Managing the Bureau of Dissidents, in a way, felt to Yan Shi like a large-scale game.

The central network system is the game panel.

And this workplace is incredibly prestigious.

It stands opposite the municipal government of the capital city.

She was browsing the system when a message notification suddenly popped up.

[Sheng Chunqiu: Director, are you free now?]

What's going on? Yan Shi wondered, and replied with an "Mm" on the system. Soon after, Sheng Chunqiu made a call.

Yan Shi: ...

To be honest, she wasn't really keen on answering. After all, she wasn't comfortable with having to start work mode so early in the morning.

Shouldn't we first take a break to relax, have lunch, then enjoy afternoon tea after the lunch break, and only start dealing with the day's official business leisurely as the workday draws to a close?

In addition, every time Sheng Chunqiu contacted her for an emergency communication, it was never anything good.

Yan Shi let out a long sigh, deciding to treat himself at noon today, before answering Sheng Chunqiu's call with a heavy heart.

"Director," the other end of the phone was initially noisy, but quickly quieted down.

It's likely that Sheng Chunqiu temporarily activated a spiritual energy shield.

Yan Shi: "What's wrong?"

“I am in Emerald City now.” Sheng Chunqiu explained the situation to Yan Shi with clear logic, “Director Gui told me that they encountered an illegal smuggling group on their way to the Forest of Life, and the group is currently staying in Emerald City with smuggled goods.”

“After you left last night, Director Yu and the field team of the Household Registration Department, who went to the Forest of Life at the same time, have added all the unregistered Wood Elves to the files. I led the team to track down the smuggling gang in Emerald City.”

Yan Shi began to wonder for the umpteenth time: Was Sheng Chunqiu's ability really not part of his job?

Why did you rush to Emerald City to arrest the smuggling gang after just finishing up trouble in the Forest of Life last night?

Don't you need to sleep and rest...?

Yan Shi was indeed implicated by his subordinates.

And if she wasn't mistaken, this smuggling group should be the Mithril Merchant Guild.

Is Sheng Chunqiu leading the team to expose Wei Ning's secrets?

Yan Shi immediately felt a sense of schadenfreude.

Sheng Chunqiu's report continued: "...We have now located the smuggling ring's base in Emerald City, and I have arranged for the relevant enforcement team to keep watch nearby. I am requesting your assistance and cooperation from the Emerald City Special Management Bureau branch."

Sheng Chunqiu was efficient enough to find the courtyard in just one night. Yan Shi leaned back in his chair. "Okay. I will arrange for the Emerald City branch to cooperate with your operation unconditionally."

She remembered that the alchemical items she sold to Liuguang all had law imprints on them, so she might as well hand over the location to Sheng Chunqiu as well.

“God said,” Yan Shi murmured to himself, “the mark of the law reveals the location of the goods.”

The six items were indeed still tightly packed together in one place.

Sheng Chunqiu, hearing no sound from the other end of the phone, asked in confusion, "Director Yan?"

After a while, the director replied again: "Director Sheng, I sent you a map. It should contain smuggled goods."

Sheng Chunqiu: "Okay, after I contact the Emerald City branch, I will set up a checkpoint and investigate this place at the same time."

It wasn't just one place?

Yan Shi stopped sending a notification to the Emerald City branch on the system, somewhat surprised.

Were they sold, transferred, or are they still within the Emerald City? Are these several smuggling groups?

She hung up on Sheng Chunqiu's phone and was lost in thought when there was a sudden knock on the office door.

"Enter."

It was Yu Junxun who knocked on the door, followed by a slightly flustered Leona.

Did Yu Junxun and the others bring Leona back again last night?

Yan Shi found it somewhat strange.

Leona remained calm, her hands behind her back, her fingers tightly intertwined, kneading them repeatedly.

She thought about what Wen Ying had said last night, "Chief Leona, you saw it too, the High Priest of the Elf Temple is a stranger."

Wen Ying's face was somewhat obscured in the morning light: "So, you still insist on believing him?"

“But, but,” Leona said, her mind in disarray from shock and grief, “this is the High Priest. This is the messenger of the Elf Mother Goddess.”

The Elf Mother Goddess? Wen Ying scoffed inwardly, but remained extremely patient on the surface. "Would the Elf Mother Goddess appoint a stranger as High Priest?"

She patiently guided Leona while mercilessly cutting her own finger.

Pale red blood, speckled with light, dripped from Wen Ying's fingertips.

Leona covered her mouth and looked at Wen Ying: "You're a light elf? But, but your..."

Leona's gaze slowly slid from Wen Ying's ear to behind her.

“I know. I don’t have elven ears or wings. I am a half-elf,” Wen Ying said. “My mother was a pure light elf who was deceived by outsiders into giving birth to me. In the end, she chose to return to the elven mother tree because of this betrayal of her kind.”

"I came to the Forest of Life to see my mother's hometown and her fellow elves, but I unexpectedly discovered that the High Priest was an outsider in disguise!"

Leona looked at her blankly: "Outsider... in disguise?"

Wen Ying: "Yes. I first noticed that the High Priest was acting strangely, often going into the back hall of the Elf Temple alone and not coming out. Then, do you know what I discovered?"

"What?" Leona bit her lower lip.

Wen Ying hesitated for a moment, then leaned closer to Leona and whispered, "I discovered a small portal in the back hall of the Elf Temple!"

Leona's eyes widened.

Wen Ying: "If you don't believe me, I'll take you to see! I'm the last person who wants the elves to be deceived by outsiders."

Leona didn't speak; she was caught between immense grief and deeply ingrained ideological contradictions.

Fia was her childhood playmate and best friend. The High Priest, on the other hand, was the messenger of the supreme elven mother goddess, whom she had been taught since childhood.

The Elf Temple is the remnant temple of the Mother Goddess, a sacred place that every elf must worship.

If the High Priest was indeed a stranger in disguise, why didn't the Elf Mother Goddess tell them? And why was she able to move freely within the Elf Temple?

Leona didn't believe it.

In the end, childhood feelings prevailed, and Leona nodded resolutely: "Okay, I'll go with you."

There really is a small portal in the back hall of the Elf Temple.

The gate leads directly to the backyard of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs headquarters.

Wen Ying: "I discovered that more than 20 years ago, an outsider sent by the Bureau of Foreign Affairs murdered the High Priest and replaced him."

Author's Note: Sheng Chunqiu: A Fully Automatic Overtime Roll King

No extra chapter today, but I'll add one tomorrow, and then one extra chapter every two days thereafter (this way I'm less likely to miss chapters).

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 00:13:15 and 18:04:14 on July 1, 2024!

Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 1 heart;

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Ruo (20 bottles); Yikou Tunbuxia and 68827510 (10 bottles each); Hurricane Pumpkin Lantern and Xuzhou Pudu (1 bottle each);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!