Chapter 888

"In short, the current situation is unusual; although those kingdoms are suspected of having problems, their royal families haven't been completely extinguished yet, so the Bureau can't afford to make too much noise and risk provoking them into desperate actions."

As she spoke, the Red-haired Director couldn't help glancing at Li Ang with a sense of relief.

Compared to those few branches that had already been "fallen," her own Virgin Branch wasn't much better—after all, whether it was the Flesh-possessing Doe that nearly descended six years ago, or the Iron Doll that had infiltrated the Princess's side for six years, both had been just one step away from success.

Had her luck not been good enough—if the Flesh-possessing Doe's plot hadn't been accidentally disrupted, and if she hadn't recruited Li Ang as such a capable subordinate who inadvertently ruined the enemy's scheme during the rebellion—perhaps the Virgin Branch would have been the most humiliated of all.

"When you say 'can't make too much noise,' does that mean the Headquarters is planning to take things slowly again?"

Not interested in pondering which branch was more humiliated, Li Ang, upon hearing the Red-haired Director's words and realizing the kingdoms might face sanctions for half a year or longer, groaned in exasperation:

"Last time we exposed the Aquarius conspiracy, the Bureau said the Watch Palace was more important, didn't move to capture Aquarius's director, and instead sealed off the Headquarters itself. Now that we've discovered someone plotting to assassinate royal families across nations, they still won't act immediately? Are they really going to keep investigating slowly? Can't they make up their minds?"

"The Lady Taurus and the others have no choice..."

The Red-haired Director sighed helplessly.

"You know, the Bureau's responsibility is immense—once a decision goes wrong, there are no minor consequences. So over the years, we've long grown accustomed to prioritizing caution."

"Come on."

Li Ang shook his head, clearly unconvinced.

"If the Bureau were truly cautious, it would track down threats the moment it sensed them, crush every hint of danger the moment it appeared—not sit here overthinking, hesitating, and refusing to act. That's not caution—it's pure indecision!"

Indeed...

Hearing Li Ang's words, the Red-haired Director couldn't help sighing inwardly. While planning carefully before acting was good, sometimes overthinking—waiting for perfection before striking—only led to missed opportunities.

It wasn't that the directors were incompetent; ever since the Director left for the Old Lands, although the Bureau could still function normally on a daily basis, whenever major issues arose and the directors disagreed, there was no one left to make the final call—and responses had become consistently poor.

It wasn't that the directors were weak, but compared to the Director and the Lady Aries, the others all lacked the commanding presence of a true leader. Neither in status nor power did any of them possess overwhelming dominance, so every decision became excessively conservative.

The current Bureau felt to her like a hulking man covered in bulging muscles but plagued by indecision—capable of effortlessly knocking down an opponent with a single full-force punch, yet constantly hesitating, worrying about this and that, waiting for perfect conditions before moving.

It was suffocating. Suffocating enough to make one howl.

"Director."

Just as the Red-haired Director was sighing inwardly, feeling the Bureau was beyond saving, Li Ang suddenly spoke up:

"Since the Bureau has decided to take things slowly again, does that mean my and Nicole's investigation in the Kingdom of Korok must also shift to covert operations?"

"Hmm..."

The Red-haired Director nodded.

"Although the personnel haven't changed much—we're still primarily relying on the Scorpio Branch with our Virgin Branch as auxiliary—the method has indeed become more covert. Coincidentally, Oleson... oh, that's the kingdom where the Scorpio Branch is stationed."

"You know, Oleson is known as the Land of Green Shade, the largest grain exporter. Four of the Twelve Kingdoms—Seo of the Thousand Sails, Korok the Mechanical Capital, Refle the Refracting Kingdom, and Aishto the Ice Plain—all rely on annual grain imports from Oleson."

"And recently, Oleson is preparing to send a diplomatic delegation to exchange for Korok's newly developed irrigation technology. Scorpio Branch agents will likely blend into the delegation and depart within the next couple of days... By the way."

As she spoke, she suddenly remembered something and couldn't help smiling.

"Last time with the Nightmare King, you left quite an impression on Edward. When he heard you'd be participating in this joint mission from the Virgin Branch, his expression became extremely complicated."

How to put it... it was like a tiger starved for ten days finally spotting a passing living thing—except that living thing happened to be a giant porcupine. He wants to eat it, but fears getting pricked. It was quite amusing to watch."

"..."

"And after thinking it over, he eventually made a request to Lady Taurus: he welcomes your participation, but he wants you to follow orders."

"He also asked that you avoid impulsiveness—always notify him before doing anything, never make decisions on your own, absolutely avoid extreme actions, and always choose mild, measured responses..."

"..."

What kind of ridiculous request is this?

I lost my composure a little during the Nightmare King incident—that was it. At all other times, I've been perfectly rational! