He just broke up with his girlfriend and is already living with the devilish rich girl.

The corridor lights on the third basement floor of the headquarters are never turned off, and the pale light shines down from the ceiling, making everyone's face look bloodless.

The office doors on both sides of the corridor have the codes of each department written on them, and the lights are still on past 1 a.m.

The printer hummed as it spat out paper, and the telephone rang incessantly.

No one leaves work, and no one dares to leave work.

Three days ago, the Supreme Supervisory Commission issued an official document.

The matter of the stolen fragment of the power of control has a one-month time limit.

Starting with the commanders of the four major theater commands, accountability will be traced down level by level.

If the fragments cannot be recovered within a month, Zheng Ningyuan, commander of the Western Theater Command, will be dismissed and investigated. The other three commanders will each receive a major demerit and have their annual performance bonuses suspended.

All directors and deputy directors of the divisions under the war zone were given a circular of criticism, and the heads of the departments involved were dismissed.

A line of bold red text was added at the end of the document.

"This order was issued directly by the Director-General, and there is no channel for appeal."

The translation is: Don't explain, don't cry foul, if you can't get your things back in a month, you'll be skinned alive.

At 2 a.m., the encrypted video conference was connected on time.

The three holographic screens lit up simultaneously, but instead of real images, they displayed four silhouettes that had been digitally altered.

This is a rule of the General Administration: when the commanders of the four theater commands hold meetings, they do not show their faces, leave their voiceprints, or keep records.

They communicate using real-time voice changing technology only in encrypted channels.

The silhouette of the Eastern Theater Commander was the first to light up.

He leaned back in his chair, a cigarette between his fingers, the embers flickering in his silhouette.

"Commander Lu hasn't arrived yet? He's late again. How many times has this happened?"

"Here they come." The silhouette of the Southern Theater Command Commander flashed into the frame, the voice of a woman, urgent and panting.

"Sorry everyone, I just got back from the scene and haven't even had time to change my clothes. There were two more cases of illegal immigration in Fuyang City, which is under our jurisdiction, today. I personally led the team to deal with them."

"An alien smuggling?"

"Yes, there have been several large-scale purges of aliens overseas recently, so many aliens want to come to China, and it has already spread to several cities."

"We were lucky; we discovered it early and were able to bring it under control in time."

"Alright, let's start the meeting."

In the image of the Western Theater Commander, one can vaguely see his upright posture, which appears somewhat too rigid compared to the other three.

His voice was steady, with a rhythm honed from years of chairing meetings.

"I believe everyone has already received the Control Yuan's documents, so I won't repeat them."

"The key now is one month. If we can't retrieve the fragments of control within a month, none of the four of us will escape."

"The fragments were lost in Ninghai; Commander Zheng is the most qualified to speak on this matter."

The commander of the Eastern Theater Command flicked his cigarette ash, and a spark in his silhouette lit up briefly.

Let me state my position first.

Zheng Ningyuan's voice came from the screen.

"The fragments were indeed stolen from my jurisdiction, that's my responsibility, there's no way I can shirk it."

"I will give the General Administration an explanation within a month."

"I've heard about the infiltration. Chen Guodong is a good comrade, but he didn't pass the test. Sigh."

Commander Nan's voice softened slightly, revealing a touch of humanity beneath his businesslike tone.

"Old Zheng, don't blame yourself too much. It's impossible to prevent internal traitors like this."

"I trust Lao Zheng's abilities."

The commander of the Eastern Theater Command stubbed out his cigarette and leaned forward slightly.

"But Lao Zheng, I have to say something unpleasant, Ninghai has indeed been quite turbulent lately."

"The beast breath incident, the factory annihilation battle, and now the theft of the fragments—each one is a major event, and each one happened on your end."

"I'm not saying it's your problem, but if I were in your position, I'd also think there's a huge problem in your jurisdiction."

"And I can also say that if you feel there's a shortage of personnel, I can fill in for you—"

"Then there's no need," Zheng Ningyuan interrupted him.

"It's my own jurisdiction, and I'm responsible for it myself."

"Alright, it's settled then," another commander chimed in.

"We resolve our own consular district issues ourselves, and if we need cross-regional support, we can raise it at the meeting at any time."

"I still have a few documents to sign, so I'll be leaving now. Thank you all for your hard work."

The four screens turned off one by one.

Zheng Ningyuan took off his headset and placed it on the table. He crossed his hands, rested his forehead on them, and sat with his eyes closed for a while, seemingly a little tired.

He hasn't slept for almost two days.

Not only do we have to deal with these issues, but we also have to be wary of the underhanded tactics of the Control Yuan, which is quite a headache.

In the corner of the office, Tao Ye lay on the sofa, holding a comic book in one hand and reaching into a bag of potato chips with the other.

She was wearing a loose sweatshirt and sweatpants, and her hair was casually tied into a bun.

His relaxed, slouching posture contrasted sharply with the solemn atmosphere of the commander's office.

"Are all your Special Administration Bureau meetings this boring?"

Tao Ye turned a page of the comic, his eyes never leaving the image, his tone languid.

"Four people were just dodging the question in front of the screen, without discussing a single core issue."

"We can't talk about it."

Zheng Ningyuan raised his head and turned to look at her.

"We know the answers to these questions: how the fragments of the power of control were lost, who stole them, and who has them now."

"This matter is very likely related to that Venerable One."

"But Venerable Luo Yao's existence is a top secret of the General Administration. I don't have the authority to discuss this matter in a meeting, and they also know about it."

"So all we can do is play games and exchange pleasantries."

Tao Ye pulled her hand out of the bag of potato chips, wiped the oil off her hoodie, and looked up at Zheng Ningyuan.

"So what are you planning to do? Let's make this clear first: if you're going to be her enemy, I'm leaving immediately. I don't want to stand against her, and I certainly won't fight her to protect you."

Zheng Ningyuan took off his glasses and slowly wiped the lenses with his sleeve.

"It's hard to say for sure, let's take it one step at a time. Tao Ye, can you tell me what that Venerable One wants to do? Why did she send you to protect me?"

Tao Ye covered his face with the comic book, his voice muffled as it came from beneath the pages.

"I don't know. She asked me to protect you, so I protected you. As for why she did it... you can ask her, but I suggest you don't."

"Asking will lead to answers, and having answers will make you an insider, and insiders will have to choose sides."

"You're the commander of the Special Administration Bureau; choosing either side wouldn't be appropriate. There are some things it's better not to know."

"You're right. You've finally said something that people from government agencies should say."

Tao Ye ignored him and rolled her eyes.

Zheng Ningyuan put his glasses back on, leaned back in his chair, stared at the buzzing fluorescent light tube on the ceiling, and let out a long sigh.