Chapter 426: Badge Inventory (Two-in-One)

【Wine Nation Martyr: Is this wine? It is flowing cold fire, a remedy for forgetting worries, an oasis in the city, an antidote to a painful life, a river with temperature, and the loneliness boiling in the deepest part of the heart on countless cold nights.】

【Wearing effect: The more alcohol in your body, the lower the impact of negative emotions such as fear, timidity, and panic on you.】

【When there is 20mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, this effect will reach its maximum value, directly immunizing you from the influence of related negative emotions, but you will enter a special state: "Drunkenness."】

【Drunkenness: Your reaction time increases by 50%, limb coordination decreases by 50%, perception of the surrounding environment decreases by 50%, and courage increases by 300%.】

【Advancement route: After tasting one thousand types of "craft" level or higher, one hundred types of "fine brew" level or higher, ten types of "mellow brew" level or higher, and one type of "intoxicating brew" level or higher fine wines, this badge will automatically advance to the exotic badge "Wine Immortal."】

【Current progress is 117/1000, 7/100, 1/10, 0/1 respectively.】

【Hidden trait (no need to wear): After a hellish binge, your body has adapted to the ravages of alcohol and found the knack for dealing with it; your alcohol metabolism rate has been significantly increased.】

Drinking wildly all night and sleeping for a whole day in exchange for a Gold-rank badge... This... seems... not unacceptable?

After reading the specific effects of 【Wine Nation Martyr】, Li Ang's emotions finally calmed down.

As expected of a Gold-rank badge, the effects are indeed very powerful.

Although his courage wasn't small, he still felt some fear when facing the hospital that would directly "eat people" that day.

Especially the scene in the first-floor lobby, which was like a living hell; even just observing it through the scope made his heart skip a beat.

Honestly, if he hadn't been sniping from afar but had walked in with Senior Ai Ma with a gun, he might not have even been able to hit anyone in that extremely terrifying scene.

But with this Gold-rank badge, as long as he carried a bottle of high-proof alcohol, he could directly significantly reduce the impact of these negative emotions and regain his composure. For this kind of work that walks on the edge of life and death, calmness and rationality could save his life at critical moments.

In addition, according to Senior Ai Ma, although there aren't many abilities that directly affect the soul like the Hearing Hearing Heishanyang, it's not impossible to encounter them. With the Cleaning Bureau's terrifyingly large scope of work, he might run into one at any time.

And although this 【Wine Nation Martyr】 is limited in scope, only immunizing against negative emotions like fear, timidity, and panic, if the opponent's ability happens to fall within this range, it will be directly countered to death. Even if the range is relatively narrow, this is still an extremely powerful trump card.

It seems... there is still a lot to be mined from the badge system.

Looking at the four slots on the panel, as well as the seven badges—three Iron, two Bronze, one Gold, and one exotic—Li Ang couldn't help but ponder.

Among the seven badges he had activated, 【Unemployed Youth】 not only had a confusing ability, but also required quitting the Cleaning Bureau to upgrade, so it wasn't something he could upgrade just by working hard; pass for now. The same goes for 【Probationary Worker】, which takes two months of employment to upgrade.

The remaining 【Trustworthy Older Brother】 has no advancement route, 【Materialist Soul】 cannot be upgraded further, and although 【Wine Nation Martyr】 can still be upgraded, he doesn't know wine and doesn't have the money to buy so much fine wine, so he has to give up on it for now.

So, the only ones that could be actively upgraded are 【Demon's Follower】 and 【Shooting Rookie】.

The former is the easiest; just buy a few more packs of "Gao Te" for the Hearing Hearing Heishanyang behind the Cleaning Bureau's back. The latter requires live-fire shooting, and he might have to find a way through the military... Hmm... Wait, the Police Department seems to have a shooting range, right?

Recalling that he had seen armed police when he was bumming meals at the Police Department cafeteria, Li Ang set his sights on the Police Department.

Although they were only affiliated with the Police Department, the Cleaning Bureau was nominally subordinate to the Police Department. To them, he could be considered half of their own, so borrowing their training facilities... shouldn't be a problem, right?

Hmm... practicing shooting to grind badges, investigating the Water Company and the Road Administration, visiting the middle-aged nurse named Hanna... He had only been on the job for two days, yet he already had so much to do...

Clutching his head, which was still dizzy, the pale-faced Li Ang climbed up and rummaged through the old desk by the bed.

