The journalists sitting in the chairs gradually stood up, clustering in groups and whispering amongst themselves. The Yilan Morning News journalist who asked the last question felt dejected as he patted down his clothes and let out a soft sigh while starting to pack up his belongings. "Is this considered big news for us today?" A man carrying photographic equipment, also sporting a Yilan Morning News ID, walked over to his colleague. "And you were right in the thick of it. If this gets out, does that mean we’ve secured our performance for the month?" "Indeed, it is big news," The journalist looked up at the elderly mayor, who was conversing with the police chief and the blond chief of staff. He sighed and clapped his hands lightly, "but we can’t publish it." The photographer carrying the equipment was taken aback. The journalist glanced at all the media personnel who had attended the press conference. "I fear that everyone seated here today won’t be able to publish any news about this conference." "Why not? Isn’t this big news?" The photographer was puzzled. "It is major news, but the higher-ups won’t allow it to be published," The journalist pointed above his head, packed up his things, and let out a sigh, "If you insist on publishing it, be prepared to lose your job, your income, and to face next month’s mortgage, car loan, credit card debt, and your children’s tuition and living expenses." The photographer opened his mouth, realizing something, and finally sighed. "However, objectively speaking, it seems like the big consortiums have lost more than they bargained for this time." The journalist held his tablet and walked towards the door with the photographer, then suddenly thought of something and smiled. The photographer was somewhat curious. "Actually, everyone knows deep down," The journalist glanced at the crowd around him and sighed lightly, "The city government gets more corrupt with each administration. It’s so bad that even the children from the Southern District who haven’t been to school know about it—the people of White Jasmine Palace are gorging themselves sick. "Even with Mayor Lin En taking such a firm stand against these rotten elements, it’s inevitable that some people will suspect this is a show the city government is putting on for approval ratings, just scapegoating a few. "But the dark material released by the big consortiums indirectly confirmed it: those caught by the Mayor’s Mansion are really the ones with issues, giving everyone a reassurance." "That’s true; everyone knows Mayor Lin En doesn’t get along with the consortiums, and there’s nothing more credible than the dirt provided by an enemy," The photographer was starting to understand and nodded slightly. Then, looking at the journalist beside him with some confusion, he asked, "But didn’t our station get dirt on nineteen Cabinet ministers? Mayor Lin En had fired nineteen Cabinet ministers before. How come only seventeen were arrested this time?" "There are two more—the Minister of Education and the Minister of Women, Children and Health are dead," The journalist answered offhandedly. The photographer: "Ah?" "You can see on the official White Jasmine Palace website, during the attack on White Jasmine Palace yesterday, these two ministers were bribed by the consortium and took part in the assassination squad and ended up dying in the defense against the assassination." The journalist replied casually, "It’s just that there’s been so much happening recently and no news outlets are willing to report on it, which is why you didn’t know." "Is that so? So all the corrupted Cabinet officials have been dealt with?" The photographer nodded thoughtfully, "Previously, Mayor Lin En’s speeches were just talk. Although I was moved listening to them, I always felt they lacked practical measures. But seeing today’s crackdown on corruption, Mayor Lin En has truly shown his resolve to fire at the consortiums and the previously corrupt city government. "It seems like Yilan City hasn’t seen a mayor so full of a sense of justice, capable and bold for many, many years," He paused, then added hesitantly, "Maybe he can really change this city?" The journalist, having reached the door, turned back and looked at the platform behind him with his tablet in hand. At that moment, two young girls who looked like recent graduates were being led by a young policeman through the crowd to approach the elderly man at the podium. Ini, dressed in a red shirt, stood somewhat timidly in front of He Ao and called out softly. Liz, standing behind Ini, also cautiously called out. He Ao’s gaze fell on the two young girls, and he smiled warmly, "Is there anything you’re dissatisfied with or not used to?" "There’s nothing of the sort, nothing at all." Ini waved her hands and quickly said, "This press conference was really good, especially your response just now, Mr. Lin En. It was fantastic." Liz nodded in agreement from behind Ini. "Then, is there anything I can help you with?" He Ao looked at the two uncomfortable girls and asked warmly. They must have come here with a purpose, either with questions or requests. They hadn’t expected the Mayor of Yilan City to be so approachable. The tension and nervousness they initially felt began to fade. Ini hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, "We’d like to apologize to you. Our media unit is actually a fake." "So you’re not from this newspaper?" He Ao glanced at the makeshift work badges on their chests and asked with a gentle smile. Ini hesitated again, her voice quieter, "this morning, but our boss wanted to pull my piece about your assassination attempt in the Low-rise District, and I—on a whim—I resigned." "Ini’s really talented," Liz carefully added, "I don’t know if you’ve seen her article? It’s incredibly popular, with millions of likes and tens of millions of views..." At that moment, He Ao seemed to grasp what these two young girls meant. The one named Ini had quit her job and was looking for