Chapter 78

77 Watchtower Palace

The corruption value is actually 48 points?

After reading the information provided by [Materialism], Li Ang couldn’t help but pause, his gaze turning toward the red-haired director.

Wasn’t it said that even choosing the first option would yield only 45 corruption points, and the third option a maximum of 42? How did it jump so high now?

“… ”

Why are you staring at me? Quickly thank her!

Meeting Li Ang’s gaze, the red-haired director glared at him again, then slipped her hands behind her back and subtly curled a finger toward his neck.

“Huh?”

As his neck tugged slightly by her hair, Li Ang instantly understood her hint, bowing deeply with sincere gratitude:

“Thank you, Your Excellency, for your instruction. I will not disappoint the director’s expectations, nor will I betray this anomaly you crafted with your own hands!”

“Why so formal again… sigh…”

Seeing through the red-haired director’s trick, the silver-haired old woman scowled at her, then sighed wryly:

“Really… if I’d known it’d turn out like this, I should’ve applied for identity confidentiality long ago. Now everywhere I go is a hassle—bowing, greeting, the whole thing…”

“The bows and greetings are voluntary—out of genuine respect for you.”

Hearing the silver-haired woman’s words, the usually irreverent red-haired director straightened her posture, her expression solemn:

“Lady Taurus, whether for your past achievements or the choices you will make in the future, this respect is yours to earn.”

“Maybe… but it’s still a real nuisance…”

With a listless reply, the silver-haired woman rose from the sofa and said her farewell:

“Then that’s all. Olivia, I came only to deliver this item and check on your Sixth Bureau’s status. Since everything’s normal, I won’t disturb you further.”

“You’re too kind.”

The red-haired director bowed respectfully, then tugged Li Ang aside, pulling him back with her. Meanwhile, the Taurus Director—looking no different from an ordinary elderly woman—bent her back and shuffled toward the second-floor window, then vanished without warning, as if stepping into another world.

“… ”

No wonder I didn’t see any footprints—you guys don’t even use the stairs…

A flicker of realization crossed his eyes. Seeing the high-ranking director depart, Li Ang, who had been holding back a flood of questions, finally blurted out:

“Just now… that woman…”

“She’s one of the Twelve Directors—the current Taurus Director—and the Bureau’s greatest master of crafting anomalies.”

After briefly explaining the old woman’s identity, the red-haired director sighed with awe:

“I thought it’d be enough to have even one Grand Artisan oversee the forging. I never expected Lady Taurus would be free—she not only took on the forging herself, but even delivered it personally. You’re incredibly lucky.”

So… is that why the corruption value is so much higher than expected—because this master forged it?

Nodding in understanding, Li Ang stole a glance at her expression, then pressed on:

“Director, how strong are the Twelve Directors? How do they compare to you?”

“You misunderstand.”

Glancing at Li Ang, the red-haired director shook her head:

“I asked you to show her respect not because her power is great or her status high, but because of genuine admiration.

In no more than a year, Lady Taurus will voluntarily abandon her body and become part of the Watchtower Palace.”

“Watchtower Palace?”

“An anomaly crafted by the Clearance Bureau, suspended beyond our world. Its function, as its name suggests, is to serve as humanity’s eternal watcher—the strongest and final barrier protecting this world.”

After briefly explaining the Watchtower Palace’s role, the red-haired director’s gaze grew complex:

“Only those who truly love humanity are chosen by the Watchtower Palace. Once accepted, they are stripped of their flesh and nearly all emotion, leaving only the purest will to watch over humanity, then drawn into the Watchtower Palace.

Lady Taurus has already accepted the call. Within a year, she will depart for the Watchtower Palace beyond the world, to guard against colossal disasters threatening humanity, sitting alone in the silent void until even her last fragment of will is ground to dust by time.”

Is this watching? Or just a disguised life sentence?

Hearing the red-haired director’s explanation, Li Ang imagined it for a moment—and felt a heavy ache in his chest.

To leave behind the colorful world and loved ones, to sit alone forever in a silent void, until even your will is swallowed by loneliness—this is a cruel punishment for any sentient being.

“Must it be this painful?”

Thinking of the silver-haired woman’s gentle, kind face, unable to bear what awaited her, Li Ang asked:

“This anomaly was made by the Bureau, right? Can’t you modify it—send people in shifts to guard the Watchtower Palace? At least rotate the duty.”

“No.”

The red-haired director sighed:

“Only extremes are remembered. Only obsession dares to advance. Only madness understands greatness… That’s a saying widely passed through the Bureau.

I interpret it this way: whether it’s positive love or reverence, or negative hatred or resentment—only these most extreme, purest emotions can truly affect the world and give birth to corresponding ‘anomalies.’”

Here, the red-haired director paused, then lifted her gaze to the sky outside the window, her voice soft and distant:

“The Watchtower Palace follows this rule. Its selection is entirely voluntary—even offering ten full years of preparation before entry. During that time, you may withdraw at any moment, and no one will remember you were ever chosen.

Most in the Bureau believe those ten years are merely a cooling-off period. But I think—whether the eternal agony of watchful solitude that follows, or the decade of weighing and reflection—it’s all part of the Watchtower Palace’s process of gathering power, selecting and purifying the will to watch.”

Only a will that, fully aware of the despair ahead and free to walk away at any moment, still chooses to go forward—that pure will alone can forge the boundless power that spans past and future, capable of protecting all humanity.”

So that’s how it is…

Finally understanding why the usually reckless director had behaved so “well-behaved” today, Li Ang involuntarily took a deep breath, his eyes filled with profound reverence.

Even setting aside her role in crafting his anomaly, as one of humanity’s beneficiaries under the Watchtower Palace’s protection, the silver-haired woman deserved his respect.

Hmm… Watchtower Palace… I never imagined the Clearance Bureau held something so great…

“Zzz…”

[By attentively listening to the account, you have acquired extensive knowledge regarding the “Watchtower Palace.” The Chromatic Badge “Materialist Soul (Crimson)” has activated.

Having learned of the Watchtower Palace’s existence, understood the source of its power, and grasped part of its operational rules, your resistance to its influence has greatly increased—you can now block ordinary-level effects.]

“… ”???