Chapter 236

It was just something stolen… scared me half to death!

Looking at the chief's office, rummaged and in disarray, Li Ang let out a long breath of relief—then gave Senior Jery, who had falsely raised the alarm, a look of utter disbelief.

After receiving Senior Jery's note, Li Ang feared something dire had happened, immediately halted the carriage halfway, abandoned the remaining fare, and dashed into an alley, leaping onto the Witch's Broom to fly back to the Bureau under cover of night.

But after rushing back, he discovered it was all a false alarm—aside from the chief's office having been burgled, nothing else was amiss.

Come to think of it…

When he and Senior Jery left, no one else remained at the Bureau; Princess Wang and Anna had already returned to Happiness Apartments ahead of time. Aside from something being stolen, nothing else could possibly have occurred.

"Li Ang, this isn't just about something being stolen."

Noticing Li Ang seemed to have relaxed, Senior Jery shook his head slightly, then pointed toward the pile of empty bottles, his expression grave:

"Look over there—the burglar who slipped in while the Bureau was empty? He's no amateur."

Hearing Senior Jery's words, Li Ang froze slightly—then, following his gaze to the "target," his expression instantly turned serious.

Simply put: several long, vivid red hairs lay amid the bottles, straining to rise, but like a boneless corpse, no matter how hard they struggled, they could only twitch faintly—unable to stand up from the floor…

These were the chief's hairs!

As a powerful anomaly item numbered 013, these 【Bloody Kill Hairs】, though weaker than the reinforced strand on his own body—which could single-handedly repel the Enlightened God attempting escape—

Were still a fragment of a numbered anomaly. Regardless of their raw power, their rank unquestionably surpassed the threshold of true deities; at least, Level Two or Three Cleaners could never handle them.

The person who could subdue these hairs? Likely on par with Senior Emma—probably a Level One Cleaner. If they struck with forethought against unprepared targets, they could easily take out both you and me!

Which means—if we hadn't gone to find the Freckled Prince and been teleported to Headquarters by the Star Palace—we'd have run straight into this terrifying thief! And if even my reinforced strand couldn't withstand his ability…

We'd be dead.

…

"Honestly, I owe you one this time."

Watching the red hairs fluttering above the floor, Senior Jery drew a deep breath, his voice tinged with lingering dread as he spoke to Li Ang:

"If you hadn't suggested going after that prince—and insisted I come along—I'd have stayed behind alone. If this burglar was the violent type, I'd probably be cold by now."

It wasn't just you who nearly died…

Entering the chief's office and carefully inspecting it, Li Ang spotted half a bloodstained handprint along the windowsill—and let out a relieved sigh.

If I hadn't been cautious enough to send Princess Wang and Anna back to Happiness Apartments before leaving the Cleaner Bureau, who knows what danger they might have faced.

And thanks to my "overcaution," not only did no one get hurt, but another favorable piece of news emerged.

Following the trail of the bloodstain, Li Ang found copious splatters of blood on the building's outer wall and in the grass outside the window—his tense expression eased slightly.

This burglar, though powerful enough to subdue the chief's hairs, wasn't unscathed—he'd clearly been cut multiple times by the 【Bloody Kill Hairs】. Given the sheer volume of blood spilled, he's lost most of his life force; he won't be returning anytime soon.

As for the burglar's identity and motive…

Standing two meters away, Li Ang cautiously rummaged through the chief's drawers using the power of the 【Holy Spirit Pendant】, and a look of understanding crossed his face.

As expected—the chief's copied "fake photo" had been taken.

It seems Water-Bearer Director, ever cautious, after arranging for Senior Emma to be transferred, didn't just set up Middle-aged Joshua as a backup—he also dispatched another team to retrieve the photo.

Water-Bearer Director likely planned for this burglar to neutralize any lingering traps the chief might have left, then let Middle-aged Joshua take the photo, both escaping swiftly via the Door to the Other Side—clean, silent, flawless.

But Middle-aged Joshua was caught early by me, leaving this burglar standing up. With no sign of Joshua and the Bureau unguarded, he braved entering the chief's office, found the photo in the drawer, paid the price of nearly being sliced to death by these hairs, and Chaoe completed Water-Bearer Director's task.

Too bad—he only took the fake photo the chief prepared. This burglar made a wasted trip.

??????? o

Using the hand formed by the 【Holy Spirit Pendant】, Li Ang retrieved the few bloodied hairs scattered in the grass outside the window and placed them beside the ones near the bottles, then turned to Jery and asked tentatively:

"Senior Jery, could your friends…"

"They won't find him."

Knowing what Li Ang meant to ask, Senior Jery shook his head helplessly:

"He's got an anomaly item that erases traces—anything removed from his body loses all scent. Even these bloodstains—ants followed the trail for two streets, then lost it completely."

Indeed… when I first came in, I smelled nothing—otherwise I'd have spotted the hairs on the floor.

Leaning near the window and sniffing carefully, Li Ang realized that despite the massive blood loss outside, not a trace of scent remained—he sighed and abandoned the idea of hunting the wounded burglar down immediately.

Since this burglar prepared so thoroughly, we can only wait for the chief's return. Hopefully the next two days stay quiet—no more mishaps… Oh right, tomorrow I still have to go to the post office across from The Sun to renew her newspaper subscription.

With a weary shake of his head, Li Ang opened the side drawer of the chief's desk, sifted through the files, and pulled out all the newspapers and magazines inside.

The Sun, Daily Headlines, Royal Gazette…

Glamour Focus, Arms Industry, Wine Traveler, Boyish Whims…

These must be the publications the chief asked me to renew… hmm… wait!

Flipping through the thick stack, Li Ang noticed only a few copies of The Sun had been cut—his brow furrowed in suspicion.

If I remember right, the sections cut from these papers… were exactly the two photos I had published?