Speech

"The above is my opinion on the work report of the logistics and preparation department. Now let's talk about the work of the Archives Department this week..."

Several hours after lunch break, standing on the conference room stage, Lin Yun finished reading the manuscript in his hand and was about to turn the page when he suddenly realized something. He looked up from the manuscript, glanced at the seats below, and sighed almost imperceptibly.

The audience's reaction was deathly subdued.

If it were just silence, that would be fine, but the situation was clearly not like that. It was not hard to see from the blank stares in the audience that most people had not listened to what he was saying at all.

The afternoon work report meeting was attended by all employees of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, except for those who were on missions outside. This was Lin Yun's first appearance in front of the Bureau's staff.

As an organization responsible for maintaining security on the Magic Side, the employees of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau are quite disciplined, and it's rare to see anyone daydreaming during meetings. However, even the strictest rules cannot guarantee that employees will maintain a high level of focus at all times.

Lin Yun was not surprised by this.

The speech he was holding was provided by the General Management Department. Most of the content was just a summary and suggestions on the work of other departments that week. In fact, he found it boring to read.

The speaker himself showed no interest in the content of his speech, let alone the audience. Some of the employees also looked extremely tired; if it weren't for the new director standing on the stage, they probably would have fallen asleep by now.

Lin Yun silently scanned the room, then suddenly threw the manuscript in his hand onto the podium.

"Alright, enough with the small talk, let's get down to something a little more practical."

He took two steps forward expressionlessly, raising his voice slightly:

"You all find it boring and sleepy, and so do I. The current situation at the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau is not optimistic. Clearly, following the usual procedures here won't solve the problem."

There's an old saying in Eastern Hua Prefecture: "A new broom sweeps clean." I don't need to go through so many formalities here. I'll only mention two things: internal stability and external defense. These are the only two things I'll do.

"First, let's talk about internal pacification."

"As someone who has actually lived in Fangting City, I am extremely dissatisfied with your work over the past two years. As Fangting City's primary line of defense against Magic Side crimes, the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau has played a negligible role in the past two years, practically a sieve, completely failing to fulfill its intended function."

"The ever-untimely forecasts of Aberrant Beast attacks; the ever-present, relentlessly entrenched Gray Magic Organization; the numerous unverified disappearances... I don't know how you feel, but put yourself in their shoes. If you were an ordinary city resident, could you live peacefully in a city like this?"

"I'm questioning you all here, and I'm sure some of you will feel wronged, resentful, and think I'm a new broom sweeping clean. After all, you've already invested so much manpower, resources, time, and effort. Several teams from the Special Operations Department have been out fighting for days on end, and some staff members haven't even had a good night's sleep. Why can't you do a good job?"

"The reason is probably something some of you can sense: there's a traitor within the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau."

"Two weeks ago, the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau was attacked by the Aberrant Beast orchestrated by Black Ash Dawn. Was this a coincidence? In the past week, the search and encirclement operations against the Gray Magic Organization 'Black Ash Dawn' have been progressing slowly. Is this because you're slacking off, or because the other side is just too lucky?"

"No, neither. Black Ash Dawn wasn't that lucky, nor that clever. They repeatedly gained the upper hand in their confrontation with the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau only because they had an inside source providing information."

"You are working with traitors without knowing it; the secrets of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau are invisible to outsiders, but you are completely unaware."

"This is the first thing I need to do, Anne. Now, open your eyes wide, prick up your ears, and take a good look at who the bad apples are."

"Pei Zhengchang, stand up."

Lin Yun calmly called out, looking at a middle-aged man in the crowd below the stage. "Now, tell your colleagues, tell everyone here: In the few days since the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau was rebuilt, you have entered and exited the archives four times, including this morning. What exactly were you looking for?"

Among the crowd, the man whose name was called looked up in surprise, sat there, and didn't know what to do.

He intended to remain hidden in the crowd, but suddenly realized everyone around him was watching him. With nowhere to hide, he stood up nervously and stammered, "I'm investigating... previous Aberrant Beast attacks."

"The files on past cases of Aberrant Beast are all stored in cabinets 11 to 39. What are you trying to do in cabinet 4?"

Lin Yun asked indifferently, "Are you trying to find the Aberrant Beast from the old magical girl docking records?"

"I didn't!"

The man immediately became agitated. "That's slander!"

"Slander?"

Lin Yun asked expressionlessly, "So, where were you at 10:27 this morning? Do any of your colleagues know?"

