Chapter 150: 149. Clouds of Suspicion (Part Two)

"This is... telling me to be careful of him?"

After receiving the reminder from the red-haired director, Hearing Li Ang's expression involuntarily sharpened.

Unlike last night's "drunk limited edition," the director had now sobered up and returned to her normal state, and at times like these she was quite dependable.

So if she told him to be careful of this old investigator, there must be a reason! Even her deliberate "stirring up trouble" just now was likely calculated, and her warning absolutely could not be ignored!

"By the way, Mr. Li Ang."

Unaware that he had been "tagged," and after waiting a few seconds without Hearing Li Ang taking the initiative to chat, the old investigator turned his head back and asked in a mild tone:

"I've looked at your file — you've been on the job for over a month now, haven't you? Are you settling in well at the *** branch?"

"Settling in fine."

After secretly switching out the 【Elite Performer】 badge, Hearing Li Ang restrained the wariness in his eyes, smiled, and replied:

"The bureau's a bit short on people, and the work is pretty dangerous, but both the director and the seniors have been very good to me. Everyone in the bureau is a good person."

"..."

Everyone in the bureau... are good people?

Upon hearing Hearing Li Ang's words, the old investigator's mouth twitched slightly.

Other investigators might not be too clear on the situation at the *** Cleanup Bureau, but he, who had come to investigate plenty over the past few years, knew very well that while the people at the *** branch of the Cleanup Bureau weren't exactly guilty of great villainy, they weren't exactly "good people" either.

There was no need to mention the Blood-Haired Princess, who could steel herself to annihilate an entire country and slaughter over a hundred million; even the two Level-1 Disaster Handlers — the Cursed Dice Gambler Tom and the Corpse Hub Executioner Emma — were also regular visitors to the investigation department.

The former had clearly violated countless rules but was extremely careful in his actions, so the bureau could never catch any evidence; the latter's methods were excessively ruthless and cruel, and the scenes left after completing cleanup missions were more horrifying than those ravaged by anomalous objects — repeatedly warned yet still unrepentant.

The rest — Tape Man Harry, Sewer Emperor Jerry, Silver Demon Pioni, Plague Apothecary Senior Amien... not one of these Level-2s was easy to deal with either. In those large joint operations involving multiple branches, they were universally despised by both man and dog, and basically no one wanted to have anything to do with them.

To be honest, the biggest reason these guys had been able to stay at the *** Cleanup Bureau for several years was probably not the Blood-Haired Princess's personal charisma, but rather that other branches simply didn't want to take them in — leave the *** Bureau and they'd have nowhere to go.

And someone who could get along so well with this bunch of people, and even sincerely believe they were all good people...

Looking at Hearing Li Ang — with his handsome features and gentle smile, thin build aside looking every bit an ordinary kingdom civil servant — the elderly investigator couldn't help but take a deep breath, then secretly sensed the aura on Hearing Li Ang's body.

A towering inferno of demonic flames... As expected, anyone who could get along with this lot couldn't possibly be normal.

Feeling the aura behind him — no different from that of an ordinary demon, in fact even more ferocious and dark — the elderly investigator couldn't help but sigh inwardly, already starting to mull over a nickname for this new employee of the *** Bureau.

This person had an extremely high affinity with demon-type anomalous objects, looked lean and scholarly, just like the cultured types at university, and had even proposed a method of measuring anomalous objects called the Li Ang Value, seemingly quite accomplished in research...

How about... Demon Scholar!

Unaware that the old investigator was secretly giving him a nickname, Hearing Li Ang followed him into his own office, first invited the two investigators to sit on the sofa, then brought over a chair and sat opposite them, and quite cooperatively took the initiative to speak:

"You two, you can go ahead and ask your questions."

"Then I'll begin."

By now the female investigator had regained control of her emotions. Though her expression was still icy, she was no longer in the confrontational attitude from before. She took out a stack of documents, flipped through them, and said with a strictly businesslike face:

"First question — do you have any personal grudge against the people of the Lane family, especially Bobby Lane who controls the Heart of Ambition?"

"Well... I'm not sure if this counts..."

Hearing Li Ang hesitated upon hearing this, but still told the truth:

"Before joining the Cleanup Bureau, my sister contracted a lung disease from a leak of waste gas at an alchemy factory. Because she couldn't get the compensation she was owed, she almost died in the hospital.

And that alchemy factory was a property under Lane Military Industries. The person in the Ministry of Roads responsible for the compensation case was also related to the Lane family by marriage — essentially a member of the Lane family.

Although they were only a branch of the Lane family, if you count it that way, I should indeed have some grievance with the Lanes."

"..."

Upon hearing Hearing Li Ang's candid answer, the female investigator couldn't help but be slightly stunned, then lowered her head to look at the file in her hands and bit her lip in some frustration.

Everything Hearing Li Ang had just said was exactly what she had worked hard to dig up today.

Based on the surface situation, he had no substantive connection with the Lane family before the Lane Blood Night, so to avoid suspicion, he would most likely directly deny having any grudge with the Lanes.

When that happened, all she had to do was bring up these facts to puncture his "lies" and "cover-ups," and then in the subsequent questioning, she could cast more "reasonable" doubt on his answers.

But she hadn't expected him to just admit it outright, frankly stating he might have a grudge with the Lanes. And the Lane family's operations were spread so wide that living in the capital meant inevitably crossing paths with them; moreover, the ones he had a grudge with were only a side branch, far from constituting a motive for launching the Lane Blood Night.

All the things she had painstakingly investigated had, in the face of his voluntary candor, become a pile of useless waste paper, able to serve at most as a little corroborating evidence...

Damn it — how could someone facing an investigation not shake off suspicion but actually invite it onto themselves?

After somewhat vexedly biting her lip, the female investigator swiftly stuffed the file in her hands underneath, then said with a cold face:

"Next question — after the Lane Blood Night, were you able to benefit from it?"

"Yes."

Hearing Li Ang sighed and said:

"I lacked the ability and failed to stop Bobby Lane's atrocities. On the night of the Lane Blood Night, I was nearly killed by him several times and was seriously injured.

However, it seems I'm a member of the Lane family — all the heirs ahead of me in the succession had been crippled by Bobby Lane — so while I was recuperating I was dragged over and forcibly arranged to be the new Duke. The succession ceremony is on Tuesday."

Upon hearing Hearing Li Ang's words, the female investigator's spirit lifted, and she sneered with a curl of her lip:

"So you're essentially admitting that you're the biggest beneficiary of the Lane Blood Night incident, aren't you!"

"No."

Hearing Li Ang shook his head and said:

"I have zero interest in this title. Neither the wealth it represents nor the power behind it means anything to me.

At the succession ceremony, I will propose that through a marriage alliance, all the assets be donated to the Royal Family, thereby forcing them to appoint someone else to inherit the title.

The succession ceremony happens to be tomorrow — if you don't believe me, you can wait one more day and see whether I actually do it."

"..."

Damn it... he's even willing to give up an entire ducal family's estate?

Seeing that Hearing Li Ang's expression didn't seem feigned and that he really seemed prepared to do it, the female investigator's lips were nearly bitten through. After closing her eyes and sensing the demonic aura all over Hearing Li Ang, she clenched her fist tightly and finally couldn't help but jeer:

"Heh, sounds like quite a saint... but if you want nothing, how do you explain that smell of yours, more evil than a demon's?"