Chapter 76: 75 Drawing from Many Sources and Losing Control

75 Drawing from Many Sources and Losing Control

No matter what happens, am I always your little sister?

Watching Li Ang, who was resting peacefully on his shoulder with his breathing growing lighter as if he had already fallen asleep, Anna, having received his promise, felt no relief. Instead, she bit her lip until it turned white, unable to help herself.

Then what if... I am not your little sister at all, and the happiness I possess right now is all something I stole? Once you discover what I have done to you, will you still feel the same way you do now?

Amidst the frail girl's inner terror and unease, the carriage carrying the family of four sped along the streets of the capital. Li Ang had only taken a nap of less than thirty minutes before being awakened by the sound of the steam whistle as the carriage arrived.

Can a carriage really be this fast?

Rubbing his sleepy eyes and yawning again, Li Ang first reached out to smooth the wrinkles pressed into Anna's shoulders, then gave a pat to the buttocks of his younger brother and sister, who were fast asleep on the opposite seat.

"Wake up! We've arrived at our new home!"

"We're here?!"

Upon hearing Li Ang's words, Bobby Laien rubbed his eyes and sat up. Mimicking Li Ang, he earnestly straightened his rumpled clothes, then poked his little sister in the ribs without mercy.

"Get up! We're here!"

"Don't be noisy..."

Fei Liya, having had her dream disturbed, grunted twice, kicked her little leather shoes in the air, and then, like a maggot baby, arched along the seat away from Bobby Laien, leaving a trail of drool over ten centimeters long.

"Let me sleep a little longer..."

"Eww... so disgusting!"

Disdainfully grabbing Fei Liya's arm and using her sleeve to wipe the drool off the chair, Bobby Laien patted his little sister's face and said:

"Wake up quickly! The new home is on the sixth floor; if you don't get up, how are you going to get up there?"

"Mmm... don't pat..."

After crawling off the chair with a pout, Fei Liya saw Li Ang's helpless expression opposite her. Her eyes lit up, and she reached out her arms toward him.

"I'll sleep in Big Brother's arms, Big Brother can carry me up!"

"No, Big Brother really can't carry you up today."

"Ah? Why..."

"Because Big Brother has to work to support the family, so I have money to buy you pretty little dresses~"

Smiling, he pinched his little sister's pouting cheeks. After carrying her and Bobby Laien off the carriage, Li Ang turned his head to look toward Wang Gong Apartment.

Sure enough, the strong old man who claimed to be in "poor health" was holding a pair of garden shears over a meter long, glaring at him menacingly in the small garden in front of the building, while clipping away at shrubs as thick as bowls as if they were scallion leaves...

Stop clipping, stop clipping, I won't come over, okay?

Looking at the explosive, dark muscles under the strong old man's thin vest, and then at his own thighs, which weren't even as thick as the man's forearms, Li Ang, fearing he would go from being a "Big Brother" to a "Big Brother," truly didn't dare to stay a moment longer. He struggled to move the luggage from the carriage to the apartment entrance and then fled in a panic without hesitation.

Seeing the "demon brat" sensibly keeping his distance, the strong old man couldn't help but snort. He casually shoved the garden shears into the ground, limped over to the door, and looked at the new residents of Wang Gong Apartment.

"Sorry to trouble you, Mr. John."

Anna, who had visited the Wang Gong Apartment twice in recent days, was already familiar with this fierce-looking manager. After a polite greeting, she first picked up all the luggage she could carry and signaled for her younger brother and sister to take some as well, before saying with a face full of apology:

"My brother is busy with work, so he doesn't have time to help us move. Could I please ask you to... oh!"

In Anna's shocked expression, the manager, as strong as a bear, grinned, revealing a rather fierce smile. Then, like a circus performer, he tossed the six or seven large bags into the air and caught them all on his body with a series of thuds.

After adjusting his position slightly to ensure he could carry the three-hundred-pound load steadily, the strong old man snatched the luggage from Anna's hands, hung it on himself without a word, and turned to walk away.

"Mr. John?!"

Anna, startled, reacted immediately and pulled her younger brother and sister to follow, wanting to help carry some of it, but seeing the mountain of luggage piled on the strong old man's back, she really couldn't find a way to help and could only follow behind, thanking him repeatedly...

Phew... looks like there's absolutely no problem now.

Seeing that Anna and the others had indeed been accepted by Wang Gong Apartment, Li Ang, hiding at the corner of the street, finally let out a sigh of relief. He then frowned and walked quickly toward the Cleaning Bureau.

With just over six hundred more live-fire shots, the Shooter Badge would complete its advancement. But before that, he still had to find the Director, borrow her connections to investigate Anna's situation, and see what was weighing on her mind...

What? Didn't I just promise half an hour ago that as long as Anna didn't want to say it, I wouldn't ask?

I did say I wouldn't ask, but I didn't say I wouldn't investigate! To use the Director's words, not asking is one thing, and investigating is another; these two matters are separate.

Or, to use Auntie Ai Ma's words, one should never harbor any wishful thinking; only by mastering sufficient intelligence beforehand can one ensure they are always in control!

Regarding Anna's secret, if it were trivial, he could just pretend not to know for the rest of his life. But if it were the kind of dangerous secret that could lead to disaster, if he didn't investigate it clearly and resolve it early, was he just supposed to wait for her to do something foolish?

Armed with the steadiness learned from Auntie Ai Ma and the thick-skinned nature learned from the red-haired Director, Li Ang arrived early at the Cleaning Bureau and knocked hard on the Director's office door.

"Director, are you there?"

However, perhaps because he had arrived a bit too early and the sun hadn't fully risen, the red-haired Director—whether she hadn't woken up yet or simply hadn't come to work—did not respond.

After waiting for a while without a response, Li Ang knocked on the door again, raised his voice slightly, and said:

"Director, it's Li Ang! Are you there?"

"I'm here."

Li Ang's raised voice seemed to have an effect. The red-haired Director finally responded, but the voice didn't come from inside the office; instead, it seemed to pass directly through the floorboards.

"Director? Are you upstairs?"

"Yes, I'm upstairs."

After giving the answer in a calm, almost indifferent tone, the red-haired Director's voice sounded somewhat muffled:

"Are you looking for me? If you are, come on up."

Go upstairs...

Hearing the red-haired Director's words, Li Ang couldn't help but pause slightly, instinctively feeling that something wasn't quite right.

Although there was no rule in the Sixth Cleaning Bureau forbidding one from going upstairs, according to his observations, no one had ever gone up there. The stairwell not only lacked a single footprint but was also covered in a thick layer of dust, suggesting no one had entered for at least half a year. Why would the Director suddenly call him up today?

Also, remember the Director mentioned that upstairs was filled with her anomalous objects?

Although judging by her tone at the time, it felt like she was just talking nonsense, he remembered that when he asked about the Cleaning Bureau's work content before, she had used a joking tone to describe it.

He had verified this with Auntie Ai Ma later; what she had told him back then, while rare to encounter even once in several years, was indeed true. So...

Could it be true this time? Is the one talking to me right now the Director's anomalous object? ===== CHAPTER 77 =====