Chapter 433: Contamination Value

【Friend of the Demon (Silver): After completing ten extreme evil sacrifices, continuously offering offerings saturated with human hatred and blood-sweat, your soul's hidden ambition was fortunately favored by a high-ranking demon.】

【Effect: Greatly increases affinity with anomalies marked "Fallen," reduces usage cost while significantly enhancing effect.】

【Advanced Path: Continue fulfilling the agreed-upon evil sacrifices until the demon's avatar fully awakens; this badge will automatically upgrade to the Gold Badge "I Am the Demon."】

Additionally, each time you offer a human soul bound by sin, the demon's awakening speed increases proportionally; current awakening value: 5%.】

【Hidden Trait (No Equipment Required): Over time, your soul has been tainted by the demon's evil aura, making you more likely to attract the attention of certain malevolent entities.】

【Your contamination value has increased.】

【Current contamination value: 0. 】

Contamination value…

Watching this strange value reappear, Li Ang, crouched in an alley near the Police Department, lighting a cigarette for Black Goat, unconsciously narrowed his eyes.

He had privately asked Black Goat, but the Cleanup Bureau seemed to have no record of contamination value, so its meaning could only be inferred by himself.

If he remembered correctly, this thing called contamination value had appeared only four times so far.

The first time was when he touched Black Goat and, through the effect of 【Materialist Soul】, learned its contamination value was 0. ;

The second time was when he gained Black Goat's approval and its usage rights, raising his own contamination value to 0. ;

The third time was upon learning the Red-haired Woman's 【Love Without Memory】 information and discovering its contamination value was 7;

The fourth time was after touching the door handle of Happiness Apartment, where the pop-up message revealed 【Soul-Hosting Dwelling】's contamination value was also 0. .

So it was now fairly certain that contamination value was a unique trait of anomalies.

Moreover, since his own contamination value rose after Black Goat began awakening, it seemed that upon gaining usage rights to an anomaly, the user's contamination value increased by the same amount.

Thinking of this, Li Ang reached out and rubbed Black Goat's head twice.

【Name: Demon's Horn (Fallen, Knowledge, Whisper) (Awakening)】

【Appearance: …】

【…】

【Contamination value: 0. 】

Indeed, the value matched his own.

Seeing Black Goat's contamination value now at 0. , Li Ang's eyes flickered with understanding, and he deduced the reason the middle-aged nurse had not had her memories erased by the God-Brain.

According to 【Soul-Hosting Dwelling】's "cost of use," those residents who greeted the administrator lady used the anomaly daily, so their contamination values should all be 0. .

The Cleanup Bureau's God-Brain likely distinguished ordinary people from its staff by detecting contamination value, thus labeling them as "related personnel" and sparing them memory deletion.

If his guess was correct, this must be the truth the Cleanup Bureau understood: anyone who had used an anomaly would not have their memories erased by the God-Brain.

But there was another question: what did the amount of contamination value represent? The most plausible theory was that it indicated an anomaly's strength.

Because 【Demon's Horn】 and 【Soul-Hosting Dwelling】 had equal strength—both 0. —Black Goat could withstand Old Man Zhuang's shears, leaving only a scratch on the horn. But the Red-haired Woman's 【Love Without Memory】 could erase memories of over seventy thousand people at once, far stronger than these two, so its contamination value was 7?

Hmm… he had encountered too few anomalies; information was still insufficient… but perhaps he could find a way to test further.

Thinking of this, Li Ang glanced again at the panel hovering above Black Goat's head, watching its contamination value now at 0. , and absentmindedly stroked its head once more.

If contamination value truly represented item strength, then 0. > 0. —Black Goat's current strength exceeded that of 【Soul-Hosting Dwelling】.

So later, when his strength improved, he could return to Happiness Apartment and test Black Goat against Old Man Zhuang's shears—if this time it didn't get dented…

…

"Why do you keep rubbing my head? You treating me like a dog?"

Unaware Li Ang planned to use him as an experiment, Black Goat swatted away his sticky hand, exhaled a thick, murky smoke ring, then squinted contentedly:

"Kid! Since you're so generous, I'll let you off the hook for using me as a shield. Keep offering me sacrifices, and we'll still be good partners!"

"Mm-hmm."

After half-heartedly agreeing, Li Ang—now more desperate for power after a series of events—lit seven or eight cigarettes, shoving them into Black Goat's mouth while probing:

"I've observed carefully—everyone in our Bureau has extraordinary physical constitutions! Auntie Emma left handprints on alloy cabinets; the Director drank over a hundred bottles of hard liquor and only flushed slightly.

And that Harry senior who just came back and was sent out again—he lifted a crate I couldn't budge, as easily as holding a cup of water…"

After finishing his observations, Li Ang stared intently at Black Goat, not blinking:

"If it were just one or two people, maybe it was the anomaly's effect—but everyone in the Bureau is like this! There must be a reason!

So can you tell me—how do I gain that kind of physical condition?"

"Tch… you observe carefully, but this can't be rushed!"

After a deep drag, smoke puffing from Black Goat's ears, he lazily said:

"Hmm… let me put it this way—when you use my power, don't you eventually feel mentally and physically drained, as if your entire being has been hollowed out?"

"Do I?"

"…"

Damn… forgot this kid has exceptional affinity with demons…

Giving Li Ang a flat look, Black Goat flipped his thick lips, clamped the cigarette between them, and glared:

"My power isn't about observing souls—it's about stirring the dark corners of others' hearts! You've been using me like a telescope and half a mind-reader—you've never properly used me! Of course you feel no cost!"

"Oh…"

"Every time you use an anomaly, besides meeting its own rules, you must pay a price in physical strength and willpower—the stronger the effect, the more strength and willpower you expend.

For example, that Harry in your Bureau—he has the strongest anomaly: a roll of tape that never runs out. It doesn't just bind physical objects—it binds even conceptual things."

"Conceptual things… what do you mean?"

"Souls, bonds, shattered beliefs… anyway, watch out for him. If one day you suddenly find yourself liking him, you've probably been glued—slap yourself awake!"

(End of Chapter)