a media-related position in the city government. He smiled and answered, "I’ve seen the article; it’s well written and the facts were accurately restored." This time, Ini was the one who was taken aback. Her eyes widened slightly and the calmness she had regained became tense again. Liz, who was in the middle of enthusiastically introducing Ini’s talents, paused after hearing He Ao’s response, "You’ve seen it too?" He Ao nodded and smiled, "After all, it’s quite the sensation." Both girls were momentarily silent, feeling tension and embarrassment. While the article was indeed popular, He Ao’s admission that he had read it made them feel somewhat awkward, like being caught boasting to someone who knew everything. He Ao didn’t dwell on the topic and instead shook his head lightly, "Right now, the White Jasmine Palace doesn’t really need spokespersons or writers." Ini lost her train of thought for a moment, then nodded gently, "Sorry, we were a bit presumptuous..." "But I have another suggestion," He Ao looked at the two girls in front of him, his hand gently resting on the stack of federal coins before him, and asked slowly, "Have you ever considered starting your own newspaper?" Ini was still trying to process the idea. Liz, standing behind her, leaned in eagerly, "We’ve already thought about it." "Liz, aren’t you still employed?" Ini looked down at her friend in confusion. Liz widened her eyes, gave Ini a look for being sometimes clever and sometimes oblivious, then turned back to He Ao and quickly said, "Mr. Lin En, don’t mind her. I’ve been ready to resign!" He Ao smiled and slid the stack of money across the table, "Here’s about a hundred thousand federal coins. It’s my personal money, and I’d like to offer it as angel investment to start your newspaper, how does that sound?" "This, this, this..." Gazing at the shiny pile of bills, even the forward Liz stuttered. She swallowed hard, "Is this really for us?" "It’s for the new newspaper," He Ao smiled and corrected, "But I’ll need to have controlling interest. Is that alright?" "No problem, no problem at all!" Liz quickly waved her hand. "Do you really want to invest so much in us?" Ini had finally caught her breath and quietly asked, "We couldn’t save up this much in twenty years without eating or drinking." "You’ve got potential, don’t you? Courage, intelligence, and determination—you lack none of it. You even managed to sneak into the White Jasmine Palace," He Ao chuckled, "I believe you can become excellent media professionals. But I do have one request," He looked at the two girls, "I hope you can always maintain your original intent." The previously warm atmosphere suddenly became more solemn. Ini, standing in front, looked into the elderly man’s murky but firm eyes and straightened up, nodding resolutely, "We will." Liz nodded firmly along with her. He Ao pointed to the money and the wallet on the table, smiling, "There’s a deposit machine inside the White Jasmine Palace. Sena will take you to it later. But remember to have Sena bring the wallet back to me; my daughter gave it to me as a birthday gift. It’s not for investment." Ini looked at the neatly dressed elderly man in front of her and realized, as if in a trance, that he wasn’t just the Mayor with the highest authority in the White Jasmine Palace trying to change everything, but also a common and regular elderly man. Their previously tense and solemn mood relaxed somewhat when they heard He Ao’s words. Meanwhile, Liz had already reached out to stuff the money into the bag. Holding the bag tightly, she nodded deeply at He Ao, "We will, thank you, Mr. Lin En!" "Thank you, Mr. Lin En!" "So, what do you want to name the newspaper?" He Ao looked at them both. "How about ’Dawn News’? ’Daily’? ’Starlight News’? ’Sun News’?..." Liz shook her head slightly, "It seems like all the good names are already taken." Ini lifted her head, looking out at the sunlight through the window, "’Yilan Light News,’ okay?" He Ao paused for a moment, then smiled, gently nodded, and waved his hand, "Off you go, then." After bidding farewell to He Ao, the two turned and started walking toward the exit of the release room, led by Sena. It wasn’t until they had left the room that Ini finally came to her senses, looking at Liz beside her, "Are we really going to run a newspaper?" "What are you thinking about?" Liz looked at her friend somewhat speechlessly, "You’ve already taken Mr. Lin En’s money, are you thinking of backing out now?" "I’m just feeling a bit dazed." "What’s there to be dazed about? Mr. Lin En needs an outlet for City Government news that’s not controlled by the Consortium, and he can’t go through official channels, otherwise it would seem too self-promoting," Liz sighed, "There’s nothing suitable on the market, so he had to invest in one himself. We just happened to come along at the right time, and Mr. Lin En had seen your reporting, appreciated your talent, and decided to invest. If our news can’t be distributed, we’ll probably be able to publish directly through the City Government’s channels." Ini finally began to understand, "But we don’t have any experience, whether with newspapers or editing..." "You may not have experience, but your former colleagues do." Liz winked, "Just poach from that stingy bastard of a boss you have." "Isn’t that a bit too much?" "What’s too much about it," Liz rolled her eyes, "Your old boss pays little, demands a lot, is greedy and lacks morals. If it weren’t for the lack of jobs, why would your former colleagues still be with him? When you poach them over, just offer better conditions. You’ll be helping your former colleagues, really." Ini nodded in a daze, admitting that she was persuaded by Liz. "However, it’s not something that can be done overnight," Liz said as she thought, shaking her head, "We have to start by rewriting that explosive article of yours to get it published, and we also need to contact the White Jasmine Palace to see if there are any channels