Chapter 179

Although he had already sensed something ominous when the Red-haired Director suddenly fell silent, hearing that his investigation had failed made Li Ang's heart sink, a chill spreading through his chest.

"Not optimistic… what does that mean?"

"It means exactly what it says—the two investigators gave you an extremely low evaluation."

Looking at the review form in his hand—officially marked as passed but filled with nothing but damning remarks, and demanding that he, as branch director, closely monitor Li Ang—the Red-haired Director frowned and summarized:

"Perhaps your reputation has been tainted by our bureau's past misdeeds. Though there's no evidence linking you to the Ryan Blood Night, they still insist you're highly suspect, at the very least having condoned Bobby Ryan's mass killings."

"They also believe your stable mental state is a facade—that you've long suppressed your true thoughts. Your apparent lack of desire for wealth and power contradicts your extremely high compatibility with the Demon Artifact of Greed, proving you likely harbor far more dangerous ambitions."

"Also, Camus… that older investigator—he even wrote on the review form that your perception of the world may be distorted, that you fundamentally disregard regulations and harbor deep resentment toward current rules."

"If given the chance to rise to power or obtain sufficiently strong artifacts, you won't abide by the Cleanup Bureau's statutes—you'll evade central control and act according to your own beliefs, recklessly and without restraint…"

"…"

Wait… isn't that old man's insight a bit too uncanny?

Hearing the evaluation—more like it had peeled open his skull and directly imprinted his thoughts onto the form—Li Ang broke into cold sweat, realizing for the first time just how formidable investigators could be.

They barely interacted with him—just sat in his office and chatted for a while—and yet they saw all this? Did I really show it so clearly?

"But you don't need to worry too much. Though they gave you a low rating, they haven't gathered any concrete evidence."

Seeing Li Ang's furrowed brow and darkening face, the Red-haired Director, feeling responsible for his trouble, sighed and offered reassurance:

"Our bureau values investigators' opinions, but we value concrete evidence more. These are merely personal views from those two investigators."

"Until they find actual proof that you harbor ill intent, this report won't significantly impact you. With my guarantee, your application for artifacts won't be affected—though promotions will become extremely difficult."

"If you don't find a way to change this impression, not only will you never become a branch director—you'll likely remain stuck at Level Three Incident Handler for years, unable to advance further."

So… this review result only affects my "future," then?

After hearing the Red-haired Director's words, Li Ang breathed a quiet sigh of relief. As long as they don't suspect me of orchestrating the Ryan Blood Night, losing my future is fine!

Though he didn't truly care, he still needed to show the right attitude. After a moment's thought, he put on a look of righteous indignation:

"Just baseless speculation with zero evidence can ruin someone's career? Is the bureau just going to let them spout nonsense like this? Can't we do anything about these investigators?"

"There is… actually one way."

As if recalling something amusing, the Red-haired Director's lips twitched slightly before he spoke:

"Next time you do something wrong and they come to investigate, go out of your way to provoke and harass them—ideally, make them your sworn enemies."

"Huh?"

"Pretty much everyone in our bureau does this."

The Red-haired Director spread his hands:

"Since those investigators already have a bias against us, they'll never say anything good during normal investigations. So why not just make enemies with every single one who comes down? As long as you don't give them real leverage, their reports' credibility drops—and the damage becomes minimal."

"Ah… so you can actually do that?"

Hearing this unconventional solution, Li Ang could only stare blankly:

"No wonder… I always wondered why every investigator seems to hate our bureau…"

"Emma and the others have no choice. Actively making enemies with investigators is better than being on the bureau's watchlist all the time, with someone snooping into everything you do."

"Emma and the others had no choice—better to make enemies with the investigators than to keep ending up on the bureau's watchlist, where everything they did got scrutinized."

"I thought you'd be different—didn't think you'd need to resort to this. Guess I was wrong. Forget it for now—go home and deliver your brother and sister's hair, then head to Wang Gong to visit Prince Joshua and find out if he's involved in this."

"I originally thought you wouldn't need to go through all this, but in the end, you couldn't avoid it… Fine, forget about it for now—go home and deliver your brother and sister's hair, then head to Wang Gong to visit Prince Joshua and find out if he's involved in this."

"Why are you silent again? I feel like you're reluctant to meet the prince."

"Well… I'm not reluctant to meet him—I'm worried he's reluctant to meet me…"

Li Ang gave a nervous laugh, briefly explained what he'd done at the Ryan Estate, then suggested to the Red-haired Director, who looked utterly speechless:

"Director, given Prince Joshua's personality, if I go ask him directly, he won't cooperate. What if I disguise myself—with a mask, say—and use Black Goat to observe secretly? You send someone else with me?"

"Director, given Prince Joshua's temperament, if I go ask him directly, he won't cooperate. How about this—I wear a mask or something to disguise myself, and use Black Goat to observe secretly, while you send someone else to go with me?"

Watching the once dependable, hardworking, and reliable little Li Ang rapidly morphing into one of the bureau's notorious troublemakers, the Red-haired Director opened his mouth as if to give advice—but then sighed, rubbed his temples, and pointed outside:

Watching the once reliable, hardworking little Li Ang rapidly gravitate toward the bureau's troublemakers, the red-haired director opened his mouth as if to warn him, but ultimately gave up, rubbing his temples and pointing outside:

"Go find Emma—she's free right now. Have her go with you."

…

"Crack!"

A sharp, brittle sound rang out—a priceless porcelain vase, thrown violently against the wall, shattered like the prince's fragile pride.

A sharp cracking sound rang out—a priceless ceramic vase, thrown violently against the wall, shattered like the prince's fragile pride.

Staring at his swollen left cheek and the palm print mocking him in the mirror, Prince Freckles felt his freckles tremble.

Staring at his swollen left cheek in the mirror, the palm print mocking him, Prince Joshua's freckles trembled involuntarily.

He kicked the nearby table with his foot, sending the intricately carved red pine table crashing onto the carpet. Recalling how he'd been slapped in front of hundreds of guests and spat upon, the Freckled Prince let out another hysterical roar:

He kicked the table beside him, sending the intricately carved red pine table crashing onto the rug. Recalling how he'd been slapped in front of hundreds of guests yesterday, how spittle had been spat onto his face, the freckled prince let out another hysterical scream.

"Damn Lionheart Duke! Damn Li Ang Ryan!"

"Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! I'll tear you into a thousand pieces!"

As if mere words weren't enough, the Freckled Prince grabbed the chair beside him and hurled it with all his strength at the door—CRASH! The door burst open, revealing the trembling maids in the corridor—and behind them, a man and woman locked in silent gaze.

What did you even do yesterday? Why does he hate you this much?

Reading the curiosity in Emma's gaze, Li Ang—masked and cloaked—gave her an awkward smile.

Yesterday… I proposed to his sister. He probably hates me this much because he's a sister fanatic.

Yesterday's words… I proposed to his sister; maybe that's why he hates me so much—he's a sister fanatic.