The crowd was completely silent.

"I'm going to the restroom." The man avoided eye contact.

"Going to the toilet, is that it?"

Lin Yun repeated the words he had spoken, tapped his finger below the podium, and the large screen behind him lit up, displaying a surveillance video from a special angle.

In the video, it was Pei Zhengchang, the man in the audience, who was sneaking around the archives room. He made his way to the number 4 filing cabinet that Lin Yun had mentioned and started searching through it.

The man in the audience turned pale upon seeing the video.

"How is that possible...?"

He muttered to himself, "I've definitely checked and prepared everything. The surveillance footage in the archives should all have been replaced; it should all be fake. That's impossible..."

However, his actions will obviously not be forgiven by anyone.

If the gazes directed at him at first were filled with suspicion and questioning, now they were filled with hatred and disgust.

"I'm not your former director. She might turn a blind eye to your behavior, but I won't."

Lin Yun said meaningfully, "Security Department, send two people to escort him to the interrogation room."

As soon as he finished speaking, several young people emerged from the already restless crowd, their faces filled with anger as they walked towards the middle-aged man.

"Don't even think about it!"

Having been exposed, the middle-aged man finally stopped making excuses. He roared, abruptly raising his hand to reveal a pre-prepared medium, now shimmering with magical light. He pointed his palm at the platform, his face flushed. "You forced me to do this!"

After speaking, he activated his magic, and several magic bullets shot out, hurtling towards Lin Yun on the platform with the speed of firearms.

"Stop him!" "Protect the chief!"

The surrounding crowd gasped in surprise, and some quick-thinking individuals instinctively tried to rush onto the stage. But to everyone's surprise, the magic bullet released by the man was neutralized by some unknown force before it even reached the stage.

The man's attack was unsuccessful.

In a location unseen by the crowd, behind the stage, Lin Yun held one hand on the Heart Gem. Several delicate threads of magic extended outwards from the Heart Gem, transforming into sharp blades that blocked the stage, easily deflecting the man's attack.

Almost no one noticed what he did; even the employees closest to the stage could only sense a faint fluctuation of magic.

On the other side, the man whose sneak attack had failed looked defeated and was taken away by the Security Department.

Lin Yun calmly watched the man leave, but he had no intention of stopping there. His gaze swept across the audience, and he spoke again without hesitation, this time pointing out a different name:

"Lü Yan, can you explain why, as a Finance Department employee, you've been repeatedly going to the Special Operations Department for the past week? You don't seem to have been assigned any tasks to liaise with their department, and you've entered the operations room privately multiple times. What have you been doing?"

He pointed to a female employee in the front row below the stage. This time, before the female employee could even speak, several young men from the Security Section stepped out from the crowd and approached her menacingly.

The female employee named Lü Yan looked around and saw that everyone around her looked suspicious and kept their distance from her. She could only click her tongue in surprise. Then, without even bothering to make up an excuse, she activated the Spell Formula medium hidden in her hand.

Unlike the man, she used a flight Spell Formula, taking off from the spot and flying rapidly towards the door of the conference hall.

"She's trying to escape!" "Catch her!"

The surrounding employees immediately sprang into action, grabbing her ankles, throwing things, using Spell Formula... The interference from all directions made it impossible for the woman to move forward. She had only flown halfway when a tall employee yanked her down from the air.

Then, the Security Section who were chasing behind rushed forward and dragged the female employee away as well.

Lin Yun didn't say much, but directly pointed out another name. This time, there wasn't even a step of listing the crimes or raising questions. The employee whose name was called turned around and tried to run away. Then, he was also subdued by his angry colleagues.

In this way, Lin Yun pointed out six people in a row. The employees below the stage went from initial suspicion to unconditional belief, and their actions became faster and faster each time. These traitors from Black Ash Dawn were thus caught one by one and escorted to the interrogation room.

After all the traitors had been taken away, Lin Yun released his hand from behind the platform, which was holding the Heart Gem, and slowly spoke:

"I don't know if there are any other traitors within the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, since I haven't been here long enough to investigate them all. However, I believe it's only a matter of time."

"If there are still people like this in the audience, you only have two choices: First, leave after work today and never return to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau; second, come to me and expose your accomplices to try and get leniency."

"Now that those who brought trouble have left the stage, let's talk about the next issue: external defense, or rather, the destructive power against external enemies."

