Chapter 408: Sixth Cleanup Bureau

Our Cleanup Bureau is technically a branch department under the Police Force, but it isn't fully subordinate to the Kingdom's Police Department—it's a relatively independent and loose transnational organization with branches in every country, receiving assignments and leadership from each nation to handle special incidents.

Aside from the headquarters, whose location remains unknown, we have a total of 87 branches, each assigned a zodiac constellation as its codename. The one you've just joined is Branch Six, codenamed Virgo, also known as the Virgo Cleanup Bureau.

After calmly explaining the Bureau's situation, the red-haired woman saw Li Ang visibly relax, her mischievous streak satisfied; she smirked and pointed to the black goat beside her.

As for our duties, we deal with these troublesome entities so they don't disrupt ordinary people's lives.

Specifically, this includes—but isn't limited to—soul-harvesting interdimensional demons, mad deities seeking to manifest their will, radical gods preparing to seize control of the world, peculiar anomalies born from human obsessions, oceanic races aiming to reclaim the land, ancient civilizations frozen in polar icecaps, undead phantoms escaped from normal time, primordial creatures surviving deep within the crust, indigenous populations thriving behind the moon…

…

Fuck… is this world really this complicated? I thought it was just a 19th-century setting with a messed-up tech tree, but I had no idea so many dangers lurked beneath the surface?

"You actually believed that?"

Watching Li Ang, wide-eyed and utterly stunned by her tale, the red-haired woman found it hilarious; she raised a hand to cover her slightly upturned, glistening lips, bent her supple waist forward slightly, and let out a soft, stifled laugh.

As her lush figure swayed gently, the faint flush on her face—already tinged with three parts intoxication—deepened into a delicate, charming rosy hue, like a vivid, delicate oleander blossom blooming silently in the dim corridor, exuding a sweet, subtly toxic fragrance…

So she was just messing with me… scared the hell out of me…

Looking at the red-haired woman laughing so charmingly before him, though he'd just been tricked, Li Ang's heart—weighed down by his sister's relapsed illness—somehow felt a little lighter. But…

Wait, what was I just asking? Did she answer me?

Amid the red-haired woman's bright smile, a faint mist drifted through Li Ang's mind; his clear memories suddenly blurred in one spot, as if something had been quietly erased.

After standing there, hesitating, unable to recall any reason for the gap, he reluctantly set aside the strange fog and asked the question he cared about most.

"Um, may I ask about the Bureau's compensation…"

"The pay is quite good."

Locking eyes with Li Ang and catching that familiar dazed look, the red-haired woman smiled and replied:

"If you pass your probation, you become an assistant-level civil servant of the Kingdom, but your salary is set at the clerk level—roughly 12 gold wheels per week."

Twelve gold wheels? That much?!

Hearing the Bureau's pay scale, Li Ang jolted involuntarily, instantly forgetting his minor doubts.

One gold wheel equals ten silver wheels, which equals one hundred copper wheels—so twelve gold wheels is 1, 00 copper wheels; over 52 weeks, that's 62, 00 copper wheels a year!

In the capital, even a very lavish breakfast costs only two or three copper wheels. After probation, I'd be earning over sixty thousand copper wheels annually—I'd leap straight from poverty into the middle class!

Forget everything else—starting now, the Cleanup Bureau is my second home!

"Besides salary, you'll also receive other benefits."

Glancing at Li Ang, whose breathing had quickened noticeably, the red-haired woman added with a smile:

"Normal clerks get two ten-day vacations per year, plus weekends off—roughly 160 days of rest annually including holidays.

But our Bureau's work is special—we must be on call at all times, so we don't get those holidays. And since you're not a wanted criminal but voluntarily joined a dangerous department, you qualify for additional perks.

In addition to doubled benefits like pensions and housing subsidies granted to other civil servants, you, your spouse, and all your direct relatives receive free medical care, with a combined annual reimbursement limit of 2, 00 gold wheels.

When your children reach school age, they may freely enroll in any public school except the Imperial Inner Academy, without exams and with direct promotion; even if they transfer externally, they can switch schools at will. And when they turn sixteen, the Bureau will issue you a recommendation letter: except for the top three universities, which still require academic performance, they'll all admit them without exams—even if you die in the line of duty, it remains valid…"

Die in the line of duty? I'll die in the line of duty right now!

No—I mean, from now on, I'm alive as a member of the Cleanup Bureau, dead as a corpse of the Cleanup Bureau, my ashes will be Cleanup Bureau ashes, and even if someone scatters them, they'll still be Cleanup Bureau dust storms!

After taking two deep, silent breaths, Li Ang, now overflowing with loyalty to the Bureau, raised his head, clenched his fists tightly, and forced his expression into calmness as he asked:

"Then… when can I start?"

"Now."

Returning to her large desk, she rummaged in a drawer, then tossed him a palm-sized booklet with a smile:

"Take this—your credentials. Write your name on it, pin on the badge inside, and your paperwork's done."

That's it?

Catching the booklet, Li Ang opened it skeptically; after glancing at the badge inside, he blurted out in surprise:

"This woman pushing a ball—is…"

"It's our Branch Six emblem."

The red-haired woman explained: "The Cleanup Bureau's symbol is a dung beetle pushing a dung ball—it signifies that we, like the beetle, clear away polluting things and draw nourishment and power from them.

But since we need to distinguish members of different branches, each branch's emblem differs. For example, our Sixth Cleanup Bureau, using Virgo as its codename, replaced the beetle with a woman pushing a dung ball."

…

A woman pushing a dung ball… a female dung beetle? Who the hell designed this?

Holding the badge—more like a cursed artifact designed to torment its wearer—Li Ang's face twitched violently, his throat choked with a million unsaid complaints.

Forced by the Bureau's generous benefits, he swallowed them all down, silently pinned on the dung beetle woman badge, and took the feather pen the red-haired woman offered, writing his name on the booklet's inner page.

*Sss*

【You have successfully obtained employment and activated the Iron Badge: Probationary Worker】

【Probationary Worker: A job seeker hired for meeting basic position requirements but still under observation; the lowest rank in any enterprise or state department. Since not yet formally employed, also called a temporary worker】

【Wearing Effect: Your work efficiency increases slightly while performing assigned duties】

【Upgrade Path: If you wear this badge continuously for over two months without being fired, it will automatically upgrade to the Bronze Badge: Worker, and cannot be removed until upgrade is complete】

【Hidden Trait (No Need to Wear): If this badge has not yet been upgraded to Bronze and your department is facing serious issues, your likelihood of being blamed and fired increases dramatically】

【Note: This badge's traits conflict with your acquired badge "Unemployed Youth." The badge "Unemployed Youth" has been automatically removed】

(End of Chapter)