Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

Rebellion means suppression, and Colombia is no exception. As a newly formed political entity formed by several mobile city-states that broke away from Victoria during the Gallo-Gaul Wars, Colombia did not have a deep foundation and was even branded as a "traitor" for a long time.

However, the lack of historical foundation has also become one of the country's advantages. Without an aristocratic system that hinders its progress, purely profit-driven enterprises have invested a large amount of capital in the research and development of the technology industry. Several years ago, Colombia officially surpassed its former home country, Vitória, to become Terra's veritable leading technological power.

To promote national strength, showcase technological prowess, and attract foreign investment and talent, Colombia hosts a large-scale technology product exchange expo every year in the middle of the year, similar to the World Expo in the previous world of Vien.

The organizer of this technology expo is RheinLife, a technology company that has risen rapidly in recent years and become a giant in the field of bioscience.

"This is an excellent opportunity for us."

At the departmental meeting, the department head, unusually not wearing his futuristic white coat but instead dressed in an office lady uniform, delivered his final concluding remarks to the shareholders who were listening to the meeting via video conference. He then turned off the communication, looked at everyone present, and reiterated:

"I'll say it again, this is a great opportunity for us. This expo must be absolutely perfect, understand?"

The department heads nodded absentmindedly or confidently, and the head of the department could only sigh helplessly and turn her gaze to the woman named Waifan sitting at the end of the table.

"Saria, you stay behind for a moment. Everyone else, meeting adjourned."

The silver-haired diamond was slightly taken aback, opened his mouth as if to ask something, but in the end remained silent and nodded.

The meeting ended much faster than the people gathered. Department heads were busy with their research and making money, showing no intention of stopping to say a word. In less than two minutes, the once packed conference room was empty except for Saria and the Chief Administrator.

Saria then asked:

"What brings you here, Commander?"

In Saria's memory, her relationship with the Commander wasn't particularly good; they weren't even friends, and they rarely kept in touch. If she had to describe it, they were at most acquaintances who would greet each other when they met. The department she managed—the Defense Section—wasn't exactly a revenue-generating department for Rhine Labs; it was basically a security team with a different name. She genuinely hadn't expected the Commander, such a busy person, to keep her behind after the meeting.

The young lady adjusted her office lady tie, unbuttoned the top button of her white shirt, freeing her neck from its uncomfortable confinement and revealing a glimpse of her fair collarbone. She picked up her cup, filled it with hot coffee from the coffee machine, and gestured towards Saria with it:

Would you like a drink?

"no thank you."

She carried the coffee back to the table, pulled out a chair, sat down next to Saria, and sighed helplessly.

"There's no other way. Saria, you're the person I trust the most here."

She rested her head on the table, her long hair still covering her entire face, and said in a muffled voice:

"I have a task for you, would you be willing to do it?"

Saria blinked and asked matter-of-factly, "Is there overtime pay?"

The commander turned his head in surprise: "You care about money?"

Saria shook her head and said, "I care about the rules."

The work assigned to her was not hers, which was considered overtime. Overtime pay is the rule. Saria doesn't have the hobby of shopping for bags like most girls. She doesn't spend much money on weekdays and doesn't care much about how much money she has. But rules are rules, and she values ​​them.

The general manager shrugged: "No overtime pay."

Saria's answer was also decisive: "Then we won't do it."

"...Let me finish." The commander covered his head and sighed. "This is actually part of your job. Remember that shareholding incident that caused such a stir a while ago?"

Saria nodded: "I remember, an account in Citibank under the name 'VEEN' applied to invest in Rhine Life, using a huge sum of 200 million Lateran gold coins to buy 15% of the shares of Rhine Life, which was still an unknown small company at the time. It's one of our largest shareholders now. If it weren't for his financial assistance, the company wouldn't have been able to achieve such a big technological breakthrough in the past few months, or even win the opportunity to host a technology expo."

As she spoke, she shifted her gaze to the projection device not far away. Just now, Rhine Life's shareholders' meeting had been listening to this departmental meeting through this device.

"But strangely, this shareholder has never attended a shareholders' meeting or sat in on departmental meetings since he bought the shares. He didn't even show up when we received the task of organizing the technology expo. He's a mysterious person."

Saria concluded, then looked at the commander-in-chief:

"What does this have to do with the mission?"

"Yes." The commander nodded. "Your mission is to pick up our mysterious boss and bring him to this technology expo."

