Chapter 2: A New Era (3)
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When the System issued the mission, it placed no restrictions on the survival of the residents of the Small World.
In other words, Lin Nan didn’t have to worry about the civilians’ lives while completing her tasks.
Even if every last person in the Small World kicked the bucket, as long as she could pass her mission, it would be a non-issue—completely negligible.
But to Lin Nan, these were real, living people, practically no different from those in the real world. How could she be so cold-blooded as to disregard their lives, all for her own personal gain?
What differentiates humans from the lower animals is their strong sense of social responsibility, rather than just relying on biological instincts.
As the Bureau Director of the Special Operations Bureau—albeit temporarily—her mission was to ensure the most basic safety in Ocean City.
For her to abandon the hopes and trust people placed in her just to clear the mission? Sorry, she just couldn’t do that.
She needed to find a balance between completing the mission and protecting the civilians.
Upon returning to the office building of the Special Operations Bureau, Lin Nan walked into the office area and spotted Tom and Jerry, along with three other Demon Race guys, surrounded by a throng of female agents.
Indeed, Demon Race members bore a resemblance to the elves from Western tales, except for the two horns protruding from their foreheads.
Seriously, what girl could resist the charms of handsome guys, especially when they were legendary beings from another world?
As the male agents looked on with envy, the girls chattered excitedly, and Tom, Jerry, and their buddies were overwhelmed, ultimately resorting to professional fake smiles to deal with their enthusiastic fans.
When they saw the coldly beautiful Bureau Director appear expressionless in the office area, Tom and Jerry jumped up like they’d found their savior, dashing forward to pledge their loyalty.
All the agents, regardless of gender, immediately retreated to their workstations, making the previously bustling hall exceedingly quiet.
Lin Nan stopped in the hall for only a few seconds before wordlessly striding into the meeting room.
Tom and the others followed her like devoted little puppies.
Inside the conference room, Nie Zhengchu and several intelligence agents were analyzing the enemy situation. Upon seeing Lin Nan enter, they all stood and saluted.
“Take a seat. What have you come up with?” Lin Nan got straight to the point.
Nie Zhengchu replied, “Director, the situation is indeed a bit strange. Those three thousand people seem to have vanished as if they used an invisibility spell; we can’t find any trace of them.”
Lin Nan said, “If you can’t find them, keep looking. The calm before a great battle often leads to complacency. If we can’t discover their conspiracy in time, when it finally reveals itself, we’ll surely regret it.”
“Understood, Director. I’ll order all districts to conduct thorough searches to uncover any clues.”
“Good.”
Lin Nan didn’t linger, allowing them to get back to work.
As Nie Zhengchu watched the Director leave the conference room with her Demon Race entourage, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.
He was practically kneeling in respect for the Director, who was nearly twenty years younger than him.
Initially, he thought the Special Operations Bureau stepping into the limelight would stir social upheaval and possibly lead to unexpected public relations crises.
But as soon as the Director made her move, she instantly steered public opinion in her favor.
Plus, being drop-dead gorgeous, she obliterated camera lenses left and right, even becoming the face of the Bureau, attracting tons of followers across various media platforms.
That’s the unbeatable charm of personality.
Even though Director Lin was young, geniuses often don’t play by the rules. What ordinary people chase after for a lifetime might just be a fleeting moment of inspiration for a genius.
Back in her office, Lin Nan,
facing her top-of-the-line gaming computer, suddenly lost her desire to play games for the first time.
What was Fu Yetian really planning?
So far, she still had no clue.
At that moment, Lin Nan remembered that Trissa was still undercover in the enemy camp, but they couldn’t maintain contact like she could with character cards. Looking for her could easily blow her cover.
Unless absolutely necessary, Lin Nan didn’t want to pull this thorn out of the enemy’s heart.
So what should she do now?
Her gaze slowly drifted across the glass wall of her office, reflecting the figures of Tom, Jerry, and the others.
“Bam!”
She slammed her hand on the desk, cursing herself for not noticing this sooner.
The reason Fu Yetian, Rong Ji, and the others were silent was not because they felt pressure from the Bureau. Their plot required a brief period of dormancy; in other words, they needed time—a relatively calm time—to facilitate their plans.
If during this period the Bureau focused solely on finding them, they’d be completely inverted, falling right into the enemy’s trap.
So, she had to flip the script!
“Tom, Jerry!”
“Reporting!”
“Transform into your monster forms and create chaos starting from downtown! Remember! The more exaggerated, the better—even blowing up a few buildings wouldn’t hurt. But make sure to give people enough time to escape.”
“Yes, Lord.”
These guys would never question Director Lin’s orders; their instinctive obedience was practically etched into their bones.
They promptly vanished from the office building.
Just five minutes later, loud explosions echoed from downtown.
Lin Nan knew they had begun their operation.
Wanting to tame the evil dragon meant you had to become the evil dragon first—how ironic.
But this was the only thing she could think of that might temporarily restrain the enemy’s plans.
Let’s hope she wasn’t wrong; if innocent civilians lost their lives in the process, she could only sincerely apologize—after all, she wasn’t an omniscient god who could save everyone.
She could only guarantee she had done her best.
“Director! Bad news! Five giant monsters suddenly appeared downtown.”
Nie Zhengchu rushed in with a tense expression.
Lin Nan nodded, “The Special Operations Bureau will pause the search for interdimensional beings, except for on-duty personnel. Let’s address the current issue first.”
In the urgency of the situation, no one noticed that the five interdimensional beings who had come to side with the Director had disappeared.
And even if someone occasionally thought of them, they probably wouldn’t connect them to the monster incident.
At that moment, in the bustling commercial district downtown, five giant monsters of various shapes and sizes were rampaging between skyscrapers, roaring loudly.
They were incredibly strong, capable of spewing fire and magma.
Yes, leading the charge, Tom resembled a serval cat, with agile speed and explosive power; even a police armored vehicle that had just arrived was flipped over by one punch, leaving its occupants dazed and confused.
Meanwhile, Jerry had the appearance of a big rat, gobbling everything in sight.
Reinforced steel and concrete were no match for him, as he left behind a pile of digested debris wherever he went.
Then, countless vine-like plants started to sprout wildly from that debris, crazily spreading in all directions.
