Chapter 409: Level-3 Handler

This hidden trait… scapegoat?

Staring at the glaring word "Dismissed," Li Ang, who had only just crawled out of "hell," couldn't help but shudder. Instinctively, he tried to remove the badge, but received a "temporarily cannot be removed" response and had no choice but to give up, silently praying in his heart instead.

Heaven protect us—during these two months before this badge levels up to Bronze, please don't let anything major happen at the Cleanup Bureau. My whole family is counting on this job to turn our lives around, and there's still my sister Anna's illness…

Right! Anna!

Thinking of his sister still waiting for treatment in a hospital bed, Li Ang, who had just completed his onboarding, hurriedly requested leave, then rushed out of the Cleanup Bureau, preparing to use the benefits he'd just received to get Anna better treatment.

And after he hurried off, the Hearing Hearing Heishanyang, who had been silently watching from the sidelines, clicked its tongue twice and said to the red-haired woman with eyes full of schadenfreude:

"Heh! You don't even want him to know what the Cleanup Bureau does—guess you're not planning to let him take part in missions?

What's the deal? You saw the kid's already at his wits' end, took pity on him, and decided to lend him a hand?"

"No."

Producing another bottle of liquor from who-knows-where and taking a big swig, the red-haired woman wiped the smile from her face and said indifferently:

"The more 'truth' we humans come into contact with, the deeper the contamination from the dark side, and the more easily our scent attracts new anomalies.

Li Ang's talent is quite good, but the Bureau is short-staffed right now and can't spare anyone to protect him constantly. I've temporarily blocked off that part of his memory so anomalies won't come knocking at his door.

As for the specific job duties, once we find an anomaly item suited for him, we can tell him then—it's not too late."

Pull the other one—that kid's got no talent at all!

Not buying the red-haired woman's explanation at all, the Hearing Hearing Heishanyang said dismissively:

"Cut the crap! Sure, he withstood our 【Whisper of Corruption】, but that doesn't mean his willpower is anything special. The kid just happens to be fairly rational by nature, and his moral compass is a bit stronger than the average person's, that's all.

If you ask me, a guy like him—whose fighting spirit's been almost completely ground down, who's gotten used to being obedient like a sheep—isn't even as good as those death-row inmates who can only serve as cannon fodder. He probably won't even make it through his first mission."

"He'll make it through."

Without telling the Hearing Hearing Heishanyang about the "anomaly" Li Ang possessed, the red-haired woman took another big swig of ale, then said calmly:

"I can take him along on the first few missions myself, and Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's assignment is almost wrapped up—she should be back by tonight.

After that, if I have time, I'll take him; if I'm busy, I'll have Auntie Auntie Ai Ma cover for me, until he can stand on his own."

Good lord, you're going to all that trouble? What do you see in this kid?

"Don't you dare pull anything!"

The Hearing Hearing Heishanyang frowned, its face full of displeasure:

"The Cleanup Bureau's performance is always calculated by the number of full-time members. Our Sixth Bureau is currently ranked second-to-last, and the year-end review is in two months. You recruit a big deadweight like this now? Worried you won't make it to dead last yourself?"

"Mind your own business."

"I can't be bothered to!"

The Hearing Hearing Heishanyang curled its lip:

"The number of people you've killed is more than everyone I've met in my whole life, so I've actually always quite admired you—except when you go around handing out charity.

As the most frenzied executioner in the entire Cleanup Bureau, wouldn't it be better if you just stuck to your own job? Why do you have to play the bleeding heart? Do you have any idea how disgusting you look when you're being charitable?"

"Oh."

"…"

"Tch… you don't really think pulling that kid up by his bootstraps will save his life, do you?"

Watching the red-haired woman drink with an indifferent expression, clearly too lazy to bother with him, the Hearing Hearing Heishanyang's face darkened and it couldn't help but jeer:

"I know humans like the back of my hand. If you're always struggling in the dark, you can still barely hold on by leaning on the numbness you've gotten used to. But now you've dragged him up onto dry land and let him see what it's like under the sun—there's no going back from that.

When the year-end review comes and you can't pass and get held accountable, leading to him getting dismissed too, and he personally feels the stark contrast of falling from heaven back to hell, the kid might just go crazy on the spot. He might even end up like that 'whoever' from before, resenting you for why you had to pull him up…

Right, what was it that 'whoever' said back then?"

Striding brazenly into the dim office and dropping into a sofa padded with thick cushions, the Hearing Hearing Heishanyang crossed its legs and, right in front of the silent red-haired woman, raised a front hoof and mimicked with a teasing look:

"I hate you! Olivia! I hate you! I could have kept enduring the darkness—why did you have to drag me out into the sun and let me know how a person is supposed to live?!"

"Squeak!"

The moment the Hearing Hearing Heishanyang finished speaking, the ear-splitting scrape of a blade across bone rang out.

As if sliced into pieces by countless thin, sharp blades in an instant, the Hearing Hearing Heishanyang, which had been holding up its front hoof, was torn apart in the blink of an eye, its various parts clattering and scattering all over the floor.