"He's coming?" Seria asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, it's confirmed." The chief nodded, logged into her email on the desktop screen, and opened the first email, which was the message she sent to the major shareholders as a special invitation to the expo.

Among them is a mysterious shareholder, VEEN.

"He replied to my message yesterday, expressing his willingness to attend the expo. However, he is currently in Victoria..."

The commander sighed and looked at Saria.

“As you know, things haven’t been peaceful in Victoria lately. There was the passing of the late emperor, the ascension of the new emperor, the religious reforms, and the rebellion in the north. Official flights from Colombia to there have been basically suspended, so he probably can’t come. Therefore, after deliberation at the higher-ups, it has been decided that we will send a company aircraft to pick him up, and you will be the receptionist to protect his safety.”

Saria scratched her head: "Someone as rich as him, doesn't he have his own flying machine?"

The commander-in-chief slapped his face.

"Is this about whether or not there's an aircraft? Ms. Seria, you need to work on your emotional intelligence. This is an opportunity to demonstrate Rhine Life's sincerity and strength. So what if the shareholder has his own aircraft? Flights to Victoria are basically all suspended right now. Without a flight permit issued by the Aslan royal family, even if he had an aircraft, he couldn't take off. But in this situation, if Rhine Life sends an aircraft to pick up the shareholder and bring him to Colombia, wouldn't that demonstrate Rhine Life's formidable strength and important position? That way, the shareholder will be happy and feel that his investment was worthwhile, and he might even invest again, making the company a fortune. For this matter, the higher-ups have already spent a lot of money to bribe connections and obtain a flight permit. This mission is entrusted to you. Don't let everyone down."

Saria thought for a moment. Protecting the personal safety of shareholders was indeed one of the responsibilities of the Defense Section. She couldn't find a reason to refuse, and the task wasn't difficult—it was just about ensuring safety. She nodded and asked one last question:

Why did you choose me?

Just like the commander said, she's not very emotionally intelligent, nor is she particularly attractive. Shouldn't this kind of customer service be done by the commander himself, or by someone as clever as Muirses? How did it fall to her? Just because she's the head of the defense department?

Seria disagreed, unless the higher-ups wanted to offend that shareholder.

Upon hearing this, the commander sighed again, glanced around to make sure no one was there, and then quietly explained to Saria:

"It's a secret. Actually, we had no choice but to send you because we had to deal with someone even more terrifying."

"Who is it?" Saria tilted her head in confusion. What kind of person could make the currently thriving Rhine Lab describe it as "terrifying"?

The commander waved his hand:

"Joseph Pulitzer. That journalist, he's also coming to the expo."

Seria suddenly realized.

A newly emerging news hunter, an invincible source of explosive information, and a fearsome journalist who specializes in exposing the deepest secrets. Although he has only been around for two months, the name Joseph Pulitzer has already resounded throughout Terra. His two reports, "The Ninety-Five Theses" and "The Ten Deadly Sins of the Duke of Normandy," are considered the pinnacle of contemporary journalism. He truly managed to expose the secrets of a great nation single-handedly, and yet remained unscathed and unbridled. He is a hero of the journalism world.

Of course, it is also something that countless individuals, businesses, and countries try to avoid.

He's also coming to the technology expo hosted by Rhine Life, no wonder the higher-ups are so nervous. They transferred Muels and the general manager all away. Only he, the relatively free person, is left to do this kind of shareholder-related work.

Saria shrugged, glanced at the commander who was lying on the table ready to lie down, and made no attempt to hide the sympathy in her eyes, showing absolutely no emotional intelligence.

"come on."

She said it seriously.

The commander-in-chief was so angry he wanted to punch her.

P.S.: It's June already, it's June already. I'm taking leave starting on the 6th for the college entrance exam.

Chapter 111 Two Emails

Victoria, Lentinium, Western Suburbs Villa.

Wayne watched helplessly as Theresa poured Vina a glass of juice, while his own eyes remained empty. He pouted in grievance.

So, you're treating me differently? Theresa, you've changed. You weren't like this before! What made you become like this, MHY?

Just kidding. Wayne sighed, poured himself a glass of tasteless water, gulped it down, and then continued his staring contest with Vina to see who could hold out longer.

Seeing this, Theresa shook her head helplessly, sat down next to Wayne, and looked at Vina, who was still angry, and said:

"Don't be angry, Vina. His Highness Bruce didn't mean to refuse to help you."

