Begging

Around noon on the same day, in the director's office of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, Lin Yun was dealing with a troublesome guest.

A woman in a shabby Daoist robe was sitting at his desk, holding a boxed lunch and wolfing down the food.

"That felt great, that felt great!"

She chewed the food in her mouth, her voice muffled, "It's been so many days since I've had such a satisfying meal. It feels so good!"

"I hope this is the last time."

Behind his desk, Lin Yun was rubbing his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache. "The Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau is neither a restaurant nor a relief center. Please leave immediately after you finish your meal."

"Um... yes! I didn't want to either!"

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed the food in her mouth. She tapped the lunchbox in her hand with her chopsticks. "These past few days have been filled with the vicissitudes of life, the coldness of human relationships, and I've lived in abject poverty, unable to even afford a decent meal."

"Destitute..."

Lin Yun's eyelids twitched twice. Although she was puzzled, she maintained a blank expression. "What exactly happened?"

Nothing much happened, to put it simply, even a hero can be brought down by a penny.

Yuan held the chopsticks between her thumbs and spread her hands out. "I don't have any money on me."

"I know you don't have any money on you, otherwise you wouldn't have been arrested for dining and dashing before."

Lin Yun nodded. "I just don't understand why you've fallen to such a state."

The creature before me, judging by its appearance alone, was in a far worse state than it had been a few days ago. If its Daoist robe had previously been merely worn and tattered, it was now filthy and disheveled, looking as if it had rolled around in a garbage dump.

The image of the other party loudly declaring that they were going to "have a good time in the human city" and then leaving in a haughty manner is still vivid in my mind, but I never expected that they would turn out like this in the blink of an eye, which is really embarrassing.

"It's a long story... I originally wanted to find a place to work, but after working for a few days, I couldn't find the foreman who was in charge of me at all. I don't have a cell phone, and I don't know where he is."

She placed the chopsticks on the lunchbox and sighed, "Since I couldn't find a job, I thought about doing odd jobs elsewhere, but they all said they needed some kind of 'education.' I didn't even finish elementary school before I went to practice martial arts, so how could I possibly have that kind of thing?"

"So?"

"So, I have no money, and I've run out of food. I have nowhere to stay and nothing to eat."

Yuan licked her lips, seemingly still savoring the boxed lunch she had just finished. "I couldn't find anywhere to sleep, so I originally planned to find a random spot in the park to lie down, but there are patrols there at night and they don't allow homeless people to sleep there, so I was kicked out after one night."

"I can't sleep in the park, so I can only look for abandoned houses, but several places I looked were so dirty and messy that I couldn't even stand there. The few clean houses I found were already occupied by other beggars, who thought I was there to provide some kind of illegal service."

As if warding off bad luck, Yuan waved her hand and continued, "There was no other way, so I ended up sleeping under the bridge. It's a bit cold at night, but we martial artists aren't afraid of getting sick from the cold."

"Then you should at least solve the problem of food!"

Semi suddenly interjected, seemingly full of resentment. "I can't even handle my own food, and now you expect me to fight with stray cats for trash cans! How many times do I have to tell you, I'm Fairy, not a cat!"

"You two look so alike. If a cat can scratch at a trash can with its paws, why can't you?"

Yuan said with some surprise, "Don't even mention you, even when I can't stand fasting, I'll rummage through the trash..."

"Alright, alright, I already know your situation."

Sensing that their argument was about to escalate, Lin Yun decisively gestured for them to stop. "If you want to argue, can you go outside first? As the main culprits who damaged the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau's office facilities, you are still wanted by us. Although the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau doesn't have the capability to arrest you, can you please not treat this place like a marketplace?"

"Huh? I'm wanted now?"

Yuan blinked, then turned to look at Semi behind her. "Look, what do you mean? A wanted poster, doesn't that make you seem like a bad guy?"

"I would rather you do something more befitting of a bad guy than wander the streets like a charlatan begging for fortunes..." Semi sighed deeply.

Yuan Zhenzhen retorted, "So, isn't that why I've come to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau to beg?"

"I must emphasize again, the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau is not a relief center."

