Chapter 233: Risk Assessment

A narrow crack remained open in the window of the Director's office at the Anquan Bureau, yet the air still hung stagnant.

The cold light of a winter afternoon slanted in, cutting a bright patch onto the dark carpet where dust motes rolled silently.

Director Zhou was not seated behind his large desk but stood beside Feng Liancheng in front of a wall-mounted display screen.

The screen played silent footage of a protest in the city center square of Diego; crowds surged, signs were glaring, and those twisted, angry faces conveyed a burning emotion even without sound.

A small window on the screen looped a processed, highly inflammatory audio clip, Yang Yi's voice distorted as she roared, "... I wish this broken world would explode right now!"

Feng Liancheng's fingers unconsciously picked at the edge of his tablet, his lips pressed tightly together.

Director Zhou held an unlit cigarette beneath his nose, inhaling its scent repeatedly; the deep furrow carved there by years of work and stress was now twisted almost into a dead knot.

The screen's light flickered across his face, revealing complex emotions in his eyes—shock, confusion, and a trace of deeper unease he struggled to suppress.

The door opened gently, and Yang Yi entered. She wore a tailored casual white shirt, paired as usual with dress trousers and white sneakers; her steps were as steady as ever, her expression calm and unruffled, as if she were merely arriving for a routine work meeting.

Her gaze swept over the frozen image of the protesting crowd on the screen without lingering, as if it were merely an irrelevant backdrop.

"I need to make a temporary trip to Blood Moon Star this afternoon," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "A relic left by the previous civilization's race was unearthed at Base Three, and they are worried about potential incidents, so they have asked me to go and check."

An awkward silence filled the office for a few seconds.

Director Zhou cleared his throat, did not respond immediately, but pointed at the screen, his voice lower than usual: "Yang Yi, ah, you've seen the situation over in Diego City, right?"

"I've seen it," Yang Yi replied, her tone as flat as if answering "the weather is nice."

"Those recordings..." Feng Liancheng could not help but speak up, sighing repeatedly. "... I suspected back then that Chris was a beauty trap set by the Ark nation. If only he hadn't suffered radiation exposure in London while looking for you... Alas, we still fell for their scheme. Look at these angry words..."

"They are real," Yang Yi interrupted him, making no attempt to evade, admitting it directly. She even tilted her head slightly, as if recalling, "Those were the words I said when breaking up with Chris. My emotions were unstable at the time, and my wording was quite intense." She offered a slight explanation, using the phrase "wording was quite intense" to describe that collapse of accusation filled with a desire for destruction.

Director Zhou and Feng Liancheng were stunned.

They had expected Yang Yi might admit it, might explain, but they did not anticipate she would be so calm, even flat, and would so lightly classify that terrifying content as "emotional instability" and "intense wording."

This chilled the hearts of both more than any defense could, because such calmness meant she did not consider it a problem requiring serious attention, at least not a problem that would affect her work.

Once, she had cared deeply about people's opinions of her; even being blamed by relatives at the funeral of a colleague at the Anquan Bureau had caused her immense pain.

Now, facing people's hatred and resistance, she merely arranged her afternoon work lightly, as if nothing had happened.

Director Zhou took a deep breath, trying to regain the tone of an old leader, a tone mixed with concern and an unconscious effort to keep things within a familiar scope: "Yang Yi, I understand. You have faced great pressure in the past and suffered many... grievances. Having emotions is normal. But look, now these remarks are being taken by people with ulterior motives and placed in this context; the inflammatory power is too strong! The public does not know the background; they will only hear those words and make associations seeing the tragic state of Diego City..."

"So what?" Yang Yi asked, looking calmly at Director Zhou.

Director Zhou was momentarily stunned by her gaze; the prepared words of comfort stuck in his throat.

"So... recently, your public schedule may need some adjustment to avoid the heat. Public opinion is like a wildfire sometimes; the more you stand in the wind, the more fiercely it burns. Once the investigation is clear, or a new hot topic shifts attention..."

At this moment, Feng Liancheng seemed to make up his mind, stepped forward, operated his tablet, and sent a schedule change notification to Yang Yi's phone.

