Chapter 37 : You’re Not Dead?

The number displayed on the phone screen belonged to none other than Bai Yu’s direct superior from her time at the Management Bureau.

This woman was the person who usually handled all of Bai Yu’s work assignments.

Actually, this boss’s personality was quite good.

As for why she was saved in Bai Yu’s contacts as “Devil Boss,” that was a result of a decision she had made back then.

The fact that Bai Yu had been sent to join the squad for the Pale Witch subjugation war was directly related to this superior.

If she hadn’t accidentally awakened the memories of her past life, Bai Yu, who was a mere small fry, would likely have died in that battle long ago.

After eventually surviving and picking up Loweia before leaving the battlefield, Bai Yu had taken the time to change the contact name for her boss.

The last call log dated back to the eve of the subjugation war.

At that time, when Eden decided to launch a subjugation campaign against the Pale Witch, Red Maple City—being the closest to the witch’s appearance location—was the first to respond.

They dispatched one S-rank powerhouse and several A-rank Espers to accompany them.

As for Bai Yu, she wasn’t originally meant to be part of it.

After all, the Pale Witch they were hunting was an S-rank disaster-class existence.

Moreover, she wasn’t just a regular S-rank, but an entity that reached S+.

Any Esper below S-rank was nothing more than cannon fodder.

The only difference was whether they would be killed in one hit or if they could withstand two.

This team, composed almost entirely of A-rank and S-rank Espers with not even a B-rank in sight, had unexpectedly included a C-rank small fry like Bai Yu.

The blame for that fell entirely on her Precognition.

The higher-ups had decided to try their luck, treating it like a lottery.

They gambled on the possibility that Bai Yu might undergo an awakening and trigger an outburst when faced with a life-threatening crisis, allowing her to foresee some key images.

In any case, they didn’t really expect her to see the future.

Their mindset was that they lost nothing if she saw nothing, but they would strike gold if she did.

Originally, her superior could have helped her push back against the assignment.

To be honest, Bai Yu’s Esper Ability was useless and completely inaccurate; if the boss had pointed that out, they might not have sent her.

Instead, the boss had informed her of the mission without any hesitation, stating that it was a mandatory task and Bai Yu had no right to refuse.

And so, Bai Yu had stepped onto the battlefield of the subjugation war.

Thanks to that, Bai Yu had indeed awakened her memories and subsequently picked up the heavily injured, memory-stripped Loweia.

In terms of the final outcome, Bai Yu should have been grateful to that boss.

But if she hadn’t awakened her memories at the time, she really would have died there.

Even now, looking back on everything that happened, Bai Yu felt a lingering fear.

She had come terrifyingly close to losing her life.

She was likely the only one from the team who had made it back alive.

Since she hadn’t contacted her superior for so many days, the woman probably assumed she had died in battle.

After all, the team from that day had been completely wiped out except for Bai Yu.

The S-rank from Red Maple City, the S-rank from Eden, and the S-rank reinforcements dispatched from other cities—a total of six or seven S-rank powerhouses, along with more than twenty A-rank Espers—had all fallen in the subjugation war against the Pale Witch.

Under such circumstances, suddenly learning that a C-rank small fry had not only survived but was perfectly intact was, by all logic, impossible.

Of course, Bai Yu wasn’t calling her superior just to tell her she was alive.

It was because Bai Yu had been reflecting on today’s events.

A Shadow Lurker had discovered Loweia’s presence.

Although Bai Yu believed that brainless Abnormal Entity probably couldn’t recognize Loweia, what if someone was controlling it from behind the scenes?

After all, that Shadow Lurker hadn’t attacked Loweia immediately.

It had waited until Bai Yu arrived before showing any sign of intent to attack.

Furthermore, that attack seemed much weaker than the offensive Bai Yu had previously foreseen.

When Bai Yu had encountered a Shadow Lurker before, she had been ambushed from the shadows.

If her Precognition hadn’t suddenly kicked in, that unavoidable strike probably would have left her lying on the ground long ago.

Bai Yu didn’t dare to gamble on whether the one Loweia encountered was just an accident.

If it was an accident, then everything was fine, and there was no need to worry about Loweia’s identity being exposed.

But what if?

What if that Shadow Lurker was indeed being controlled?

If the enemy had noticed Loweia’s location, they might be bringing people to corner them at any moment.

Given Bai Yu’s small-fry strength and Loweia’s current state as a blank slate, they couldn’t possibly withstand an assault.

Although she could ask Su Keke for help, one person was no match for a crowd.

Moreover, if the enemy was clearly targeting Loweia, even if they luckily won this time, Loweia’s identity would definitely be questioned afterward.

Therefore, the best choice right now was to contact her former superior and then borrow the strength of the Management Bureau for protection.

Even though Bai Yu was just a small fry, the number of Espers wasn’t very large.

Additionally, Bai Yu was on the official payroll of the Management Bureau.

No matter how much of a small fry she was, as long as she was part of the Management Bureau, she would receive their protection.

This was much better than staying in the Old Urban District and living in constant fear.

Furthermore, Bai Yu wanted to use her boss to confirm whether the Pale Witch was considered dead in the eyes of the Management Bureau.

After all, no corpse had been left at the scene, and the dispatched squad had been wiped out.

Although the news reported that the Pale Witch was dead, that might have been a statement to comfort the public.

Inside the Management Bureau, they might still harbor the idea that the Pale Witch was alive.

In the Original Work, after the Pale Witch subjugation war ended, the officials initially doubted whether she was truly dead.

It was only after the Evil Organization that picked up the Pale Witch released news of her death that they set their doubts aside.

As for now, that Evil Organization was searching everywhere for the Loweia whom Bai Yu had taken.

There was no way they would proactively help Bai Yu spread news of the Pale Witch’s death.

According to the setting of the Original Work, the Management Bureau should currently hold a skeptical attitude toward the news of the Pale Witch’s demise.

If they believed the Pale Witch wasn’t dead, then Loweia might be at risk of exposure.

After all, she currently had no identification.

For the Management Bureau, if a small fry like Bai Yu suddenly reappeared after being missing for so long with an unidentified stranger girl by her side, they would have reason to suspect that Bai Yu was being controlled by the Pale Witch.

They might think the enemy was using Bai Yu to infiltrate Red Maple City.

‘I have to find a way to know the Bureau’s stance on this.’

Thinking of this, Bai Yu took a deep breath and pressed the call button.

She held the phone to her ear, patiently waiting for her superior to pick up.

After a few seconds, she heard a familiar female voice, though the emotion revealed in that voice was one of extreme shock.

“Bai… Bai Yu? It really is Bai Yu, right? You… you’re not dead?”

There was no need to guess; her superior on the other end of the line definitely had a look like she had seen a ghost.

After all, the small fry who was thought to have died in the subjugation war was suddenly calling her after being missing for nearly two weeks.

If this wasn’t a ghost, then she must be dreaming.

“Minister, long time no see. I am indeed still alive.”