Chapter 387: 387 Secret Art Mark

"Sorry..."

o￠o

With the middle-aged man's sigh, the golden emblem of the Archer Centaur emerged directly from the mirror's surface and floated before Li Ang and the Red-haired Woman.

"I don't want to refuse, but the Watch Palace cannot afford any risk, so..."

"I understand."

After glancing in surprise at the floating Archer emblem, the Red-haired Woman smiled, then gripped Li Ang's wrist and nodded slightly.

"You had no choice. Ensuring the safety of the Watch Palace is more important than our side."

"I... sigh... thank you for your effort."

Feeling somewhat guilty toward the Red-haired Woman, the Archer Director sighed and turned to leave—but then abruptly spun back around, eyes wide with shock, noticing movement on the other side of the Celestial Sphere Mirror.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

Seeing the Red-haired Woman grasp Li Ang's hand and prepare to press it against the golden emblem, the square-faced man cried out urgently:

"Stop! That's meant for you! He's only a Level Three Cleaner—what use could he possibly have for my Secret Art Mark?"

"Rest easy, Director Archer."

After pressing Li Ang's hand firmly onto the golden pattern, the Red-haired Woman shook her head.

"Li Ang is far more capable than you think. Even if you gave this Secret Art Mark to me, I couldn't catch up to the King of Nightmares—but giving it to Li Ang might yield unexpected results!"

"..."

"Fine, do as you please!"

Glancing at Li Ang—who had remained silent since the beginning, radiating no aura of strength—the disappointed square-faced man shook his head and pulled the curious Fish Director away from the Celestial Sphere Mirror's range.

The Taurus Director, also visibly surprised, glanced at the small red X on Li Ang's collar, then his eyes flickered with sudden understanding. He immediately softened his expression and smiled encouragingly:

"Do your best, kid. If you truly help Olivia weather this crisis, I'll give you an excellent gift!"

"..."

"Ah!"

After a sharp pinch on his upper arm snapped him back to awareness, Li Ang shuddered and quickly bowed his thanks:

"Thank you, Director Taurus! I'll do my best!"

"Mm, but be careful. If there's no chance, don't force it. Olivia, you too..."

After warning Li Ang and Olivia to stay safe, the Taurus Director seemed to remember something. Her gaze swept over Li Ang's face, then hesitated slightly.

"Also... if you still want to drink, once this is over, I can send you a batch of wine without any Word-Spell enchantments..."

"Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!"

Unprepared for her sudden mention, Li Ang—still inspecting the Secret Art Mark—remembered the scorching liquor from the Dead Realm. His face flushed crimson as he frantically waved his hands.

"Quit! We've quit! No need to... Huh?!"

"Drink! We're drinking!"

"Alright, wait for it!"

Watching Li Ang's mouth being forcibly sealed, the Taurus Director chuckled and shook her head, then turned off the Celestial Sphere Mirror herself.

Not bad—unexpected bonus.

Releasing her hand from Li Ang's mouth and rubbing it against his shoulder, the Red-haired Woman happily stored away the Celestial Sphere Mirror, then smiled and asked:

"Have you fully understood the Archer Director's Secret Art Mark?"

Hearing her, Li Ang instinctively checked his panel.

【Name: Archer Palace Secret Art Mark (Secret Art, Temporary)】

【Appearance: A golden half-centaur emblem holding a longbow. When struck directly by sunlight, it emits a radiant halo resembling a solar corona and reveals three bright golden arrow patterns.】

【Ability: Temporarily use the Archer Palace's "Abnormal Enhancement" Secret Art.】

【Cost: Each use targeting an Abnormal Object consumes one arrow. When all three arrows are spent, this temporary Abnormal Object vanishes automatically.】

【Archive: Moved by Chief Olivia of the Virgo Branch's conviction and burdened by guilt over being unable to assist, the current Archer Director of the Cleaner Bureau forged this mark at the cost of three years of his own life. It can be used three times total.】

【When locked onto an Abnormal Object, its effect is massively amplified the next time it is activated, lasting until that activation ends. The enhancement level matches exactly what the Archer Director would achieve with his own "Abnormal Enhancement" Secret Art.】

【Evaluation: These are three life-saving hairs the Archer Bodhisattva sacrificed his life to provide. Monkey, treat them with care—DO NOT use them to enhance your forged Abnormal Objects.】

【Contamination Level: 0. 】

"I think I've got it..."

