Interlude: White Line, Charisma +1

"Beep... beep..."

The phone rang steadily, but a moment later, the ringing turned into a busy signal.

White Line was on another call and couldn't answer.

Xia Lun hung up and set down his phone, raising an eyebrow.

Normally, very few people knew White Line's number, so the odds of getting a busy signal were low. Xia Lun had never encountered it before when calling her.

"I'll try again later."

He rose and walked to the window to look at the view outside.

Whitewash City's winter weather had always been fickle. The sky had been clear just moments ago, but in the time it took him to write up his review, clouds had rolled in. The trees in the Courtyard looked as though they had been overlaid with a dull, ashen filter.

"Don't tell me it's going to snow again." Xia Lun had just started looking toward the heavy clouds in the distance when the phone on his desk rang.

Ring, ring—

He turned, picked up the phone, and answered.

White Line's soft voice came through. "Busy man, I've got good news and bad news about the Foresight Club investigation. Which do you want first?"

This time, White Line used her natural voice instead of her usual mechanically blended one.

"Which answer gives you the better setup?"

"Guess." White Line laughed. "Just pick one."

Xia Lun said nothing and waited for her to continue.

A few seconds later, White Line sighed.

"Xia Lun, being too clever can ruin your sense of humor," she complained. "Fine, I'll tell you. Asking for the good news first gives me the better setup."

"What's the good news?" Xia Lun asked, playing along.

"The good news is that we may have overestimated the Foresight Club," White Line said. "After investigating them for a while, I've