Sir! Don't close the net!

As a normal man, Yoran was certain that even if he told himself not to look around, he would still be unable to stop himself from looking at certain parts of the woman's face when he stood in front of her. In fact, he couldn't help but look at the woman's face, which was half covered by a black mask, revealing only her eyes and forehead.

It wasn't simply because of its beauty, but because of some other indescribable feeling of nostalgia.

"..."

The woman seemed to say something again, but Joram didn't hear clearly. When Joram regained consciousness, the woman had vanished without a trace, and it all seemed like an illusion.

------

Abu Jean felt regretful. He was looking forward to Yerobo An being enraged by Li Yili's arrogant attitude and pulling Li Yili's head and spine out on the spot. Although the scene might be bloody, they would clean up the scene very cleanly. If Yerobo An felt that killing was not enough, he could also make a Li Yili spine sword for Yerobo An.

Unfortunately, Yerobo An was not angered by Li Yili's attitude, nor did he press Li Yili further about where she had hidden the pollutants. He gave a few instructions and then led the others upstairs.

But despite their regret, they keenly noticed one thing: Li Yili's power was waning.

Having only been with the company for a year, Li Yili, whose seniority was far inferior to any of the executives present, could not possibly be appointed as the acting minister. The reason they assumed that Li Yili would be the acting minister was because the Black Goat's offspring did not have a deputy minister, and as the minister, Dela Pal held all the power. With Dela Pal absent, it was natural for Li Yili, as the minister's confidant, to hold all the power.

But now that Jerobo Ann, a deputy minister, has arrived in Guoweiton, things are different. According to the rules, when the minister is absent, the deputy minister acts as the minister, responsible for managing all the young black goats. Most importantly, Jerobo Ann is a chosen one of the gods and does not seem to be an ally of Dela Pal.

Thinking of this, Abu Jean's legs stopped aching, his back straightened, and he walked as if he were walking on air.

Al-Chonno's furrowed brows relaxed considerably, and he turned to go upstairs.

Li Yili stood there in silence for a long while before her shoulders slumped and she touched her forehead.

Looking at the sweat between his fingers, Li Yili grinned. It was impossible for him not to be afraid. Yerobo An was, after all, a chosen one of the gods, far superior to him in terms of life level. He had just been gambling. Although he won, it was only by a narrow margin, and he might have fallen into an even more dangerous gamble.

However, like Dera Pal, Yeropo An is deeply entangled in the organization's web, restricted by its power, and is highly likely being watched by something.

If it's just backstabbing and intrigue, humph—don't underestimate my mental fortitude after watching the whole series of Empresses in the Palace!

Li Yili shook the sweat from her fingertips, stepped onto the stairs, and decided to simply stay in her office until she got off work.

However, upon reaching the fifth floor, Li Yili saw her office door open. Her expression changed, a sense of foreboding washing over her. And the next second...

My premonition came true; a bunch of folders were deliberately opened and thrown out, with files scattered all over the floor.

Afterwards, led by Abu Jean, a group of executives he had previously dealt with went back and forth between his office and Al-Jean-Gioro's desk in high spirits.

The intention was so obvious that Li Yili's eyes twitched involuntarily. However, his experience of watching "Empresses in the Palace" more than three times told him that he should not make a sound at this time. These guys who had been holding a grudge for a long time would definitely take the opportunity to humiliate him. It was not the time for the Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King to do so.

To achieve extraordinary things, you must have extraordinary means.

But Li Yili was willing to endure it. The other executives, however, had no intention of letting the matter rest. They had just suffered a crushing defeat at Li Yili's hands. If it weren't for the sudden appearance of Yerobo An, they would probably be questioning their existence by Li Yili's manipulation.

"I'm sorry, CEO Li Yili, after some discussion, we found that based on performance, CEO Li Yili doesn't seem to be qualified to use a private office."

"Only Al Chonau, the CEO who has made the greatest contribution among us, is entitled to use a single office."

"However, it seems that you, CEO Li Yili, haven't had any notable achievements all this time—"

An executive covered his mouth and gasped in surprise.

"How can you talk like that! Executive Officer Li Yili has always been sucking up to Minister Dela Pal! It's a pity that Minister Dela Pal went to become an executive, while Executive Officer Li Yili is still here. Speaking of which, Executive Officer Li Yili seems to have said something like that."

“A simp will end up with nothing. Look at how Executive Officer Li Yili looks now. This sentence was practically made for him,” the middle-aged man with the Mediterranean nose laughed with a smug look on his face, pointing at Li Yili’s nose. This was because Li Yili had said this to him.

"Sigh... There's nothing we can do. After all, we are Executive Officer Li Yili's seniors, so we have to look out for her a little. But forget about getting a normal desk."

With a whoosh, a small stool slid in front of Li Yili. Before Li Yili could say anything, the others burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs.

A moment of patience brings calm.

Li Yili bent down to pick up the small stool and slowly walked towards the documents scattered on the ground.

