WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE CAN'T SEE HER?!"
In Mickey's office, The Johnnies and Queen questioned the CEO about Cyan.
Thanks to the ruins incident, Queen had spent the entire last month busy with meetings and conferences at the request of the association to ease public tension regarding conflicts between heroes.
The Johnnies, as part of the recent agency transfer agreement, had been busy finishing up their last activities at the Fomo agency and carrying out their first activities as heroes of the DOS agency over the past month.
"YOU LET HER GET TO THIS STATE AND NOW YOU WON'T EVEN LET US SEE HER!?" Little Johnny was Irritated, and his son, Big Johnny, who was sitting on his shoulder, growled at the CEO of DOS, who was sitting at his desk with his head down. On one side of the office, another man was visible, sitting on the sofa. It was Liu Zhen, Queen's father and a close friend of Mickey's. He maintained a neutral expression.
"HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO TREAT HER LIKE—" Little Johnny swallowed his words when he felt a hand gently touch his other shoulder. Turning in that direction, he faced Queen's serene gaze, asking him to calm down.
Little Johnny hesitantly agreed, knowing that just shouting like that would get him nowhere.
Queen took the lead from Little Johnny and began questioning the CEO herself.
"Mickey, when I asked you about Cyan being so busy that we couldn't talk to her, you told me it would be temporary and that she would be back soon. Now that we've reached this situation, tell me... did you know exactly what was happening with Cyan?" Queen's voice was calm, but her expression was serious and angry.
She has known Mickey for a long time, she is grateful to him for everything he has done to help her achieve her dream, but she will not simply forgive him for what he has done to Cyan.
Lifting his head, Mickey looked at the heroes with an expression they didn't see often on his face, anger.
"I have to admit, I knew her workload had increased, I approved it, but I didn't imagine that Mrs. Smith would cross the line. I know my words aren't enough, but I can assure you that DOS is doing its best for Cyan's sake. And unfortunately, that's why you can't see Cyan right now. She needs some time alone, without anything to remind her of the nightmare she went through last month. When she's ready, you'll be able to see her, but until then, I ask that you remain calm. As for Mrs. Smith, she will pay dearly for her actions. DOS will make sure she never does this to any hero again."
Queen narrowed her eyes at Mickey, just as he himself said, words are not enough.
"So we should just wait once again and trust that everything will turn out fine?" Little Johnny asked, holding back the urge to scream again.
"Trust Cyan, you know better than anyone how strong she is, it won't be long before she's back."
Queen glanced at her father, asking him to say something helpful, but in response, he just turned his head away from his daughter, apparently unable to do anything about it either.
Queen clenched her fists in frustration. They wouldn't get anything more out of him here.
"Okay, I'll trust Cyan... But... I can't promise I'll wait calmly." Queen had a dangerous gleam in her eyes.
Queen turned to leave, Little Johnny and Big Johnny followed her closely behind.
"I know you won't..." Mickey replied with a sigh as the heroes left the office.
"So..."
A few seconds later, Liu Zhen finally decided to say something.
"Your grand plan went completely wrong, what a pity." Zhen stood up and walked to the window, standing next to Mickey's desk.
"Please, I don't need your fake pity." Mickey shot an angry glance at his friend.
Mickey's plan was simple: make Cyan go through the same kind of trauma she had experienced in the past, but Mrs. Smith would take all the blame, and DOS, remorseful for its mistakes, would reach out to Cyan, promising her that together they would make a better place where no hero would ever have to go through this again. Cyan would be the symbol for this cause, but Mrs. Smith ended up crossing the line sooner than planned.
"Before, we tried to prevent her from meeting her friend from the orphanage again, with the goal of keeping her actions under control as much as possible. Even after she found him, it was a relief to know that she had decided to continue being a hero, but her friend would have to become one too, and then he refused, and Cyan continued to be a hero with more empty goals. She didn't have a solid foundation to support herself and keep that dream alive. I planned to create that foundation, and then she would be fully connected to DOS." Mickey finished his explanation with disappointment in his voice."
"I warned you it wasn't that simple. Cyan is now further away from you than ever."
And that's probably best for her.
Zhen hoped that it would end well for her.
"Like I said, it won't be long before she comes back. She's the type who thinks more about what's best for others than herself."
"What if she doesn't come back? Will you replace her with a new Lucky Cyan?" Zhen narrowed his eyes at Mickey.
Mickey let out a small laugh at that.
"Now I'm the one saying it's not that simple. Replacing a person isn't easy. Emotions, feelings, and memories can't just be copied, and even if they could, they would never be the same. Queen, the Johnnies, and that friend from the orphanage would soon realize the truth, and an even bigger bomb would explode at DOS."
"There are no clues as to where she went. The orphanage has already been checked, and the cameras on the streets around the stadium didn't capture anything that night because of the rain."
"Our misfortune is her good fortune. I'm going to assign the lowest-ranked heroes from DOS to patrol all districts of City X." Mickey had a small smile on his face.
"What about Queen and The Johnnies? They won't wait long for her return."
"We'll keep them busy, speed up the experiments, and move on to the next phase." Mickey now turned completely to face his friend.
"What!?" Zhen wasn't happy about this. "We don't have enough material for that. Do you know how hard it is to find heroes who are willing to accept fear?"