But strangely, even though the Hearing Hearing Heishanyang had been reduced to mutton offal, there wasn't a trace of blood in the office. The woman behind the desk still maintained her original posture, as if nothing had happened, taking big gulps of the ale in her hand.

Only, her bright red hair had suddenly dimmed in color quite a bit, and at the slightly curled ends—which were unkempt—a faint, eerie crimson had silently seeped in.

"I've warned you many times not to say my name directly."

Tossing aside the empty bottle that had somehow already been drained, the red-haired woman crooked a finger toward the sofa. A sheep's head, its mouth sewn shut with red thread, floated over and was placed neatly on her desk.

After exchanging a look with the Hearing Hearing Heishanyang on the desk, whose eyes were full of shocked fury, the red-haired woman named Olivia shook her head:

"On account of the good work you did last time, I allowed you to move around freely in the Bureau. But now it seems this look suits you better.

Also, next I'm planning to take some time to head to Wales County, to look into what actually happened back then, and why you're afraid of men from Wales County.

Until I get back, just stay like this! Once I figure out exactly what you're afraid of, I'll make sure you get a good taste of the price of running your mouth!"

"Mmph?! Mmph! MMPH!!!"

……

Unaware of what had happened after he left, Li Ang rushed back to the hospital and hurriedly knocked on the door of the respiratory department's office. Just before the department head—who was packing up to leave—clocked out, he handed over his brand-new credentials, still warm from being printed.

Sixth Cleanup Bureau? Does the Ministry of Police have a department like that? And what kind of position is a Level-3 Incident Handler?

Taking the credentials Li Ang handed him and flipping through them with some skepticism, the chubby department head—who had been full of doubt just moments ago—suddenly couldn't help but stiffen, once he recognized several special markings.

The kingdom's public servant system is divided into five grades. From top to bottom: Executive Grade, Administrative Grade, Clerical Grade, Assistant Grade, and Miscellaneous Grade.

His own position as head of the respiratory department at a lower-tier hospital barely counted as upper-tier Miscellaneous Grade. If he worked things right in the twenty-plus years until he was about to retire, he might just have a shot at scraping into the bottom of Assistant Grade.

But the scrawny young man in the old coat standing in front of him was already an Assistant Grade public servant—and his benefits were issued directly at the Clerical Grade level! Someone like that would probably only need three to five years before they could move up again, squeezing right into the ranks of Clerical Grade public servants.

Damn! Wouldn't that put him on the same level as our hospital director?

Looking at the young man in front of him who couldn't even be twenty yet, the chubby department head's eyes couldn't help but reveal a thick envy—and a sliver of jealousy hidden very deep.

Hearing Li Ang · Lionheart — sharing the same surname as the Duke of Lionheart, and holding an assistant-grade public office before the age of twenty, there was no need to ask about his background: he had to be from that illustrious great noble house, and most likely a member of the main line with excellent resources.

He himself had toiled away in the bureau for over twenty years, and his greatest hope was merely to land an assistant-grade public office before retirement — yet this fellow, barely in his teens, was already at the front rank of assistant-grade, sitting right at the end of a lifetime's dream, and could even have half a seat to spare on top of that. Where on earth was the justice in that?

After cursing inwardly at the damned well-connected brat and tagging the man in his mind as someone absolutely not to be offended, the layers of fat folds on the fat director's face bloomed open like a flower, and rubbing his hands together with a beaming smile, he said to Hearing Li Ang:

"Mr. Hearing Li Ang, may I ask if there's somewhere you're feeling unwell?"

"It's not me, it's my sister."

After briefly explaining Anna's situation, and before Hearing Li Ang had even stated his request, the pot-bellied fat director volunteered to transfer her immediately to the best ward, equip her with the best potions, and thumping his chest, he guaranteed that he, as director, would personally follow up and ensure that Young Lady Anna received the highest standard of treatment in the entire capital.

Somewhat unused to the fat director's excessive enthusiasm, Hearing Li Ang endured the awkwardness in his heart, exchanged a few polite pleasantries with him, then under the nurse's guidance, arrived early at the special-care ward and sat down on the soft sofa, waiting for the nurses to wheel Anna over.

Sitting alone in the quiet, tidy ward, looking at the new hospital bed in front of him with its spotless white sheets, Hearing Li Ang, sitting ramrod-straight on the sofa, could not help but feel a strange sense that everything had changed while he himself remained the same.

From the moment he had gripped the scalpel and charged out of the hospital until now, less than an hour had passed, yet the predicament that had once driven his whole family to the brink of ruin had already been solved with ease.

Not only was there now a solution for his sister's illness, but his family, which had just been struggling at the bottom of the capital, could now live a comfortable life on his salary. The price for all of this was merely…

Hm? What was the price again… Hiss! So hot! So hot!!!

Hearing Li Ang, who had been racking his brain trying to figure out what price he had paid, suddenly felt a searing pain on the skin over his heart — the dung-beetle lady badge representing the Sixth Cleansing Bureau abruptly radiated a terrifying heat like a branding iron, viciously burning him through three layers of clothing.

【An out-of-control Tainted One matching the job description has appeared. The Black Iron Badge "Probationary Employee" has been activated, and your work efficiency has been slightly increased.】

(End of this chapter)