Seeing that the human and the Fairy were practically outlining their crime plan right in front of him, Lin Yun interrupted again, "However, if it's just about food and lodging, that's not out of the question. Although the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau can't provide any assistance to wanted criminals, if you really have that need, I can give you a small sum of money in my personal capacity."

"Oh, money? Really?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan's spirits lifted. "Begging at the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau actually works?"

"Let me make it clear beforehand, this money won't be much; it'll only cover basic food and lodging. And in exchange, you won't cause any trouble in Fangting City."

Lin Yun rubbed his temples and said, "If you can't do this, I'll just report it to higher levels and see if the Magic Kingdom has any objections."

This statement is actually quite alarming, because he had already informed Emerald about the existence of this human and Fairy, and the answer he received was simple: there wouldn't be any major problems.

Although he didn't know where the other party's confidence came from, since the Gem Scepter had made such a promise, he didn't want to get involved in the matter any further.

After all, the safety of the Beast Source was no longer his concern—it had become Emerald.

He had already packed it up and thrown it to the Emerald.

Realizing that keeping this item would only attract more covetous eyes, and considering that he was currently unable to handle the endless stream of enemies, he decisively threw it away.

His most pressing task now is to maintain the stability of Fangting City. Allowing the Beast Source to cause trouble in his hands is not only detrimental to his own safety but also to the growth of the new members of his team.

An enemy of the level of the kite is fine if they don't have much malice, but if they come with great malice, it will undoubtedly be a catastrophic disaster for Fangting City.

Considering all this, there is no more suitable buyer than Emerald. No matter how untrustworthy the Gem Scepter may be, it ultimately belongs to the magical girl. It's better for the Beast Source to fall into Emerald's hands than into Claw Mark's hands.

If Emerald becomes the owner of the Beast Source, then the responsibility for its safety will naturally fall on Emerald's shoulders. It is easier for a reigning, powerful Gem Scepter to protect the Beast Source than for an injured person like him.

That's why Lin Yun is more confident when facing Yuan now—since the item isn't in his hands, he's not afraid of what the other party can do.

His attitude surprised Yuan, who had come to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau with the idea of "giving it a try": "Not causing trouble is easy, after all, I don't like bullying the weak. But this money... you're really just giving it away like that? Aren't you asking for anything else?"

"It's a huge benefit for the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau if you don't cause trouble."

Lin Yun squinted. "As for other requirements, I don't think you can offer anything like this."

After he finished speaking, he noticed that the other person was looking at him strangely.

"Hmm... he's quite good-looking, you could call him handsome. His position is also decent; he's a bureau chief."

Yuan rubbed her chin. "If you want something special, I might consider it."

"No need."

Hearing the other party's slightly veiled implication, Lin Yun remained unmoved, simply lowering his eyelids and saying indifferently, "Please take the money and leave. Don't linger in the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau."

"Hahaha, with your slovenly appearance, what man would want you?"

Seeing that Yuan's hints and actions were met with resistance, Semi immediately spoke up sarcastically, "You'd better not get any funny ideas."

"Hmm."

Even with her easygoing personality, being so directly denied her attractiveness as a woman left Yuan somewhat frustrated. "How could you reject me so decisively? Don't I have any appeal as a woman at all?"

"I'm sorry, you're very beautiful, but I'm married."

Lin Yun remained expressionless. "And I love my wife very much."

"Okay, okay, then forget I said anything."

She placed the lunchbox on the desk in front of her and said with a look of resignation, "Just to confirm one last time, you said I can't cause trouble, but challenging a magical girl to a duel isn't considered causing trouble, is it?"

"It doesn't count if you don't kill anyone or destroy public facilities."

Having guessed the other party's intentions, Lin Yun suppressed the twitching at the corner of his mouth and stated in a calm voice, "However, neither I personally nor the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau wants to see such a thing happen."

From an emotional perspective, he really wanted to dissuade the other party from challenging him to a fight, because he was busy and didn't have time to fight with a martial arts fanatic every day; however, from a rational perspective, blocking all of the other party's paths would be detrimental to negotiations. Therefore, he could only express his opposition in a third-party tone and with relatively soft language.

"Could you give me Cornflower's contact information?"

His opinion clearly failed to resonate with Yuan. Hearing that the fight wasn't strictly forbidden, she immediately perked up. "I haven't seen her for days!"

