Chapter 123: 122 Good Senior

Hearing the short man’s surprised question, Li Ang couldn’t help shaking his head—there was certainly no anomaly that could communicate with animals, but he had just acquired one badge himself.

【You’ve acquired your first pet—your Iron Badge “Pet Owner” has been successfully activated.】

【Pet Owner: One who keeps pets in the city and must regularly clean up their feces.】

Effect: Your bond with your pet has strengthened; you can now understand simple meanings from each other.

【Upgrade Path: If you continue raising the pet for over a month and it remains in good health, this badge will automatically upgrade to a Bronze Badge “Master”.】

【Hidden Trait (no need to wear): Your affinity with animals has slightly increased.】

Looking at the gleaming 【Pet Owner】 on the panel, Li Ang once again solidified his resolve to collect more badges.

Of the thirteen badges he currently held, nearly all offered no direct combat boost, yet each provided excellent auxiliary effects.

Even without high-tier badges like 【I Am the Demon】 or 【Practitioner】 that directly enhance anomalies, even a seemingly useless Iron Badge like 【Pet Owner】, when paired with the right anomaly, could still produce remarkable results.

Hmm… but tossing explosive eggs is still off the table for now! It could kill you!

Glancing sideways at the nearby full-length mirror, Li Ang was startled to see the puppy, grinning with its baby teeth, gnawing vigorously on a whale-oil explosive. He hurriedly told it to give the explosive back.

No wonder it’s a Husky—already trying to dismantle things at this age. Throwing explosive eggs directly through the mirror into an opponent’s face might be powerful, but this little pup is still too small; if it misses, it’s over.

Skills like precise egg-throwing? Better wait until it grows bigger—or until the 【Pet Owner】 badge upgrades and I can at least control its actions.

…

“You’ve only just met, yet you already understand each other a little. Looks like you two get along well.”

Unaware of the close call, the short man hefted the whale-oil explosive that had returned to his hand, looked at the sleepy puppy in Li Ang’s arms, and chuckled. He then shoved the explosive into Li Ang’s palm.

“Though you still can’t transfer objects via eyes or water surfaces—mostly just mirrors—since you can communicate simply with the pup, this isn’t completely useless. At a critical moment, it can at least serve as a trump card.”

“Take it. When you’ve used it up, come back for another. Keep it inside the Mirror World when not in use. Before using it, activate it ahead of time—it explodes five seconds later!”

“Thank you, Senior!”

Hearing the short man’s words, Li Ang felt a flicker of joy. He pulled out the small mirror the man had given him, aimed it at the whale-oil explosive, then lightly patted the puppy’s rear.

“Wang Wu~”

With a lazy dog bark, the patted puppy sluggishly slipped into the small mirror, helping Li Ang store the explosive. Then it didn’t come out—it simply lay down inside, and soon, faint snores drifted from the mirror.

“This little one must be tired.”

Glancing at the puppy curled up in the mirror, paws hugging its head, sprawled out asleep, the short man smiled, then tapped the small mirror twice in rhythm.

“Wang.”

Lisa’s crisp bark echoed. Li Ang looked down and saw the large Golden Retriever had entered the mirror. After giving the puppy a complex look, it settled down calmly inside, then barked twice at Li Ang.

“Lisa says this little one is a bit mischievous—please bear with her… Also…”

After translating Lisa’s “dog speech,” the short man pointed at the two dogs in the mirror and said to Li Ang:

“If the Director told you to rescue someone at Rose Estate,

let Lisa guide you—she knows all my ‘friends’ well.”

“She’ll stay in your mirror for the next two days. Just tap the mirror when you need her direction. Oh, and take this too.”

As the short man spoke, he barked twice at the mirror. Lisa nodded, stepped out of the mirror’s visible range, rummaged around, then returned dragging a palm-sized little bed, placing it inside Li Ang’s mirror.

“I heard from the Director that you have excellent compatibility with demon-class anomalies—take this too!”

With visible reluctance, the short man glanced at the 【Monster Under the Bed】 worth 8.7 Li Ang Points, then patted his chest and said generously:

“Since you called me Senior, I’ve got to act like one. Besides, you’ve seen how many anomalies I have—I won’t miss this one. Take it!”

“Then I won’t refuse…”

Looking at this generous Senior who had first given him a dog, then an explosive, and now even a bedframe, Li Ang felt a warm swell in his chest.

The Director might be mischievous, a drunkard who loved pranks, but he’d always looked out for Li Ang—when trouble came, he truly shouldered it.

Senior Emma too—though she was a bit too cautious, everything she taught him was invaluable experience, helping him solve countless problems.

And this Senior Jerry was astonishingly generous. Even accounting for the 【Connection】 badge, he’d given him so much on first meeting… The Bureau really has good people.

After giving the short man a grateful look, Li Ang didn’t know how to reciprocate, so he simply promised:

“Senior, though I’m not good at combat, I’m confident in investigations, interrogations, and gathering intelligence on anomalies—if you ever need help in those areas, don’t hesitate to come to me!”

Perfect! That’s exactly what I was waiting for!

Looking at the grateful young newcomer, “Good Senior” pretended to refuse, but inwardly chuckled.

His generosity this time wasn’t just because he liked the kid—he planned to ask for help again later. The ability to identify anomalies is rare; when he finds something good next time, he’ll definitely need to come back.

So rather than beg for favors later, it’s better to be generous now… and also shut this kid’s mouth—after all, many of the things he had were “borrowed” from other branches.

He’d thought the kid’s ability to sense anomalies and their costs was impressive enough, but he hadn’t expected him to even detect where the items were stolen from. If that’s the case, the original terms won’t do—extra gifts are just hush money.