Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau

"The Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau over in Nanyun City replied yesterday, saying that their Seeder had already submitted a report to the Magic Kingdom and confirmed that there is a Seeder registered under the name 'Moko', though her relevant record is completely blank."

Several days had passed since Larkspur killed the Pupa Stage Aberrant Beast, and Lin Yun and Hong Siyu were driving together toward the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.

Flipping through documents with a rustling sound as she sat in the car, Hong Siyu said in a flat tone: "As for the loss of contact with the previous Fangting City Seeder, 'Nini', the Kingdom's reply is 'Already on file, please contact the new Magical Girl to continue the previous verification'? Strange, was this matter reported to the Kingdom beforehand? And to think they have absolutely no intention of sending reinforcements."

...I expected as much, it probably has to do with me.

Hearing Hong Siyu's words, Lin Yun, who was driving, suddenly spoke up and sighed: "When I retired back then, I should have wiped my name straight from the Investigation Institute."

His identity as a Magical Girl was a hidden card to the local Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, but it did not count for much to the Magic Kingdom.

Magical Girls in the Material Realm obtain power, and upon completing a ten-year term, they usher in a retirement period. At this stage, they face two choices: first, join the magic-rich Magic Kingdom, become indigenous citizens of the Kingdom, and thereby resolve issues such as magical decay while continuing to serve as a Magical Girl; second, remain in the Material Realm, but retire from the identity of a Magical Girl to become an ordinary person, while receiving a very generous financial subsidy from the Kingdom sufficient to make the second half of life financially free, living a safe and happy life.

Most Magical Girls who have fought through ten years or even grown weary of combat choose to retire. There are also Magical Girls who are unwilling to give up their magic or unwilling to abandon their youthful appearance who settle in the Magic Kingdom from then on. But no matter the choice, a record is left on the Magic Kingdom's side.

Yet besides the aforementioned rules, there is actually an exception known as a "Lifetime Magical Girl."

When a Magical Girl performs sufficient meritorious service on an important occasion, the Royal Court presides over the award of this title to the Magical Girl. From then on, neither aging nor injury will cause her to lose the power of a Magical Girl, and she is free to choose whether to linger in the Kingdom or the Material Realm.

Lin Yun and Anya actually both belong to this exception.

This led to the current situation where, even though Lin Yun registered to cease activities long ago, his code name still remains on the lists of the Royal Court and the Investigation Institute, and his retirement location in Fangting City is even recorded.

Further information would not remain there, but it was already enough for people to know that there was an "old senior" in Fangting City.

"Senior, are you very familiar with the Investigation Institute?" Having retired through normal procedures and thus having some understanding of these twists and turns, the former Magical Girl Hong Siyu turned her head and asked with some puzzlement.

"I at least held the title of Inspector, and I used to have some dealings with them."

Gripping the steering wheel in his hands tightly, Lin Yun inwardly clicked his tongue: "I can even guess who made the decision."

"So that means there are no reinforcements?" Hong Siyu hugged her documents and leaned back against the backrest.

"It means we can only consider looking for new recruits from now on." Lin Yun was similarly helpless.

Still, it was fine even if they didn't send anyone, he figured. Anyway, he didn't want to restore contact with certain "old acquaintances."

"Looking for new recruits... there are only three people right now, aren't there?" Hong Siyu counted on her fingers. "Would it be better to have a few more people?"

"I don't know, and also, don't count me in when counting heads."

Lin Yun corrected with an unhappy look: "I don't want other people to know about my comeback."

"Fine, fine—my ears are almost growing calluses from you saying that."

Hong Siyu feigned covering her ears and muddled through vaguely: "But if you continue activities, it's bound to get out eventually, right?"

"Then we'll wait until it gets out to deal with it."

Lin Yun set the tone for this conversation with a single sentence, and for the rest of the journey, the two of them never chatted about this topic again.

As the car gradually drove toward the destination, the building where the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau was located also slowly came into view for the two of them.

The existence of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau itself was no secret; it was just that depending on the city they were in, their operational methods differed.

In Fangting City, the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau acted openly as an official organization, and even their office location was grandly established right in the urban area.

The car drove past the guard post, and Hong Siyu showed her work credentials to the guard. After a round of verification by the other party, she was allowed to pass, officially entering the office area of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.

While adjusting the steering wheel, Lin Yun looked through the car window toward the building not far away, his heart filled with myriad thoughts.

His previously submitted meeting request was accepted by the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau a few days later. Not only that, this meeting was arranged inside the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, and the person who would receive him was the current bureau chief.

Without a doubt, the bureau chief personally stepping forward to converse with him meant she certainly attached a considerable degree of attention to this matter, though whether this attention was well-intentioned or harboring ulterior motives remained unknown for now.

"Relax, don't wear such a battle-ready expression, our bureau chief isn't a very serious person."

Walking into the building alongside Lin Yun, Hong Siyu said somewhat flippantly: "The old lady is actually quite talkative, just ask whatever you want to ask."

"Your evaluation of her seems quite favorable?"

Sweeping his gaze across several key points of his own attire, Lin Yun said somewhat surprisedly: "You usually complain endlessly about your colleagues at the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau on the phone; I thought there weren't many people you could look up to."

"Shh! Don't say things like that in the workplace!"

Hong Siyu immediately motioned for him to keep quiet, and after confirming no one was around on either side, she patted him: "Terrifying, if colleagues heard, wouldn't they misunderstand that I'm backstabbing them behind their backs?"

"I feel the wording here should be called 'seeing through' rather than 'misunderstanding'."

Walking to the elevator lobby and pressing the button to go upstairs, Lin Yun looked at Hong Siyu: "What floor?"

"Eleventh floor," Hong Siyu replied, then added, "During the early stages of my work here, I received quite a bit of care from this bureau chief. You can tell she's a person with a lot of ideas. As an ordinary person who hasn't mastered magic and can't touch the transcendent, she's actually trying her best with a lot of things."

"Is that so?" Lin Yun's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he grew a bit more interested in the upcoming meeting.

The elevator rose rapidly amidst a mechanical humming sound, the floor numbers on the display screen constantly jumping, and before long, it reached the scheduled eleventh floor.

The two stepped out of the elevator, and Lin Yun followed Hong Siyu deeper into the floor. After passing a corner, he saw a pair of rather imposing wooden double doors built into the wall.

Hong Siyu stepped forward and knocked gently. After a "Please come in" echoed from inside, she looked at Lin Yun beside her and followed up with a "please" gesture. Thus, Lin Yun straightened his collar and walked alone into the office behind the double doors.

Greeting his eyes were a full-length window, bookshelves standing sternly against the walls on both sides, and a huge desk in the center.

And standing up from behind the desk, bowing slightly in greeting to him, was an elderly lady.

--"Hello, Mr. Lin Yun."