Take a step back...

Before Li Yili could reach out to pick up the documents on the ground, several feet stepped on them. Li Yili paused with her right hand, and her gaze moved upwards to meet the eyes of an executive officer from Yunzhong.

"Hurry up and pick them up!"

Take a step back...

retreat……

retreat……

"boom--"

The small stool collided violently with the face of the executive officer who was standing on the documents. Bright red blood splattered, and the executive officer's body suddenly leaned back and fell to the ground with a thud. Before he could even cry out, the small stool slammed down on him again.

Li Yili muttered to herself as she swung the stool.

"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!"

The other cloud executives gaped, instinctively taking a step back, afraid they would be the ones being pinned to the ground and beaten.

Not wanting to cause any deaths, Li Yili took a step back after confirming that the executive beneath her was exhaling more than inhaling. She casually tossed the still-dripping stool aside, and the surrounding executives shrank back in fright as if they had encountered some natural enemy, avoiding the blood-stained stool.

Li Yili raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, looked around at the executives, and then observed the distance they had retreated. She felt a sense of relief.

Our ancestors were right.

Taking a step back opens up a whole new world.

Chapter Forty-Five: Security Guards and Stablemen

Whether it's the rules for the young black goats or the rules of normal society, hitting someone in public is wrong. Therefore, Li Yili was directly demoted to the receptionist of the Goat Village. However, considering that the office was moved to a small pavilion of less than two square meters outside the main gate of the Goat Village building, it might be more appropriate to describe her as a security guard.

But Li Yili was not flustered at all, nor did she feel any sense of loss. This might be partly because she thought the life of a community security guard was very comfortable when she was young. Of course, the main reason was that with Yerobo An in charge, he could no longer do whatever he wanted. And those Yunzhong had already shown him with their actions that they were a group of cult lunatics.

If he doesn't show any reaction, he'll appear weak and vulnerable to bullying in the eyes of the crowd. Since the situation is already set in stone, it can't get any worse. He might as well be ruthless and scare these guys out of their wits. Once Dera Pal becomes a cadre, Yerobo Ann, who is only a deputy minister, will naturally have no choice but to run away, and Guo Weidun will still fall into his hands.

A moment of patience brings calm, a step back opens up a vast sky; the wisdom of our ancestors is truly profound.

"Um... Mr. Li Yili? What's this?"

Li Yili, holding the box and standing in front of the guard booth, blinked and turned to look at Yolan, who was sitting in the carriage, looking at him with concern.

“Ah~ this is a normal transfer,” Li Yili said after thinking for a moment, then smiled nonchalantly at Yolan.

No, no, no, this doesn't look normal at all!

Yolan's lips twitched slightly. Although he had never been inside the Sheep Village building, he had heard some rumors from other residents of Guoweiton, such as that Li Yili was a confidant of Sheep Village Minister Dela Pal and one of only two executives with his own office.

"By the way, because of some work-related issues, my travel plans might be a bit unpredictable lately, so you don't need to pick me up for a while. Take some time to rest," Li Yili said, lifting the suitcase and tossing it through the security booth window.

He turned around and patted the dust off his hands.

Yerobo An was wary of Dera Pal and others, fearing they wouldn't target him, but he couldn't guarantee Yerobo An wouldn't harm others. After all, Yerobo An was the vice minister of Monster's Hammer and a chosen one, his madman buffs almost maxed out. He had also witnessed Yerobo An's abilities firsthand, and he didn't want to risk implicating Yoran because of him…

His conscience wouldn't allow it.

"Ah... um, I understand."

Looking down at Li Yili, Yolan thought of the phrase "the tea grows cold when the person leaves." For a moment, she noticed a subtle change in Li Yili's attitude. She pulled on the reins and urged the carriage away.

Li Yili peeked at Yolan's departing figure, her brows furrowed slightly, and after muttering something, she whistled and opened the door of the security booth.

On the sixth floor of the Sheep Village Building, in the minister's office, Yeropo An stood silently in front of the bookshelves with his hands behind his back. This gave El-Qiong a headache, as he was waiting for Yeropo An to ask a question and then improvise.

From an objective standpoint, Yeropo An's actions from his appearance to the present have been on their side, but that's only objectively true. In reality, Yeropo An hasn't done anything to Li Yili. Upon closer examination, his initial actions don't seem to be targeting Li Yili because he's hostile to Dela Pal, but rather because Yeropo An is the deputy minister and Li Yili is the least senior executive. The new leader is suppressing the troublemaker and avoiding workplace conflict.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. With all the ministers siding with Dela Pal, it's as if Dela Pal has been confirmed to become a cadre. Dela Pal is essentially indicating that the séance has failed. If you want Vice Minister Yeropo An to stand by your side even if it means opposing Dela Pal, you have to come up with a trump card that will make Yeropo An judge the séance to be feasible.

