Chapter 426: Badge Inventory (Combined)

【Wine Country Martyr: Is this wine? No—it is flowing cold fire, a remedy for forgetting sorrow, an oasis in the city, a cure for a painful life, a river with warmth, the solitude boiling at the deepest core of countless cold nights.】

【Wearing Effect: The higher the alcohol content in your body, the less impact fear, timidity, panic, and other negative emotions will have on you.】

【At 20 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, this effect reaches its peak, granting complete immunity to the effects of related negative emotions, but inducing the special state "Intoxicated."】

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

【Advanced Path: After sampling one thousand varieties of "Craft" grade or higher, one hundred varieties of "Fine" grade or higher, ten varieties of "Aged" grade or higher, and one variety of "Intoxicating" grade or higher, this badge will automatically upgrade to the Chromatic Badge "Sage of Wine."】

【Current progress: 117/1000, 7/100, 1/10, 0/1】

【Hidden Trait (No Equipment Required): After enduring a hellish binge-drinking session, your body has adapted to alcohol's ravages and developed a coping mechanism—your alcohol metabolism rate has been dramatically increased.】

Drank nonstop all night, slept all day, and earned a Gold-rank badge… This… maybe… isn't so bad?

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

No wonder it's a Gold-rank badge—the effect is truly powerful.

Though my courage isn't small, that day when facing the hospital that literally "ate people," I still felt some fear inside.

Especially the hellish scene in the first-floor lobby—even just observing it through the scope made my heart race and my flesh tremble.

To be honest, if I hadn't been sniping from afar but had instead marched in with Senior Emma, gun in hand, under those utterly terrifying conditions, I probably wouldn't have been able to hit anyone at all.

But with this Gold-rank badge, as long as I carry a bottle of high-proof liquor, I can drastically reduce the impact of these negative emotions and regain my composure—and for a job teetering on the edge of life and death, calmness and rationality can mean the difference between life and death.

Also, according to Senior Emma, abilities that directly affect the soul—like the Black Goat's—are rare, but not impossible to encounter; given the Cleaning Bureau's terrifyingly vast scope of operations, I might stumble upon one any day.

While the 【Wine Country Martyr】 has a limited range—only immune to fear, timidity, panic, and similar negative emotions—if an opponent's ability falls within this range, they'll be directly suppressed to death. Even with such a narrow scope, this is an extremely powerful trump card.

It seems… there's still much to uncover in the badge system.

Looking at the four slots on his panel, and the seven badges—three Iron, two Bronze, one Gold, one Chromatic—Li Ang fell into deep thought.

Of my seven currently activated badges, the 【Unemployed Youth】 not only has a confusing ability, but upgrading it requires leaving the Cleaning Bureau—it can't be upgraded by mere effort, so I'll pass for now. The 【Probationary Worker】, which only upgrades after two months of employment, is the same.

The remaining 【Reliable Older Brother】 has no advancement path, 【Materialist Soul】 cannot be upgraded further, and while the 【Wine Country Martyr】 can still advance, I don't understand wine and can't afford so many fine bottles—so I must set it aside for now.

That leaves only the 【Demon's Favored】 and 【Shooting Newbie】 as possible candidates for active upgrading.

The former is easiest—just secretly buy a few more packs of "Gao Te" for the Black Goat; the latter requires live-fire shooting—I'll need to think of a way to get help from the Military Department… Hmm… Wait, doesn't the Police Department also have a shooting range?

Recalling that he'd once seen armed police officers in the Police Department cafeteria, Li Ang began considering the Police Department.

Though the Cleaning Bureau is only nominally subordinate to the Police Department, it's still officially under their umbrella—technically, I'm half one of them. Borrowing their training facilities… shouldn't be a problem, right?

Hmm… practicing shooting to level up the badge, investigating the Hydro Company and Road Administration, visiting that middle-aged nurse named Hanna… I've only been employed two days, yet I already have so much to do…

Clutching his still-dizzy head, pale-faced Li Ang got up and rummaged through the old table beside his bed.

After a clatter of noise, he found a half-used charcoal stick and some scrap paper, wrote down everything he needed to do, carefully folded it, and tucked it into his chest beside his wallet.

"Brother! You're awake!"

Perhaps hearing the rustling, a boy with seven-tenths of Li Ang's facial features—but looking rather dim-witted—peeked through the door crack.

Seeing Li Ang up, he rushed in with a beaming face, clung tightly to his thigh, and his eyes turned slightly red:

"Sister coughed so hard two days ago, her handkerchief turned red, and she still hasn't come back. After you came home, no matter how much I called, you wouldn't wake up—I—I thought…"

"William! What are you doing!"

Hearing the commotion, another girl of similar age, her hair a pale gold, ran over, grabbed the boy's sleeve, and scolded angrily:

"Didn't that red-haired sister say your brother is just drunk? Drunk—you understand?

It's just a minor illness like a cold—sleep it off and you'll be fine, he won't die! If you keep saying nonsense, I'll hit you!"

After scolding the boy who was half a head taller than her, the girl with Anna's hair color hesitated, then rushed forward and hugged Li Ang's other leg, head bowed, eyes red:

"Big brother… how is sister?"

"Anna is fine. She's recovered."

Looking at the two children clinging tightly to his thighs, Li Ang's eyes flickered with guilt.

The night before last, Anna suddenly coughed up blood—I hastily left the siblings with neighbors without even saying goodbye, then carried Anna to the hospital, spent the whole day rushing around, then that night joined the Cleaning Bureau, encountered an anomaly, and stayed up all night again.

After resolving the uncontaminated infected, I helped Senior Emma revive the doctor and nurses, moved Anna to a new room and switched her medication, and by then dawn was breaking. I was so exhausted I couldn't make it home, so I just slept on Anna's hospital bed.

