[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-the-cleanup-crew":3,"chapter-i-m-the-cleanup-crew-i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-870":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I'm the Cleanup Crew!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2286706,4472,"Chapter 870","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-870",870,"\u003Cp>Done for!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing the Water Bearer Director’s question, the female journalist’s body stiffened slightly, and Li Ang’s spine erupted in a cold chill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t like the female journalist!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given the enmity between him and the Water Bearer Director, if the Director knew he was here, he’d be overjoyed—and then carve him into eight pieces, grind his bones to dust, mix the remains into his food, and even laugh aloud later, when he remembered this day after ascending to the Watchtower Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the female journalist…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though she intended to protect him, the Water Bearer Director’s assessment of her was correct: with her level of skill in this area, trying to protect him would be no different from directly betraying him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don’t move!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realizing he could no longer hide, Li Ang took the risk of immediate exposure and extended his nearly invisible right hand, pressing it against the female journalist’s waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From an angle the Water Bearer Director couldn’t see, through the intimate connection between souls, Li Ang’s thoughts traveled along her waist and into her mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do as I say! First, hesitate, then say another soul—the Blood-Haired Lady—brought in a top interrogator from the Police Department. During your interrogation, he was accidentally knocked out of his body and drifted into the Death Realm, but his soul was too weak to survive and has already been fully digested by the Hound God!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Okay…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After awkwardly shifting her body, the female journalist forced herself to control her emotions and repeated Li Ang’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I see…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing her report, the Water Bearer Director nodded slightly, asked no further questions, and said calmly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nicole, after this, we’ll never meet again. While we still have time, let me speak with you a little more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the Water Bearer Director’s words, the female journalist involuntarily clenched her fists, her mind in chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the Three-Headed Hound God was dead, its ability to digest souls still existed! If they kept talking like this, Li Ang—whose body still bore traces of its digestive fluids—would suffer terribly, possibly dissolving entirely under the erosion!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So… should she make an excuse, tell the Director safety came first, that the Blood-Haired Lady might arrive at any moment, and urge him to leave first, releasing Li Ang later?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No! Absolutely not!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sensing what the female journalist intended through their soul connection, Li Ang urgently blocked her:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You won’t fool him! He might even leave, then sneak back. That’s when I’d be truly dead. Just nod, lower your head, and stay silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mm…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After replying to both with one word, the anxious female journalist pressed her lips shut and lowered her head in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Water Bearer Director, having received her response, spoke softly with a look of guilt:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There’s something I’ve never told you… Though I didn’t kill your parents, when I first found you, I had the chance to save them—but I chose not to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>?!!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the Water Bearer Director’s words, the female journalist jolted, lifting her head to stare at him with unblinking eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m sorry…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without meeting her gaze, the Water Bearer Director closed his eyes, his voice heavy with regret:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I have no explanation for this. You already know why I made this choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I must say, I truly regret it now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at her pale, bitten lips, the Water Bearer Director sighed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had I known it would end like this, I wouldn’t have chosen that path. But now it’s too late—your parents are gone, and my choice was truly terrible…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nicole, I wanted our final meeting to leave you with a good impression, but if I don’t tell you now, I’ll never get another chance. I thought long and hard, and finally decided to be honest with you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honesty…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the Water Bearer Director’s words, the female journalist clenched her fists tighter, desperate to rush forward and demand answers—but feared losing her soul’s concealment would expose Li Ang completely. She remained where she stood, voice dry and low:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because… I’m a good specimen? One who might give birth to an exceptional anomaly?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Water Bearer Director nodded, his regretful expression fading into calm:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You know that since the death of my last relative, nothing in this world held meaning for me except the Anomaly Creation Art. My only, my final wish, is to ascend to the Watchtower Palace and see what the ultimate form of that art looks like.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is the Anomaly Creation Art really that important to you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The female journalist bit her lip, then asked with sorrowful eyes:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the price is destroying countless lives, betraying the Cleanup Bureau and being hunted, even sitting alone in the silent void until your soul dissolves… even knowing all that, you still don’t regret it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s for the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Water Bearer Director blinked, then spoke calmly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t know if I’ll regret it when I sit alone in the void. But if I had the chance to see it—and didn’t—I’d regret it from this moment forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nicole, you wouldn’t understand this feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the female journalist, now silent with clenched lips, the Water Bearer Director’s eyes flickered with a faint, hidden fervor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My mastery of this art surpasses nearly all my predecessors—except the Watchtower Palace. I can barely even comprehend it, because it contradicts everything I’ve learned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the past century, the anomalies I created through the Anomaly Creation Art mostly stemmed from extremism, rage, hatred… these violent, intense emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Watchtower Palace, the supreme masterpiece of this art, is rooted in love—quiet, unassuming kindness and compassion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the Watchtower Palace is the pinnacle of the Creation Art, and I’ve been walking the wrong path from the start, I, who possess unparalleled talent, may never reach its true summit…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nicole, do you know how desperate I felt when I realized this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t want to know, and I’m not interested!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the Water Bearer Director’s feverish eyes, the female journalist spat bitterly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I only know you’re insane! You’ve lost your mind completely!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mm… perhaps I truly am insane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Water Bearer Director fell silent for a moment, his fervor dimming slightly. Then, as if sensing something, he turned his head and glanced behind him, shaking his head with regret:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nicole, I must go. Remember what I said—so long as you continue…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Go! I never want to see you again!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After one look at the female journalist, the Water Bearer Director shook his head, took a step, and vanished silently beyond the Gate of the Dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Li Ang exhaled in relief, hesitating whether to crawl out immediately or wait in case the Water Bearer Director returned, a soft crack echoed from within the Hound God’s brainpan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately after, a strangely shaped paper cutter pierced through the upper jaw of the Hound God, clattering onto Li Ang’s soul, accompanied by a low whisper:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let’s make a deal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Li Ang’s widened eyes, the thin, sharp paper cutter slid silently to his soul’s neck and sliced a fine cut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, strange characters seeped through the cut, sinking into his soul, forming the familiar voice of the Water Bearer Director:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ve destroyed the bond between Nicole and me. She’s no longer a threat to you. So I offer this knife and your life in exchange for protection from the Virgin Branch… Are you interested in this deal?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>",1232,"2026-06-20T03:18:35.371Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","794149b7faf160aaa933ab1c9939b27ad41a7dcc8bf4dc1954d669f3dc5feb61","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-871","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-869",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-the-cleanup-crew-cover.jpg"]