After drawing cards, the evil god became my source of吐槽 (tu cao, a form of humorous commentary/criti

Chapter 48 Freedom
The meeting room of Special Operations Division 404 was dimly lit.

After the final words, "Begin voting," fell into a brief silence. The electronic record screen lit up, and the cursor flashed across the list of attendees.

One by one, the voting results appeared.

[It is recommended to maintain the current status quo, retain freedom, and require the use of a tracking device.]

First vote: Agreed.

Second vote, in favor.

The third vote was against.

Fourth vote, in favor.

The fifth vote was against.

He Lin stood there, her breathing barely perceptible, but her fingers clenched slightly for a moment.

Scroll to the last line on the screen.

The twelfth vote: in favor.

She was startled.

The twelve senior members with voting rights ultimately passed her proposal, which included "preserving freedom, not isolating for the time being, and establishing a temporary research assistance mechanism," with eight votes in favor and four against.

The conclusion slowly appeared on the screen:
The motion has been passed.

She finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Very good." The section chief stood up, looked around, and said, "He Lin will be in charge of the follow-up arrangements."

He paused deliberately, his gaze sweeping over the still silent gray-haired researcher. "If anyone has any objections, feel free to raise them, but only if you can come up with a more reasonable approach."

No one spoke again.

He Lin didn't say anything more, but quietly left the conference table.

She knew she had won, but she also knew that this wasn't "safe" in the true sense.

The benefits brought by the primordial energy within An Jing's body made it impossible for those people to abandon her.

At least she bought herself some breathing room.

Meanwhile, An Jing was sitting in a corner of the training camp's canteen.

She ate slowly, turning the spoon around in her bowl before finally scooping up some vegetables and putting them in her mouth.

This was her first time stepping into the daily space of the lamplighter.

All around were lamplighters in standard gray-black uniforms. Some were sitting and eating, some were carrying trays and looking for seats, and a few were standing in front of the food window chatting quietly. The air was filled with the warm smell of food and the aroma of various seasonings.

An Jing was wearing ordinary, simple clothes. Although they were clean and tidy, they stood out conspicuously compared to the uniform of the lantern bearer.

Then someone noticed her.

A young male lamplighter walked over carrying a tray, glanced at her, and asked with some curiosity, "Are you... new here?"

An Jing looked up, glanced at him, and nodded.

He is indeed new.

"You're not a trainer, are you? You're not dressed like one." He sat down opposite her, somewhat familiarly, without giving it much thought. "You're so young, you don't even look like an adult. You can fight too?"

An Jing picked up a piece of food, mumbled an "Mmm," and didn't explain further.

She didn't really want to talk.

The man holding the lamp also sensed this and consciously stopped asking questions, simply focusing on his meal.

An Jing put down her chopsticks, glanced at the clock on the wall, and a thought suddenly popped into her mind.

In a couple of days, the college entrance exam scores should be released.

She was a little stunned, not expecting that she could still remember this.

I just finished the college entrance exam, and it feels like only a short time has passed because so much has happened, yet it feels like a lifetime ago.

If everything goes well, she should be like her classmates, sitting in front of her phone waiting for the scores to be released, and then chatting and guessing in the class group who will get into Tsinghua University.

But now, sitting in this cafeteria surrounded by strangers, she's not even sure if she'll be able to go back to school to get her diploma.

It's possible that none of them will be able to go.

Those people are probably all gone now.

She gripped her rice bowl tightly in one hand, her gaze lowered, her eyes somewhat vacant. She knew that the Secret Service was holding a meeting today, discussing her future and future role.

She should have been looking forward to the outcome, but for some reason, a heavy sense of confusion, beyond her years, welled up inside her.

At the same time, He Lin walked out of the conference room.

Instead of returning to her office, she immediately took a car to the base.

Upon arriving at the base, I immediately made a phone call and asked, "Where's An Jing?"

The person holding the lamp replied almost without thinking: "In the cafeteria."

"it is good."

An Jing was still lost in thought in the cafeteria.

Until a hand tapped on the table in front of her.

"Why are you dazed?"

She looked up and saw He Lin standing opposite her with a smile, her expression unusually relaxed: "I've come to talk to you about something."

When the male lantern bearer saw 002, he was so frightened that he immediately stood up, saluted, and ran away.

An Jing's eyes flickered, and he suddenly understood something.

"The meeting results are in?"

He Lin nodded and sat down opposite her.

"It's passed. Eight votes in favor, four votes against. Your freedom is preserved."

An Jing stared at her: "...Really?"

“Of course it’s true.” He Lin reached out and tugged at her wrist. “But there are some conditions.”

She held out a black metal bracelet, which looked like a tiny watch and had an unassuming appearance. "This is a tracking device. With your current permissions, it won't interfere with your actions or eavesdrop. It just records your location in real time."

An Jing silently reached out her hand, and He Lin fastened the device to her wrist, hearing a soft "click".

“In addition,” He Lin added, “if the Special Service needs your assistance in investigating the Origin, you must be there immediately. We don’t require you to cooperate with all the research for now, but you must show up so we can confirm your status.”

She spoke calmly, without giving orders or engaging in negotiation; she simply stated the true situation.

An Jing didn't speak, but looked down and touched the device on her wrist.

It's not a constraint.

It's not freedom either.

Instead, it's more like... a combination of letting go and controlling.

But she knew it was already much better than she had imagined.

She had initially thought she would be locked up, like in solitary confinement, awaiting research.

"Don't you feel wronged?" He Lin asked.

An Jing shook his head: "No, I just... didn't expect them to be willing to let people go to this extent."

“I’m trying my best,” He Lin said.

She looked at An Jing intently. "I know what kind of person you are, An Jing. You saved my teammate. If it weren't for this, I wouldn't have done this for you. But... you've done me a great favor."

An Jing lowered his head, his expression calm.

“You will still be under observation, and there may be a lot of tedious procedures to go through, but you are free. In the future, you can say where you want to go and what you want to do, you can fight for it, and you can negotiate terms. It will no longer be the path of ‘being locked up for research’.”

“Okay,” An Jing said softly, her voice a little hoarse.

She didn't thank me, didn't say much, and just silently finished her meal.

That meal was bland and tasteless, but she ate it peacefully.

It felt like my stomach could finally hold something else.

By the time she put down her chopsticks, He Lin had already prepared a second bowl for her.

"You need to grow up quickly," He Lin said in a light tone. "There are so many things that you need to shoulder."

"Also, although you are not under the jurisdiction of the authorities, you cannot leave the city in the near future. I'm sorry, this is for your safety."

"it is good.

(End of this chapter)