Chapter 18

18 Don’t Ask, Ask and It’s an Explosion (Part 1)

There was no real way to handle this chatty mountain goat—after all, he couldn’t actually boil it—so Li Ang, grimacing, carried the incessantly babbling goat head in hand, striding quickly through the dim corridors of the Cleanup Bureau, scanning the nameplates on each office door.

Harry Morgan (Level Two Crisis Handler)

Emma Alman (Level One Disaster Handler)

Li Ang Lian (Level Three Accident Handler)... Hmm, there it is—wait, my office is right next to Senior Emma’s~

Glancing at the familiar name on the neighboring doorplate, Li Ang’s lips involuntarily curled upward slightly.

Of course, this didn’t mean he had any feelings for her—mainly, having a gentle, beautiful, and utterly reliable senior next door when he first joined was simply a very pleasant thing... Hmm? Is there something flashing inside her office?

Catching an odd flicker of light through the small window on the corridor side, Li Ang took a step back, peered inside, then immediately returned with a blank expression, stiff-faced, into his own office.

Nothing else—on Emma’s desk sat a massive curved scythe over three meters long, covered in brown rust stains; the flicker he’d seen was sunlight reflecting off the blade.

Moreover, her office wasn’t at all what he’d imagined—no charming potted plants, elegant dresses, or cute children’s toys—instead, it was piled high with all manner of strange, even terrifying objects.

Bloodstained bandages, damaged nail hammers, an open antique coffin, a leather-bound ancient book of dubious origin, skeletal specimens of unknown creatures, and even half a hanging execution platform wedged against the wall—the kind where a massive guillotine blade is hoisted several meters high, then dropped when the executioner cuts the rope... *crack!*

Well, perhaps Senior Emma was a gentle person, but the peculiar nature of the Cleanup Bureau’s work meant her gentleness existed only in personality.

He still remembered last night, when he rushed to the intensive care ward, seeing finger impressions pressed into the hard metal corner cabinet—made by her sheer strength.

After reaffirming his absolute decision not to provoke her, Li Ang rummaged through his own office and successfully found, exactly where the red-haired director said, a large suitcase nearly identical to Senior Emma’s.

Brass-reinforced corners, a sturdy solid wood frame, covered in tough animal hide with scales resembling crocodile skin... Though its appearance was plain and simple, lacking the carved patterns and metal clasps common on modern suitcases, the moment he touched it, he knew—just from the solid materials—it must have cost a fortune.

The only decoration on the entire suitcase was a golden emblem stamped on the side of the metal handle pad: the emblem of the Virgin Cleanup Bureau—the dung beetle pushing a dung ball.

Inside, the suitcase contained multiple nested custom compartments; the leftmost hollow with two horns was clearly meant for the black goat, beside it lay a disassembled long-range nail gun and six silver-white gas canisters the size of cantaloupes.

Seeing this familiar “big sniper,” Li Ang’s heart warmed slightly—he knew this must have been given to him by Senior Emma.

She truly cared for him deeply—even yesterday, after finishing the investigation, she didn’t first clean the blood off herself, but pulled him aside for a long chat, detailing countless aspects of “cleanup work,” and repeatedly warned him of places requiring extra caution.

And now, with an imminent mission, she’d specifically left her weapon for him... This debt was enormous—he would absolutely work twice as hard when she needed help, and repay her kindness fully!

With eyes full of emotion, Li Ang set up the suitcase,

jammed the still cursing black goat into the goat-head slot, then slammed it shut.

Something strange happened—the instant the heavy leather case snapped shut, the incessant noise in his ears and the curses in his mind vanished instantly, as if strangled; the entire world fell silent.

Perfect~ With this, he could take the black goat out without worrying it would scare Anna with its babbling.

Satisfied, Li Ang nodded, reached for the suitcase handle, and yanked hard!

Not a single inch moved...

???

Staring at the massive suitcase that didn’t even tremble, Li Ang widened his eyes, gripped the oversized handles with both hands, and pulled with all his might.

Facing Li Ang’s full effort—even using his last ounce of strength—the huge suitcase finally reacted, lifting just a fraction off the ground before crashing down with a thunderous *thud*, shaking dust from every surface in the office.

“...”

Solid wood frame, crocodile-hide material, metal fittings, inside it a goat head and a big sniper... If this doesn’t weigh fifty or sixty kilos, I’ll eat this suitcase!

Looking at his own thin, malnourished arms, then at the massive suitcase lying motionless on the floor as if mocking him, “slight and weak” Li Ang sighed helplessly, wisely abandoned the idea of carrying it, grabbed his credentials, and angrily shoved open the door, heading toward the Police Department cafeteria.

Eat! I’m going to eat like a beast! Turn myself into a hulking brute! Then train hard! At the very least, I must get strong enough to lift this damn suitcase myself!

Otherwise, when Senior Emma needs my help, and I can’t even lift a suitcase, and have to beg her to carry it for me—how the hell am I supposed to live with myself?

“Anna... burp... look what I brought you?”

Stepping into the intensive care ward, seeing the frail girl on the bed looking up with delighted surprise, Li Ang couldn’t help but smile.

He lifted the rosewood lunchbox, gave it a gentle shake, and before Anna could answer, he grinned and revealed the surprise:

“It’s cod soup—the one you loved as a child! I confirmed it myself: the cod was caught this morning from the Outer River, and fresh milk was added!”

Cod and milk... That must be expensive.

Hearing Li Ang’s words, Anna hesitated:

“Brother, you just joined yesterday, and now you’re helping me switch wards and bringing me such expensive soup—won’t that be...?”

“Don’t worry about it. None of this is your concern. Right now, you just need to rest and recover... Come on, let me see your leg.”

Placing the three-tiered cafeteria meal box on the bedside table, Li Ang lifted the blanket slightly, glanced at his sister’s bandaged right thigh, and asked gently, concerned:

“Does it hurt? It’s all my fault—if I hadn’t brought you to this hospital, you wouldn’t have...”

“It doesn’t hurt! Oh!”

Unexpectedly fast, Li Ang’s hand made the frail girl’s cheeks flush slightly; she quickly snatched the blanket back to cover her thigh, then grabbed his arm and scolded:

“Brother! My skirt was cut open during bandaging—don’t go rummaging! And why do you always blame yourself for everything?

When you brought me here, you couldn’t have known the hospital’s gas pipe would explode—it was just an accident, not your fault!”