Chapter 35: Opinion

“You’re talking about Yun Mo…”

Luo Yan tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then offered an objective evaluation.
“He’s quite good. As someone of status, whether it’s his bearing or his way of handling things, he’s far better than the likes of O’Berain, Dong Qingfeng, or Chen Feng.”

Lu Xiao Na waited.

And waited.

But no follow-up came.

She blinked. “And then?”

“That’s all. What else do you want to hear?” Luo Yan rolled her eyes at her.

“Just like that?”

Lu Xiao Na clearly found that unacceptable and tried another route.
“Don’t you have any… special feelings?”

“You mean like…”

Luo Yan tapped her chin, thinking aloud.
“My heart beating faster, feeling nervous for no reason, wanting to sneak glances at him again and again… that sort of thing?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Lu Xiao Na’s eyes lit up like she’d just seen salvation.

“Heh. You’re overthinking it.”

Luo Yan sneered.
“Watch fewer romance novels and TV dramas. That stuff’s toxic.”

Lu Xiao Na gave her a long, suspicious look.

Only after confirming that Luo Yan wasn’t lying out of shyness did she finally accept the reality. Then she shifted angles again.

“Okay, fine. Then what about Yun Mo? Did he say anything interesting when you two talked just now?”

Luo Yan didn’t answer right away. Instead, she smiled faintly.
“Classmate Lu Xiao Na… this was your real reason for dragging me to this banquet, wasn’t it?”

She’s going to kill me.

Lu Xiao Na felt a chill run down her spine. Instinctively, she took a half-step back.
“Hehe… no, no, it’s just that Yun Mo happened to be here, and he happened to be interested in you, and I happened to witness it, so I happened to be concerned…”

“Oh? Is that so? Then should I happen to teach you a lesson?”

Luo Yan took a step forward, tone unfriendly, clearly ready to punish this overly curious girl.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

She frowned slightly, pulled it out, and saw the caller ID—Shen Hui, secretary of the Investigation Department.

What is it at this hour…?

From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Lu Xiao Na patting her chest in relief, having narrowly escaped a scolding.

Luo Yan shot her a glare.
“I’ll deal with you later.”

Then she turned and walked toward a quieter corner as she answered the call.

Shen Hui’s voice came through. “Good evening, Consultant Luo.”

“Good evening, Secretary Shen. What’s the matter?”

“I’m very sorry to disturb you at this hour… It’s like this: due to an urgent matter requiring our department to dispatch personnel, Minister O’Berain has moved the debriefing meeting originally scheduled for next Monday up to tomorrow. It will be merged with tomorrow’s emergency session.”

“The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. tomorrow in the Investigation Department’s main conference room. Please attend on time, Consultant Luo.”

Luo Yan’s brows furrowed slightly.
“An urgent matter?”

Shen Hui hesitated, then replied, “It’s related to a smuggling case. Details will be disclosed at the meeting.”

He was one of the few people in the Investigation Department who knew the truth of the Wasteland incident—that Luo Yan had been the key to leading the transport team out of danger and back safely.

Though he hadn’t been there personally, he understood very well that someone capable of such a feat was not ordinary.

That was also why his attitude toward her had shifted subtly since her return.

He could see clearly that O’Berain was targeting Luo Yan, but he also knew this wasn’t some one-sided bullying—
It was a clash between equals. A war between gods.

If he took a hard stance too early, he’d only get burned.

So, he had decided that behind the scenes—where O’Berain’s eyes couldn’t see—it was wise to extend some quiet goodwill.

“Understood,” Luo Yan said. “As for the debriefing, do I need to prepare anything?”

“You’re a senior consultant. Your responsibility is to report directly to the board. For our internal departmental meeting, you can simply sit in and observe.”

“I see. Thank you for notifying me, Secretary Shen.”

“Just doing my duty.”

After hanging up, a thoughtful glint flickered in Luo Yan’s eyes.

Smuggling case? Odegaard ore smuggling…

Due to the ore’s special properties, privately selling it was on par with—and in some places even more serious than—arms trafficking.

No wonder it warrants an emergency meeting.

The banquet still had many entertainment events lined up, but Yun Mo didn’t stay till the end.

He left midway through, as if he had no further interest in the evening.

Seeing that the rest of the night would yield nothing more, and with her stomach already full, Lu Xiao Na decided it was time to go. She checked with Luo Yan, who readily agreed.

With her current popularity, staying any longer would just draw unnecessary attention.

They left together, and by the time Luo Yan returned home, it was already late at night.

She turned on the lights, started to change, and paused by the mirror.

In the floor-length white gown, her reflection held her gaze longer than usual.

Is this really me?

She raised a hand and touched her delicately made-up face, her expression flickering.

Although Lu Xiao Na could be willful, it was thanks to her insistence that Luo Yan had experienced so many new things lately.

Not just the clothes—
There was the job, the banquet, and even her encounter with Yun Mo of the Aurora Group.

Yet behind it all, the most terrifying thing was still lurking in the shadows—
The bottomless Advent Project, steadily progressing in some unknown corner of the world, untouched by her will.

The tree wishes for stillness, but the wind refuses to cease.

Under that pressure, she had no choice but to break through every bottleneck as fast as possible.

The next one loomed large: Transcendent.

Thirty thousand photons.

If she didn’t want to wait three to five years to accumulate that much, she’d have to force herself out of her comfort zone.

Whether she liked it or not.

In that sense, this banquet had served its purpose.

It had made her step outside her boundaries.

And that was why she hadn’t protested when she’d learned the banquet had a hidden agenda—because she understood this was a step she had to take eventually.

Only by entering a bigger circle, a broader stage, could she hope to gain more resources.

Only then could she grow fast enough.

The next morning—Friday—Luo Yan naturally changed into her black stockings and form-fitting OL suit. With practiced ease, she applied her makeup, hailed a taxi, and headed to the company.

At 9 a.m. sharp, the debriefing meeting began as scheduled.

But surprisingly, the one presiding wasn’t O’Berain.

It was Secretary Shen Hui.

O’Berain and the other deputy ministers merely sat in to observe, occasionally commenting or questioning the presenters.

If dissatisfied, they would hold the reporting parties accountable on the spot.

The meeting began with regional heads summarizing their recent work.

Naturally, the key topic was the Wasteland mob attack.

And so, nearly every report tied back to that incident.