Chapter 439

Amid the black goat's curses, Leon, reeking of sweat and sourness, carried the bundled witch's broom through the crowd to the entrance of Char Hydro Company.

But he did not rush inside to begin his investigation; instead, he carefully observed his surroundings, circling the company's outer walls several times.

As expected, in a shadowed alley, Leon found a large group of people in tattered clothes, their behavior clearly suspicious.

After quietly listening to their conversations, he did not ask direct questions; instead, he slipped in unnoticed, pretending righteous anger as he denounced the company's shamelessness, sparking widespread resonance, and soon others joined in angry curses.

Carefully memorizing the grievances of these battered men, and gathering enough rich information, Leon finally picked up the broom and walked back to the company's main gate, striding in with head held high.

"Stop!"

During Leon's circling, the guard had already spotted this suspiciously poor young man; now that he finally entered, the guard immediately blocked his path without a word, glaring with hostility.

"Do you know this is—"

"The police department."

After flashing his credentials at the guard's beefy face, Leon glanced at the man's suddenly tense expression and demanded coldly:

"I'm here to investigate. Take me to your security manager."

"Ah? Yes, yes!"

Recognizing official credentials and their ranks was a "required course" for guards at major corporations; after confirming the document bore complete seals and was clearly authentic,

the once-alert giant guard instantly became docile and without hesitation led Leon straight to the security department's office.

The security manager, after verifying the Clearance Bureau's credentials, likewise did not—or rather, did not dare—question Leon's identity, but instead smiled warmly and asked his purpose.

Judging by the manager's cautious demeanor, Leon suspected that if he simply stiffened his face and declared the mission classified, the man would not press further, but merely muddy the waters and let him in.

The reason was simple: Clearance Bureau credentials were genuinely effective.

Within the Kingdom's five-tier civil service system—Executive, Executive, Civil, Assistant, and Commoner—Leon's assistant-level position ranked fourth, sounding unimpressive, but it had already placed him in the mid-tier of the civil bureaucracy.

Converted equivalently to the Kingdom's military, that meant commanding a two-hundred-man company as a junior officer; sent to a provincial capital outside the capital, he even had the standing to compete for deputy positions in local power departments.

Added to that, Leon was only sixteen or seventeen, and bore a surname that carried considerable weight—he might as well have had "Don't Mess With Me" written on his face. Faced with such a troublesome guest, the security manager naturally dared not block him.

After all, even if Char Hydro Company had deep connections, it would hardly defend a lowly manager if provoked; any retaliation would fall squarely on the manager himself.

But…

Looking at Leon's unnaturally youthful face, the security manager—around thirty, always smiling—slightly twisted his lips, an undercurrent of condescension flickering in his eyes.

He dared not directly block him, but if this "Level-3 Incident Handler" came with ill intent and sought to pry into forbidden matters, there were plenty of ways to stall him!

…

"Heh, it's really not a big deal."

Reaching into his shopping bag and patting the black goat's head, Leon watched the manager's wavering soul—caught between compliance and resistance—and softened his expression, smiling gently:

"Lately, the number of people causing trouble at your company has been excessive. The department fears you can't calm their emotions, and they might storm the hydro plant, so I've been sent to check the situation."

Hearing Leon was here about water supply, the manager's heart dropped. He immediately dropped his smile, face darkening:

"This… it's not that we can't talk about it, but the company has strict rules for us…"

"Bro, I'm not playing games with you."

Interrupting the manager's evasion, Leon pulled out a soft-pack of "Gao Te" cigarettes, expertly tapped the bottom to eject one, then mimicked a shady merchant's earnest grin—and amid the black goat's inward curses of anguish—smiled and offered the cigarette.

"Just tell me straight: what's the real situation with the public water pipes? I need one answer—can you actually contain this?"

"This… we can definitely contain it."

Eyeing the premium cigarette pack—three silver coins each—the manager swallowed his longing and laughed nervously:

"But it'll take a little more time, and the final outcome depends on the compensation plan…"

"You'd better tell me the truth!"

Seeing the manager's soul begin to fray under pressure, Leon narrowed his eyes and suddenly raised his voice:

"I already saw how bad it is outside! Even if you chased the protesters away from your gate, the graffiti on the walls—'Pay our medicine money or drink shit'—hasn't even been scrubbed off! Do you think I'm blind?"

"This… I'm sorry, I'm just a security manager. I really don't know how many people are affected or how compensation will be handled!"

