Transform into a magical girl after getting off work-Chapter 406 - 70 Before the Year End_2

The joy lay in the significant reduction in expenses on the account books, compared to the years when the Abnormal Strategy Bureau was known for making exorbitant demands, the bureau under Lin Yun’s leadership was the epitome of integrity and honor. The concern was that, as a result, many people also lost the opportunity to line their own pockets and missed a chance to draw Lin Yun into their circle.

The new director of the Abnormal Strategy Bureau was just too incorruptible and too impartial, leaving them at a loss as to how to win him over. Unable to make him "one of us," he remained an "outsider," and with outsiders, many matters couldn’t be discussed more in-depth.

The most troublesome part was that it was out of the question to think of winning over or ingratiating the new director, let alone suppressing or undermining him—after all, he was directly appointed by the Magic Kingdom. Who knew how connected he could be? If someone influential at the state level decided so, a single word could leave Fangting City without the Magical Girl’s protection, which would spell real disaster.

They also knew that this was, in fact, a fortunate worry.

Many small cities’ Abnormal Strategy Bureaus wouldn’t even dream of direct appointments from the Magic Kingdom; most members might never even visit the Magic Kingdom in their lifetime, let alone have the capital to ask for something from the state. Often, when facing Remnant Beasts, they could only silently clean up the aftermath or hope that a powerful individual would emerge among their city’s Magical Girls.

For nearly a hundred years, Fangting City had been such a city. Owing to its relatively remote geographical location and small urban scale, it was mostly invisible to the state, and the Remnant Beast disasters that occurred every so often left the people in constant fear.

Until twenty years ago, when Fangting City produced a generation of Magical Girls that could be described as exceptionally talented. They not only easily solved the Remnant Beast disasters native to Fangting City but their martial influence even spanned the Wilderness, covering several neighboring cities. Fangting City had thus become one of the most stable cities in the Southeast Donghua Region for a time.

With such a reputation spreading, naturally, many came to Fangting City with the hope of settling down, which directly led to the city’s rapid growth and expansion in the past decade. The economic development zone of the new urban area was also established as a result.

Fangting City was a quiet small town just twenty years ago, but after two decades, it had seen considerable development. Although still far behind traditional big cities, within the category of small cities, it had become one of the most recognized.

This trend momentarily stalled at the beginning of this year due to Fangting City’s Magical Girls seemingly having some generational transition issues, with frequent outbreaks of Remnant Beast disasters causing some unease among the citizens.

However, soon after, as the new generation of Magical Girls began to actively engage, the previous generation also made a high-profile appearance on the Full Moon Festival, boldly killing a giant Remnant Beast that invaded the city, and the residents of Fangting City once again re-established their confidence in "safety."

The stability of Fangting City now largely depends on the protection provided by the Magic Kingdom, which means that in the face of Lin Yun, the municipal government officials can neither be too enthusiastic nor dare to be too negligent, finding themselves uncomfortably stuck in the middle.

As for all this, Lin Yun was very aware.

But for him now, this state of affairs was ideal.

Once he had to lead the Abnormal Strategy Bureau to establish deeper cooperation with the government, that would inevitably involve more intensive communication with various parties, leading to a slew of meetings, receptions, and social engagements... The mere thought of it made his head tingle.

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He was quite certain he did not have the time to maintain relationships with these government officials, and therefore, there was no need to engage in face-saving projects; it was enough to focus on his own work.

Regarding the work at the Abnormal Strategy Bureau, setting aside that Hong Si and could already help him share much of the burden, there was no need to work overtime into the night. Any unfinished work could be taken back to the base or home to continue.

This allowed Lin Yun to frequently return home without being as busy until late at night as he had been in the past.

However, all the background and maneuvering were things he couldn’t speak of to Lin Xiaolu. Perhaps when she grew up, she would have to face such matters, but Lin Yun did not wish for her to be exposed to these things just yet.

"Now that I am the director, no one can make me work overtime if I don’t want to," this was the answer he ultimately gave.

But to always use this excuse still seemed a bit far-fetched. More importantly, he was concerned that if every time his daughter came home he was there, it would create a "protesting too much" impression, arousing unnecessary suspicions.