we can utilize." After speaking at length, she suddenly realized that Liz had not responded. She turned her head to look at her friend and saw that Liz’s gaze was concentrated on a short-haired journalist in front, who was walking down the corridor with a photographer, "Who is that? The one from the ’Yilan Dawn News’ who asked the last question; do you know her?" Ini withdrew her gaze and nodded. "She was a senior from our school, very impressive. She has won a Federation News Award before. When she was young, she was an Investigative Journalist who ventured alone into the Southern District and the mines to investigate the lives of Yilan City’s lower class residents." "One time, she was caught by a gang and nearly killed and had her organs harvested and sold. She also exposed many of the oppressive actions Kopace Mining took against the miners, sparking public outrage. I’ve read many of her books from when she was younger." "But now she stands here in the press room of the White Jasmine Palace, on the side of the Consortium, opposing Mayor Lin En who is trying to change all this." Liz added offhandedly. Ini opened her mouth to say something, but eventually fell silent. And by then, they had already reached the short-haired journalist. The short-haired journalist turned, smiling and greeting Ini. Ini was startled, then looked at the short-haired journalist in surprise, "You remember me?" "Have you forgotten? I used to give lectures at your school, and you were the host," The short-haired journalist smiled, "I’ve also read your report. It was well written." "I haven’t forgotten; I just didn’t expect you to remember me." Ini replied with a reserved smile. "A talented and beautiful young lady like you is hard to forget after just one glance," The short-haired journalist laughed, then her gaze fell on the bag Liz was holding, saying with a smile, "What’s this?" "We’re planning to start a newspaper." Ini hesitated for a moment before speaking softly. The short-haired journalist withdrew her gaze and smiled. "May I ask what the name is?" "It’s tentatively called Yilan Light News." "’In the darkest years, there is always light that shines, and it is not confined to any one city, nor to the city and wilderness, whether Yilan, Saint Joen, or Dawn, this is the brilliance of the human soul.’" The short-haired journalist looked at Ini, "The concluding remark from Mr. Lin En’s travel memoir, is that where you got your inspiration for the name?" Ini was slightly taken aback, "How did you know..." "I remember when I first saw you, you were reading Mr. Lin En’s book," The short-haired journalist chuckled and shook her head. At that moment, her colleague, the photographer, waved his hand, signaling that it was time for her to leave. She then raised her bracelet, shook it gently at Ini, and asked, "Have your contact details changed?" "They haven’t changed, still the old one." Ini came back to her senses and shook her head. The short-haired journalist smiled, walked forward, and waved at Ini, "If I ever can’t make it in journalism, I might just have to cling to your coattails for a meal." "You are joking, senior." Ini quickly responded. By then, the short-haired journalist had already walked away. "I always feel like your senior has more to her words." Liz, standing next to Ini, rested her chin in her hand, reflective. Ini turned her head to look at her friend and smiled, "Is our great detective Liz about to activate her skills?" "Let’s go deposit this money quickly," Liz rolled her eyes. "Walking around with so much cash, I feel like my heart is racing with every step I take." ——A few hours later—— In a dimly lit small apartment, Liz flopped onto the bed in a spreadeagle position, "Today felt like a dream." "So, Liz, are you really going to quit your job?" Ini looked at her friend lying on the bed. "Of course, I’m quitting. I fired that bastard boss of mine too!" Liz took a deep breath and laughed. "And besides, I’ve already said it in front of Mr. Lin En, you can’t expect me to go back on my word now, can you? Or do you, Ini, want to get rid of me and be the boss yourself?" "No, how could that be?" Ini quickly shook her head. Liz said with a laugh, shaking her head, "Maybe soon the two of us will be the pillars of the journalism world. Anyway, life is such, why not take a chance and go for broke?" Ini looked at her friend lying on the bed, lost for words and smiling, and softly nodded. She knew that her friend was actually worried about her, afraid that she wouldn’t be able to run the newspaper on her own. Indeed, she didn’t have Liz’s fortune; many of Mr. Lin En’s subtexts went over her head. However, such a life was certainly better than being homeless, slaving away for a consortium, and then dying of illness. As Liz said, if things couldn’t get any worse, it was worth seizing the opportunity and taking a bold chance. Liz seemed to suddenly remember something at that moment, sat up from the bed, and looked at Ini, "Can’t we also write an article about today’s news conference? I feel like it should also be big news?" "It’s not easy to write, we didn’t attend the whole conference," Ini shook her head, "And we didn’t research the content beforehand, so our report might not be accurate." Just then, her bracelet vibrated. It was an anonymous email. She opened the email and looked at the contents. The email’s content was straightforward, a simple all-text press release with detailed information about the conference, many profound analyses, and messages not commonly known by others. Ini fixated on this well-written manuscript and quickly flipped to the end of the press release, where there was only a simple signature, South City Command Center "General Corvey, take a look at this." An officer looked at the elderly man who had just returned to the War Council Room and projected a photo. In the midst of those boundless mountains, a giant, black, flat, teardrop-shaped war machine appeared in the old man’s field of view.