[{"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-40":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},2285876,4472,"Chapter 40","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-40",40,"\u003Cp>40th birthday?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ve been cursed by a black goat!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t expected the performance to go so well just moments ago, yet within a second he’d flipped three cars and completely exposed his identity—Li Ang could only curse under his breath at how absurd it was, then snatched up the broom and spun around, two strides carrying him straight out the meeting room door, face-to-face with the security manager’s snarling visage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re done!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flying kick slammed hard into the security manager’s face, sending him flying mid-sentence; Li Ang snatched the file folder off the ground and bolted headlong for the exit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, even the dumbest person should’ve realized something was wrong—six different shouts, nearly simultaneous, erupted inside the meeting room, converging like an orchestra into one single command:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Catch him!!!!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’ll never catch me!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he’d inexplicably blown his cover, Li Ang felt no panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from the calmness granted by the [Martyr of Wine Country], he’d been taught by Senior Emma’s experience—“Before thinking how to complete the mission, first think how to escape if you fail.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So when entering the Hydropower Company, Li Ang had already studied the layout and pre-planned his escape route—he wasn’t worried about getting caught.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After quickly reviewing his surroundings, he noted the security team stationed at the front entrance to deter protesters, so he didn’t run toward the nearest door; instead, he reversed direction and sprinted deep into the company’s interior!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Catch that man!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t let him get away!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the chaotic shouts, the pursuing crowd swelled like a snowball rolling downhill, densely cramming half the corridor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since he carried so much, Li Ang couldn’t increase his speed; soon the pursuers closed in, with several of the fittest guards now less than three steps behind, even having breath left to shout as they ran.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Drop the stuff!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No way out ahead!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop! You can’t run anymore!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who said I’m “running”?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Glancing back at the pursuers, seeing they’d closed to within arm’s reach, Li Ang—prepared—squinted, gripped the shaft of the [Witch’s Broom] tightly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boom!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wind-blocking barrier exploded open; the supposedly enclosed room suddenly erupted in a bizarre gale, absurdly targeting only people’s lower bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guards trailing behind, already leaning forward while running, were knocked flat like cut grass—each crashed onto the tile floor, heads splitting open, some too slow to react and collapsing unconscious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those behind weren’t directly blown down, but tripped over the fallen guards, tumbling into tangled heaps that blocked those behind—pursuers halved in number instantly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn it! Go around!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Get out of the way!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s going upstairs!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Admittedly, the Hydropower Company’s security had excellent physical conditioning—some kept their balance, merely delayed; those who fell less severely scrambled up one by one, gritting their teeth and charging after Li Ang into the stairwell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But again, something utterly bewildering happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ang, bursting into the stairwell, moved like a monkey returning to the forest—his slender frame light as paper, he leapt halfway up the stairs in a single bound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, using his free hand to tug the handrail,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>completing the force-dissipation, he seemed to think it still wasn’t fast enough; he clutched the goat head and file folder under one arm, the broom tucked sideways under his armpit, and leapt directly through the gap between two flights of stairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the stunned, godlike stares of the guards, the man in their same uniform refused to use the stairs—he climbed upward by gripping and kicking through the open shaft itself!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if the empty air around him were not air at all, but water offering buoyancy, his unimposing body merely contracted and expanded, lightly pushing off the handrail and stairs, shooting upward nearly two meters at a time—lighter than rising from the sea while clutching an empty wine barrel!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You… why are you stopping?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Panting as he entered the stairwell, the meeting supervisor, face pale, roared at the guards staring dumbly upward:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chase him! He took the records from the archive! Even if you die here, you must… you must… ah?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Li Ang scramble up to the sixth floor like a monkey, then kick through the air vent and ride the broom straight out, the supervisor forgot to breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His furious face flushed red, then paled, then turned faintly bluish-purple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah?!?!?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ahahaha! Who’d have thought! Our heart’s right here in the capital!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignoring the gale blowing in his face, the black goat hanging from the broomstick grinned wildly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve got insane luck! I just mentioned it to you, and you turn around and bump into one—and the strongest heart at that!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kid! Get stronger fast! When you’re powerful enough, in just one hour, I can help you wipe out the entire Ryan family and reclaim our heart!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Speaking of luck…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Habitually ignoring the goat’s demonic rambling, Li Ang recalled the events just now and frowned:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t you think today’s a bit strange?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Until I left the meeting room, my luck today was absurdly good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perched on the broom, Li Ang held up his hand, counting off on his fingers:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I wanted to find your goat… anomaly, and immediately got word; I wanted to learn about the Hydropower Company’s compensation plan, and instantly discovered the board meeting; I wanted to sneak in and see who touched your heart, and something happened inside right away… oh, and!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He patted the front pocket of the guard uniform, then frowned:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your goat falling out of the shopping bag I can accept—it was a big turn, after all—but this pocket is too weird.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To avoid losing my ID, I specifically fastened the pocket’s button, yet just as I bent over, one thread snapped, flinging the Clearance Bureau ID straight out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that security manager—he could’ve passed by a second earlier or later, nothing would’ve happened; yet he appeared precisely when he shouldn’t have. Aren’t there too many coincidences today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That does sound absurd… and the number of good and bad luck events is exactly equal? Hmm… I get it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black goat blinked thoughtfully, then declared with certainty:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kid, today should be your birthday!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>???\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Birthday? My birthday’s still far off! And what does that have to do with anything?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh, it’s a blessing the Clearance Bureau stole from the Lord of the Stars.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Li Ang’s confusion, the black goat chuckled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t think the Clearance Bureau’s 87 branches were named randomly, do you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kid, let me tell you—your 87 branches are themselves a conceptual anomaly, called something like ‘Star Chart Protection.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its effect grants Clearance Bureau employees protection from their corresponding star constellation on their birthday, granting a wish-fulfillment-like ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this wish-fulfillment is degraded—it can only help you achieve goals already within reach; if you wished to become king of the world, you’d get nothing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That doesn’t make sense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ang frowned, then shook his head:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wish-fulfillment is good luck—but half of today was bad luck!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bad luck? That’s exactly right. You think the Lord of the Stars has no temper?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if recalling something hilarious, the black goat chuckled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though forced to grant you the blessing, that Lord of the Stars is petty—he immediately added a matching curse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every Clearance Bureau employee, on their birthday, gains a favor through the blessing—and suffers an equal number of misfortunes after achieving their goal. A fair exchange.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That… makes sense…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recalling the events again, Li Ang nodded slightly, then frowned and shook his head:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But my birthday’s already passed—it’s not today!”\u003C\u002Fp>",1245,"2026-06-20T03:18:28.556Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","4cb02d7d71d9aa6be7702090f2e519548f69bbd978cb194b6aa132bb3f73691e","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-41","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-39",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-the-cleanup-crew-cover.jpg"]