[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-the-cleanup-crew":3,"chapter-i-m-the-cleanup-crew-i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-207":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I'm the Cleanup Crew!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2286043,4472,"Chapter 207: Meeting? Coup! (Final)","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-207",207,"\u003Cp>It seems… that’s actually true?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Lyon’s analysis and questions, the rebels who had been bowing half-dazed, unsure if they truly opposed their leader, finally became utterly “awake.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s right! Exactly like this!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though I don’t understand it as clearly as Little Bajins, I definitely sensed something was off—that’s why I felt Nathan wasn’t fit to be leader!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder I suddenly bowed to Little Bajins just now—I couldn’t articulate why, but my heart had already been thinking this way…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You… don’t let him fool you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noticing the shifting glances of those in the room and the growing tilt toward the opposite side, the middle-aged man, sensing “the tide had turned,” cried out in panic:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Think carefully! How old is Little Bajins this year? And aside from a few years of community school as a child, he hasn’t studied a single book since he was thirteen or fourteen—how could he possibly know so much?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Use your brains! Could someone with only three or five years of community school really deliver such a clear, logical analysis—or that later sequence of escalating, ruthless accusations? I suspect he’s not Little Bajins at all!”?!?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the middle-aged man’s warning, the rebels in the room instantly changed expression, faintly realizing “Little Bajins” seemed off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few who had moved around the valley more and knew Little Bajins’ family situation cast immediate suspicious glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nathan’s point… isn’t entirely wrong?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving aside the fact that the supposedly silent and reclusive Little Bajins suddenly became so eloquent, just his community school dropout level makes it impossible for him to have spontaneously delivered such a coherent analysis, let alone that later sequence of layered, relentless psychological attacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, I moved too hastily… but it doesn’t matter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling the suspicious glances from the rebels, Lyon slightly narrowed his eyes, then sighed softly, his eyes filled with disappointment:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Nathan, you still don’t understand where you truly went wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You think by questioning my identity and forcing me to be labeled a fraud—by eliminating me, the one who dared challenge you—you can restore your own legitimacy as leader?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, I now find you pitiable—pitiable for not even knowing who your real opponent is!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After once again diverting attention with his pretentious rambling, Lyon sat back in his chair and, under everyone’s gaze, calmly continued to stall:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Nathan, before I give you the answer, could you first answer me: what is the first textbook a six-year-old child receives upon entering community school?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s the point of bringing this up?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caught off guard by Lyon’s odd question, the middle-aged man quickly recovered—he absolutely couldn’t let the topic drift further—interrupting sharply:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re discussing your identity right now! It has nothing to do with school textbooks! Don’t try to dodge my questions with such tricks!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m answering your question!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once again seizing the initiative, Lyon spoke rapidly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you’ve forgotten, I’ll tell you! The first set of textbooks in community school is reading, writing, and pronunciation—and the material used to teach children characters is the kingdom’s nearly three-hundred-year history!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every child in the kingdom learns their first sentence about how the kingdom was born. Do you remember what that sentence said?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I remember it well!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged man struggled to reclaim the floor:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But that sentence has nothing to do with the current situation…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It does!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using his superior oratorical skill from [Elite Performer], he roared loudly, seizing back control, then recited solemnly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With the joint support of nobles, citizens, factory owners, and merchants, the royal house drove out the former rulers and absorbed scattered city-states unable to withstand plunder from other kingdoms, thereby establishing the present kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the first sentence most people learn!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So how does this relate to now…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not that the royal house established the kingdom and then gained the people’s support—it’s that the royal house succeeded in establishing the kingdom only after gaining the support of the majority! This is something even children know!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After explaining his interpretation of the sentence, Lyon looked at the stunned middle-aged man and shook his head:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you truly intend to save this country, as you claim, you should demonstrate the change you can bring, win the support of more forces, not launch reckless attacks that make everyone fear or even hate you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You make it sound so easy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flustered by Lyon’s words, the middle-aged man gritted his teeth and struggled to argue:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re rebels! Those who join us are either impoverished, disabled veterans, or destitute bankrupt civilians, or workers crushed beyond endurance!