nashuaworldcup Chapter 205 Whale Fall
Chapter 205 Whale Fall
Chapter 205 Whale Fall
Upon hearing the noise, Chang Lei immediately shut his mouth.
After exchanging a glance with Tang Zijun, he casually pressed a button on the table, and the door clicked open.
A capable woman walked in. She had neat short hair, stood up straight, and had wheat-colored skin. She was holding a document in her hands.
"Xiao Ma." Chang Lei recognized the woman who came in and greeted her softly.
This woman was the secretary Shangguan Su had arranged for him, and also the chief of staff of the operations department. Her real name was Ma Shiman. Since she was transferred here, she had been helping Chang Lei with all sorts of troublesome work.
"Director Chang, I must warn you, if you disappear without a trace again, I won't cover for you next time."
Ma Shiman strode to Chang Lei's desk and spoke meticulously before slamming the file down on the table with a heavy thud.
Throughout the entire process, Ma Shiman did not look in Tang Zijun's direction, nor did she notice the presence of a third person in the office besides herself and Chang Lei.
Seeing Ma Shiman's cold face, Chang Lei's expression stiffened, and he awkwardly scratched his head. "I... how could I have no reason? I also have extremely important things to do, okay?"
Ma Shiman stared indifferently at Chang Lei's smiling face, gently crossed her arms, and calmly said.
"It's only been three days this week, and you've missed five meetings, called twice but were out of service, and lost signal three times. Not to mention you came directly from Yandu to Xuecheng without even saying hello, and our people can't even find out which flight you took..."
"Director Chang, this isn't the first time I've worked with an expert like you, and I know that people of your stature can be a bit eccentric, but I hope you can show me the most basic trust."
"I am your secretary, and I have the right to know your movements. I am also the chief of staff of the branch's operations department, and I have an even greater right to know your plans. If you continue to insist on doing things your own way, you should find someone else to do this job."
"Um..." Chang Lei subconsciously glanced at Tang Zijun, and seeing that she was propping her face up with one hand and looking like she was watching a show, he quickly walked over to Ma Shiman.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong, Xiao Ma. Please don't hold it against me. I'm the kind of person who's always messing around. To be honest, I'm not used to being put in this position all of a sudden. I promise you, I will never do it again next time."
"Would you like a next time?"
"Pah! I promise there won't be a next time, absolutely not a next time." Chang Leishan smiled and invited Ma Shiman to the sofa. "Come, come, calm down, sit down, sit down."
Ma Shiman frowned slightly, but seeing Chang Lei's smiling face, she finally sat down on the sofa, half-heartedly.
After a moment of silence, Ma Shiman shook her head helplessly and sighed.
"Director Chang, please don't blame me for being young and naive. I don't care what you're trying to do. Everything I've done is for your safety. Do you know how much impact your sudden disappearance has caused?"
"Yes, yes, yes."
"We didn't know enough about the enemy before, but they've already extended their reach into our territory. They must know about the establishment of the Demon Surveillance Bureau. If they retaliate, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"Yes, I know."
"You don't know! If you knew, you wouldn't keep disappearing. Do you know how many magical girls have died in the past when they were alone and were ambushed?"
"I really know that...:"
Chang Lei lowered his head and muttered something under his breath.
Seeing Chang Lei's appearance, and considering his advanced age, Ma Shiman helplessly rubbed her temples, feeling as if she were boxing against cotton.
Sometimes she really wished Chang Lei would argue with her. This kind of boss, who readily admits his mistakes but dares to repeat them next time, is not the type she is good at dealing with.
Noticing Ma Shiman's momentary hesitation, Chang Lei quickly steered the conversation to something else.
"By the way, I heard from Qin Nan that you were looking for me. Is there something you need?"
Upon hearing this, Ma Shiman finally remembered the purpose of her visit. "You canceled the morning meeting, and I attended it in your place, but the director wanted to hear your opinion, so the meeting was rescheduled for the afternoon."
"Oh...I see."
"Now that you're finally back, let's get ready for the online meeting. I've already contacted the director, and she and the others are already waiting."
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Chang Lei's eyes twitched.
"If I don't give you advance notice, you'll 'disappear' again soon."
Ma Shiman didn't give Chang Lei a chance to refuse. She stood up, pulled Chang Lei back to his seat, and pushed the documents she had brought over.
"These are the materials for this meeting. I've already prepared them for you, so you can review them while the meeting begins."
"Okay." Chang Lei knew he couldn't avoid it today. He sighed and slowly opened the meeting software on his computer.
