Chapter 887: One Third

"So... you ran over to find me?"

Standing in the hallway of the Happiness Apartment, having heard the female police officer recount Ambassador Croc's threats, Li Ang looked at Miss Yisha, who had come straight to his door early in the morning. He couldn't help but touch his cufflink, then looked around and changed the subject, saying:

"But I'm on vacation right now. If you want me to help you find something, you should report it to the Cleanup Bureau first and wait three working days..."

"Pah, stop denying it!"

Seeing that Li Ang still wanted to bluff his way out, the female police officer, gritting her teeth in anger, stamped her foot, then lowered her voice and shouted:

"I've already investigated everything. The people who attacked the boarding tower were you!

Others might not know, but I know very well: the people who attacked the boarding tower back then held real IDs and uniforms, all issued from the Cleanup Bureau's spare parts warehouse. And right before that, you happened to ask me for an approval slip!"

"..."

So I was exposed after all...

Looking at the female police officer, whose eyes were as dark as a national treasure's from working overtime nonstop ever since the boarding tower incident, Li Ang felt a tiny pang of guilt in his heart. He then cleared his throat and explained, slightly awkwardly:

"This... sorry, but there was a reason I kept this from you..."

"I don't care about your reasons or whatever. The things the Kingdom of Croc wants are in your possession, right?"

Grabbing Li Ang's lapel, the female police officer said in a low, annoyed voice:

"I know you wouldn't act recklessly; there must be a reason for doing such a thing. So although the Police Department found the spare parts warehouse, I didn't blow the whistle on this and have been covering for you all along. But what do you say now?

Although I don't understand international relations, I know how important the Kingdom of Croc's technology is. Now that the Police Department still hasn't found the attackers of the boarding tower, they are getting anxious and threatening sanctions. What should the Kingdom do?"

"Don't worry, let me think first."

After patting the female police officer's hand to comfort her, Li Ang frowned and analyzed the current situation.

The Kingdom of Croc suddenly made a move, probably after processing the airship wreckage and discovering that Artifi 128 had already been taken. Since they couldn't find Artifi 128's whereabouts, they could only apply official pressure on the Kingdom through diplomatic channels.

For the Kingdom, which is in a weak position, the best solution right now is to hand over Artifi 128. But the problem is that this thing absolutely cannot be handed over; its "brain" likely contains the Kingdom's energy exploration records.

Once it is handed back, whether I get exposed or not is a minor issue. Once the existence of "Volcano Energy" in the Kingdom is exposed, the Kingdom of Croc will inevitably choose to go to war. For a Kingdom that has just gained some vitality, this would be absolutely the most fatal blow. So...

"The thing is indeed here with me, but it absolutely cannot be returned to them."?!

Just hearing the first half of the sentence, when Li Ang admitted the thing was in his hands, the female police officer couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. But before that sigh was even finished, Li Ang's second half of the sentence choked it back into her throat.

"Explaining the reason is a bit troublesome... Simply put, if that thing isn't returned, the Kingdom will only face sanctions. But if that thing is returned, the two countries will have no choice but to go to war."

After briefly explaining the reason for not returning the item, seeing the female police officer's somewhat bewildered expression, Li Ang offered words of comfort:

"Also, regarding the so-called sanctions, you really don't need to worry too much. The situation with the Kingdom of Croc is a bit special. The Cleanup Bureau is currently preparing to investigate the situation. Once the investigation is complete, we will take action."

"The Bureau probably won't take direct action."

After giving an unexpected answer, the red-haired director, looking somewhat helpless, reminded Li Ang, who wore a bewildered expression:

"Although the matter of the Kingdom of Croc is important, Lord Taurus is about to ascend the palace soon. Setting aside everything else, at the very least for this month, all matters must yield to this. The Bureau's intention is to prioritize investigation for now and decide once the situation is confirmed."

"Then it's not urgent."

Li Ang thought for a moment and said:

"Anyway, it's only a little over a month before Lord Taurus successfully ascends the palace. A sanction lasting one or two months won't mean much to the Kingdom."

"Not just one or two months; it might still take half a year, or even longer."???

"Because the Kingdom of Croc isn't the only country with problems in its royal family. It's not good to act rashly. They should wait until the situation is thoroughly investigated before launching a joint attack."

The red-haired director opened her mouth to explain:

"Li Ang, just during these few days of your vacation, Director Sagittarius ordered all branch offices to conduct a self-inspection. They discovered that besides the Kingdom of Croc, there are another..."

"Wait!"

After hearing the red-haired director's words, Li Ang couldn't help but interrupt:

"Ordering all branch offices to self-inspect? Didn't that tin doll say there are other traitors within our Bureau? If we order all branch offices to self-inspect, what if the news leaks out?"

"Rest assured, the Bureau won't make such a low-level mistake... um... well, generally speaking, we won't make such mistakes."

After adding a sentence with not much confidence, the red-haired director spoke:

"Back when you exposed Director Aquarius and discovered he was also the director of the Gemini Branch, all eleven directors of the Zodiac Branches, including myself, underwent some inspections. We also utilized two numbered anomalies to impose temporary verbal constraints.

Because the consumption of those two items was quite high, the number of verbal constraint slots was limited. We can't be sure about the smaller non-Zodiac branches, but for us directors of these major branches, loyalty can be basically guaranteed. After all, if we couldn't even guarantee this, the Cleanup Bureau wouldn't have lasted until now."

"..."

I see. Impressive, my Bureau... but may I ask, which Bureau did the director of the Gemini Branch betray? The Cleaning Bureau? The Processing Bureau? Anyway, it definitely wasn't our Cleanup Bureau, right?

"Ahem... In short, after the Zodiac Branches responsible for guarding the Twelve Kingdoms conducted an internal self-inspection, they discovered that including the Kingdom of Croc, four royal families have some issues."

"Ah?!!!"

Seeing Li Ang's extremely shocked expression, the red-haired director said with equal helplessness:

"The royal ship of Sai Ao in the Thousand Sails Sea Kingdom has been completely turned into a ghost ship. Once bathed in the moonlight of the full moon, all living people on board will instantly turn into ghosts. If the royal ship hadn't been permanently stationed on the Moon-Blocking Sea, where the thick fog never dissipates overhead, it would have been finished long ago;

The Witch Kingdom of Mifara has also encountered problems. Their royal family has always been passed down through a single line. The current Great Witch King is over one hundred and thirty years old and will likely die of old age very soon, but her only daughter has gone missing, leaving behind only a fake. It is currently undetermined whether the real person is still alive."

"..."

"And the Twin Kingdom of Kalavin has also had an incident. The former Eastern and Western Kingdoms of Kalavin had completely different faiths, worshipping Light and Darkness respectively. After the Eastern Kingdom of Kalavin was destroyed due to the Ophiuchus Branch incident, the Lumen Church of the Light Worshippers should have ceased to exist.

But recently, this church suddenly reappeared and has gotten mixed up with the Abyssal Church of the Darkness Prayers, which is indigenous to the Western Kingdom of Kalavin. It seems they are preparing to modify the state religion to restore the former Eastern Kingdom of Kalavin on the territory of the Western Kingdom of Kalavin, and there is a high probability they will target the royal family."

"..."

So, counting the Mechanical Capital of Croc, which has erupted in a smart-machine crisis, one-third of the twelve kingdoms in the world have already had their homes stolen? What are the Twelve Zodiac Branches even doing?

This is absolutely absurd! And they say the Cleanup Bureau never makes low-level mistakes... Indeed, they don't make many low-level mistakes, but they just go all out making fatal ones, right?