Chapter 24: What kind of status is that? You’re actually working as a secretary?

Abandoned and unfamiliar with her surroundings, Lian Fei did not know where to go.

She found a seat nearby and sat down, hoping that the Commander of the Tenth District Army would return for her—or perhaps someone else would. Watching the fountain before her, her mind gradually drifted into a blank state.

It was not until someone tapped her on the shoulder that she snapped back to reality.

"Why are you sitting here all alone?"

Lian Fei turned around to find a smiling face.

"Chairperson?" Lian Fei stood up in a hurry.

The Chairperson sat down beside her and said with a laugh, "Sit down, no need for such formality."

Lian Fei nodded, though her posture remained significantly more rigid than before.

The Chairperson raised an eyebrow and shifted slightly closer to her. "They have all gone to prepare. Why are you the only one here?"

"Ah... well... Instructor Shen had some business to attend to and left early. I'm just waiting for him here." Even as she said it, Lian Fei felt a pang of guilt.

Summoning her courage, she added, "Chairperson, I would like to withdraw from the rescue team and take on a logistics role instead."

As she spoke, she watched the Chairperson’s face closely, gauging her reaction. However, the Chairperson only looked slightly surprised, showing no significant emotional shift.

"Why? Are you afraid of the Zerg?" the Chairperson asked.

Lian Fei shook her head. She was not afraid of those creatures. While the Zerg were grotesque and bizarre in form, they only disgusted her; she felt no genuine fear.

Just as she was about to explain, she realized something. It was the Commander of the Tenth District Army who had strongly recommended her for this mission. In his eyes, she was a highly capable individual perfectly suited for the operation. If she were to decline on the grounds that she wasn't actually capable, wouldn't that undermine the Commander’s credibility? In the eyes of his superiors, it would make the Commander look like a chronic liar.

Thinking this, Lian Fei swallowed her original explanation and changed her approach. "I am just afraid that I won't be able to live up to the task and will let everyone's trust in me go to waste."

The Chairperson laughed heartily. "What waste? This whole thing is quite simple; you don't need to worry so much... I am certain you are more than capable."

Lian Fei opened her mouth but hesitated. It felt as though the entire world harbored a profound misunderstanding of her.

"Regardless of that," the Chairperson continued, "what is your strategy for the upcoming Eden Game?"

Lian Fei gave a wry smile. "Just like that, I suppose. Surviving is victory enough."

The Chairperson looked puzzled. "You don't intend to win?"

"Winning... I don't really want to." What Lian Fei actually meant was that with everyone else being so powerful, her chances of winning were nonexistent. But she bit her tongue and phrased it differently. She decided not to undermine the Commander after all.

Wait—it was impossible for the Chairperson not to know that her mental power was zero.

Lian Fei suddenly realized this. She looked at the Chairperson and asked, "Why do you think I can do it?"

The Chairperson raised an eyebrow. "And why do you think you can't?"

Lian Fei paused, then tested the waters. "Chairperson, you should have seen my personal file, shouldn't you?"

The Chairperson nodded in affirmation.

"And you still think I can do it?" Lian Fei asked incredulously. "My mental power is zero!"

The Chairperson looked at her with confusion. "Who told you your mental power is zero?"

Lian Fei was equally puzzled. "The test results. My mental power is zero."

"Hmm..." The Chairperson frowned, pondered for a moment, then suddenly reached an epiphany and let out a soft laugh.

Lian Fei, confused by the sudden change in mood, asked, "Chairperson, what was that about?"

The Chairperson reached out and patted Lian Fei on the shoulder. "If you don't want to go to Eden, then come work for me as my secretary! I will grant you an exemption from the Eden mission."

Lian Fei: "???"

"Chairperson, are you joking?" Lian Fei stared at her, shocked. Who was she to be a secretary?

Yet, the Chairperson’s expression was earnest, showing no sign of a prank.

"Oh, but I really would like you to be my secretary," the Chairperson said, pouting slightly. "If you become my secretary, in eight or ten years, you could become the Chairperson yourself."

Lian Fei was even more bewildered. Who didn't know that the position of Federation Chairperson was the most coveted prize of all? Countless people fought tooth and nail to climb to that height. Yet here was the current Chairperson telling her that all she had to do was be a secretary, and in a decade, she would be handed the highest office.

It was not "might become," but "will become."

It was an absurd, ridiculous statement. It felt as if an ordinary passerby had been approached by a powerful figure who handed her a legendary weapon and said, "Here, the task of saving the world is yours."

Lian Fei’s head spun with the prospect of this windfall, but she quickly regained her senses.

"There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world; every good thing comes at a corresponding price," the shopkeeper had once told her in her previous life.

Something as magnificent as becoming Chairperson must surely carry an enormous, hidden cost. It could not be as simple as this woman claimed. There had to be a trap she hadn't mentioned.

Lian Fei’s thoughts raced.

"Don't worry, I won't have you doing anything dangerous... a secretary just helps me organize documents and run errands," the Chairperson added.

The rhetoric sounded so familiar. Lian Fei’s guard went up completely. Didn't this sound exactly like the scams from her past life? Easy work, high pay. Even a three-year-old would know it was a lie. How could such a good deal exist?

Lian Fei shook her head. "Forget it, Chairperson. I don't even have the confidence to win in Eden, so how could I have the confidence to be your secretary?" She paused and added, "Thank you for your trust, Chairperson. To ensure I don't betray that trust, I will be sure to perform well in Eden."

"But if you were my secretary, you wouldn't have to go on the mission later," the Chairperson noted. "You didn't want to go, did you?"

Lian Fei immediately replied, "After thinking it over, the Instructor was right. I lack field experience, and this upcoming mission is perfect for me to gain it. I will do my best!"

She would rather face monsters than jump into a pit of unknown depth. At worst, she would just play it safe and hide behind the others.

The Chairperson pursed her lips, gave Lian Fei a meaningful look, and then smiled as she activated her optical computer.

"In that case, let's exchange contact information. If you ever change your mind and decide you want to be my secretary, just reach out to me."

Lian Fei couldn't refuse and added her as a contact. "It is my honor to have your favor, Chairperson," she said flatteringly.

After the request was accepted, the Chairperson closed her device. She stood up, smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes caused by sitting, and said, "Alright, it's about time. They should be departing soon. Old Shen doesn't look like he's coming, so I'll take you over there myself."

Lian Fei acknowledged this with a nod, offered her thanks, and followed behind the Chairperson.