Chapter 636: The Director

"Huh?"

As Li Ang was stunned by the distinction between the egg and the egg, he saw the man casually rub his hands in midair—not only completing the material processing, but directly forging a Golden Bull Director-level anomaly object, causing him to widen his eyes in shock.

Though the technique was crude beyond description and the material handling process was utterly horrific, the overall direction was correct—Li Ang was not merely overestimating himself, but had genuinely entered the door.

And even more absurdly, the door he had entered was not just the Golden Bull lineage's anomaly forging art; his method during the final selection criteria clearly carried the flavor of the Aquarius lineage's "Anomaly Creation."

Without any prior practical experience, merely relying on fragmented observational memories, he had self-taught himself two secret arts in rapid succession—and succeeded on his first attempt at forging an anomaly object…

Could it be… this child was not overestimating himself, but possessed sufficient confidence in his own abilities—perhaps even, like the traitorous Aquarius Director, a supreme genius in secret arts?

…

With hopeful eyes, the Golden Bull Director waved his hand, retrieving the transformed egg, carefully inspecting its quality, and his smile deepened considerably.

"Not bad. I underestimated you."

Looking at the newborn anomaly object—though its technique was clumsy and rough, its internal rule balance was even, its operation smooth, with no obvious flaws—the Golden Bull Director could not help but lavish praise:

"I originally thought that since you'd never touched secret arts before, merely completing the material processing would be enough. I never expected you'd produce a complete anomaly object outright!

Let me see… hmm… this sensation—the cost of use is extremely low, clearly a basic physical exhaustion type, yet also the most stable for beginners. A very wise choice.

As for its ability, flesh rules as primary, demon rules as secondary—it's a dual-ability anomaly object, and its activation is remarkably discreet… Excellent! Truly excellent!"

Relying on his familiarity with anomaly objects, the Golden Bull Director merely held it in his hand and analyzed the 【Sharp-Eyed Egg】 to within a hair's breadth.

After completing the inspection and returning it to Li Ang, the kind-faced old woman smiled warmly and asked:

"I won't guess the rest—just tell me directly: what are the two abilities of this thing?"

"Uh…"

After a slight hesitation, Li Ang's gaze drifted as he replied:

"The first ability is corruption—can make a person's aura turn evil, making them appear more demonic."

"I see…"

After pondering for a moment, the Golden Bull Director nodded:

"Though somewhat niche and with limited applications, as a secondary 'auxiliary ability,' having it is better than not having it… What about the primary ability derived from flesh rules? What does it do?"

In front of this kind "elder of the opposite sex," Li Ang found it too embarrassing to explain clearly, so he mumbled:

"The primary ability… as you said, is flesh enhancement—it can make certain organs more sensitive…"

"Be more specific."

Hearing this, the Golden Bull Director frowned, then spoke with solemn gravity:

"Li Ang, not everyone can gain anomaly object information just by touching it. If you ever become an anomaly craftsman and forge objects for others, remember: your descriptions must be as precise as possible… Which organ exactly does this enhance?"

"The testicle… and only the left one…"

Testicle? What testicle?

At first confused by Li Ang's meaning, the Golden Bull Director was about to ask again—but seeing his hesitant, evasive demeanor, she instantly understood the exact meaning of "testicle," and her kind smile froze on her face.

"That… one?"

"That one…"

"…."

"…."

The old woman and the young man stared at each other in silence for a long while, until finally the Golden Bull Director broke it, turning her head slightly away with an odd expression:

"Well… it's acceptable. Though the result is… unusually eccentric, I watched your movements—it's definitely Golden Bull art.

Hmm… so your talent in this art is still quite good. Even if you never gain recognition from the Golden Bull Star Palace, you'll still become a top-tier forging craftsman.

Keep going! We elders are already nearing retirement. The future of the Clearance Bureau rests on you young ones."

"Thank you for your kindness. I will work hard."

…

Carrying the egg away from the Golden Bull Director's seat and returning to his own director's chair, the red-haired director—who had just finished revising the achievement stele—curiously asked:

"Li Ang, what reward did the Golden Bull Director give you?"

"Under exceptional circumstances, since I wasn't chosen by the Star Palace, he taught me the full version of the Golden Bull secret art."

Feeling slightly guilty for not bringing her along when he'd asked the Golden Bull Director for alcohol, Li Ang quickly shifted the topic:

"Director, how about Aquarius? Did he notice the hair I secretly placed on him?"

"Not yet."

Hearing Li Ang's question, the red-haired director gave him an appreciative glance, then replied softly:

"Though the spatial distance is too great for me to control that hair, I can still faintly sense it moving toward the Kingdom of Krok."

Once the bureau completes its internal review and decides who will pursue Aquarius, that hair you planted will give him quite a surprise."

That's perfect!

Hearing this, Li Ang's heart leapt with joy.

In the past, he'd been nothing but an insignificant figure in Aquarius's eyes—but after that verbal duel, nearly drained by the True Balance, he was surely now marked in Aquarius's mind. The sooner Aquarius Director was captured, the safer his family would be.

"By the way, Li Ang."

As Li Ang was recalling the scene, pondering how to hasten Aquarius Director's downfall, the red-haired director seemed to remember something and said:

"The sun is about to set. You, Jerry, and Prince Joshua will be sent back to the capital at the exact moment the sun disappears.

I still need two or three days to finish my work here. Emma has cleared her suspicion, but returning will take a day or two. Tomorrow, the bureau will have only you and Jerry…"

"I understand, Director." Hearing this, Li Ang's expression hardened, and he nodded solemnly:

"I will cooperate fully with Senior Jerry and ensure the bureau remains stable until your return."