Looking at the archive's note—"at the cost of three years of life"—Li Ang's expression grew complex.

"The Archer Director may be stubborn and his words sound cold, but... he's actually a decent person."

"Mm."

Hearing Li Ang, the Red-haired Woman nodded.

"The Archer Director is upright and strict, deeply values rules. He's not as warm as Director Taurus, but he's no villain. The Fish Director is a bit odd, but still trustworthy. Or rather, among the eleven directors besides Aquarius, though each has minor flaws, most are still good."

Or put another way, among the remaining eleven directors, aside from the Water Bearer, each had minor issues, but most were still decent.

Most are still good... meaning one or even several are terrible, maybe even monstrous?

Catching her implication, Li Ang, speechless, asked:

"Even directors aren't necessarily good... Director, has the Cleaner Bureau always been this lax? For example, now—with the King of Nightmares invading—why can the Scorpio Branch Chief, who dislikes you, just refuse to help? Over all these years, hasn't anyone tried to bring order?"

"Someone did try. But how?"

The Red-haired Woman sighed, helplessly spreading her hands.

"As for directors, whether they inherit the Secret Art depends entirely on talent. In the past, we often couldn't even gather twelve directors. The Star Palaces and their Secret Arts are among the Bureau's most vital assets. Even if the qualified person is a scoundrel, having a director is better than none—after all, no matter how bad, he's still human, never fully turning to gods of corruption or beings seeking humanity's destruction. At critical moments, he usually still stands up."

The red-haired director sighed, helplessly spreading his hands:

"As for the directors, whether one can inherit the secret arts depends entirely on talent; in the past, the bureau often couldn't even gather twelve directors, and the star palaces and secret arts they represented were among the bureau's most vital assets.

"As for the branches, it's even more complicated."

Patting Li Ang's shoulder, the Red-haired Woman continued:

"Each branch's Cleaners are recruited personally by the Branch Chief, often trained hand by hand. Most Cleaners below the Branch Chief have never even entered the Headquarters in their lives. They have no direct channel to the Bureau—orders are always relayed by their Branch Chief. They know nothing of the Bureau's inner workings... For example, you and I—if the Bureau's order conflicts with mine, whose do you follow?"

"As for the branch bureaus, it's even more troublesome."

Li Ang answered without hesitation.

"If you haven't drunk, I follow you. If you've drunk, I follow the Bureau."

They have no direct channel to contact the headquarters, and the orders they receive are always relayed by the branch director—they're utterly unfamiliar with the headquarters' situation... for instance, you and I—if a headquarters order conflicts with mine, whose would you follow?"

Ugh, should've picked a different example...

Watching Li Ang give his answer without a single second's pause, the Red-haired Woman rolled her eyes, then muttered irritably:

"In short, Branch Chiefs hold immense power and autonomy. Non-Zodiac Branch Chiefs are weaker—they rely on Star Palace power to barely overpower ordinary True Gods, so they're relatively obedient. But Zodiac Branch Chiefs, like directors, have Li Ang Values between 60 and 70. Without Secret Arts, their strength is roughly equal. And I, even with Star Palace enhancement, can exceed 70 Li Ang Points—stronger than many directors. As long as I don't openly defy the Bureau's rules, the Headquarters can't do a thing. Understood?"

"I get it."

"Then get to work."

Leaving several strands of crimson hair on Li Ang's shoulder, the Red-haired Woman withdrew her hand, rose, and walked toward the stairwell.

"Come on—follow me upstairs to pick up something. Might come in handy against the King of Nightmares!"

The directors of non-Zodiac divisions were weaker, relying on the Star Palace just to suppress ordinary True Gods; relatively speaking, they were more obedient, but the directors of the Zodiac divisions, like the board members, had Lyon values between 60 and 70—without occult arts, their power was roughly equal on both sides.

As for me, even with the Star Palace's enhancement, my maximum Lyon value exceeds 70, making me slightly stronger than many board members. As long as I don't openly tear up the rules and defy the bureau's regulations head-on, the headquarters has no good way to stop me—do you understand?

"I mostly understand."

"If you understand, get to work."

After leaving several strands of crimson hair on Li Ang's shoulder, the Red-haired Woman withdrew her hand, rose, and left the office, walking toward the stairwell.

"Come on, follow me upstairs to get something—might come in handy when we face the King of Nightmares!"