"You don't know, but once you take me inside, you can help me find out."

"This… even though you're from the police department, these matters are company secrets. As security manager, I can't just—"

"I came to you specifically because you're the security manager!"

Leon stepped half a pace forward, locking eyes with the flustered manager, then lowered his voice again, speaking softly, persuasively:

"I thought you'd understand this without me reminding you, but you seem utterly unaware? Brother, use your head! If things really spiral out of control and rioters storm the plant, will your superiors order you to let them in—or order you to lead men to stop them?"

"If your men draw blood during the crackdown, or if a few sick patients—brought here for money because they can't afford treatment—die, do you think this will end up being blamed on you, the security manager, acting on your own?"

Brother, use your head! If things really get out of hand and the mob storms the hydro company, do you think they'll let you let them in—or order you to lead men to block them?

After hearing Leon's hypothetical, the manager's expression shifted slightly, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

"I'm just following regulations… and… this… it might not even escalate… the company wouldn't…"

"Stop saying 'this' and 'that'! A company that pours feces into public water pipes to save costs—do you think it cares whether you live or die?"

Seeing the manager's soul-flame flickering wildly, Leon judged his psychological defenses had cracked. He seized the manager's hand and forcibly shoved the entire cigarette pack into it.

Then, one by one, he pried open the manager's fingers, pressed his palm shut around the pack, leaned in closer, and whispered softly:

"Think carefully. This isn't hard. There are only two possible outcomes.

First: I investigate seriously, and you cooperate fully. If something happens later, the police department can prepare, contain the situation early, and you might even earn credit for timely reporting and full cooperation.

Second: You deliberately conceal Char Hydro's situation and delay my investigation. If chaos erupts later, the department loses face, I take the fall, and you bear the black mark of inciting bloodshed—fired from the company, your whole family cast into the slums to scavenge."

Having subtly confined the manager's thinking to a binary choice, Leon watched the sweating man before him. Though his own heart pounded wildly, his voice remained calm and unhurried:

"Brother, have you ever been to the capital's slums? Have you seen how people live there?

If you don't know, let me tell you: they wear rags scavenged from trash, even wrap themselves in stolen funeral shrouds from mortuaries.

They fight crows and stray cats for garbage, spend all day digging through toxic alchemical waste, just to find scraps of old metal worth half a copper coin.

And every winter, after a heavy snowfall, the next day's garbage piles from the city sanitation trucks grow heavier with skeletons so thin even dogs won't chew them…"

"Brother, think hard: if you choose this path, will you and your family become one of them this year?"

Having painted the manager's grim future, Leon saw the man's soul blazing with thick black flames—judging the moment ripe—he abruptly pulled his hand back, stepping half a dozen paces away.

And every winter, after a heavy snowfall, the garbage piles of the Road Administration's cleaning trucks would gain a few more skeletons too stiff for stray dogs to chew through…

Brother, think hard: if you choose this path, will you and your family become one of them this year?

The manager's soul—the gray-white barrier, thinner than an eggshell—was completely burned through by the surging black flame below.

Leon's sudden withdrawal felt like the final barrier between him and the slums being ripped away. The pale-faced manager, acting on instinct, lunged forward and grabbed Leon's arm, stammering:

"You… I can take you to some… some less important places, but you can't betray me! If you betray me, I… I… I…"

"Heh, you can rest easy on that."

Leon observed the manager's soul state again, confirming he was fully "broken." His face remained calm as a rock, though his heart raced at 160 bpm. He smiled and asked directly:

"What benefit would I gain from betraying you, a lowly security manager?

To make you lash out in desperation? To let the higher-ups know I used improper methods to get information? Or to make Char Hydro file a complaint about me stealing secrets?

Don't worry—I'm not an idiot. Why would I do something with zero benefit and nothing but trouble?"

Do you think selling out one security manager benefits me at all?

Looking at the young man smiling warmly at him, the manager felt his vision blur—suddenly, he saw two sharp, black-veined goat horns curling above Leon's head.

Shuddering violently, he dared not look at this smiling young devil again, quickly turning away, hunching his back, and leading Leon toward the records room.

…

"Tsk tsk tsk… Hatred, betrayal, envy, fear… you're impressive, kid!"

Watching the manager's soul nearly charred black, the black goat widened his eyes, marveling inside Leon's mind:

"You only spoke a few sentences—how did his soul turn so black? You… do you have some other anomaly? But we didn't sense anything!"