When I woke up, I rushed straight back to the Cleaning Bureau to report, then took leave specifically to check on Anna's condition before heading home—but then I heard from that boy-faced employee at the Gas Company about a possible anomaly, so I had to rush back to the Cleaning Bureau again.

Sigh… I haven't slept properly for two days straight, and with everything going on, I didn't even think to send someone home to reassure them—and after work, I was dragged into a binge-drinking session, then slept the whole next day.

Truly… one adult sick, one lying down, both gone for over two days—those two must be terrified. I'm a terrible older brother…

…

Gently stroking his siblings' heads, Li Ang sat them down on the bed, leaned down, and soothed them softly:

"Don't worry—I asked the doctor yesterday. He said Anna's condition is stable. Her illness is no longer a problem." "Really?"

Hearing Li Ang's words, the dim-witted William stayed silent, head down, but the livelier girl instantly lifted her head, beaming:

"So the red-haired sister was telling the truth? Anna will be coming home soon?"

"Yes."

Li Ang smiled and nodded:

"The doctor says she just needs two more days of rest, then she can go home. As long as she takes her medicine on schedule, she'll be fully cured in at most three months—and she'll never cough again."

Upon hearing this good news, the two children were overjoyed, their faces glowing with pure happiness.

When they were too young to remember anything, their parents—both mechanics—had already died in the war of national defense years ago; their memories of their parents were faint at best, and Anna had raised them almost entirely on her own.

So even though Anna herself was barely sixteen, in the eyes of these two younger siblings, "elder sister as mother" wasn't an exaggeration—it was reality. Hearing Anna was safe, they were happier than anyone else on this earth.

After carefully checking their appearance and complexion, confirming they hadn't gone hungry or cold these past two days, Li Ang finally relaxed. He stroked the girl's golden hair and smiled:

"Where's that red-haired sister? Mei Lan Ni, tell me—when did she leave? What did she say to you?"

"Ah… let me think…"

Though the youngest, Mei Lan Ni was clearly far sharper than her dim-witted twin brother.

After tilting her head in thought, she counted on her fingers, speaking seriously:

"The red-haired sister carried you home, gave our aunt a Silver Wheel, and asked her to take good care of us until you woke up.

Then she said to give you another day off, and to handle the nurses tomorrow. Oh—and she bought me and William really sweet milk candies, and promised to give us new clothes too…"

"But we didn't take them!"

At that moment, the quiet boy couldn't help but interrupt:

"Brother and sister always told us—if someone offers us candy or clothes, they're bad people, child traffickers—never go with them!

So when she said she'd buy us clothes, I glared at her hard and shouted 'Someone's kidnapping kids!'—she ran off right away!"

"…."

(⊙_⊙)?

In Li Ang's expression—three parts baffled, seven parts stunned—the dim-witted William stood up, patted his small chest proudly:

"Brother! I scared off the bad person and protected Mei Lan Ni! Wasn't that good?"

"Pfft! How can you even say that!"

Before Li Ang could speak, the golden-haired girl lunged at him, smacking his forehead with her tiny hand, yelling as she hit him:

"Idiot! Fool! Big dummy! Stubborn! Wooden head!

Are you stupid? Can't you use your brain? Our brother was carried home by her—how could she be bad? Give me back my new clothes!

And if you really thought she was bad, why did you eat the candy too? Why did you fight me for it? You're disgusting!"

"I… you ate several pieces first!"

The dim-witted boy shielded his head with his thin arms, defending himself firmly:

"I figured—if you ate the candy and were fine, then it must be safe. If it's not poisonous, why wouldn't I eat it?"

"…."

Well… his logic's actually solid—but is he an idiot or a genius?

Watching the siblings chase each other, turning the room into chaos, Li Ang—who had just been filled with guilt—switched instantly into parental annoyance mode. He held his still-dizzy head and waved weakly:

"Stop it, already… You two… We'll have money soon. When my salary comes, I'll buy you both candy and new clothes!"

After promising the enormous benefit of two copper wheels, he finally calmed the squabbling siblings. He looked outside at the pitch-black sky, struggled to sit up, and prepared to cook something.

"You're both hungry, right? Brother will cook for you."

"No need! We already ate!"

After glaring at her idiotic twin brother, Mei Lan Ni bounced her two golden braids and replied cheerfully:

"Even though the red-haired sister got scared off by that idiot William, she came back secretly later and left us so much food—enough for our whole family for days. We only came to see you after we finished eating."

"Yes, yes!"

As if remembering the delicious food, the dim-witted William licked his lips and nodded eagerly:

"Especially the fried fish and smoked sausage—so, so tasty! We ate a lot!"

"Hmph! You said she was a bad person—then why did you eat her food? Afraid of being kidnapped?"

"Not afraid—I waited until you ate first, made sure you were fine, then ate. I didn't touch the mashed potatoes you didn't eat—I'm smart!"

"I… you're going to kill me!"

"Enough, enough!"

Watching them start bickering again, about to launch into another round of chaos, Li Ang grabbed each by one arm, head throbbing, and changed the subject:

"Then what? You ate so much of her food—did you thank her properly?"

"Of course we did!"

After glaring at her stupid twin brother, Mei Lan Ni tossed her braids proudly:

"Anna always said—we may be poor, but we're not parentless orphans—we must be polite!

So I thanked the sister, and I even forced William to say it too. But… hmm… she didn't seem happy. When I tried to hug her, she just ran off…"

As she said this, as if remembering something she couldn't understand, Melanie blinked her bright, sparkling eyes and nervously tugged at her little dress.

"She said… she doesn't like children, because once children get used to her, they start seeing her as their mother, and then they just forget her…"

"Brother, I didn't quite understand what the big sister said—why would we forget her after getting used to her?"

(End of Chapter)