The software opens, and a very clean interface appears. There are no unnecessary decorations in this software, only a few connected screens.
When Chang Lei's head appeared on the screen, he found that there were already quite a few people online waiting for him in the room, and in the center was Shangguan Su, the director of the Demon Supervision Bureau.
"Old Chang, you've really kept me waiting."
As soon as Chang Lei appeared, the people on the screen noticed him.
Chang Lei glanced at Ma Shiman, who immediately glared back at him. He looked away and smiled helplessly. "I'm busy too. You all know the situation in Snow City is quite complicated."
"Alright."
When Shangguan Su spoke, everyone else fell silent.
At this moment, Shangguan Su's eyes were bloodshot and her mental state was also quite bad, as if she hadn't had a proper rest in a long time.
"The problem in Snow City is indeed more serious than in other places. The fact that Deputy Director Chang was able to determine the Shadow Woman's whereabouts and rush to the scene immediately demonstrates his professionalism and work sensitivity."
"Shadow Woman?" Chang Lei was taken aback.
"Oh, that's the code name for that shadow woman. The department just confirmed it," a middle-aged man reminded him.
"Yes." Shangguan Su nodded gently.
"A project has been launched to address the Shadow World. Apart from the Shadow Clan and Shadow Women, we have not yet found any other creatures similar to the Shadow World, but a general term has been set for them—Shadow Clan."
Chang Lei nodded without speaking. This Shadow Clan, like the Greedy Ones and the Heretics, is just a general term, merely a name.
After a brief pause, Shangguan Su perked up.
"Now that everyone has arrived, let's officially begin this meeting."
Ma Shiman picked up a pen and paper and silently stood behind Chang Lei, carrying out her duty of taking meeting minutes.
Meanwhile, Tang Zijun on the other side also pricked up her ears and began to listen attentively.
"I believe you already have some information about the Shadow World. According to preliminary investigations and information provided by the magical girl, this Shadow World is clearly a newly emerged phenomenon, and it is similar to the Greedy Ones of the Reverse World."
"The intelligence indicates that the greedy ones have been missing for more than seven years. No one knows where they went or what happened to them, until the most recent incident, which occurred late at night thirteen days ago."
As Shangguan Su spoke, an image was displayed; it was a photograph taken from high above, amidst clouds and mist.
A colossal tree was slowly falling, its surface ablaze with terrifying ghostly energy.
"This photo was taken unintentionally by a passenger on a commercial airliner when it was passing over Chang'an. Our people contacted him immediately after he posted it online."
"As you can see, this is a giant tree that looks like a water tank, and its height can even reach more than 6,000 meters. This is only the part above the ground."
"The tree should be located in the Huailing Mountains. According to subsequent investigations, it can be concluded that the giant tree previously existed in a dimension that we could not observe, and because of the actions of the heretical demons, it crashed into our world."
"However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, upon entering the real world, it instantly crashed into the barrier of the inverted world, and this..."
This is also the first time it has appeared in seven years since the Reversal World was created.
The people in the online meeting had serious expressions and listened attentively to Shangguan Su's story without saying a word.
"We are still unable to ascertain the details of this matter, but we can speculate that whatever happened, the Reverse World has shielded us from this calamity. However, this does not mean the end; on the contrary, it is just the beginning."
"The image of the giant tree collapsing was somehow released along with the clouds and mist, and magical girls all over the country saw it, but ordinary people did not notice it."
"Our satellites didn't see anything strange either, but after further investigation, the satellite system detected unusual climate changes. A cold front swept out with winds reaching level twelve, and it was raining everywhere, with some places even starting to snow."
"According to the meteorological bureau's observations, this weather event even swept across the entire Eastern Hemisphere, so I have reason to believe that magical girls in other countries in the Eastern Hemisphere should have also witnessed this scene."
"Director Shangguan, are you worried that magical girls from other countries and the forces behind them might investigate this matter?" someone asked.
Shangguan Su pursed her lips. "They will definitely investigate this matter. After the magical girl is exposed, these strange and unusual things will definitely be on the table."
"Compared to nuclear bombs, the potential of these magical weapons is definitely higher, and opportunities often come with risks. Behind this tree, there is very likely a ladder for the whole world to reach the next stage."
"Resources..." The people sitting here weren't fools; they quickly realized the seriousness of the problem.
Unknown dimensions often represent access to unknown resources.
When a whale falls, all things are born.
What does the fall of a giant tree signify?