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What value can these people offer? Why would those forces you mention support us? Rather than chasing baseless daydreams, better follow my plan—first seize…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s exactly where our greatest difference lies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Interrupting the middle-aged man again, Lyon shook his head, earnestly provoking:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Nathan, I don’t know your background, but I understand one thing…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though you founded the rebellion, deep down, you look down on us—you don’t believe we have any value!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>oco\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Lyon’s words, the middle-aged man, realizing his slip, paled and hastily backtracked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This isn’t about looking down or not! I’m stating facts! Neither nobles, merchants, nor the council will ever support us!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have you ever considered why they won’t support us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling the slight vibration of the small mirror in his pocket, followed by a paw tapping his belly, Lyon knew Elder Emma was nearly here—he spoke calmly, with confidence:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because under your leadership, we’re just a wandering ghost flame that burns wherever it goes, never once opening its mouth in daylight to declare what we truly want!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or to put it plainly: precisely because you look down on us from the bottom of your heart and have never tried to uncover our value, your rebellion is nothing but weapons for attacks—it naturally gains no support!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Lyon spoke, he subtly touched the goat’s horn and peeked at the rebels’ soul states.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anger, resentment, suspicion…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stable!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After deliberately stoking discord, the rebels now resented the middle-aged Josha more than ever. By the time Elder Emma arrives, when he tries to grab someone to flee, they may not even follow him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Nathan!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having turned the rebellion toward collapse in barely more than a meal’s time, Lyon continued pouring oil on the fire:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Over the years, thousands of disabled veterans have been discharged near the capital alone; tens of thousands of workers risk having limbs crushed by machines, laboring over ten hours daily yet earning barely enough to feed their families!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Add to that the small workshops collapsing under the pressure of large factories; farmers whose land was seized and grain prices crushed, now forced to till noble estates; and impoverished citizens who can’t even find stable work…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do you know how many there are in total?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… roughly…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You can’t know! Because you’ve never looked down on us—you didn’t even bother to spend time observing us, so how could you know such things?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the middle-aged man, speechless and choked, Lyon slowly stood, his expression serious:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So many people live in suffering, yearning for change. If you truly saw them and were willing to help—even if only one-tenth… or one percent began to support us—no one would dare ignore our voice!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you did this, even if the royal house didn’t support us, they wouldn’t arrest us; even if nobles didn’t support us, they wouldn’t dare continue oppressing us; even if merchants and factory owners didn’t support us, they wouldn’t hate or oppose us!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When we begin speaking in daylight, when citizens and workers see hope for change in us, this first force will slowly draw near!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And once we have this true fulcrum, even more becomes possible!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The royal house seeks to balance the nobles and control the ever-growing merchant class; the council wants to limit royal and noble power and regulate merchant guilds; the nobles want more power and a share of commercial profits; merchants want to break free from constraints and establish more favorable commercial laws to avoid being squeezed by the other factions…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After briefly outlining the basic demands of the kingdom’s factions, Lyon, calculating Elder Emma’s arrival time, painted a grand vision with earnest words:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To gain support, you must first prove your own value!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When we truly become a force, we become a crucial weight—when tossed into the balance of these powers, we can tip the scale, and in exchange, the faction that gains our support must offer something in return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Factory owners seeking our backing to avoid royal and noble exploitation must grant higher wages to common workers; the royal house seeking to suppress old nobles through citizens and workers must offer stronger legal protections;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if the council wants support from citizens, it must not only push relevant laws through but even grant us seats in the council…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, Lyon paused slightly, observing the rebels’ entranced expressions, then raised his tone:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Friends! Once those who follow us truly taste the benefits we bring, once more people see the meaning of having someone speak for them, more and more will draw near to us!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when we grow truly powerful, becoming a force equal to the royal house, nobles, council, and guilds—we can even turn the tables and force other factions to yield to us!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At that time, nobles who fear being crushed will have to flatter us! Merchants and factory owners fearing boycotts and bankruptcy will have no choice but to favor us!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as our seats in the council multiply, when the prime minister issues decrees, he must consider our opinion! When the royal house makes major decisions, it must first consult us! And this! Is not even the end!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still… not the end? We’re already this powerful—and there’s more?