After a clattering sound, he found half a piece of charcoal and some scrap paper he had picked up, recorded the things he needed to do one by one, then carefully folded them and tucked them into his bosom along with his wallet.

"Brother! You're awake!"

Perhaps hearing the sound of rummaging, a little boy whose facial features were 70% similar to Li Ang's, but who looked a bit slow-witted, peeked through the door crack.

Seeing that Li Ang was already up, he ran in with a face full of surprise, hugged his thigh tightly, and then his eyes turned red.

"Sister coughed so loudly the day before yesterday, and her handkerchief was coughed red. She hasn't come back yet, and after you came back, I couldn't wake you up no matter what. I... I thought..."

"William! What are you doing!"

Seemingly hearing the sound here, another little girl of similar age, shaking a head of light golden hair, ran over, pulled the little boy's sleeve, and said angrily:

"Didn't that sister with hair like a tomato say it? Big brother is just drunk! Drunk, do you understand?"

"It's just a small illness like a cold. He'll be fine after a sleep! He won't die! If you talk nonsense again, I'll hit you!"

After scolding the little boy who was half a head taller than her, the little girl with the same hair color as Anna hesitated, then finally rushed over, hugged Li Ang's other leg, lowered her head, and said with red eyes:

"Big brother, how is... how is sister?"

"Anna is fine. She's already okay."

Looking at the two children hugging his thighs tightly on the left and right, a flash of guilt crossed Li Ang's eyes.

The night before last, Anna suddenly coughed up blood. He hurriedly entrusted these younger siblings to a neighbor, not even having time to leave a word of instruction, and carried Anna to the hospital. He spent a whole day there, and that night he joined the Cleaning Bureau and encountered an anomalous event, tossing and turning for another whole night.

Later, after solving the out-of-control infected person, he and Senior Ai Ma rescued the doctors and nurses and changed Anna's ward and new medication. It was already dawn, and he was so sleepy he couldn't go home, so he just slept for a while in Anna's hospital bed.

When he woke up, he rushed back to the Cleaning Bureau to report the situation. After reporting, he specifically asked for leave, originally intending to confirm Anna's situation before going home, but then he heard information about a suspected anomalous object from the baby-faced employee of the gas company, so he had to run back to the Cleaning Bureau again.

Sigh... He hadn't slept much for two days, and on top of being busy, not only did he not think to ask someone to go home and report that he was safe, but after work, he was dragged to drink wildly, and then slept for a whole day.

Really... the adults in the family were either sick or lying down, and he hadn't been home for more than two days. They must have been scared to death. He wasn't a very competent big brother...

Gently touching the heads of his younger siblings, Li Ang sat on the edge of the bed with them, leaned down, and comforted them softly:

"Don't worry, I specifically asked the doctor yesterday. The doctor said Anna's situation is very stable, and her illness is no longer a problem." "Really!"

Hearing Li Ang's words, the slow-witted William buried his head and didn't make a sound, but the much livelier little girl suddenly raised her head and said happily:

"So what that red-haired sister said is true? Anna sister can come home soon?"

"Hmm."

Li Ang smiled and nodded:

"The doctor said she only needs to rest for two more days before she can come home. After that, she just needs to take her medicine on time, and she will fully recover in three months at most. She won't cough ever again."

Upon hearing this good news, the two little ones were overjoyed, their little faces filled with joy from the bottom of their hearts.

When they were still too young to have memories, their four siblings' parents, who were mechanics, had already sacrificed themselves in the war to defend the country a few years ago. They didn't have clear memories of their parents, and they were almost entirely raised by Anna.

So even though Anna herself was less than sixteen, in the hearts of these two younger siblings, "the eldest sister acts as a mother" wasn't an exaggerated description, but a concrete reality. Hearing the news that Anna was okay, they were definitely happier than anyone else in the world.

Carefully looking at the appearance and complexion of his younger siblings, and confirming that they hadn't been hungry or cold for the past two days, Li Ang, who finally felt relieved, touched the little girl's golden hair and asked with a smile:

"What about that red-haired big sister? Melanie, tell me, when did she leave, and what did she say to you?"

"Ah... let me think..."

Although she was the youngest in the family, compared to her somewhat slow-witted twin brother, the little girl named Melanie was clearly much sharper.