"Then we'll expand..." Mickey stood up and stood next to his friend, enjoying the view from the window. "There's a type of person who feels their dreams being destroyed every day, and fear consumes them more and more..." Mickey had a small smile as he looked at the people walking on the streets.
"The ordinary type of person"
"My name is Cyan, and I am the heroine Lucky Cyan... well, at least that's what people believe me to be." Cyan whispered the last part to herself.
Lin Ling had his head down, so Cyan couldn't see the expression on his face.
"Oh wow, the heroine Lucky Cyan, I had no idea..." Lin Ling raised his head, scratching the back of his neck with a nervous laugh.
Cyan narrowed her eyes at him.
"No need to pretend... it's obvious you knew."
"Yes—I mean, sort of... I suspected it, but at first I thought you were a cosplayer."
"A cosplayer...?" Cyan tilted her head at this information.
"Yes, I know it sounds a little silly, I just never imagined meeting a hero like you... in that state..." Lin Ling was embarrassed now that his suspicions had been confirmed.
Cyan sighed wearily.
"Of course not... we always appear smiling for the cameras, it's hard to imagine a hero outside of that image."
"Yeah, you're right..."
The atmosphere in the room felt strange, even though Cyan was now talking more openly with him.
At least it means she trusts me.
"If I may ask... why were you in that state?" Lin Ling now had this question bothering him.
Cyan thought for a few seconds about whether she should answer.
"I was just tired... tired of the life of a heroine, I felt increasingly forced to do things I didn't want to do and less and less like a person..." Cyan looked at her own wrist, the numbers rising and falling at a steady pace. "So, I came up with the idea of taking a vacation... but in the end, it seems like I just ran away from my problems once again."
Cyan had a sad expression on her face.
Lin Ling was processing these revelations. Cyan's troubled past was public knowledge, but it seemed that her past problems still haunted her.
This explains the thing about destiny better.
"I know..." Cyan turned her gaze to Lin Ling. "To you, this must seem crazy or even meaningless, right? How could an elite hero like her complain about this life? She's living my dream!" Cyan spoke with a hint of bitterness in her voice.
"I guess in the end, some people's dreams can be other people's nightmares." Cyan noticed the silence and felt bad about what she had said. She was practically devaluing the dream of the person who had helped her.
"Sorry... I shouldn't have said that, I just can't see this hero life with the same sparkle as before..."
"What?-Oh, no, no, no, it's okay, I know it's strange, but actually I was feeling a little relieved by all this." He seems too calm for her.
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"It's just that... I still had this idea that heroes like you were special compared to ordinary people, like someone from another world, that for an ordinary person to become a hero, they had to become special... that's what I thought... But hearing you talk like that made me realize that heroes and ordinary people are the same. We feel happiness, we feel remorse, and we feel fear. In the end, we can say that we are special and ordinary in our own way." Lin Ling had a reassuring smile on her face.
Cyan had a slight look of surprise on her face; she hadn't expected that. This person was someone who was solid and very optimistic in their dreams.
Luo, Queen, Little Johnny, and Big Johnny would definitely find him a nice guy
Cyan didn't even notice the small smile appearing on his face.
Lin Ling, with this new insight etched in his mind, felt fulfilled.
So this is how a hero feels...
But he still had to confirm one thing with her.
"So Cyan... what are you going to do now?" Lin Ling asked in a calm voice.
Cyan's eyes widened at the question. She was still a heroine to the public, and her friends were surely worried, but...
"I'm not sure yet... I want more time to think about what I'm going to choose." Cyan had an uncertain expression on her face.
"Right..." Lin Ling seemed to be thinking about something. "Then why don't you live here with me until you decide?" Lin Ling smiled sincerely at her.
"Huh?" Cyan couldn't hide her surprise.
Lin Ling realized that her last sentence wasn't the best possible to that kind of question and began to sweat comically from nervousness.
"N- not exactly—I mean, it is—what I mean is, if you want, you can stay here for as long as you need. When I'm working, I'm practically gone all day, and no one will think of looking for you here. It's a good option for you to spend your vacation without the pressure of being a hero." Lin Ling had a crooked smile on his face; he tried his best to give a good explanation.
Cyan lowered her head, thinking about it. She certainly felt better now and here. DOS wouldn't think she could be in a place like this, not even her craziest fans would imagine she would be in a place like this. It's not a bad idea.
But I don't want him to pay the price for his kindness.
Cyan was still afraid that he would suffer for helping her.
"I can't... I can't be so selfish as to let you pay for my actions... you'll only regret it in the end." Cyan spoke in a low voice, but Lin Ling could still hear her clearly.
"I think the only thing I'll regret is not doing everything I could to help someone in need." Lin Ling had a serious expression on his face; he wasn't going to back down from what he was willing to do.
"Cyan... you can choose whatever you want to do, I'll help you with whatever you choose, that's what I chose."
Cyan thought as best she could, but deep down she could feel even her luck telling her what decision to make.
"All right..." she lifted her head to look at him.
Sorry Luo, Queen, Little Johnny, and Big Johnny... this time I'm going to be a little selfish.
"I'm counting on you for this vacation, Lin Ling." She gave her new roommate a small smile.
"I promise not to disappoint you, Cyan." Lin Ling replied with the same kind of smile.