"Yang Yi, according to the emergency plan and... and some risk assessment suggestions," he avoided Yang Yi's gaze, "I have cancelled your originally scheduled attendance at the high-level symposium on 'Regional Resource Integration and Awakeners Dispatch' in Lisbon, Europe, the day after tomorrow. It will be changed to online holographic participation, or a deputy will attend on your behalf."

Yang Yi's gaze fell on the cancellation notice marked in red, watching it for a few seconds.

The air in the office seemed to solidify a bit more.

"Whose risk assessment?" she asked, her voice still devoid of inflection.

"It is... a comprehensive consideration," Feng Liancheng said with difficulty. "The protests in Diego City are only the beginning; civil groups and some legislators in several European countries are also exploiting the issue, with high levels of questioning. If you go in person, the security situation cannot be fully guaranteed, and it might... provoke the scene, which is unfavorable for the talks to achieve substantive results. Temporarily not appearing in public to let public opinion calm down slightly is a more prudent choice for the plan and for you personally."

Given their close relationship, he rarely used the formal "you" (nin), striving to make his tone sound like a purely rational consideration of work and safety, yet his underlying intention to isolate and protect her subtly leaked through.

Director Zhou also nodded in agreement: "Liancheng has considered this thoroughly. Yang Yi, your status is special now; every move you make affects the whole situation. Sometimes, taking a step back temporarily is to advance better. Your safety and your image are now bound to the credibility of the Civilization Continuation Plan."

Yang Yi listened silently, her gaze shifting from Feng Liancheng's face to Director Zhou's, then back to the cancelled schedule.

There was no anger on her face at being offended or questioned, nor any gratitude at being "protected," only a thorough, unfathomable calm.

A few seconds later, she nodded slightly.

"I understand," she said.

Director Zhou and Feng Liancheng seemed to both breathe a sigh of relief in secret.

But Yang Yi's next sentence caused that breath to catch in their throats again.

"However," she reached out, tapped a few times on her phone, and brought up another document, "the core of the Lisbon talks agenda is to finalize the direct energy supply agreement between the Nordic power grid and the Southern Awakeners training camp, and to establish a joint command protocol. Online participation or deputy representation cannot respond to variables on the spot, nor can they form the necessary deterrence."

She turned the tablet toward them; on it were the draft agreement and the crowd attending the event.

"Public opinion is public opinion; work is work," Yang Yi's voice was clear and calm, leaving no room for doubt. "The advancement of the Civilization Continuation Plan cannot be paused because anyone anywhere feels provoked. They can protest, they can question, they can fear, but the agreement must be signed, and local resources must undergo preliminary integration before the next quarter."

She picked up her own tablet, turned, and walked toward the door, her steps still steady.

When she reached the door, she paused for a moment, did not turn back, and merely left a light remark:

"The schedule remains unchanged. Security levels will be executed according to the S+ plan. Notify the Lisbon side that I will attend on time."

The door closed gently behind her.

Silence returned to the office; only on the display screen did the footage of the protests in Diego City continue to loop silently.

The sunlight shifted slightly, illuminating more dancing dust motes in the air.

Director Zhou slowly sat back in his chair; the wrinkles on his face seemed deeper, an expression mixed with exhaustion, bewilderment, and even deeper unease.

He suddenly found himself unsure whether the Yang Yi who had just left, calm, decisive, and completely stripping away all personal emotions and external interference from her work, was still the "Little Yang" he once knew, who, though exceptionally capable, ultimately had the emotional fluctuations of an ordinary person.

Feng Liancheng remained standing where he was, staring at the closed door, his brows furrowing slightly.

The despair and hatred in that recording were so real; when Yang Yi admitted with her own mouth that it was true yet acted so indifferent, a strange, heart-pounding sense of alienation instantly stretched between them.

He had tried to use the shield of work to protect her temporarily, but she had torn that shield apart with her own hands, choosing to face all the storms head-on.

She no longer needed, or no longer recognized, this kind of protection based on ordinary human logic.

Feng Liancheng suddenly remembered the look Yang Yi had just given him, calm and unruffled, yet as if she had seen through all his unspoken worries and considerations.

That question, "Whose risk assessment?" was like a tiny thorn stuck in his heart.

Perhaps the storm had never ceased; it was just that before, they thought they were guarding a "person" in the eye of the storm, but now they were unsure what they were guarding, or what they were facing.