Just as Wayne had predicted last night, Vina, who treated red wine like beer and steak like skewers at the banquet hall, successfully made herself the only lion in all of Victoria to have ever been to a nightclub. Despite Wayne's repeated reminders, she still insisted on staying up all night, and the next day she indeed faced a crazy revenge of an all-nighter and a hangover. Not only did she sleep until 10 a.m., but she also didn't collect the crops from the infrastructure project... oh wait, I mean, she didn't deal with the red boxes in the Queen's office. While her head was throbbing with pain, she found Wayne, who was slacking off, and Theresa, who was slacking off with Wayne, and asked them for help.

Vina made her request with high hopes, believing that her cousin, who had taken such good care of her and taught her the secrets of the red box, would be happy to grant her request and help her deal with the mountain of official business she had to handle that day. But this time, she had clearly trusted the wrong person.

Not only did Wayne not intend to help, he also firmly rejected Vina's plan to move the office to the western suburban villa, subtly trying to get Wayne's assistance, so the atmosphere became tense. Wayne wouldn't budge, and Vina felt that Wayne lacked compassion. In the end, even Theresa couldn't persuade the two of them, so she could only sigh and make Vina a cup of coffee.

As for why they didn't make coffee for Wayne, there aren't many whys; it's because the coffee machine broke down.

As for why the coffee machine broke down....

Don't ask that question, or Theresa, who isn't very good with appliances, will get angry and try to "grind you into coffee powder".

"Vina, you need to know that you are the Empress. You must be mindful of the consequences of your actions. Did I remind you last night not to stay out too late or drink too much? What did you do?"

Wayne frowned, mimicking Vina's tone from back then, and said:

"It's okay, it's okay, I didn't drink any alcohol, I just drank plain water... *burp* But this plain water tastes bland!"

Vina's face grew increasingly red as she listened, until it seemed as if it were about to drip water. She lowered her head and said:

"I won't do it again..."

Wayne shook his head, raised a finger and waved it from side to side, stating firmly:

“I can’t keep waiting for you to learn your lesson next time. Consider today’s incident a lesson. You have to finish your work today yourself. I absolutely will not help you.”

"Waaah—" Vina let out a low, mournful cry.

She knew that today's events were her fault. Before asking Wayne for help, she hesitated for a long time. It was shameful to cause trouble for others because of her own mistakes. She was prepared for her brother to refuse her or even scold her, but Wayne's words were so harsh that they still made her a little sad.

Everyone makes mistakes; this is clearly the first time.

Is it necessary to nag like a mother hen? It's like I'll never learn my lesson if I don't do it this time. What do you take me for, Durin at the gambling table?

If you don't want to help, then don't. Anyway, it's just the two of us, Aslan. There will be plenty of times when you'll be begging me to bully you! When that happens, I'll get my revenge, and I'll make you pay double!

Vina glared at Wayne, pouted, stood up, and walked straight toward the front door without saying a word.

Wayne watched her leave, and only after she closed the door did he sigh helplessly.

Ugh, it feels awful to pretend to be stern. But it's necessary.

As the queen of a nation, Vina absolutely cannot develop a dependency on someone as casual as Wayne. There's only so much Wayne can teach her; sooner or later, she'll have to face the treacherous world of Terra on her own. If she always seeks her brother's help when faced with difficulties, then who is truly the emperor? If Wayne doesn't take a firm stance now and prepare Vina in advance, he might never be able to leave Victoria to pursue his own ambitions.

This goes against his original intention. After all, if he had to do everything personally, big or small, what was the point of him giving up the throne to Vina in the first place? Was it just so that Vina could stamp everything after he had done it all?

Absolutely not! Vina absolutely cannot become a rubber stamp, and he absolutely cannot be tied to Victoria, otherwise it will be too late to regret it. So even if Vina is angry with him now, he has no choice but to do this.

After consoling himself that this was a necessary evil, Wayne felt a little better. He turned his head and patted Theresa beside him, saying:

"Alright, alright, Theresa, Vina's gone, so don't be angry with me anymore. You should be able to see why I did this, right?"

Theresa nodded in understanding:

"I can see it, but I think growth is something that should be done gradually."

“That’s true for ordinary children, but Vina is different after all.”

Wayne spread his hands and pointed to himself:

"A prince born into a spoiled family and an empress who came to power later in life have shouldered the heavy responsibility of the most glorious nation on this land. If the rebellion in the North hadn't been handled relatively well, who knows how many people would have jumped out of the country to predict that Victoria would be doomed. The burden on her shoulders is too heavy, and she has wasted too much time. For each of us, time is extremely precious."