“Magic Pill? What’s that? Is it something delicious?”
Caroline licked the corner of her mouth, and her stomach, which she was clutching, suddenly made a loud growling noise.
It seemed she had come over without eating breakfast.
“I said Demon King! Forget it, you probably wouldn’t remember even if you knew in this state. I’ll come ask you another day… By the way, did you pull another all-nighter?”
The skin around Caroline’s eyelids was dark as if stained by soot, and she was barely forcing her eyes to stay open.
“Yeah… I’m busy. The people in our department are pathetically few; sometimes I have to split myself into a hundred pieces just to manage! And then there’s that idiot Taniya. She got a little money recently and started investing blindly…”
Caroline suddenly lowered her voice, covering her mouth as she spoke to Penelope.
“The year-end bonuses were also dumped in by that fool, and now it’s all gone. I’m trying to find a way to make up for the deficit…”
“What? The Company doesn’t have a single cent left?”
“Yeah…”
Caroline’s weary gaze flickered away as she responded with a guilty conscience.
What!?
Penelope didn’t care whether there were bonuses within the organization.
But Taniya’s Financial Company provided funding for the Jinzhi Family’s enterprises.
If her side ran out of money, the Jinzhi Family’s enterprises would be in big trouble!
“You… why didn’t you say so earlier!”
Penelope was so angry she was speechless for a moment, but seeing the Oldest still delivering the speech, she didn’t feel right about lashing out immediately.
She never expected that the excuse she had casually made up to Su Mengdie this morning would actually come true!
“I only found out last night. Taniya said she originally planned to tell me after covering the deficit, but she really had no other choice now, so she came to me.”
Caroline massaged her forehead and let out a helpless sigh.
That idiot!
Incapable of achieving anything, but more than capable of ruining everything.
“Don’t you or Taniya leave later. I want to get the full story!”
After hearing Caroline’s additional details, Penelope’s face darkened even further, and her whole body emitted a powerful murderous intent.
The executives standing near her cleared the area one after another.
With the capital chain broken, the enterprises could go bankrupt at any moment.
When that happened, forget about her status—even the Jinzhi Family could fall into an irreversible abyss…
Facing Penelope’s threatening demand, Caroline remained perfectly calm and even expressed her agreement with the suggestion.
“Mm~, I already planned to talk to you about this. I’m not like a certain idiot who causes trouble and then tries her best to hide it, only knowing to beg for help when the crisis is about to explode.”
***
The content of the second half of the meeting wasn’t long.
It was just the Oldest assigning tasks to certain people, none of which had anything to do with Penelope, and she wasn’t in the mood to listen anyway.
Halfway through, Taniya turned around to see where Caroline was, but she was instantly drenched in a cold sweat by a gaze so icy it felt like looking at a dead person.
After the meeting adjourned, Penelope appeared by her side in a flash, then grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and took her away from the scene.
The meeting hall was silent as everyone made way for the Death.
Half of them thought Taniya was doomed this time, while the other half immediately started considering how to take over her position.
***
On the rooftop of the Financial Company, Qin Qixin leaned against a steel door holding a cup of hot coffee, while Penelope gripped Lu Wei—who had already undone her Transformation—demanding that she immediately explain the full sequence of events.
“Are you saying you gave all the Company’s money to someone who plays Games? Ha… Hahaha~!”
Penelope was so furious she laughed at Taniya’s explanation; she even felt that Taniya was joking with her.
“You’d better think carefully before you speak. I don’t have time for jokes! If you dare lie to me again, I’ll skin you alive right now and send you straight to the Magical Girl Headquarters!”
“I’m telling the truth! That person told me she could make money for me by winning PK matches in the Game. In the beginning, she really did return a lot of interest, and it was fast…”
“So, I thought I’d just earn more so I could give everyone a bigger bonus at the end of the year. I gave her all the remaining funds, but later she told me no one was willing to fight her anymore and I needed to wait. And I’ve been waiting until now…”
Lu Wei’s voice grew smaller and smaller, and a look of terror gradually spread across her face.
Because she saw Canary’s hand gradually condensing a massive Magic Bullet that contained all her Magic Power.
Drop dead!
Qin Qixin saw this and quickly stood up to stop her.
Lu Wei was currently out of her Transformation state.
If she took the full brunt of this Magic Bullet, there probably wouldn’t even be ashes left of her.
“My Young Lady~, please calm down. Even if you blast her to pieces now, it won’t help the situation—it’ll only make those Magical Girls more smug. Since it’s already happened, we should hurry and think of a way to solve it, shouldn’t we?”
“Do you think I don’t know that?! But what this idiot did is just too stupid. If I don’t let her experience the sensation of death, she’ll probably never realize just how moronic she is!”
Seeing that she was about to lose control of the situation, Qin Qixin quickly signaled Lu Wei with her eyes, telling her to kneel and apologize.
Seeing the signal, Lu Wei followed the advice and did so.
With a thud, Lu Wei fell to her knees and shuffled toward Canary step by step, bitterly lamenting her own stupidity and vowing to change, begging for another chance.
“That’s right, there’s still room to salvage this. Just spare her this once.”
“Humph~! You’d better hope this gets settled smoothly, otherwise it won’t be me sending you on your way next time—it’ll be your Oldest and my mother coming together!”
Penelope casually snapped her fingers, and the powerful Magic Bullet instantly transformed into countless particles of light, dissipating into the air.
“By the way, Qin Qixin, you said there’s room to salvage this. Did you think of a good way?”
“We just need to find that person. It’s not difficult for me, it’s just… I’m short on manpower. Look how heavy the dark circles under my eyes are.”
Qin Qixin wasn’t intentionally playing the victim; the pressure she was under really was becoming unbearable.
Right now, not only did she have to search for the Key of the Void, but she also had to investigate the causes of the recent disappearances for the Oldest.
If this was added on top, she feared she would be buried in the ground before completing a single task.
“Then let Lu Wei work under you for now. Without money, she’s nothing anyway. I’ll talk to the Oldest about it!”
Penelope glared fiercely at Lu Wei, considering it a mercy for her.
“Alright then. No time to lose, Young Lady, you should head off quickly. If I’m not mistaken, your little maid has been waiting for so long without word from you, she must be getting worried.”
“Ah…!”
The moment she heard Qin Qixin mention Su Mengdie, Penelope’s expression softened considerably, and she left the rooftop like a flying arrow.
My Su Mengdie, I’m coming right now!