"The Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau has suffered heavy losses at the hands of Black Ash Dawn more than once. I'm sure you haven't forgotten the humiliation two weeks ago, and I believe you all want to find them and avenge that defeat."

"However, the Black Ash Dawn has mastered the technology of beast transformation. Their Beast Shifter possess strength approaching that of Aberrant Beast, making them far beyond the capabilities of ordinary people."

"For this reason, I brought a batch of equipment with me."

"Provided by headquarters, this is the latest research achievement from the Magic Kingdom — Magic Armament. When equipped by a single person, Mage at the Controller Stage level can truly harm Aberrant Beast."

This statement immediately sparked a chorus of questions and gasps from the previously silent audience.

Fighting against Aberrant Beast with human bodies is considered impossible by most people, and this is almost common sense among the employees of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, Mage.

Just as everyone knows that magical girls can only be girls, everyone also knows that even Controller Stage Mage is powerless against Aberrant Beast.

And now, someone actually dares to tell them with such certainty that humans can rely on equipment to fight the Aberrant Beast head-on?

"Although its current destructive power is still limited to the Egg Rank and it is powerless against higher-level Aberrant Beast, I think it is sufficient to deal with ordinary Beast Shifter."

Ignoring the commotion below the stage, Lin Yun calmly continued his narration:

"Over the next few days, the General Management Department will conduct qualification reviews of all Controller Stage in charge of the Special Operations Department. Those whose identities and actions are found to be normal will be equipped with the latest Magic Armament."

"Once all combat teams have completed their Magic Armament, the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau's extermination of Black Ash Dawn will officially begin."

"Previously, because of those traitors, the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau couldn't even find their Beast Shifter; now that some of the traitors have been eliminated, our operations should be more effective."

"I won't force any of you to put yourselves in danger, but I hope you'll act within your capabilities. If you encounter an enemy group that you can eliminate, then eliminate it. If you can't fight them, then contact the bureau. Whether it's for reinforcements, resource allocation, or even if you need the support of magical girls, you can raise any concerns."

"I have only one request, and I hope everyone understands this goal."

At this point, Lin Yun slowly raised his head, a cold glint flashing in his eyes:

"-- Wipe out the Black Ash Dawn gang hiding in Fangting City, leave no one alive. I don't want to see these scumbags wreaking havoc in our city again next year."

Meeting adjourned.

The speech was a great success.

Just as Lin Yun himself said, in a short speech, he exposed several traitors from the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, demonstrating his ability; he also provided equipment sufficient to fight against the Aberrant Beast, demonstrating the resources he could mobilize.

Humans are always drawn to strength, and this is especially true in a special organization like the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. Lin Yun's actions gave the employees at the meeting a boost of morale, and their approval of the new director naturally increased as well.

After Lin Yun adjourned the meeting and left, the previously lifeless crowd below the stage became much more excited, especially the employees of the Special Operations Department. Li Yingwei of the Third Squad was excitedly grabbing Tian Sheng's shoulders and shaking him, shouting "We will always support the new director," a stark contrast to his attitude at lunchtime.

Tian Sheng, who was being held by him, could only force a smile, while glancing at the rostrum not far away, his expression revealing even more doubts.

The noisy meeting didn't bother Lin Yun, who had already left. He took his manuscript, strode into the elevator, and returned to his office. He then frowned and pushed open the door.

Just now, he sensed an incredibly powerful surge of magical energy suddenly appear, and its location was within the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, even within the director's office.

He pushed the door open with one hand, while the other remained in his pocket, ready to activate the Heart Gem at any moment. But when he actually saw the scene inside, he completely forgot what he had originally intended to do.

--A plush toy, or rather a puppet, is sitting in his seat.

It was a rather cute-looking Fairy Doll, covered in emerald green fur, and dressed in a white lab coat, which added a touch of cuteness to its comical appearance. The reason it was identified as a doll rather than a living creature was because its joints were clearly visible.

At this moment, the doll, with a lazy smile on its furry face, was half-lying behind the desk, looking at him.

Hello, young man.

As if synthesized by a machine, the voices coming from the dolls were indistinguishable as male or female.

It was sitting in someone else's seat, yet it seemed perfectly at ease. On its furry face, a pair of clear, lustrous eyes were fixed on Lin Yun. Those eyes were emerald green, yet also clear and beautiful, possessing a mysterious magic.

They are like a pair of magnificent emeralds.