CHAPTER 74: PRS 74

In the Lulas Corporation building,

The office has been tense since yesterday due to the numerous reports coming in from various disaster-affected projects that need immediate attention.

"Sir, the report from the Rain City project has come in. The damage is extensive!" exclaimed one of the staff members, running with a stack of documents in his hands.

"Give it to the engineering team immediately! We don’t have time!" replied the manager sternly.

The engineering team is the busiest here. The numerous collapsed buildings and damaged housing facilities are putting them and their team under extra pressure.

The engineering team is seen walking back and forth, answering phones and walking quickly to other divisions to help them resolve the problem.

"Hello? Yes, we’ll send a team to the site immediately. Please wait a moment!" said one of the engineers, continuing to walk quickly.

"How much material is needed for immediate repairs?" asked his colleague anxiously.

Other divisions, particularly their marketing division, deftly handled several complaints from homeowners who were unable to function due to damaged housing facilities and infrastructure, and asked the company to address the situation immediately.

"Ma’am, we ask for your patience. Our team is working hard to repair the housing access road," said the customer service representative patiently, though he sounded tired.

"But it’s been three days! My children can’t go to school!" protested the voice on the phone.

"We understand, ma’am. We promise to finish within the next two days," replied the customer service representative in a reassuring tone.

Some projects were still being handled by the company and had not yet been handed over to the residents, so the damaged roads and drainage were still the company’s responsibility.

The chaotic atmosphere outside was in stark contrast to the atmosphere inside the CEO’s office, where the atmosphere was very sad and tense.

Alesio’s face looked disheveled, his hair disheveled, and he looked down sadly, as if a major storm had just hit him.

"Why... did he leave without telling me?" Alesio muttered hoarsely.

He couldn’t believe that what he experienced last night was just a beautiful dream.

Isabella’s voice, her kiss, her touch, everything was still etched in his memory. Even the love mark his lover had placed on his chest was still clearly imprinted; it couldn’t possibly have been an illusion.

"This is real! Look, this mark is still there!" Alesio said, lifting his shirt and staring at the reddish mark on his chest.

"Arghhh! That’s not true! I’m not dreaming or hallucinating!" he shouted, ruffling his hair in frustration and hitting the table hard.

Alekso, seeing his boss like that, felt incredibly sorry. He never imagined that longing could drive someone so crazy.

"Sir, maybe you should rest for a while. You look very tired," Alekso said carefully, placing a glass of water on the table.

"Rest? How can I rest if my mind keeps thinking about Isabella!" Alesio snapped in frustration.

Fortunately, that afternoon, the communication line had improved, allowing him to text his girlfriend about his boss, who had seemingly lost his mind since morning.

"Siva, please help me. Mr. Alesio is completely insane today. He keeps looking for Miss Isabella like a man possessed," Alekso typed anxiously.

Siva, who hadn’t fully woken up yet, could only urge his girlfriend to be patient with Alesio’s slightly erratic emotions when they were apart.

"Be patient, honey. Alesio is like that when he’s really missing you. Just let him be, he’ll subside on his own," Siva replied, yawning.

"But this isn’t normal, Siva. He looks like he’s lost his mind!" Alekso replied, panicking.

Alekso’s mood improved slightly once he finished talking with his girlfriend about everything that had happened that day.

Meanwhile, Isabella, knowing that the communication network was working, albeit only domestically, decided against contacting Alesio due to the embarrassment that had returned after last night’s heated incident.

"How can I talk to him after everything that happened last night?" Isabella muttered, holding her burning cheeks as she recalled the events of the previous night.

Instead, she contacted Uncle Gusta, asking about the condition of the project in the rainy city, as it was expected to be significantly more severely impacted than the projects in the student city and the city of heroes.

"Uncle Gusta, how is the condition of the project in the rainy city? Is the damage very severe?" Isabella asked seriously.

"Miss, it’s really bad. Almost all the buildings have collapsed. Many materials have been washed away," replied Uncle Gusta sadly.

"Oh my God... does that mean we have to start from scratch?" Isabella asked, breathing heavily.

From Uncle Gusta’s story, Isabella could roughly estimate the losses the project would incur, until the Phoenix System’s voice, which had been missing for a while, startled her.

[DING!!!]

[Good afternoon, Host! Phoenix System is back with newer and more advanced features]

"Phoenix System! You’re finally back! I missed you!" Isabella exclaimed happily with a wide smile.

After speaking, the Phoenix System immediately displayed its appearance in a transparent hologram in front of Isabella.

[Status Panel

Name: Isabella Clark

Age: 22

Phoenix System Goddess: Active (complete)

Phoenix System Queen Phoenix: In progress

Self-Image: 0/100

Wisdom: 0/100

Social Relations: 0/100

Special Abilities:

Proficient in martial arts, master-level medical skills, hacking, and lobbying. Immune to all poisons, possesses the eyes of a goddess, can read minds, and speaks both active and passive foreign languages.