"Uh… your determination is admirable, but that's not what I meant…"

With Li Ang's bewildered expression, the red-haired director spoke slightly embarrassed:

"My newspaper and magazine subscriptions are biweekly payments—tomorrow is the renewal deadline. So… could you go to the post office across from the Sun Newspaper and fill out the subscription form for me?"

"Okay…"

Defeated by this shockingly mundane request, the great hero Li Ang—who had just thwarted Aquarius Director's conspiracy and saved the world—could only sigh and nod, agreeing to run this errand for his director.

Soon after, as the sun set, the Clearance Bureau headquarters shifted into the world's shadow side. With sunlight withdrawn, Li Ang and the others' forms twisted slightly, then dissolved into countless tiny specks of light, vanishing from the bureau's headquarters.

Simultaneously, in the royal palace's secret chamber housing the 【Identical Script Tablet】, the three who had vanished for half a day reappeared, crashing head-over-feet onto the wool carpet.

…

"Finally back…"

With the best physical condition, Jerry rose first, then helped the still dizzy Li Ang up, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Incredible, Li Ang! You didn't just deliver the key evidence and force Aquarius Director to accept memory extraction—you survived his attention and escaped unscathed!

Honestly, I have a feeling you'll become someone monumental. Maybe even within my lifetime, I'll see you seated on the Director's bench!"

"Ugh… just luck…"

Closing his eyes to recover, shaking off the disorienting inversion, Li Ang shook his head:

"The real hero who uncovered the key evidence was your 【Steal Fate's Skill】. I merely caught Prince Joshua, who returned from the future.

Escaping Aquarius unharmed? Pure luck. One misstep and I'd have been ground to dust. By the way, what's wrong with this idiot prince? Why hasn't he said a word?"

"Let me see…"

Hearing Li Ang's question, Senior Jerry released the now-steady Li Ang and examined the freckled prince on the carpet. Though he appeared normal, his eyes were utterly despondent—as if he'd suffered an unspeakable blow.

Am I… really worthless?

Earlier, when Li Ang recounted events to the director, he hadn't deliberately hidden anything from Prince Joshua. Though the prince didn't fully grasp what had happened—confused by "palaces" and "gods"—he'd understood the gist.

His dreams were real events from another future. In that future, his clownish self, having lost nearly everything, had been lured by Aquarius Director through that "door" back to the past, forming a rebellion to change fate—only to become a puppet, manipulated and toyed with.

And beside him, this brute who had repeatedly beaten him—was entrusted by his sister Veronica: he'd captured his future self, restored erased memories, and thwarted Aquarius Director's plot—the ultimate antithesis of himself.

Worse still, he was apparently his nominal brother-in-law—and might even marry Veronica, truly becoming royalty…

Damn it! Why him?

Suddenly sitting up from the floor, the freckled prince broke free from his self-doubt, glaring at Li Ang:

"You—"

Seeing Li Ang's right hand twitch slightly—knowing it was the classic "big fight" stance—Joshua instinctively swallowed his curse, pushed himself back on his palms, and weakly blustered:

"The Clearance Bureau and all kingdoms have an agreement: members cannot interfere in internal affairs. So your proposal to Veronica is invalid! If I file a few more complaints, they'll stop you!"

"…."

You've improved. Learned to back down.

After considering the prince's words—though blunt, not yet warranting a beating—Li Ang sighed in disappointment, dismissed him, and turned to leave the chamber.

But then, behind him, the freckled prince suddenly spoke:

"Hey. Want to consider working with me?"

???

Whoa. Did Joshua really say that? Did he get replaced in this short time?

…

Stay calm. Judge rationally. Cultivate those with ability. Exchange benefits based on what each person values most. Even enemies can be dealt with when necessary…

Watching Li Ang turn back in surprise, the changed freckled prince, having grown through his ordeal, recalled past teachings he'd once scorned, forcibly suppressed his old grudge, and spoke calmly:

"You sided with Veronica because you wanted power, wealth, or beauty—I can give you all those things, even more than she can!

And unlike Veronica, I have one advantage she absolutely doesn't: I know what happens in the future!"

Seeing Li Ang hadn't left, but was now studying him with surprise, Joshua—the first time he'd truly led the conversation—smiled confidently.

I can do this.

Even if in the original future I was just a powerless, arrogant fool, none of it has happened yet! Now that I have memories of the future, if I start working hard from this moment on, I can definitely change it!

As for this guy in front of me, apart from his Clearance Bureau background, he's nothing but a lucky fool wearing the title of Duke.

In the past, I only wanted to kick him away, so of course he bit me hard twice—but if I throw him a few greasy bones, he'll wag his tail at me like a…

"You didn't say anything, and I almost forgot."

Looking at the freckled prince before him, Li Ang couldn't help but smile warmly, then took out paper and pen from his pocket mirror and handed them over, beaming:

"Come on! Write down everything you know about the future! Especially all the intelligence on the Krook Kingdom—leave not a single detail out!"

For example: what mineral data have Krook Kingdom's scouts gathered? Why are they invading the kingdom? When did they invade? And what exactly did the Clearance Bureau's Aquarius Director do in the future… Write down every scrap of this critical intelligence you know—leave not a single line out!"

"You?!!!"

"What do you mean 'you'?"

After checking Joshua's soul and confirming no substitution had occurred, Li Ang's expression turned stern. Under the prince's shocked and furious gaze, he first pointed at the paper and pen in his hand, then waved his right hand.

"Either write that, or take this—choose!"

(End of Chapter)