Chapter 422: Don

"Hmm… yes, it really was just an accident."

Looking at his sister, who had been comforting him with gentle words, and noticing how much better her complexion had become, Li Ang felt a slight easing of the heavy burden on his heart, and smiled as he agreed with a few words.

…

Indeed, the uncontrolled infection incident involving four to five hundred people yesterday had, after the "mastermind" was shot dead by Li Ang and Senior Emma submitted the incident report, been reclassified as an accidental event.

According to the Red-haired Director, deep beneath the Cleaners' headquarters lay an anomaly of astonishingly high rank.

Once Cleaners' staff completed their cleanup task and submitted their incident report, the anomaly's rule would activate, forcibly rewriting the memories of nearly all eyewitnesses—in this case, the event was disguised as a gas explosion.

In Anna's and others' memories, the first explosion occurred when the hospital's gas pipeline cracked, which coincidentally shattered the storage room holding anesthetics; large quantities of anesthetic rapidly dispersed through the ventilation system, causing collective unconsciousness among hundreds of patients and medical staff.

The second explosion then struck the sixth floor, where the director's office was located, and the fourth floor, where the intensive care ward stood; the hospital director was killed instantly, and Anna's intensive care ward was reduced to rubble.

Thanks to her having smelled the gas leak in time and decisively helping two nurses climb out the window, she barely survived—but was slashed on the leg by falling glass from above, while another nurse suffered severe injuries with multiple joint traumas.

Just as the third explosion was about to occur, Li Ang and his colleague arrived to visit her, promptly shut off the gas valve, prevented a greater disaster, and saved the lives of hundreds in the hospital.

…

Yes, that supposedly incredibly powerful anomaly even took care of the Cleaners' staff's mental health while fabricating the story, deliberately preserving Li Ang and his colleague's "credit" so they wouldn't feel psychologically unbalanced for saving lives without recognition.

Even stranger, to facilitate the Cleaners' reporting for bonuses, it implanted false memories in the victims: that the Cleaners had received public reports about the hospital's illegal overcharging and had sent investigators—highlighting a thoughtful, open, humanized approach, albeit with a slight lack of shame.

After hearing this utterly absurd operation, Li Ang—who understood the difference between "procedure" and "artificial intelligence"—instinctively questioned the anomaly, sensing that something so adaptable clearly possessed its own intelligence, and suspected it was not merely an object blindly following rules.

Yet the answer he received from the Red-haired Director was that this anomaly had always had a mind—even that it was, in essence, nothing but a brain.

This high-rank memory-distorting anomaly was originally a demonic deity who had arrived unprepared and was captured alive.

After eliminating it, the Cleaners discovered its exceptional ability to alter memories, so they simply excavated its brain and placed it inside an anomaly named 【Illusion Jar】, turning it into a specialized tool for concluding large-scale incidents.

However, because its mass-memory-altering capability was too dangerous if left under a single person's control, its activation conditions were extremely strict: approval from at least half of the twelve board members was required; otherwise, it remained buried deep underground, operational only in moments of extreme peril.

…

So what exactly did "extreme peril" mean? Or more plainly—if someone intended to attack the Cleaners, would that count as extreme peril?

As the Red-haired Director spoke these words, Li Ang instantly grasped the definition of "danger," and solved a massive mystery—why did the nations of this world allow an organization like the Cleaners to exist? And why did they actively cooperate?

They probably weren't choosing to cooperate—they were forced to!

After all, just this brain of a demonic deity, capable of altering collective memory, was enough to make every kingdom with ill intentions choke on its own drink—and who knew how long the Cleaners' history stretched? Who knew what other strange, bizarre artifacts they still hid?

After learning this, and indirectly understanding just how powerful the Cleaners truly were, Li Ang was now certain: he would be bound to this mysterious organization for the rest of his life.

Standing on the front line defending humanity, knowing the world's truth, gaining abilities far beyond ordinary people… these alone were enough to make refusal impossible, not to mention the Cleaners' high pay, excellent benefits, and official status within the Kingdom.

Especially regarding official status—he'd heard that in the capital's matchmaking market, those with official status, regardless of gender, were especially sought after… sss… wait, wasn't I prepared to remain single for life? Why am I suddenly thinking about matchmaking? Has something triggered me today? Or, as the Black Goat said, have I reached the age where I'm starting to stir?

…

"Brother? Brother! What's wrong?"

After calling out to Li Ang several times without response, Anna, who had been sipping her fish soup slowly from her bowl, blinked in confusion.

Watching her brother's face shift between intense seriousness and an unexpectedly shy smile, the frail girl thought for a moment, set the white fish soup back on the bedside table, then raised her right hand to cover her lips—now glistening faintly with oil—and let out a low, suppressed cough.

"Hmm?"

Hearing that long-familiar, heart-wrenching cough—heard constantly over the past two years—Li Ang instantly snapped out of his daydreaming as if by reflex.

He hurriedly looked toward the girl on the bed; seeing Anna had coughed once and said nothing more, he relaxed, then reached for the soup bowl on the nightstand and said apologetically:

"I was just thinking about work, didn't pay attention to you… Why did you cough just now? Did you choke? Should I feed you instead?"

"No… hmm…"

Seeing Li Ang immediately turn to her upon hearing the cough, the frail girl's eyes warmed slightly; she shook her head, about to say she hadn't choked—but seeing the spoon already at her lips, she hesitated, then accepted it without refusal.

Leaning on Li Ang's arm, she sat back slightly against the pillow he'd brought, resting against the headboard, and began sipping the soup again, small mouthfuls at a time.

Yet for some reason, though she had already drunk nearly half the bowl alone moments ago, she now occasionally coughed lightly one or two times, then, when Li Ang asked with concern, smiled faintly, shook her head, and slightly parted her oily lips, calmly waiting for the next spoonful…

Mom and Dad, are you still watching me?

If you can, I hope you'll let this bowl of soup last a little longer, let my brother stay with me just a little longer—but not too long, just a few more sips…

"Tap. Tap-tap."

The sound of knuckles tapping against glass interrupted the girl's prayer.

The two in the room turned toward the sound, and were surprised to find that outside the door stood a girl with red-rimmed eyes.

The girl had a childlike face, roughly the same age as them—sixteen or seventeen—but wore a mature professional suit, and a delicate name badge pinned to her chest.

She appeared to have already begun working, perhaps even for several years, yet something about her felt strangely off, as if she hadn't yet grown accustomed to this attire.

"I'm from the gas company. I signed the inspection form for this hospital's pipeline. I… I'm sorry!"

After receiving Li Ang and Anna's permission, the girl with swollen eyes carefully pushed the door open, stepped in, and without a word, bowed deeply—ninety degrees—toward Li Ang, tears welling in her eyes:

"This whole incident is my fault!

If I had inspected the pipeline more strictly back then, it might not have exploded, and your wife wouldn't have jumped out the window and been injured! Please, rest assured—I will provide compensation you'll be satisfied with!"

(End of Chapter)