Chapter 489: Sleight of Hand and Care

"Hehe, I knew I couldn't hide it from you."

Being caught stealing to her face, the short man didn't feel embarrassed at all, but said cheekily:

"Director, don't be so serious, it's quite scary. If I really wanted to steal his things, I'd have plenty of opportunities. Why would I be so stupid as to do it right in front of you?"

"I just heard that a newcomer had joined the Bureau, and he had killed a Holy Spirit before even finishing his probation. I was just a bit curious about him, so I just took a little peek…"

"So, where is the item?"

Ignoring the short man's long-winded speech, the Red-haired Director's hand reached out, tapped the table firmly with her knuckles, and warned with narrowed eyes:

"Jerry, don't make me say it a third time."

"Taking it out now, taking it out now!"

Seeing the Red-haired Director's fox eyes narrowing tighter and tighter, the short man couldn't help but tense up. He hurriedly took a photo from his pocket and placed it honestly on the table.

A photo?

After picking up the photo on the table, looking at the couple standing together in an embrace and the little girl holding her parents' hands, smiling very happily, the Red-haired Director couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

Besides controlling animals, Jerry's most outstanding Anomalous Object is 【Sleight of Hand】, capable of forcibly stealing an item that has had the greatest impact on the target's past life after making contact with them, regardless of whether the item is on the target or not, or even if the item has been destroyed.

So if his ability is correct, the item that had the greatest impact on Li Ang's past life is this photo on the table?

"Director, what is the ability of this item? Can you tell me?"

Looking at the Red-haired Director's thoughtful expression, the short man, whose curiosity was extremely heavy, felt like he was being scratched by claws. After enduring and enduring, he still couldn't hold back and asked flatteringly:

"To allow a newcomer who has been in contact with anomalies for less than a month to possess the power to clean up a Holy Spirit one-on-one, the ability of this Anomalous Object must be very powerful, right?"

Hmm? So this photo is an Anomalous Object? But why is the aura so faint? Could it have been destroyed many times in the past?

After hearing the short man's question, the Red-haired Director's eyebrows couldn't help but raise slightly, and she shook her head decisively:

"I'm not clear about this. The perception-type Anomalous Object I use most often is that sheep, which has now been given to Li Ang. My new perception anomaly hasn't been approved yet, so my perception ability is quite average now."

"If you really want to know the information about this Anomalous Object, it's useless to ask me. But there is someone in our Bureau who has an ability called 【Information Acquisition】. As long as he touches it with his hand, he can know the information of most Anomalous Objects. You can go ask him."

What? Our Bureau still has such a person?!

The short man couldn't help but feel refreshed upon hearing this. This ability is simply a perfect match for him! Not to mention anything else, he has stolen… secretly borrowed quite a few things over the years, but either they couldn't be activated at all, or he didn't know the rules and costs and didn't dare to use them randomly.

If he could ask this 【Information Acquisition】 for help, as long as one-third of the Anomalous Objects he had hoarded over the years could be put to use, perhaps he could raise his strength by a big step and be promoted to a Level 1 Disaster Handling Officer!

"Director, why didn't you say so earlier!"

After daring to complain to the Red-haired Director, the short man rubbed his hands together incessantly, asked with excitement:

"Who is that person? Oh, and does he want to trade that 【Information Acquisition】 Anomalous Object? As long as he is willing to trade, he can pick from my collection over the years!"

"It probably can't be traded. His ability is more like a talent residing in his soul. As for who that person is…"

After glancing at the short man playfully, the Red-haired Director picked up the photo and shook it, saying with a smile:

"Here, the one you just stole from is the one."

"…"

"This… you know me…"

Looking at the Red-haired Director's mischievous eyes, the short man, knowing he had been played, felt his face fall. He said with some embarrassment:

"Although I have a bit of a stealing habit, I really never take action against acquaintances. I usually just touch them to take a look and then return them. And even for strangers, as long as they aren't bad guys, I usually don't take what people love. This… can you…"

"You want to get this item back and then secretly return it, so Li Ang won't hold a grudge against you and refuse to help you, right?" Seeing through the short man's thoughts, the Red-haired Director shook her finger and said with a smile:

"Oh my… this is a bit hard to handle~"

"Little Li Ang, although he joined the Cleanup Bureau not long ago, he is not only very compatible with me but also treated me to a great drink. If I help you hide it from him, how can I be worthy of the drinking friendship between us?"

"…"

Understood, I need to increase the price, right?

Looking at the Red-haired Director's smiling expression, the short man had no choice but to honestly give up his fluke mentality and proposed with a pained heart:

"How about I treat you to a drink…"

"Ahem, there's no need to mention this. I'm not that kind of person."

Before hearing the conditions he couldn't refuse, the Red-haired Director hurriedly stopped the short man, cleared her throat, and said with a serious expression:

"If I'm not mistaken, you are hoping Li Ang will use his ability to help you identify your 'harvest' over the years, right?"

"Yes…"

"Then that's easy to talk about."

The Red-haired Director knocked on the table with her knuckles and said with a smile:

"Although I don't know how many things you've hoarded over the years, judging by your style, the quantity definitely won't be small."

"And helping you identify so many things in one go requires a lot of physical strength and willpower. It's an out-and-out hard job, so… it's not too much to ask him to pick one item as a hard-work fee, right?"

"Not too much, not too much."

Although he was still reluctant, the short man, who knew his Director's personality, understood that bargaining would only lead to being slaughtered even more ruthlessly, so he agreed sensibly.

"Fine, then leave the item with me first. I'll help you put in a good word for you later."

After nodding with satisfaction, the Red-haired Director pulled out a strand of hair, bundled the suspected Anomalous Object photo, put it into the drawer, and then smiled and shooed him away:

"However, identifying things might have to wait. He has important investigation missions today and can't be distracted now. After the investigation mission is completed, I'll ask him to help identify your collection."

"Okay, then I won't go anywhere and will wait in the Bureau!"

After nodding happily, looking at the smiling Red-haired Director, the short man's curiosity couldn't help but stir again, and he couldn't help but ask cautiously:

"By the way, Director, is Li Ang… familiar with Directors of other branches? Or is he favored by a Director? Or… are you…"

"You're asking why I take such good care of him, right?"

After glancing at the short man, who was speaking with deep meaning, the Red-haired Director said speechlessly:

"Before asking this question, I suggest you first carefully ponder what kind of people are in our Bureau now."

Without waiting for the short man to answer, the Red-haired Director counted them one by one on her fingers:

"Traitors who failed a coup, a pervert who had an affair with the Prime Minister's wife, a master thief who stole from the Royal Family, a gambler who lost the kingdom's reserve funds, a grain transport officer who took the wrong road on the battlefield and almost starved 30,000 people to death, a pharmacist who made a mistake in developing a potion and caused half a county to be flooded by a sea of feces…"

Looking at the short man, whose face was a bit embarrassed, the Red-haired Director narrowed her eyes and summarized:

"If you guys didn't join the Cleanup Bureau, you'd basically all be facing the death penalty. Even now, you're all being watched, and you even have to report in advance if you want to leave the capital to perform a mission."

"As for Li Ang, he has a clean background, good character, is smart and alert, works hard, and his talent is quite outstanding. He killed a Holy Spirit before his probation was even over… You tell me, compared to you guys, if I don't take care of him, who should I take care of?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 490 =====