Therefore, occasionally, even when Lin Xiaolu was home, he chose to remain at the base as Emerald Sparrow, creating the illusion of "Lin Yun being busy with work."

But today was different; as the end of the year approached, it was almost time for a new year, and Lin Yun had to meet his daughter as a father during her visit home.

Not for anything else, but to ask for leave.

After all, with the new year approaching, a time requiring family reunions, considering that he had spent the previous Full Moon Festival with his team members as Lin Yun, and this time with the addition of the Bai’an City squad, the identity of Emerald Sparrow was decidedly more appropriate.

Therefore, the identity of Lin Yun had to be absent.

He had already thought of the excuse; he had recently established the protocol for holiday night shifts for the Fangting City Abnormal Strategy Bureau, so he could say that as the director, he needed to stay and oversee the bureau, which sounded perfectly reasonable.

Regrettably, as he sat across the dinner table from Lin Xiaolu, considering when to broach the subject, Lin Xiaolu spoke first:

"Dad?"

Just one word, and Lin Yun’s head shot up in shock.

Though the relationship between father and daughter was gradually thawing, and although it was not uncommon for Lin Xiaolu to speak to him, given their past cold war, occasions like this where she addressed him so formally were rare.

In his memory, nearly every time Lin Xiaolu used this form of address to start a conversation, what followed was bound to be a quite significant statement.

And this time, his daughter certainly didn’t disappoint him.

"The day after tomorrow is New Year’s, I want to come home for it," Lin Xiaolu put down her chopsticks and said with a heavy tone.

"Oh, you’re planning... to come home?"

Fortunately, Lin Yun had already mentally prepared himself, so he didn’t show too much surprise and simply pursued the matter with indifference: "Just like the last Full Moon Festival? Or are you going to invite all your teammates over as well?"

"Yeah, I was thinking of calling everyone over, is that okay?"

Lin Xiaolu nodded, "This time there might be a few more people than last time."

"People from Bai’an City? Then our house might be a bit small."

Lin Yun still maintained a calm expression: "Moreover, if we need to seat so many people, we might have to replace this dining table we’re using right now."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaolu looked down at the dining table beneath her and also showed a troubled expression.

"...Should we get a new table?" she suggested softly.

"Get a new table just for the holidays?"

Lin Yun raised an eyebrow: "Do you think we are that rich of a family?"

"Aren’t you the chief?" Lin Xiaolu muttered: "Such a high official, surely there’s no problem changing a table at home, right?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, Dad is an honest official and doesn’t abuse his power."

Lin Yun picked up some vegetables for his bowl as he spoke: "Plus, this table was bought by your mom, we definitely can’t replace it. Buying a new one would just mean it gets dusty on the balcony, forget it, you might as well spend New Year’s at your base."

As soon as Lin Xiaolu heard that the table was bought by An Ya, she fell silent at once. After a while, she started speaking again:

"Then, will you come over to our place?"

"I can’t." Lin Yun shook his head with a smile: "I was just about to tell you, Dad has to be on duty at the Abnormal Strategy Bureau this New Year’s, so I might not be able to spend it with you, I’m sorry."

"On duty?" Lin Xiaolu was dumbfounded.

"Yes, because of the big fuss before the Full Moon Festival, largely because the Abnormal Strategy Bureau was slow to react, so starting this New Year, there has to be someone on duty." Lin Yun answered with an "inevitable" look.

"At the Abnormal Strategy Bureau?" Lin Xiaolu pressed on.

"Yes, at the Abnormal Strategy Bureau." Lin Yun followed up smoothly.

"Then I’ll go to your office."

"You want to come to my office..."

Lin Yun repeated the sentence, his brain gradually catching up with what his daughter was really saying: "...What? Coming to my office?"

"Yeah, I’ll come to your office, and we’ll spend New Year’s together." Lin Xiaolu’s eyelids drooped disapprovingly as she looked at Lin Yun, ready to make a fuss if he made any more excuses.

"Why?" Lin Yun rarely felt bewildered in conversations with his daughter.

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"You are my dad, I am your daughter."

Lin Xiaolu emphasized each word:

"Isn’t it only natural to spend New Year’s together?"