Chapter 7: 7 Abnormality

7 Abnormality

Matches the job description… wait, did I even ask what the Cleaning Bureau’s job description was?

It was as if the condensation on the glass had been wiped clean, or as if the curtain blocking the theater stage had been pulled back—the forgotten “job description” mysteriously breached the red-haired woman’s smiling barrier and surfaced from deep within Li Ang’s mind.

Soul-devouring extradimensional demons, mad deities seeking to descend upon wills, radical gods preparing to seize control of the world, peculiar anomalies born from human obsessions, undead wraiths escaped from normal time… sss…

Beads of sweat, nearly instantaneous, crawled across Li Ang’s face, and with every recalled detail of the red-haired woman’s job description, the sweat grew denser.

A near-instinctive intuition kept warning Li Ang—the beautiful yet dangerous red-haired woman was very likely not just teasing him.

Just as Li Ang strained to recall the Cleaning Bureau’s duties, trying to gauge just how dangerous this “uncontrolled contaminant” might be, Anna, her expression equally uneasy, was wheeled in by two nurses.

“Brother?”

Seeing Li Ang in the private care ward, the pale girl seemed to find her anchor; her tense expression subtly eased, and she rushed out with urgency:

“Cough… they must’ve mixed up the names! Cough cough… We can’t afford private care, but no matter how I explained, they… cough cough cough… Brother! Please talk to them for me! We… cough cough cough cough…”

“Don’t worry, they didn’t get the wrong person!”

Hearing Anna’s heart-wrenching coughs, Li Ang, still sweating profusely, leapt up and rushed over in three strides, helping the two nurses maneuver his struggling sister onto the bed, then soothed her gently:

“I got the job I went for yesterday—I’m now an Incident Handler under the Police Force, with annual medical reimbursement quotas; we won’t spend family money!”

Got the job? And it sounds like a royal government position?

Anna’s face lit up with joy; a flush of excitement bloomed on her pale cheeks, her eyes sparkling as if she wanted to say something.

But the next second she realized—given her brother’s current circumstances, landing a good job was nearly impossible. Yet the hospital’s attitude was genuine… then…

“Brother… tell me the truth!”

With strength she didn’t know she had, the pale girl gripped the bed rail and forced herself upright, glaring at Li Ang:

“You… cough cough… you didn’t take some dangerous job to pay for my treatment, did you? You… you… cough cough cough!”

“Not dangerous! Not dangerous at all! I’m perfectly safe!”

“Liar!”

Hearing Li Ang’s reassurance, the pale girl grew even more frantic; she covered her mouth and nose as she coughed, gripping the rail and snapping:

“If you hadn’t taken one of those deadly jobs, where… cough cough cough… where would you get the money for private care… cough cough cough cough…”

“Stop talking like this right now!”

Holding Anna’s shoulders, Li Ang forcibly pressed her back onto the bed, her face flushed from coughing, then hurriedly explained:

“My job really isn’t dangerous. The reason the benefits are so good is because there are no holidays—I must be on call year-round, respond immediately whenever called, and it’s extremely grueling.”

He pulled out the “Dung Beetle Mother Certificate,” unfolded it, and flashed the title “Level-Three Incident Handler,” then spoke with solemn sincerity:

“See the job title? Incident Handler! My work falls under the Cleaning Bureau under the Police Force—we mainly… uh… handle investigations and cleanup of homicides and accidents.

For example, if there’s a serial dismemberment case or a large-scale traffic accident,

I have to clean up the blood-soaked, flesh-mangled scenes—the kind that makes ordinary people vomit just by looking!

It’s exhausting, filthy, and terrifying, so few people want it, hence the excellent pay… Are you reassured now?”

Cleaning Bureau? Handling blood-soaked crime scenes?

After hearing her brother’s explanation, the pale girl hesitated, then asked skeptically:

“Really?”

“Really!”

Not wanting to tell her he’d joined a secret department where death was always a possibility, Li Ang raised his right hand firmly and swore:

“If I’m lying to you, I’ll remain a bachelor for life, never find…”

“Brother! Don’t say that, cough cough…”

She gripped Li Ang’s arm and pinched hard, forcing him to swallow the rest of his oath; the thin, worried girl finally relaxed.

Handling blood-drenched homicide scenes wasn’t a good job, but it was far better than mining in the smelting furnaces or selling oneself as a test subject. After all, given their current state, what choice did they have?

Although under the relatively dangerous Police Force, the department was the Cleaning Bureau—a name similar to the Sanitation Bureau, likely a logistics position. Aside from being filthy, exhausting, and frightening, her brother probably wouldn’t face real danger… but…

It’s all my fault for dragging you down…

She bit her colorless lip hard, gripped Li Ang’s hand, and lowered her head in apology:

“Brother, when we get back to Veteran’s Alley, if anyone asks about your job, just say you work for the Police Force. Don’t mention the dismemberments—or any of the specific duties.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because you still need to get married.”

Tenderly clutching her brother’s hand, the thin girl worriedly said:

“Handling dismembered bodies isn’t shameful if you earn your own living, but it still carries… stigma. If your job becomes known, no decent family will consider you.”

“….”

Looking at his sister—physically frail, yet still preoccupied with how he’d marry—Li Ang could only grimace in disbelief.

Forget it! Who’d marry someone like me?

Given the Cleaning Bureau’s insane job scope, even one real case would kill me. Better to think about who’d marry me in death than who’d marry me in life…

“Mm-hmm, I’m not stupid—I won’t say a word.”

Knowing his own life could end at any moment, Li Ang had long given up on marriage—to avoid burdening others. But he had no need to tell Anna that.

Watching his sister clearly storing this away in her mind, Li Ang smiled and promised:

“Don’t worry about my marriage—I’ll find you the best sister-in-law when the time comes.”

After soothing his sister with a few words, Li Ang, still preoccupied with the “uncontrolled contaminant,” took a deep breath and turned to the nurse:

“Excuse me, where’s that… fuller-figured doctor? Didn’t he come?”

“The head doctor originally planned to come with us.”

Hearing Li Ang’s question, the nurse—who had been briefed by the fat chief—immediately apologized:

“But halfway here, the hospital’s emergency alarm rang, and a large batch of critical patients arrived—likely some public emergency.

By hospital policy, all department heads and above must respond immediately. The chief had to rush over…

But don’t worry—he told us before leaving that your sister will receive the best possible treatment!”

Public emergency… could it be connected to that “uncontrolled contaminant”?

Recalling the Cleaning Bureau’s insane job scope, Li Ang’s expression tightened; instinctively, he wanted to grab Anna and run, keeping her away from danger.

But seeing the IV tube in her arm and her extremely frail condition, he hesitated, then pulled a nurse aside into the corridor and whispered:

“How’s my sister’s condition? Can I turn off the IV and take her home for a bit?”

“That… it’s probably not advisable.”

The nurse looked troubled:

“The chief knew you’d ask about her condition, so he specifically told us about your sister’s status.

Because your sister stopped her medication for two months, three-quarters of her right lung have been destroyed by alchemical waste gas, and her left lung is also significantly damaged. Only continuous intravenous cell supplements have stabilized her condition.

If you stop treatment now and take her home, delaying care could mean losing the entire right lung—her expected lifespan would plummet, and even slight movement afterward would…” “Where are you going?”

“I’m going home to grab something! Go back and watch over her—don’t come out no matter what happens outside!”