Chapter 466: Exposed

「……」

Feeling embarrassed under the stares of her colleagues, the woman with the scarf could only nod, her face darkening.

"What he said is true—I'm at fault here. I didn't prepare properly beforehand; I just glanced at the field reports' ingredient prices and casually quoted a price of one silver wheel. … But this man is definitely suspicious too!"

After glaring fiercely at Li Ang, who had distracted her and let the rebels escape, the female police officer named Yi Sha took a deep breath and pointed at Li Ang with a stern expression.

To avoid blowing the surveillance, once I realized the price was too high, I immediately offered a lower one to calm him down—but he didn't just secretly observe me, he even started watching the target's room!

"I was just…"

"It couldn't have been a casual glance! It couldn't have been coincidence!"

Interrupting Li Ang's words, the female officer furrowed her brows and demanded with absolute certainty:

"There are over a hundred rooms in the building across the street, and at least thirty to forty are visible from the coffee stall—why did you fixate only on the target's window?"

"…"

"It's not… why are you still doubting me?"

Seeing the secret police once again cast suspicious glances his way, Li Ang could only stare blankly and say:

"If I were one of the rebels, I would've run the moment you dropped the price!"

Come on, have you ever even been to a coffee stall like this? Aside from the coffee, the things you served me could've sold to five people at any other stall—you know that, right?

And yet you charged only two copper wheels for all that? You braved the morning cold just to set up that stall, clearly not expecting to make any profit—so if you weren't there for surveillance, were you there to heat up this entire street?"

"You… don't change the subject!"

Flustered by Li Ang's sharp mockery, the female officer clenched her lips tightly, then slammed her hand on the table and snapped:

"I'm not asking how I got exposed—I'm asking why you kept staring at the target's window!"

"I stared at that window because you were staring at it. As for why I watched your target…"

After briefly explaining his reasoning, Li Ang said with exhausted resignation:

"I thought you seemed off, but I never imagined I'd be this unlucky—just buying coffee on my way to work, and I stumble upon secret police making an arrest."

"Plus, I'm with the Police Department myself—half a cop—so I just glanced your way a couple times. Who knew you'd react so strongly and drop the target to interrogate me?"

"…"

After glancing at the silent female officer, Li Ang, still uncomfortable from being cuffed, couldn't help but urge:

"Sigh… you're overthinking this. I'm really one of you. It's been half a day already—have you verified my credentials yet?"

"You… don't think this is over. You still have…"

"Enough, Yi Sha!"

Stopping the female officer from speaking further, the burly man who had leaned out from the second floor to yell earlier crushed out his cigarette, raised a finger toward Li Ang, and said flatly:

"Take off his handcuffs."

The female officer froze slightly, then questioned:

"But the credentials haven't…"

"The Archives Department hasn't sent back their results yet—but every level of signature and seal on his credentials is intact. Rebels couldn't forge something this meticulous. So as long as we rule out he's an inside agent, we should release him."

"Understood…"

Biting her lip reluctantly, the female officer lowered her head and walked over to unlock Li Ang's handcuffs.

Though she was undeniably strikingly beautiful, Li Ang had endured a morning of disrupted meals and sat for hours on a cold iron chair in the interrogation room—his patience was long gone.

After rubbing his reddened wrists, he looked at the female officer's still-suspicious expression, as if she wanted to interrogate him further, and couldn't help but lash out with a dry, biting remark:

"It's almost noon already. Thank you, Miss Yi Sha, for your generosity—if your morning bread portion hadn't been so generous, I'd be starving right now!"

"You!" Hearing his mockery, the female officer—who had already lost the rebels and lost face today—darkened instantly, as if ready to retort, but ultimately bit her lip, lowered her head, and muttered through clenched teeth:

"I'm sorry. It was my misjudgment. I've wasted your time. My deepest apologies."

Though her tone was tight and her apology lacked sincerity, considering she belonged to the Kingdom's secret service, Li Ang didn't press further. Instead, he turned to the scarred, burly man who had yelled from above.

"Excuse me, could I have my credentials back?"

"Of course."

Hearing Li Ang's request, the scarred man grinned, revealing a smile that could make children stop crying. He stood up, picked up the credentials from the table, and handed them over with a grin:

"I've heard a little about your bureau. Our department occasionally encounters situations requiring your assistance. I hope we'll have the chance to work together in the future."

"…"

Work with me, the "cleaner"? That would only mean you've encountered something abnormal. Are you sure you want that opportunity?

"Sure thing, sure thing…"

Unsettled by the man's ill-omened pleasantries, Li Ang mumbled a few vague replies and followed a secret officer out of the interrogation room.

Once the others had left and only two remained in the room, the female officer, who had held back for so long, let out a heavy sigh and bit her teeth as she demanded:

"Why didn't you let me keep interrogating him?"

The scarred man raised his brows—hidden beneath the scars—and asked:

"Interrogate him about what?"

"About what happened four days ago!"

The female officer snapped:

"Four days ago, a masked man in black assaulted the chief editor of the Social Section of The Daily News at a restaurant on Inlaid Flower Street, then drove to the headquarters of Charles Department Store."

"And this man was recently featured on the Entertainment Section of The Sun for being injured by a gold wheel—I saw the photo taken then. His attire was identical to the masked man on Inlaid Flower Street!"

"Mm, and then?"

"Then today he interfered with our arrest of the rebels, kept harassing me, and let the rebel who participated in the Princess's assassination escape!"

The female officer pressed urgently:

"If he hadn't shown up today, I might've thought it was coincidence. But now I'm certain—he's 100% suspicious!"

"Yes, I agree he's suspicious."

Nodding in agreement with her judgment, the scarred man lit another cigarette. The red glow of the ember illuminated his face, making the crisscrossing scars look like writhing venomous snakes.

He spoke slowly:

"The royal family and nobles are nothing but lice growing in the crotch. Once they bite too hard and cause pain, they must be plucked out and crushed."

Repeating the words of the "masked man," the scarred man smirked:

"After uttering such a dangerous statement, he dares to approach you under his real identity, helping the target escape? He's the boldest opponent I've ever seen!"

"Heh. If not for this incident, I never would've imagined the rebels had infiltrated the Police Department—even joined the dangerously elite Cleaner Bureau. This man is unquestionably a colossal fish."

"I think I understand…"

After thinking for a moment, the female officer frowned:

"So… you didn't arrest him because you're trying to fish out more rebels?"

"No."

Crushing out his cigarette again, the scarred man leaned back in his chair and chuckled:

"You're overthinking it. He's from the Cleaner Bureau. I'm just too afraid to arrest him."

Female officer:???

(End of Chapter)