Chapter 44 (The 44th chapter is a reflection in a mirror and the moon in the water)
Yan Shi frowned and looked up at Yu Junxun and Leona.
She sensed that Leona seemed somewhat uneasy when she came in.
“Director,” Yu Junxun explained, “I saw Leona outside the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs this morning when I came to work. She seemed to have something urgent to do, but she wouldn’t say anything more specific.”
What Yu Junxun didn't say was that Leona was standing right at the entrance of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, without trying to hide herself.
Because of the elven wings and ears, and the added aura of otherworldly grace, she seemed to exist on a completely different level from the surface world. A group of tourists visiting the Summer Palace surrounded her.
Yu Junxun initially thought he had stayed up too late the night before and was in a daze from working overtime, so he stopped walking towards headquarters with suspicion. When Leona saw him coming, she immediately snapped out of her daze and rushed to pull him along.
Yu Junxun noticed that the expressions of the tourists surrounding him changed instantly, and some were even whispering among themselves: "Is this a pretty young lady looking for her boyfriend?"
"This guy looks guilty. Could it be that he cheated on his wife and they came to his workplace?"
"What a jerk! He doesn't even appreciate having a girlfriend like that."
Yu Junxun: ...
No, he's not that kind of person.
It turns out this is the real Leona, and he wasn't dreaming.
After Yu Junxun had security politely ask the tourists to leave, he asked Leona helplessly, "What are you doing here?"
Leona stared straight at him: "I want to see your chief."
Yu Junxun: "You need a reason to see the director, right? And you can't just see Director Yan whenever you want. You have to submit an official report first, and then apply to higher authorities."
“I want to see your chief,” Leona simply repeated.
Yu Junxun: ...
He discovered that Leona was genuinely difficult to communicate with. No, elves are generally a difficult species to communicate with.
Although his former colleagues were laid off for various reasons, the immediate trigger was the need to investigate Leona and Fia's background, but they refused to speak up no matter what.
It's really annoying.
Considering Leona's special status among the Wood Elves, Yu Junxun, after careful consideration, brought Leona in to see Director Yan.
After all, Director Yan knows everything.
“If you hadn’t met me, you wouldn’t have been able to get up here,” Yu Junxun said to Leona while waiting for the elevator.
Only those holding positions at the level of director or above in the Execution Division and Information Division of the General Administration have the authority to go directly to the director's office on the top floor without application.
Yu Junxun felt that only an elf could kindly bring one in.
Yan Shi, equally bewildered, thought: "Wait, weren't all the Wood Elf's troubles resolved yesterday? Why are they back?"
She gestured to Leona with her eyes, indicating that she should get to the point.
Leona looked at Yan Shi for a while before slowly saying, "Director of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, do you still stand by your promise to me in the hospital room that the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs would fully cooperate with the Wood Elves to retrieve the Staff of Life?"
Yan Shi suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.
She forgot to ask the high priest about the Scepter of Life!
And who exactly are the people on the photo stone?
Although they were all wearing the uniforms of the Bureau of Evil Management, Yan Shi had already gone through all the files related to spirits in the bureau over the past thirty years and found that there were no records of any field operations related to the Forest of Life.
That's very strange.
Because she used the director's authority to access all records within the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, including those from headquarters and branches. As a result, the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs branch in Emerald City, which was the closest to the bureau, had not had any field records of entering the Forest of Life for nearly thirty years.
Perhaps she could go to the Forest of Life again this afternoon.
Yan Shi, however, merely looked up from his busy official duties, glanced at Leona, and then at her hands that were fidgeting behind her back due to nervousness: "The Staff of Life, you elves should know exactly where it is."
Go ask the high priest; others may not know, but at least the high priest will know.
Leona: "We elves, understand?" She looked somewhat vulnerable and bewildered, her whole body swaying precariously.
“From my perspective as an outsider, this isn’t very friendly. Go home.” Yan Shi sighed. “Before you leave, I think you should go to the medical clinic first.”
Leona remained standing in the center of her office, refusing to leave: "Director Yan, I see that's how they all address you. I beg you, give me a clear answer."
What was the answer? Only one night has passed, what exactly triggered Leona's reaction?
Yan Shi found it somewhat difficult to understand.
