Chapter 65

64 Classic Three-Option Choice

Unaware of what had happened after his departure, after retrieving his confiscated documents, Li Ang, who had already been absent without cause for half a day, rushed to the Clearance Bureau without even stopping for lunch.

Although the Clearance Bureau didn’t track attendance, as it was his first workday after returning, many tasks delayed for several days due to hospitalization needed to be resumed.

Specifically, these included wrapping up the Sacred Spirit of the Scale Gold Cult’s attack, using the pretext of visiting Ryan’s family to investigate the whereabouts of the lamb offal, squeezing in time to advance his shooting badge progress, and fulfilling his promise to help Senior Emma after the incident at Red Brick Road Hospital.

Oh, and today happened to be Friday; according to the [Lazy Witch’s Broom], at 3:30 p.m., a feline creature would knock on his door.

Later, he’d need to take leave to buy something to entertain it, ensuring the Witch’s Broom functioned properly; if time allowed, he might as well scout out Happy Apartments—if safe, he could even practice his parkour badge proficiency…

As he mentally tallied his pending tasks on the way, Li Ang suddenly felt a pounding headache, his opinion of the secret police sinking further.

As a probationary new hire who’d only been on the job for a little over a week, he’d already taken a full four days of sick leave, then vanished without explanation for half a day, and now planned to take more leave this afternoon—even if the red-haired director was easygoing, she’d surely…

…

“No problem, go ahead!”

Without even hearing out Li Ang’s full explanation, after a brief inquiry into why he hadn’t shown up that morning, the red-haired director signed off with a single stroke, granting him another half-day leave with surprising ease.

“This is all force majeure—taking leave due to accidents is perfectly normal. Don’t think so poorly of me~”

Watching Li Ang relax slightly, the red-haired director’s throat moved slightly, then she shifted tone with a smile:

“But while your leaves are all justified, they’ve been a bit excessive. Reporting so many absences before year-end might make our bureau look lax… How about we skip recording this leave and switch to another arrangement?”

Another arrangement?

Li Ang blinked in surprise, then, seeing the director’s narrowed fox-like eyes, instantly grew wary and hesitated:

“Actually… I don’t absolutely need to take leave today—if I must…”

“Oh, come on! Do you think I’d harm you?”

The red-haired director gave him a mock-disapproving glance, then smiled sweetly:

“Relax—it’s just a minor adjustment to your work schedule.

I’ll skip recording your leave this time, but replace it with an after-hours field assignment—though you won’t get field allowances. How’s that sound?”

So… it means I’m trading my half-day leave for overtime after work?

After pondering the director’s terms, Li Ang found no obvious flaw—but those narrowed fox eyes always made him uneasy.

“I can accept it… but may I ask a few questions first?”

Eyeing the suspiciously smiling director, Li Ang ventured:

“How far is this field assignment?”

“A bit distant from the Clearance Bureau, but still within the capital.”

“Will it take a long time?”

“Not long. With your… level, a single night should suffice.”

“Will I face dangerous enemies?”

“No—it’s just the kind of investigation you’re best at.”

“Then…”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake! Why so many questions?”

Irritated by Li Ang’s endless queries, the red-haired director glared at him:

“Emma’s enough to give me a headache! Can’t you stop copying her? Fine—if you’re worried about danger, I’ll go with you myself. I’ve got nothing else to do these days.”

Go with me?

Hmm… The Clearance Bureau has one director, twelve board members, then twelve Zodiac Divisions—the red-haired director’s strength is undoubtedly terrifying. If she comes along, problems seem unlikely…

After considering her offer, Li Ang couldn’t think of any hidden trap or valid reason to refuse, so he nodded in agreement.

“Alright, I’ll take the field assignment. But I’ve got several unresolved tasks—could we delay it by two days?”

“Mm, no rush, no rush… Wait, don’t leave yet—I’ve something else to tell you.”

Seeing he’d finally found a useful partner, the delighted director called out to Li Ang, who was about to leave:

“The corpse of that toad from the Scale Gold Cult and the coins it spat out are excellent materials. If nothing goes wrong during crafting, you’ll soon possess a powerful anomaly.”

“That’s fantastic!”

Hearing this, Li Ang—who currently owned two functional anomalies and relied solely on his gun for offense—beamed with anticipation and asked:

“What ability will this anomaly have? Do you know?”

“I don’t know—but I can guarantee you’ll be the first to find out.”

Smiling at Li Ang’s confusion, the director explained with a grin:

“According to headquarters, the toad’s own rank was high enough to produce a very advanced anomaly.

But since it was too badly damaged and lost too much power, it can’t retain all the concepts it carried—only one of three primary concepts can be chosen as the anomaly’s core.”

Here, the director paused, then raised one finger:

“The first concept is money—or currency.

By melting together the toad and its expelled coins, then adding a touch of divinity to elevate its rank, you can create an anomaly based on money.

As the Sacred Spirit of the Scale Gold Cult, money was the toad’s strongest concept. An anomaly built on this won’t be useful in combat, but its practicality will be astonishing—this is my top recommendation.”

So… another functional anomaly?

Seeing Li Ang frown at the mention of “no combat ability,” the director’s expression turned serious, her tone earnest:

“Li Ang, I know you desperately need a combat anomaly—but an anomaly’s value isn’t measured solely by fighting power.

Choosing this one means you’ll never run out of money. Wherever you go, you can instantly produce the local currency and exchange it for anything you desire.

It’s not limited to our world: from the deepest ocean trenches to the far side of the moon, from lost ancient kingdoms to future timelines spanning time itself—even the demonic abyss.

As long as they possess intelligence and life, use something called currency, and agree to trade with you, you can pull out the exact amount and buy anything you want!”