Vol 2 Chapter 112: Hong Siyu’s Work Report
The three juniors ca back just as Hong Siyu was on a call with Veronica. By then, it had already been two hours since Veronica had said goodbye to Mo He.
Although the Director had temporarily left Fangting City, the Bureau of Anomalous Attack Counterasures’ work couldn’t just co to a halt. As the official secretary to the Director, Hong Siyu naturally took on part of the Director’s responsibilities. And Veronica wasn’t the type to wash her hands of everything and throw it all on Hong Siyu’s plate. That’s why they needed this dedicated call to go over the Bureau’s ongoing tasks.
The plan was to have these calls once a week. Hong Siyu would report on the progress of each departnt, financial expenditures, etings and discussions with other governnt agencies, directives and docunts from the central bureau, updates on handling public reports, and the overall security situation in Fangting City. In turn, Veronica would provide feedback on all these topics, including her remote approvals for various applications that day, discussions with other city governnt leaders, and personal communications, so Hong Siyu would know what to focus on next.
There was so much to cover that two hours wasn’t nearly enough. Even as the juniors returned, Veronica and Hong Siyu were still deep in discussion.
“I’ll summarize for you,” Veronica was saying, tapping her finger lightly on the side of her phone. “Last year, around mid-year, the city governnt and the Bureau did the usual routine—applying to host this year’s provincial exchange seminar. Normally, there’s no guarantee we’d get it. But then, over three straight months, we took down both Black Dawn and Claw’s criminal plots. And within four months, the Bureau managed to go from total destruction to a complete, flawless rebuild. So, this ti, Tiandu City really did pick Fangting as the venue… Are you sure about this?”
She was repeating what Hong Siyu had just told her, but her tone carried a skeptical edge, like she was doubting the whole thing.
“Sounds like the kind of bad joke soone would make up while I was gone.”
“Ha… I kinda wish it was a joke.”
On the other end, Hong Siyu’s voice also carried a trace of helplessness. “The junior clerk who ca over from the city governnt with the docunts didn’t know a thing. I had to call their higher-ups to double-check. But yeah, it’s officially from Tiandu City.”
“Is there a digital version?” Veronica pressed.
“Yeah.” Hong Siyu replied, then sent her a file through the chat app.
Veronica opened it, scanning through the flagged docunts in silence. She checked the wording, official seals, and signatures for validity. Finally, she spoke, brows slightly furrowed.
“When’s the conference?”
“May. We’ve got about three months to prepare,” Hong Siyu answered quickly.
“That’s cutting it a bit too close. Why’d they only approve it now?”
“It was supposed to be decided back in August last year. At the ti, they’d picked Linyang City.”
“Linyang…” Veronica murmured, understanding dawning on her.
It made sense. Linyang had been one of the unlucky cities hit by Black Dawn’s attacks late last year.
In the entirety of Queen’s Calendar 1999, aside from smaller cities like Fangting and Boan, there were three major cities that beca targets of Black Dawn’s assaults: Linyang in Donghua Province, Taiyu, and New York in Xiluo Province. Unlike Fangting, none of these cities had top-tier magical girls stationed there, so the damage was catastrophic.
In Linyang’s case, entire districts were wiped off the map. Casualties ran into the tens of thousands—maybe even over a hundred thousand. Even part of the city’s protective barrier system was destroyed, and they were still trying to repair it. Given such devastation, the Bureau there was practically in ruins. If Fangting’s Bureau was turned into rubble during the Moonlight Festival, Linyang’s Bureau had been leveled.
No wonder Linyang couldn’t host any conferences anymore. The hosting rights had been shuffled around by Tiandu City’s leaders until they landed, by default, on Fangting.
“Did the city governnt suggest any venues?” Now that she understood the situation, Veronica knew there was no getting out of this ss. That’s just how work went—it didn’t disappear just because you didn’t feel like doing it. “With all the Bureau representatives from Donghua Province gathering here, even if each city only sends three or five people, that’s still a huge number. Regular venues won’t cut it.”
“They’re thinking of using Green Tower…”
“Green Tower?” Veronica muttered the na absentmindedly.
—“What’s Green Tower?”
The sudden question ca from behind her, and Veronica turned to see Lin Xiaolu sprawled over the back of her sofa, looking curious. “Is that Hong Siyu on the other end? What are you guys talking about?”
“…Interrupting soone’s phone call isn’t exactly polite, White Rose.” Veronica’s tone was calm—there wasn’t anything particularly secretive about what they were discussing. “And how many tis have I told you? Use codenas.”
“…Haha, relax.”
Clearly, Hong Siyu wasn’t bothered by Lin Xiaolu’s choice of address. “You’re still in the hotel over there, right? No one else should be able to hear us.”
“If you don’t form good habits during normal tis, you’ll screw up when it actually matters.” Veronica, unlike Hong Siyu, wasn’t so forgiving. She reached out and tapped Lin Xiaolu’s arm, which had sohow wrapped around her neck. “So don’t think you can get away with it just by acting cute. Behave.”
“Hehe, sorry!”
But Lin Xiaolu seed to be in a great mood. She had no intention of backing off, instead hugging Veronica from behind with a playful, syrupy voice. “Forgive , Veronica~”
“…What exactly were you three doing out there?” Veronica, thoroughly unsettled by Lin Xiaolu’s clinginess, finally shifted her attention from the phone to the other two girls, looking a bit dumbfounded.
“Ahaha, well…” Xia Liang scratched her cheek and looked away.
“We went out to have fun!” Bai Jingxuan chid in dramatically, flailing her hands around in exaggerated gestures.
With the conversation thrown into chaos, Veronica and Hong Siyu had no choice but to wrap up the call, agreeing to set the next eting. Veronica then started asking about what had happened.
After Xia Liang’s obviously evasive answer and Bai Jingxuan’s usual scatterbrained summary, Veronica pieced together why Lin Xiaolu was clinging to her like an octopus now.
They had gone to the shopping district to try out desserts. When sampling chocolates, they ca across a batch with liquor-filled centers. The flavor was apparently so good that they all tried it—but it was Lin Xiaolu who, not realizing it was alcohol, scarfed down several pieces in quick succession.
“So that’s why she’s like this now?” Veronica nudged Lin Xiaolu’s cheek, which was practically glued to her own by now, with a helpless sigh.
Xia Liang could only offer an awkward smile, while Bai Jingxuan, though clearly a little jealous of Lin Xiaolu, surprisingly kept her hands to herself. Their unusual reactions only reinforced Veronica’s growing suspicion:
—These girls had definitely done sothing behind her back.
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