After tilting her head and recalling for a while, she counted on her fingers and relayed seriously:

"After the red-haired big sister carried you back, she gave the auntie who takes care of us a silver wheel, and begged her to take good care of us before you woke up."

"Then she also said, she'd give you another day off today, and she'd handle the nurses and such tomorrow. Hmm... also, she bought Melanie and William some very, very sweet milk candies, and said she'd give us a new set of clothes..."

"But we didn't take them!"

Just then, the little boy who had been listening silently couldn't help but interject:

"Big brother and sister have both said! Anyone who meets us and wants to give us candy or clothes must be a bad person, a human trafficker who kidnaps children. We must never go with them."

"So as soon as I heard she wanted to buy us clothes, I immediately glared at her very hard! And shouted loudly that someone was kidnapping children, and directly scared her away!"

"..."

(⊙_⊙)?

In Li Ang's expression, which was 30% speechless and 70% stunned, the slow-witted little William stood up with a thud, patted his little chest hard, and said proudly:

"Big brother! I scared away the bad person and protected Melanie! Did I do well?"

"Pah! You still have the nerve to say that!"

Before Li Ang could speak, the angry golden-haired little girl rushed over, stretched out her little hand, and patted her twin brother's head hard, shouting angrily while patting:

"Stupid! Bai Chi! Big fool! Stubborn! Wooden head!"

"Are you stupid! Can you use your brain? Big brother was carried back by her, so can she be a bad person? You hurry up and pay for my new clothes!"

"Also, if you were really afraid she was a bad person, then don't take the candy either. Why did you grab the candy from me? I hate you to death!"

"I... didn't you eat several pieces first?"

The slow-witted little boy, while raising his thin arms to cover his head, trying his best to resist his sister's attack, argued righteously:

"I thought, since you ate the candy and were fine, that proves the candy definitely isn't poisonous. Why shouldn't I eat non-poisonous candy?"

"..."

Good fellow... the logic is actually quite strong, but should you be considered a fool or a smart egg?

Looking at the younger siblings who were chasing and fleeing, becoming increasingly noisy and making the room a mess, Li Ang, who had just been full of guilt, immediately switched to the parent mode of disliking the children more the more he looked at them. Clutching his head, which was still dizzy from the hangover, he waved his hand helplessly:

"Stop making a scene, sigh... you two are really... our family will soon have money. When the salary is issued, whether it's candy or new clothes, big brother will buy them for you!"

After promising a huge benefit worth two copper wheels and finally pacifying the quarreling younger siblings, Li Ang looked at the dark sky outside and tried his best to get up, preparing to get something to eat.

"You must be hungry, right? Big brother is going to cook for you."

"No need, we've already eaten!"

After glaring angrily at her stupid twin brother, Melanie shook her two light golden braids and answered happily:

"Although I was scared away by the idiot William, that red-haired sister came back quietly later and put a lot, lot of food in our house, enough for our family to eat for several days. We just came to see you after we finished eating."

"Right, right!"

Seemingly remembering the delicious food just now, the slow-witted William licked his lips and nodded repeatedly:

"Especially the fried fish and smoked red sausage, they were very, very fragrant. We ate a lot!"

"Hmph! Didn't you say she was a bad person? Why did you still eat her food? Weren't you afraid of being caught?"

"Not afraid, I waited for you to finish eating first, and after seeing you were fine, I ate it. Like the mashed potatoes you didn't eat, I didn't eat a single bite. I'm smart!"

"I... I'll die of anger because of you!"

"Alright, alright!"

Seeing that they were arguing again as they spoke and were about to start a new round of fighting, Li Ang hurriedly grabbed one with each hand and changed the subject with a headache:

"And then? You two ate so many good things from her, did you thank her properly?"

"Of course!"

After glaring at her stupid twin brother, Melanie shook her braids and said proudly:

"Anna sister said, we are just poor, not wild children without parents. We must be polite!"

"So not only did I say thank you to the big sister, but I also pressed William's head and forced him to say it too! But... hmm... the big sister didn't seem very happy. When I wanted to hug her, she just ran away..."

Speaking of this, seemingly remembering something she didn't understand, Melanie blinked her bright eyes and pinched her little skirt in confusion:

"She seemed to say... she doesn't like children, saying that once children get familiar, they easily treat others as their mother, and then they will forget her without permission..."

"Brother, I didn't quite understand what the big sister said. Why would we forget her after we get familiar with her?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 427 =====