Resonance (Part One)

That afternoon, Yuan Zhao slept until the sun was high before dragging himself out of bed. Pretending that he hadn't delayed work by staying up too late playing on his phone the night before, he was just about to sneak out and get back to work when he was stopped.

It was a call from Xue Ya.

"Awake? If you are, come to the executive lounge. I've got cake for you."

He was stunned.

That strange woman actually hadn't ordered him around again, and had even bought him cake to eat?

There had to be a conspiracy!

Trembling with unease, Yuan Zhao carefully sat across from her and mechanically ate the cake Xue Ya had ordered on a whim, too much for one person to finish. He had no idea what arrangement awaited him next, but the answer he received was unbelievable.

"I don't need to go?"

Yuan Zhao stared. "That's it?"

"Yep." Xue Ya nodded. "After thinking it over, you've worked pretty hard lately, so I'm giving you some time off. Go wherever you want, buy whatever figures or models you like. Your pay has already been transferred to your card."

"What?" Yuan Zhao was dumbfounded. Bewildered, he craned his head toward the Tanba Inner Circle in the distance. "We're just leaving it alone?"

Xue Ya poked at the fruit atop her banana parfait and asked in return, "What else can we do? Kamishiro Mirai is hiding too well. We can't catch him even if we try. There are plenty of ways to solve a problem. Why waste time on one tree?"

"Then... those hybrids... we're just... not doing anything?"

"We're East Xia people, Yuan Zhao. Foreigners meddling too much in local affairs is annoying, isn't it? You're not some idol. Wouldn't it bother you if several people followed