[{"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-224":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},2286060,4472,"Chapter 224","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-224",224,"\u003Cp>“Is there a problem?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that someone had noticed the thin copper plate at the back of his skull, Director Aquarius was suddenly startled, then turned to glance at Li Ang with a blank expression and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You bring this up now—do you intend to fabricate an excuse to blame me for the Yimeng Stove’s malfunction?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not exactly fabrication—just precaution.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that Director Aquarius refused to answer directly, giving off a clear air of trying to evade the issue, Li Ang immediately understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That metal plate must be extremely important to Director Aquarius; even if it wasn’t the reason he bypassed memory extraction, it was surely illicitly obtained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for whether this suddenly exposed metal plate was a deliberate trap laid by Director Aquarius… the likelihood was slim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Never mind anything else—after being thoroughly licked twice by the Brain-Eating Demon, his brain nearly boiling—he couldn’t possibly still have the wit to set a trap. If he did, Li Ang would gladly walk right into it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having made up his mind, Li Ang pressed forward relentlessly, raising his voice to demand:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director Aquarius, you haven’t answered my question—what exactly is this metal plate? Why is it embedded in your skull?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I happen to know something about it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Director Aquarius could respond, the Director of the Gemini Branch stood up and answered in a flat tone:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s a data plate from the Kingdom of Korok. It’s engraved with basic identification information—equivalent to an ID card in other kingdoms. You need the corresponding level of data plate to access facilities of that level… I have one too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slightly lifting the hair at the back of his skull to reveal the copper plate beneath, the Director of the Gemini Branch continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Kingdom of Korok has too few people to assign dedicated staff to manage many facilities and devices, so they once considered eliminating human oversight entirely by using data plates to identify and grant access permissions. If Director Aquarius truly was the former Director of the Gemini Branch, he would indeed have this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Moreover, although data plates were developed long ago, some citizens of Korok feared they were a means of control by the kingdom and resisted implantation, so they never achieved widespread adoption.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This device was officially phased out decades ago. Young people in Korok don’t even know about it, and those who’ve never been to Korok have no way of knowing—so questioning it is completely normal, not a targeted attack on Director Aquarius.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn… no wonder Korok’s tech is said to be a hundred years ahead—they actually have something this sci-fi?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Discovering that the one who stepped forward to explain was the Director of the Gemini Branch—and that this “ally” also had a copper plate on his head—Li Ang, who had thought he’d found a blind spot, was instantly crushed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If someone else had spoken up, fine—but now the Director of Gemini, who had provided the most evidence, had confirmed the plate was normal. It must truly be ordinary; maybe he’d just overthought it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, the Director of the Cleanup Bureau, after hearing the Gemini Director’s explanation, gave Li Ang a disappointed glance, then turned and urged:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Continue. Don’t waste any more time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The one wasting time isn’t me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ang replied coldly, then Director Aquarius gazed deeply at him before stepping once more before the Divine-Level Brain-Eating Demon…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, it was the Red-Haired Director who stepped forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After squinting his fox-like eyes at the Director of the Gemini Branch, the Red-Haired Director rose under everyone’s gaze and requested:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director Aquarius, if this is truly a defunct data plate with no function, could you please repeat your earlier motion—press it a few more times?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Olivia!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the Red-Haired Director’s words, Director Aquarius finally seemed to reach his limit. Under the unbearable pain in his brain, he glared furiously:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve gone too far!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fake! His anger is fake! That so-called data plate is definitely problematic!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his right hand bound by a strand of crimson hair, pinned firmly against the ram’s horn, Li Ang watched Director Aquarius’s soul tremble—not with rage, but with clear anxiety—and his heart surged with triumph!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I almost got fooled! No wonder the Director doesn’t drink—he’s damn reliable!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director Aquarius, exactly where is my request excessive?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After exchanging a glance with Li Ang and receiving a clear “yes,” the Red-Haired Director’s lips curled again into a smile as he continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Before I asked, you already pressed it several times yourself—so it must be harmless to you. If that’s true, what’s the harm in pressing it a few more times?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course not!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each press doubles the current—if I press it a few more times, my brain will be damaged before memory extraction even begins…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had an answer—but how could he possibly say it aloud?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the Cleanup Director’s eyes slowly narrow, Director Aquarius knew all was lost. He offered no further defense, only sighed deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Denial was useless now. Since it had been noticed, whether he pressed the plate or not, it would be inspected inside and out, turned over completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if Cleanup Bureau personnel didn’t understand Korok’s technology, they’d see the metal filaments embedded in his skull the moment they lifted the plate—and they’d know something was wrong. Because of this one-day delay, he was finished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Director hadn’t returned, if the inquiry hadn’t started a day early, his new brain would have fully synced with his body, slipping past the Divine-Level Brain-Eating Demon’s scan without needing electric stimulation—and the copper plate issue would never have been noticed…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day! Damn it! Just one day!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seems you’ve decided not to explain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After waiting a moment and hearing no defense from Director Aquarius, the Cleanup Director silently raised his hand:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I now, in my capacity as Director of the Cleanup Bureau, propose the removal of Director Aquarius from his post, and the temporary closure of the Aquarius Star Palace… Vote.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Cleanup Director spoke, the once luminous chamber plunged into darkness. The kilometer-thick rock walls became transparent, instantly transforming into an endless, starless night sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, eighty-seven constellations composed of countless tiny stars lit up around the chamber, slowly rotating in a precise pattern. The only spot without stars slowly revealed a massive, terrifying gash, splitting open like an eye to reveal the true starry heavens beyond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun, moments ago millions of miles away, was violently pulled closer by some unknown force, becoming a blazing golden iris within the eye, while four of the twelve seats reserved for directors—surrounding this solar eye—were sequentially illuminated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Four votes in favor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After announcing the vote, the Cleanup Director raised his hand and swept it toward the former seat of Director Aquarius, dispersing the Aquarius Star Palace formed by ninety star points, severing all possibility of escape from headquarters, then declared coldly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Unauthorized creation of anomalies, massive harm to innocents, attempted intrusion into the Watch Palace… multiple crimes, compounded!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In my capacity as Director of the Cleanup Bureau, I sentence the former Director Aquarius… to death.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1176,"2026-06-20T03:18:31.831Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d089a8724ec05bf359f548516296a036922467c071d7ed58c8253345e0a6d992","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-225","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-223",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-the-cleanup-crew-cover.jpg"]