The new assistant opened the office door, but the director was nowhere to be seen. "Strange. He just told me to bring over all the sorted documents—"
She rubbed her bald head. Like Machinists, psionic practitioners who overworked their brains generally couldn't keep their hair. Shaved heads had practically become their standard look.
But it was already late at night, long past the end of her shift, and she didn't want to waste any more time here. The parchment sheets in her hands floated into the air, sorting themselves into the nearby shelves as though she had given them life. "Strange. Am I imagining things—"
She looked around, her intuition telling her something about the office felt unusual. Huddled beneath the long table with Night Wind and Dawn, Tang Qi held his breath.
The door creaked again. Once it had closed completely, he crawled out from beneath the table along with the other three, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Shedskin froze. "Wait. This is my office. Why am I hiding?"
Uha looked at Bella, then at Tang Qi and the others. "Who the fuck are you? How come I've never seen you before?"
Tang Qi felt a little dizzy himself. "So what exactly is going on here?"
Bella couldn't meet his eyes. She hastily shoved the Aether Prism into Shedskin's hands. "I've completed my assignment. You should remove my collar."
"Bella? Weren't you going to live in Dragon Gold City after you resigned? When did you get back?"
Shedskin accepted the Aether Prism in bewilderment, then abruptly realized this was no time to catch up. Giving Uha a scornful look, he turned his gaze on Tang Qi. "And who are you? Why did you sneak into my office—no, how did you get in?"
That was a good