“According to my original plan, if Dela Pal, no, if Li Yili hadn’t stolen those pollutants, the séance would have been completed.”

"Is that so?" Yeropon turned and walked to the window, hooking his finger on the plant on the windowsill, his voice completely flat.

“Just as you found out, Deputy Minister, since March, Dela Par has stopped smuggling pollutants as before. The pollutants that disappeared from the books from March until now are in Li Yili’s hands. That amount is enough for us to use the entire Guoweiton to build a super-large séance, exceeding the headquarters’ requirements.”

"But...you didn't find the batch of pollutants that Li Yili had, right? Maybe Li Yili has already resold them."

Yerobo An turned to look at El-Jonor, El-Jonor's face reflected in his frog-like eyes.

El-Jiong felt a sudden tightness in his body and had a rather absurd thought: Yerobo Ann in front of him was like a giant frog, and he was an insect, who would be mercilessly swallowed up if he made the slightest move.

El-Jiong shook his head vigorously, forcing himself to meet Yeropon's eyes.

“No, that batch of pollutants is definitely still in Guoweiton. I've confirmed it. When Abu ordered them to raid the ranch, Li Yili rode away on horseback. The items on my desk were also different from when I left. He must have noticed that I was looking for that batch of pollutants, so he returned to the Sheep Village building to check the documents on my desk…”

Al-Chonno narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I found the right direction, but I made some mistakes in my thinking."

“Right now, Dela Pal is on his way to the location of the executive meeting, and he will be back in Guweden in a week at most,” Yeropon Ann pointed to the edge of the windowsill and walked slowly forward, but his eyes remained fixed on Al-Jonor, his neck gradually twisting to an abnormal angle.

Al-Jiong clenched his fist and spoke.

"Three days! Give me three..."

“One day. You only have one day. You must give me an answer by this time tomorrow,” Yeropon paused, his neck snapping back as if a wrung-out towel had been twisted open.

El-Chonno opened his mouth, thinking that a day was far too harsh. Their time should not be so tight. As long as they retrieved the contaminants before Dela Pal returned and proved to headquarters that the séance could be completed, even if Dela Pal became an executive, he would not be able to defy the old will. For Dela Pal, the success of the séance would at most make him look bad.

El-Jiong thought of a possibility: Yeropon... wanted to complete the séance himself before Dela Pal returned.

“I understand!” Al-Qiong nodded forcefully through gritted teeth. “I will definitely give you an answer tomorrow.”

"I hope it will be an answer that satisfies me."

Jerobo An turned his head, his gaze passing through the window, across the city, and landing on the temple located west of Gowerton, near the wilderness.

Chapter 46 Our house can be renovated!

Sunset.

Li Yili closed the newspaper in her hand, twisted her slightly sore arm, and glanced at the Sheep Village building behind her. Perhaps because Yerobo An was in charge, even though he hadn't issued any orders or even appeared all day, these Cloud Clan members were still working with more vigor than usual, even though they had been lifeless just the day before.

Li Yili let out a breath, pushed open the door of the security booth, slung her briefcase over her shoulder, and started walking home along the road.

Fortunately, these cloud users are...

He was still carrying out the work he had assigned before, and he did not abandon all his work because of the appearance of Yeropon. After all, the black goat's cubs were practically useless now. Even El-Jiongno himself admitted that the black goat's cubs' primary task now was to eliminate their traces as much as possible and disguise themselves as a goat village.

But there's one thing he still hasn't figured out, and that's Yeropon's purpose.

As Li Yili walked, her gaze fell on the gift shop. The beautiful display window was filled with all kinds of candies, cool canes and jewelry. It was so colorful that it was hard to tell what was actually the merchandise, but it had to be said that it was very effective. Both children and adults would subconsciously look over.

Li Yili stopped in his tracks. Of course, he had no interest in the candy, the cane, or the jewelry.

This world doesn't seem to care much about processing sugar. He tried it once; it wasn't so bad that he wanted to vomit, nor so sweet that he needed an insulin injection after eating just one piece. Instead, it had a very subtle taste, like sand mixed with sugar granules. Even ordinary sugar tasted so rough. He didn't expect there to be any chocolate.

As for the gentleman's cane that every gentleman in Guoweiton should have, he only felt it was pretentious. Since he was in good health, why carry a cane and act like an old man? As for the jewelry... he wanted something more romantic [the precious thing is not the jewelry itself, but my feelings]. Unfortunately, Valkyrie was a very worldly woman.

Normally, he wouldn't go into this shop even if he passed by, but today he told Yoran that he would visit him later to apologize for taking Yoran's horse without permission. Of course, he couldn't go empty-handed. Although Yoran might need the money more, it would still hurt his pride a little.

After careful consideration, Li Yili left the store with two large bags of gifts. To avoid being followed by the crowd, Li Yili deliberately wandered around the various alleys of Guoweidun several times, and only arrived at Yolan's house after confirming that no one was following her.