"After that..."
"Considering that the Realm-Keeping Commission has indeed been swamped with miscellaneous tasks recently,"
"Strategist Qingzhu decided that each department will provide one performance to slightly support the Realm-Keeping Commission's work."
Inside the Taiyan Division's office, Chu Ze reported on the recent meeting while sipping his tea.
Fu Xuan nodded slightly:
"To be able to turn such an unfavorable situation around, your gift of gab is quite impressive."
Chu Ze grinned proudly:
"Aiya, aiya, I just turned the tide and saved everyone's free time!"
"Don't publicize such a small matter! Low profile—we must be low-key—"
"Then put down the megaphone in your hand!"
Fu Xuan said, narrowing her eyes. "Making a racket in the office area will get your bonus docked!"
Only then did Chu Ze put down the megaphone with a dry laugh: "Ahaha, you even noticed that..."
"This seat isn't blind, how could I not notice!"
The megaphone was confiscated by Fu Xuan.
Chu Ze didn't mind; it was Qingque's prop anyway.
"Then I'm off for the day." He stood up and waved. "Take your time with your work. Remember to drink more hot water."
Fu Xuan nodded subconsciously: "Mhm, go ahead... no, wait, get back here!"
She pointed at the clock on the wall, her voice turning cold: "There are still three hours until quitting time, and you're planning to leave early?"
"What? There are still three hours?"
Unexpectedly, Chu Ze seemed even more shocked.
He immediately put on an indignant expression:
"That wretched Qingque! She secretly changed the time on my watch and tricked me into leaving early with her!"
"Ah Fu, just sit here and don't move. I'll go teach Qingque a harsh lesson!"
With that, he rolled up his sleeves, swung his sturdy arms, and walked out of the office angrily.
Fu Xuan wanted to stop him, but seeing Chu Ze's furious look, she ultimately said nothing.
So be it, she thought. Let him be angry. It's about time someone cured Qingque of her bad habit of slacking off.
...
...
However, once he was out the main door of the Taiyan Division, Chu Ze's expression changed in an instant. His previously red, angry face vanished.
Qingque also emerged from a nearby corner, standing before Chu Ze as if seeking praise:
"Hehe, wasn't my plan brilliant?"
Chu Ze gave her an unreserved thumbs-up:
"With the two of us working together, who can stand against us!"
"A mere Ah Fu is nothing to worry about!"
Yet, just as the two were laughing smugly and preparing to leave, Fu Xuan's aura suddenly erupted from behind them. The two-plus-one eyes of the young woman shot out red light:
"Well, well! This seat did a quick calculation and it turns out you were conspiring to deceive me and slack off together!"
"You two are not to escape! You're working overtime until dawn tonight!"
"Eek!!"
The happy atmosphere vanished in a puff of smoke.
Qingque looked at Chu Ze in a panic: "Chu Ze, Chu Ze, what do we do, Lady Fu Xuan is... eh?"
Where Chu Ze had been standing was now empty.
Only far down the road, from a back that was already a distant silhouette, his voice drifted back:
"I'm leaving the rear guard action to you! Qingque, I will never forget you!"
"Waaahhh! Chu Ze, you big jerk!!"
Qingque shouted as she prepared to bolt.
But before she could even start, she was caught by the rapidly approaching Fu Xuan.
Feeling the pink-haired girl's powerful presence, Qingque swallowed hard and stiffly turned her face:
"W-well if it isn't Lady Fu Xuan! As you can see, I just helped an old lady cross the street and was about to come back to continue working..."
"Enough talk! Back to the office with this seat!"
"Hehehe, ahhhhhhhhh..."
"Weird noises won't help you! Let's go, back to overtime!"
...
...
She had let Chu Ze escape, but at least she had caught Qingque.
Fu Xuan contentedly carried her prize back to the main office hall.
Chu Ze, who had witnessed everything through a pair of binoculars from a distance, silently put his hands together in prayer:
"Namu san. May there be no overtime in heaven."
Then he put away his binoculars and happily headed home.
As for work?
The Taiyan Division's Secretariat had just been established, and its only task was to put on a performance for the Xianzhou Cultural Exchange Gala.
But that didn't require him to perform personally, and there were no quality requirements for the act.
He could just grab two employees, have them do a trick with a lighter, or maybe a "try not to laugh" challenge... It was just to make up the numbers, so it didn't matter who went up.
So, rather than wasting time in the office, he was more concerned with his upcoming plans.
With that in mind, he opened a hidden app and entered the Stellaron Hunters' group chat.
Chu Ze: @Silver Wolf @Kafka
Chu Ze: How's your Stellaron host plan going? When are you planning to make a move?
[Silver Wolf]: ???
[Silver Wolf]: Did the sun rise from the east? The muscle-brained Chu Ze is actually concerned about the organization's work?
Chu Ze: The sun has always risen from the east, hey!
Every time he chatted with Silver Wolf, it would devolve into mutual roasting.
It was Kafka who timely brought the topic back on track.
[Kafka]: The Stellaron plan, probably in about a month.
[Kafka]: What's wrong, Ah Ze? Is there anything we need to pay attention to?
Chu Ze: No, I just think that while you're carrying out the Stellaron plan, it's also a good opportunity for me to sneak onto the Astral Express.
Chu Ze: After all, with so many factions gathered at the Herta Space Station then, I'll have more ways to maneuver.
[Silver Wolf]: ??? Sounds nice, but I have a feeling you just want to take the opportunity to fight more people and have a good time...
Chu Ze: Ahaha, of course, that's part of the reason.
Chu Ze: But according to my calculations, that is indeed a rare opportunity, and I plan to take advantage of it.
[Kafka]: Understood. Silver Wolf and I will coordinate with your actions then.
[Kafka]: Or are you planning to call Firefly and Blade as well?
Chu Ze: That won't be necessary, the three of us are enough.
Chu Ze: Anyway, the most important thing is not to expose my identity.
Chu Ze: Although after I join the Astral Express, I'll most likely just reveal myself and be honest with them...
Chu Ze: But the random staff at the space station don't need to know that much, and if word gets out, I'm at risk of becoming a wanted man.
[Kafka]: Don't worry, I won't let you be exposed.
[Silver Wolf]: That's right. If anyone dares to doxx you, this genius hacker will get even for you!
And so, the basic plan was set.
After dealing with the recent affairs on the Xianzhou, Chu Ze planned to take a long leave of absence to go to the Herta Space Station.
It would be a chance to relax and travel, as well as to complete Elio's script and experience the main storyline of the original game.
But just then, a question suddenly occurred to him.
...How was he going to get to the Herta Space Station?
...By the way, did he have any friends who could lend him a private starship equipped with a warp engine?
-------
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