"This isn't an anomaly's effect. It's the result of observation and judgment."

Leon pulled a small bottle of cheap bulk liquor from the bag holding the goat's head, swallowed a large gulp despite the stench, activated the 【Wine Country Martyr】 badge, and felt his fear and tension gradually dissolve. He pressed his hand against the black goat's forehead and explained calmly:

"Senior Emma told me: under any circumstance, never underestimate the value of intelligence. Careful observation, calm thinking, cautious judgment—these are why she's survived six years in the Clearance Bureau.

Before I came in, I carefully studied the injuries of those protesting. All were struck on fleshy areas—proof the security team was ordered to control their force. The one most likely to give such orders? The security manager, who'll be sacrificed if things go wrong."

"From this, I realized: though he's part of the company, his interests aren't fully aligned with it. If I target what he fears most, and sever his interests from the company's, he'll become our ally."

Holy shit… forget all that—have you already learned to communicate through souls? You're truly born a devil!

Feeling the thoughts transmitted through his fingers into his own soul, the black goat felt a twinge of envy toward Leon's "devilish" talent, and retorted:

"You're just guessing! You just met him—how do you know he didn't order light blows out of pity? And how do you know what he fears?"

"If he had pity, he wouldn't have struck them himself. And after driving them from the gate, he kept chasing unarmed people with weapons.

As for what he fears… his collar is clean, his pants have sharp creases, his desk has a family photo, and there's a polo stick in the corner—he's a man with stable life, happy family, and time for hobbies."

Recalling the warm smile of the man in the photo, hugging his wife and child, and contrasting it with the battered protesters in the alley, Leon shook his head, expression complex:

"People like this fear most the shattering of their peaceful lives and a fall from their social class.

So if I link the consequences of non-cooperation directly to those fears, and constantly interrupt his speech, denying him time to think—he'll slowly break."

Recalling the man in the family photo, smiling warmly as he hugged his wife and child, and then the protesters in the alley, beaten bloody, Li Ang shook his head with a complex expression and continued:

Damn it! You're… compared to you, I'm just a fake devil!

After straining his dim mind and finding no clear flaw, the black goat sighed, grumbling that he'd wasted his title as a devil—then quickly perked up, grinning eagerly:

"Leon! When you betray him later, can you take me along?

Hehe, because of his own weakness and cowardice, he couldn't resist the devil's temptation—cast from peaceful human life into hell… that's hilarious! I'm growing to admire you more and more!"

After pondering with his not-so-sharp mind and finding no obvious mistake, the Black Goat sighed and clicked his tongue, feeling he'd made a terrible demon—but soon he perked up again, grinning eagerly as he pleaded:

"Li Ang, Li Ang! When you betray him later, can you take us along?"

"Hehe, because of my own weakness and cowardice, I couldn't resist the demon's temptation and was cast from peaceful earth into hell… This is so fascinating! I'm growing to admire you more and more!"

「……」

「Why aren't you speaking? 」

After waiting a long time without a reply from Li Ang, the Black Goat blinked in surprise, then burst out angrily:

「You're not actually feeling sorry for him because he has a wife and kids, are you? Fuck! Can you just wake up? He's a dog of the Hydro Company! He led men to beat up those demanding compensation! 」

「Kid! Didn't you say you wanted to punish evil and uphold justice? Then go ahead and do it! Once you finish investigating the Hydro Company's crimes, turn right around and expose him—betray him hard! 」

「Then crush his skull under your shoe sole, look down at him with utter arrogance, and tell him exactly why you did it—afterward, let him rot in hell and truly taste what despair means! 」

「……」

「Let's see how things develop…」

After slightly shaking his head, Li Ang sighed:

「Aren't you able to see his soul too? He's not a kind, good man—but his soul's darkness isn't much greater than an average person's; it hovers around the same level, even carrying a faint warmth. 」

「If later we find he's done many dirty deeds for the Hydro Company, I won't hesitate to sell him out—but to destroy him and his entire family's life right now, without even knowing his name? I think that's just a bit too hasty… What's wrong with you?! 」

Seeing the sudden surge of dark flame in his soul vision, and sensing the intense craving surging from the Black Goat's soul, Li Ang was about to ask further—when the Black Goat's hysterical scream erupted in his mind:

「Heart! Our heart! 」

「Who cares about hasty or not! Turn back right now! Someone in that house just touched our heart! 」

(End of Chapter)