Tools:

- Weapons: 5 types of weapons

- Cards: 7 types of cards

- Pills: 14 bottles

- Poison: 2 items

Item Box: -

Points: 0

Assets:

- Moving: 12

- Idle: 51

Market: 2 items (sell)]

Seeing that the status panel information was more concise and that it only required a click to view the details, Isabella nodded in satisfaction.

"Wow, it looks neater now. I like it!" Isabella said, gazing at the hologram with sparkling eyes.

"What does this Phoenix System Queen Phoenix on progress mean? Do I have to complete three upgrade points to 100 percent or what?" Isabella asked, slightly confused, frowning.

[The Phoenix System Queen Phoenix will run in line with the three self-upgrader progress points that the Host must complete to reach 100 percent. Once the self-upgrade reaches 100 percent, the Host will be given a special mission so the Phoenix System Queen Phoenix can be fully activated.]

"Oh, so that’s it," she replied, nodding in understanding.

"Then, what do you mean by social relations? Do I have to become a celebrity or something?" she asked again jokingly.

[This social relations encompasses how the Host socializes with the community. The percentage will increase if the Host does good deeds or makes the Host’s name memorable and memorable to the people. By the way, the Phoenix System also wants to clarify that the percentage can’t be exchanged for points, but instead will fluctuate according to the Host’s actions.

"So you’re saying the Phoenix System will be the one to grade my daily work?" she asked, crossing her arms.

[That’s right, and if the Host does any work or activities that fall into the self-improvement category, the Phoenix System will automatically record it. This assessment will begin now if the Host chooses to activate it.]

Isabella, feeling that the sooner the better, immediately ordered the Phoenix System to activate it. "Okay, activate it now! I’m ready!"

[Request being processed...]

[The Phoenix System has been activated and the assessment will begin now.]

"Perfect! I’ll work hard to improve those three aspects!" Isabella said enthusiastically, clenching her fists.

After hearing the Phoenix System’s words, Isabella nodded in satisfaction and returned her focus to the files in front of her.

***

Jery, who had just woken up and looked at his phone, immediately called Bagus because he couldn’t download the photo his friend had sent.

"Bagus! Hello! The photo you sent can’t be downloaded! What do you mean?" Jery asked, confused and excited.

"Arkan, listen! I met Isabella’s boss earlier! She’s at the coffee shop right now!" Bagus replied enthusiastically.

"What! So Isabella really is in City XX!" he shouted happily, jumping out of bed.

"Yes. I’ve already spoken to her. Give her a call if you don’t believe me. But be careful, she was... a bit scary earlier," Bagus replied, his voice trembling slightly, remembering Isabella’s intimidating aura.

"Okay. I’ll go see her right now! Thank you, Bagus!" Jery immediately hung up and rushed to the shower to meet Isabella.

"Finally, I get to see her again!" Jery muttered as he quickly got ready.

Meanwhile, Siva, whose sleep had been disturbed by a call from Alekso, didn’t know that Jery had contacted him because his cellphone was off and charging.

Jery, sensing that Siva might be tired, ultimately just sent a message for his friend to read when he woke up. He then went out in his car to Isabella’s coffee shop on Jalan Pahlawan after contacting the cafe employee who said their boss was still there.

"Siva, Isabella’s at the coffee shop! I’ll go first!" Jery typed as he ran to his car.

Isabella, seeing Jery’s arrival, wasn’t too surprised, as she already assumed Bagus would contact her after speaking with her.

"Jery! Nice to see you again!" Isabella greeted with a friendly smile as she saw Jery enter the coffee shop.

"Bella, I’m glad to see you again. How did you get here? Aren’t transportation still limited?" she asked curiously, knowing that air and sea routes were still operational.

Isabella, unable to tell the truth, began racking her brain until she came up with a solid alibi.

"Oh, that... I happened to have some business in Country G. The locals said I could use the land route to get to Country I, so I tried it and succeeded. Although the journey was quite tiring," Isabella lied with a calm smile.

"Wow, you’re very brave. The land route must be very long and tiring," Arkan said, looking at Isabella with admiration.

"So, don’t you want to go to the capital to see your lover?" Jery asked carefully, trying to sound casual.

Despite feeling uncomfortable, Jery was curious about Isabella’s relationship with Alesio, as he knew a little about the beautiful girl’s past, albeit incompletely.

At the mention of Alesio’s name, Isabella fell silent for a moment, staring at her coffee cup.

"Hmm... I won’t be here long. Tomorrow I have to return to Country G because I have to go back to Country S, so I didn’t tell him I was leaving. Besides, I came here for business, not vacation," Isabella replied, avoiding Jery’s gaze.

"But... wouldn’t he miss you terribly? It would be a shame for him if he knew you were in City XX but didn’t see him," Jery said, trying to read Isabella’s expression.

"Jery, my relationship with Alesio... it’s complicated. I’m not ready to talk about it right now," Isabella said in a low but firm tone.

Isabella’s explanation made Jery feel happy. Even though it wasn’t to meet him, at least she prioritized coming to City XX to check on all her businesses rather than meeting her lover who was missing her.

"I understand. Forgive me for asking too many questions," Jery said with a faint smile, a glimmer of hope resurfacing in his heart.