This wasn’t the first time Xu Chuli had seen Monrose, but the last time was during a video call; today was her first time seeing him in real life.
He sat in the largest office on the second floor of the institute. The typhoon-proof windows were open, and a thin crystal panel stood between them and the outside, letting the sunlight stream in without letting the wind blow through.
As for Monrose, the old man who was over a hundred years old, his body on the wheelchair did look as if it was on the verge of collapse, but his spirit was quite good—especially those sharp, bright eyes, as if salvation and doom both hovered nearby.
Xu Chuli knew she was not here to receive some holy mission, but was merely a person indirectly dragged into this mess.
“The famous Xu from the Security Department is here.” Monrose turned his wheelchair around, gestured grandly, “Come in.”
Xu Chuli glanced at the straight-backed original wooden chair in front of the desk, didn’t even bother thinking about it, and sat directly on the couch in the corner.
The wrinkles on Monrose’s neck twitched a couple times, then his not-so-pleasant expression surfaced.
“You—”
“That chair’s too hard, not even a cushion on it,” Xu Liyao said, with no intention of explaining.
“If you can sit on a couch, then let me have that chair. As the saying goes, if there’s no soft-backed seat, it’s just extra lumbar support.”
The girl had no interest in the chair.
“You’re sitting so far, how are you going to accept questioning?”
“Simple stuff, just say what you want.” Thunder Girl raised an eyebrow, “I’ve got good hearing; I can hear you just fine.”
If your hearing isn’t as good, then just speak up, Xu Liyao thought, though she didn’t say it aloud, but Monrose still caught her meaning.
His white beard twitched, but in the end he suppressed his annoyance.
“Miss Xu, someone has reported that you secretly conducted the Jingshi Experiment and accused you of embezzling part of the Soulstone shipment during the original escort. How do you explain this?”
“Who accused me?”
“We are obligated to protect the informant’s identity. Also, don’t answer a question with a question!”
After years as the head of the disciplinary department, Monrose had dealt with all sorts of responses; this kind of reply from a young woman was within his expectations.
Xu Chuli waved her hand. “Well, I don’t know. Others say I did, I say I didn’t. Since they have no evidence, I guess I don’t need to prove anything either.”
“But Miss Shen Ning, who is closely associated with you, has recently shown symptoms related to the Insect Stone.” Monrose continued, “What do you have to say about that?”
Xu Chuli smiled gently and kindly.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing, just think it’s funny. Lord Monrose, if you’d seen the materials submitted by the Rockmorgan Family’s Research Institute, especially the Fred Valley Research Institute, you’d understand: Shen Ning is inherently connected with the Soulstone. That’s why they went through so much trouble to recruit her for research. In other words, the signs Shen Ning shows don’t require experiments at all; she could just sneeze and they’d appear.”
Xu Chuli sat on the couch, glancing left and right, wanting to get herself a cup of water, but the water dispenser was too far away, so she gave up.
“So none of these accusations stand. For example, I’m a Three-Stage Spirit Power User with Lightning Attribute. If I occasionally zap something, are you going to say I’m conducting illegal experiments?”
Monrose fell silent, merely gazing steadily at the girl, sunlight streaming behind him, his face hidden in the shadow of his wrinkles, no expression visible.
He was contemplating something, but Xu Chuli had no idea what it was. As the seconds ticked by, she started to feel nervous.
Crap, is the old guy really about to go mad and strangle me in a fit of rage?
No, remember your objective is to survive!
Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. After a full three minutes, Monrose finally spoke, slowly: “Based on all the testimonies, the accusations against you do lack substance.”
Xu Chuli quietly breathed a sigh of relief, flashing a sweet smile: “So, can I leave now? I mean, go back to Center City? I’ve missed out on a lot of my studies these days because of this.”
Whew, that scared Xu Liyao. If she’d known it would be like this, she wouldn’t have been so impulsive just now… But honestly, to ask Xu Liyao to not annoy others and keep her temper in check, that’s really asking for the impossible.
This was the great virtue Xu Chuli had managed to uphold for two and a half years.
Just as she stood up to leave, she suddenly heard a voice behind her—
“Wait, that’s not allowed.”
Monrose took a deep breath, pausing a few seconds before continuing, “Miss Xu is a senior member of the Security Department. To get you here, I personally wrote the summons, got approval from above, and everyone knows I was the one who insisted on bringing you here.”
Xu Chuli didn’t turn back, only cocked her head at him: “So, uh?”
“So, if anything happens to you, everyone will hold me responsible. I really can’t take that blame.” Monrose’s neck wrinkles rippled, as if forcing a smile, but it looked ugly. “So, in a few days, I’ll arrange a special plane to escort you all away.”
“We can’t just leave on our own?”
“Please allow me to arrange it.”
Looks like there was no room for refusal.
Xu Chuli didn’t know his true intentions, but from the literal meaning, the reasoning was sound, so she could only agree with reluctance.
No matter what, with three Three Defense Spirit Power Users on their team, plus herself at the late Third Rank, security was still guaranteed.
“Then please be quick. My heart is in Center City right now.”
“No problem, I’ll arrange it as soon as possible.”
Monrose pressed the intercom on the desk, called for the director to come in and escort the guest out, sending the girl off with exaggerated politeness.
The inquiry lasted less than half an hour. The group waiting at the main gate hadn’t changed their positions much. The Security Department staff asked the two women if they wanted anything, offering to buy something from the café nearby—just as Xu Churui walked out.
Shen Ning was the first to approach, looking her up and down, not saying anything, but the meaning was clear: “You’re okay, right?”
“I’m fine, what could possibly happen to me?” Xu Chuli laughed loudly, “Told you, nothing was going to happen today. That Monrose is just obsessed with following procedures, doesn’t really care about me.”
She said that, but during those three silent minutes in the office, she’d actually been a little nervous.
Shen Ning tugged at her hand, asking softly, “Can we go now?”
“Yes, but we can only go back to the manor for now. Monrose said for our safety, he’ll arrange a special flight to send us back in a few days, so for now, we can only return to the estate.”
“Alright,” the girl lowered her head slightly.
Back to deal with that English girl again, sigh…
[Villain Points +150]
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