Chapter 80: 79 Combat Power and Missed Strike

79 Combat Power and Missed Strike

Only 1.1?

After seeing how his contamination value remained pitifully low despite acquiring the new anomaly, Li Ang sighed in disappointment and abandoned the fantasy of his contamination value surging by 48 points, instantly launching him into a rampage.

When he first obtained the Witch’s Broom, his contamination value jumped directly from 0.4 to 0.9—likely because both the ram’s head and the Witch’s Broom had very low contamination values, and together still fell below his tolerance limit.

This time, the [Sacred Spirit Pendant] had a maximum potential of 48 points, but he had only been exposed to anomalies for less than a month; his “contamination” level was still shallow—1.1 seemed to be his current ceiling.

……

“Director, I’m here.”

After politely alerting the red-haired director, Li Ang activated the [Sacred Spirit Pendant], converting a small portion of his stamina into currency and directly “feeding” it to the golden toad on his chest.

“Gul…”

Accompanied by a low growl audible only to Li Ang, a tiny copper wheel quietly appeared inside the toad’s gaping mouth.

After it tilted its head and swallowed the wheel, an invisible slash emitting a faint white glow suddenly appeared, striking precisely at the floating red hair—and then…

…there was no more.

“…”

That’s it?

Watching the red hair still float gently above the desk, untouched and unblemished even after taking the slash, Li Ang felt a faint discouragement settle in his chest—even though he had mentally prepared for this outcome.

Though his physical strength had improved as his contamination value rose, it still hadn’t exceeded the range of an ordinary person—he estimated seven or eight kilometers would be his absolute limit.

So while the slash had seemed insignificant, it had consumed one-eighth of his stamina; considering he needed to reserve some for emergencies and couldn’t expend it all at once, he could probably fire this attack four or five times at most.

And yet, after paying such a heavy cost, the attack couldn’t even cut a single strand of the director’s hair… This was…

Better to train with a sniper rifle!

“That’s fine—the power is already quite impressive.”

Seeing the disappointment in Li Ang’s eyes, the red-haired director retracted her hair and smiled reassuringly:

“That strike had enough force to pierce through a thin steel plate, was extremely stealthy with no visible preparation, and hit its target with pinpoint accuracy… By the way, what’s the maximum distance you can launch that attack from?”

“Uh… I’m not entirely sure…”

“Then let’s try another method.”

Pointing out the window, the red-haired director said:

“Send out your will. From the farthest point you can reach, pluck a leaf and bring it back.”

“I’ll try.”

Following the director’s instruction, Li Ang paid another small amount of stamina to the toad on his chest.

After a moment, a slightly withered leaf drifted in through the window on an invisible breeze and landed on the desk.

“So the limit is about a hundred meters? That means the maximum lethal range should be just over fifty meters.”

After examining the leaf on the desk, the red-haired director nodded in satisfaction:

“The destructive power is slightly weak—only marginally above standard police firearms, below a large-caliber nail gun; but the precision is exceptional—you can cleanly sever a leaf stem from a hundred meters away; within fifty meters, you can inflict damage instantly without preparation… Very strong!”

Giving Li Ang a thumbs-up, the red-haired director smiled warmly:

“In even slightly complex terrain, with this anomaly, you can single-handedly suppress and easily eliminate an entire squad of fully armed, seasoned soldiers.

If you add the ram’s soul vision, just to corner you in city alleys would require five elite ten-man teams—and you’d need to prepare for over half their casualties.

And that’s only if they know your abilities beforehand—in a random encounter, as long as you’re not pinned down and surrounded, you could tie up an entire company by yourself.”

“…”

Hearing that, the effect isn’t bad? Combined with the parkour badge’s mobility in complex terrain, I could practically rule the city—but…

“But wouldn’t the [Devil’s Horns] achieve something similar?”

After pondering the director’s examples, Li Ang frowned:

“The Black Ram can directly incite aggression—it should produce comparable results. And since teammates might attack each other, if used well, their own offense could collapse entirely.”

“True, it can do that—but only in one-vs-many scenarios.”

Looking into Li Ang’s eyes, the red-haired director continued:

“Most missions you’re capable of handling now are small-scale, single-target incidents. In such cases, the ram is far less useful than this pendant.

In short, you can rest easy for now. By my standards, once the Witch’s Broom returns to normal, you’ll qualify as a competent Level Three Incident Handler.”

With a flick of her finger, she retracted her hair. Seeing Li Ang still unenthused, she spoke earnestly:

“Li Ang, though you haven’t said it, I can tell the encounter with the Sacred Spirit of the Silver Scale Sect has shaken you deeply—but you must understand, some things can’t be rushed.

For someone who’s only been exposed to anomalies for less than a month, possessing this level of power is already extraordinary. The rest will come in time.”

“Thank you for the reminder—I’ll remember.”

Nodding noncommittally, Li Ang tucked the [Sacred Spirit Pendant] into his collar, took the red-haired director’s authorization slip, and left the office, heading toward the Archives Bureau.

Take it slow, huh?

Thinking over the director’s advice, Li Ang shook his head.

Of course, taking it slow would be ideal—but for someone in the Cleanup Bureau, no one can say whether an accident or tomorrow will come first.

I don’t have Emma’s immortality to fall back on. I must grow stronger as quickly as possible, to ensure my own safety—and to prevent Anna and the others from losing their big brother again after already losing their parents.

Besides, while contamination value can’t be rushed and must accumulate gradually over time, I still have the badge system.

Shooting, parkour, drinking, performance… Individually, these badges aren’t especially powerful—none of the ones below Baiyin even reach the “anomalous” threshold—but they offer direct progression paths: complete the required actions, and you get an immediate, significant boost.

And then there are badges like [Devil’s Friend] and [Devout Believer], which directly enhance anomaly effects. If I push myself harder, my growth rate can skyrocket—so…

As long as I don’t die from overtraining, I’ll train until I drop!

Having resolved to become the ultimate grindmaster, Li Ang carried a case containing his heavy sniper rifle and tucked two hard loaves of bread into his coat, then headed to the Archives Bureau to check his own file and find out what Anna was worried about. After grabbing a quick lunch, he planned to spend the entire afternoon at the shooting range, firing until the targets vanished—but…

“I’m very sorry, but the file you requested has already been retrieved.”

After checking the archive log, the archivist nodded apologetically to Li Ang’s surprised expression:

“Though your clearance is higher, this file exists only as a single copy in our bureau. You’ll have to wait until it’s returned before you can access it.”