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing that even this wasn’t the limit, the rebels inside were nearly overwhelmed—each clenched fists, breathing heavily, eyes locked on the “Little Bajins” who seemed to glow, desperate to hear how much more powerful the rebellion could become.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lyon’s empty pie-in-the-sky vision, to seasoned political veterans who truly understood politics, would taste hollow with just one bite—the filling wasn’t solid enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, while this plan wasn’t entirely impossible—it was far better than fantasy—it was still severely limited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply keeping everyone united and avoiding division or co-opting was already an insurmountable hurdle, let alone how to handle counterattacks or combined suppression from other factions—if these weren’t solved, they’d be dragged into endless bickering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for rebels whose average education ended at community school—or even before birth, who couldn’t even write their own names—this glittering stack of pies was enough to make them faint from delight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for division, counterattacks, suppression…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laughable. Over the years, we’ve been chased by soldiers and secret police, hiding in this valley eight hundred miles from the capital, living in mud huts, where even urinating outside might bring a tiger baring its fangs—how much worse could it get than this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finished! Completely finished!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the rebels in the room all staring at Lyon with rapt, feverish eyes—no one looking at him anymore—the middle-aged man felt a chill run through his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Water Bottle Director’s words… were spot on. This man, whether or not he’s Little Bajins, is terrifyingly dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After years of painstaking effort, he’d finally gathered a force capable of attacking the Boarding Tower—but in less than thirty minutes, he destroyed it all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t just destroy the rebellion—he destroyed my plan to conceal the kingdom’s mineral resources by attacking the Boarding Tower and thus avoid war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finished! From now on, everything is finished!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After grinding his teeth hard, the middle-aged Joshua stared fiercely at the “Little Baggins” across from him, regretting that after discovering all six pointers had moved last night, he hadn’t gone straight over and killed him—and had even given him a chance to attend the meeting!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m truly an idiot!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching “Little Baggins” rise to his feet amid the expectant gazes of the crowd, as if he wished to say more, the middle-aged man drew a deep breath and slowly stood up as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lord Nathan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noticing his movement, Li Ang’s eyebrows lifted slightly; he halted his speech and fixed his gaze on the man, asking directly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you have something else to say?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged man nodded slowly, then opened his mouth:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was thinking—if only I had… Nicole?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As his voice betrayed surprise, the door behind Li Ang creaked open, as if pushed from outside; Li Ang’s heart lurched, and he turned to look—then…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bang!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A threaded, silver-white nail shot violently out from Li Ang’s chest, vanishing into the empty doorway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that wasn’t the end. Before the shot Li Ang could turn back, the middle-aged man, consumed by hatred, fired seven rapid shots—bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—reducing Li Ang’s back to a bloody pulp!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little Baggins?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nathan!!!!!!!!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What I meant to say is—if only I had done exactly the same thing back then!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After emptying his magazine from behind and killing the traitorous “Little Baggins,” the middle-aged man, his eyes still burning with hatred toward the rebels in the room, tossed aside his nail gun and pointed at the traitors, sneering:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And you fools! You really thought following his plan would work?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think nobles and merchants are running charities? Do you think they’ll obediently follow the kingdom’s laws and play fair with you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh, I won’t deny that Little Baggins has the ability to carry out what he claimed—he spent only one meal’s time turning you all against me. In that regard, he truly possesses an terrifying talent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But do the nobles and merchants need to out-debate Little Baggins like I did? All they need is a small sum to hire some desperate fool, hand him a gun, and have him do exactly what I just did… bang!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a gesture mimicking a gunshot, the middle-aged man sneered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wake up! The only one who can save the kingdom is me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No matter how beautiful the path Little Baggins points to may seem, his pathetic ability—forcing people to bow—can’t even protect his own life! Once their leader dies, everything becomes nothing but empty… you… you’re still alive?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry… pfft!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rising to his feet, Li Ang spat out the salty, metallic blood from his mouth, touched the healing hole in his chest, adjusted his clothes, turned back, and offered the rebels—whose minds were nearly frozen—a sheepish smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I just realized my ability isn’t just about making people bow—it also seems to include immortality.”\u003C\u002Fp>",2413,"2026-06-20T03:18:31.831Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","975c16ef8dd2033e82b1dbd7fc856cbca3506c8bf309bc14ade5d406574cd812","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-208","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-206",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-the-cleanup-crew-cover.jpg"]