“Fia has vanished,” Leona suddenly said.
Yan Shi: ...?
She was somewhat bewildered. Dissipated? What does that mean?
Leona found that Leona was easy to talk to as the head of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, so she decided to come to Leona for everything, big or small.
Yan Shi tentatively said, "Disappearance is not terrible; there will always be spirits that need to disappear."
Based on Yan Shi's six months of work experience, when he didn't know how to answer, he would say something ambiguous.
Let others figure it out themselves.
Yu Junxun looked at Leona in shock, then suddenly looked at Director Yan.
Elves, especially nature elves, are all favorites of the elven goddess and are said to possess immortal souls.
For elves, there is generally no death; they only voluntarily return to the Elf Mother Tree and become a branch on it.
Disappearance, however, is an extremely rare occurrence. It occurs when an elf is cruelly annihilated, along with their immortal soul.
Because as long as there is a trace of consciousness left, an elf can choose to return to the Elf Mother Tree when they are on the verge of death.
Therefore, it's possible for the spirits to disappear outside the forest, because the distance is too far and the mother tree would need time to respond.
Within the forest, and specifically within the territory of the Elf Mother Goddess, where the elves are blessed by her, what kind of immense power would have torn them apart in an instant, leaving Fia no time to actively return to the Elf Mother Tree?
The Wood Elf territory was attacked by an unknown force this morning?
To Yu Junxun's surprise, Director Yan was not surprised at all. It seemed that she already knew about it when it happened, and even Fia's disappearance was reasonable in her eyes.
That's very strange.
Leona was clearly unable to accept it, and she took a few steps excitedly toward Yanju's table, "The Wood Elves haven't had any members disappear for a long time, why did it have to be Fia!"
"Those are other spirits, would you still be so indignant?" Yan Ju asked her calmly.
Leona curled her fingers and bit her lip, stung by those words.
No, she won't.
Director Yan: "I have already notified Team B41. They will return to the Forest of Life with you to help the Wood Elves find the Scepter of Life."
"Although I personally believe that the truth of everything is predetermined, since you insist, I agree to offer you some assistance."
Leona looked at the head of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs.
She didn't have much contact with the Bureau of Alien Affairs, only hearing about it after leaving the Forest of Life. It was an organization founded by humans, claiming to maintain order in the underworld.
We will crack down on the illegal black market and respect the lives of all living beings in the underworld.
This is completely inconsistent with the belief of the non-human races in the Otherworld that the strong prey on the weak and the survival of the fittest has always been.
Just like the director of the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs, who clearly possesses the ability to break through the ruins of the gods and knows everything, but does not join the struggle for territory and resources in the underworld, but stubbornly upholds this fair order.
Leona couldn't understand.
There was another knock on Yan Shi's office door, and several young people wearing matching field uniforms and B41 badges walked in. The one leading them was a short-haired woman with a buzz cut.
Yan Ju looked at Leona: "Go."
Leona recalled Wen Ying's words and whispered before leaving, "Be careful, it's all just a mirage."
Without explaining further, she jogged off to catch up with Gu Changqing, the captain of Team B41.
When Leona approached, Yan Shi reflexively closed the intranet system page, since her page still contained chat history with Gu Changqing, in which she asked Gu Changqing to pay attention to the clues about the Scepter of Life provided by the Wood Elf clan.
If you have it, or find it beforehand, bring it back to the game; you don't need to give it to the Wood Elf first.
Yan Shi wasn't sure if the High Priest would tell the truth, so she thought it was better to be prepared for both possibilities.
Leona's last words left her completely bewildered, feeling increasingly unable to understand these strange and fantastical beings in the Otherworld.
Leona left with Gu Changqing, but Yu Junxun remained standing in the office.
Yan Shi couldn't hold back any longer and gestured to him to leave quickly.
This is her personal office, not a market, so why are there so many people coming and going every day?
Yu Junxun hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Director Yan, in your eyes, what is the meaning of Fia's disappearance?"
"It's a choice."
Author's Note: My head is throbbing, so I'll stop here for now. If I feel better after a nap, I'll update more tomorrow.
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 18:04:14 on July 1, 2024 and 20:51:43 on July 2, 2024!
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