"The Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau has Rule of mutual confidentiality; we will not provide magical girls' personal information to anyone."

Lin Yun said solemnly, "Besides, even if I gave you my contact information, it wouldn't be of any use, as you said before, you don't have a cell phone."

"Oh right, I don't have a cell phone."

Yuan then belatedly nodded, "But it's okay, if I have money, I can use a public phone. By the way, since that's the case, why don't you, the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, go all the way and just give me a cell phone too..."

"No way."

Lin Yun ended the conversation with extremely cold words.

In the end, he gave Yuan several thousand yuan, enough to cover her food and lodging for a while, and then decisively "invited" the two troublesome guests out of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.

After seeing off these two important figures, he was finally able to have some free time and begin catching up on the work he hadn't finished that day.

The director of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau has to deal not only with internal affairs, but also with communication with other Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau affairs in other cities, as well as with the local municipal government.

Over the past month, the Full Moon Festival, the Lakeside Spring, and the recent attack on the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau have drained the city government's finances. Whether it's the compensation for the sacrificed employees or the reconstruction costs of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, the burden has fallen entirely on the government, greatly displeasing some officials. Although they know that Lin Yun, the newly appointed director of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, has some connections, it hasn't stopped them from offering their "opinions" to Lin Yun, demanding that he further standardize the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau's management and reduce additional losses.

In response, Lin Yun had to make a special trip to the municipal government to give a report, explain the recent increase in expenditures, and reassure the public to ensure that the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau would not lose its funding.

The Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau is a large organization with thousands of employees, and the funds required to maintain it are not a small amount. If the city government officials are not appeased, even if this money is cut by 10% or 20%, many places will become strapped for cash, and then he will have a lot of headaches.

Thinking about these questions, I finished some of the paperwork at hand, and as evening approached, it was time to leave work.

Although there was still a lot of work to be done, Lin Yun couldn't continue, because he had other plans after work—he had to go to the Emerald Research Institute.

He's been going there a lot lately.

Firstly, the transaction for the Beast Source had been completed, and the treatment process for his True Form had begun. He needed to go to Emerald for further examination and some minor physical therapy to begin controlling his injuries.

Secondly, it was because he had another patient there who needed care, namely Hong Siyu.

Unsurprisingly, it was Emerald who enabled Hong Siyu to regain her magical girl powers. According to Emerald, Hong Siyu's retirement was relatively recent, less than ten years ago, so there were ways for her to reclaim her Mana Source.

Of course, when asked about the specific methods, she became vague, clearly not wanting to elaborate, and it wasn't a legitimate route.

As for the motivation for doing so, it was because when Hong Siyu was sent to the Kingdom for treatment, it happened to be the time when Emerald first proposed a deal to Larkspur. In order to increase some bargaining chips, Emerald privately asked Hong Siyu. After obtaining her consent, she carried out this operation.

Hong Siyu to reclaim her magical girl powers is not without its risks. From an identity standpoint, because she didn't join Kingdom like a normal magical girl, nor did she obtain the qualification of a lifelong magical girl like Larkspur, she is currently considered an "illegal magical girl," just like Claw Mark.

As for the power itself, there's an even bigger problem, because before regaining her magical girl powers, Hong Siyu didn't live as an ordinary person. During her two years in Fangting City, her body was implanted with the Aberrant Beast Mana Source, which caused her considerable pollution. Even though Larkspur used scissors to directly separate the concept of the Aberrant Beast, her dormant true True Form still underwent a certain degree of mutation.

Therefore, Hong Siyu regaining her magical girl powers.

Compared to Larkspur's occasional transformation into a magical girl, her symptoms are much simpler—she can't change back.

It could be said that this condition was much better than that of the Larkspur, but that was simply because the Larkspur's condition was so bad; in absolute terms, her own condition wasn't much better.

According to Emerald, after obtaining the Beast Source, she could conduct some targeted trials to stabilize Hong Siyu's physical condition. Therefore, Hong Siyu has been going to Emerald's research institute for follow-up treatment in recent days.

It must be said that the weight of this offer did indeed shake Larkspur's decision to some extent.

Therefore, these past few days, no matter how busy he is with work, he has needed to find time to go to the Emerald Research Institute to learn about the latest progress in the treatment.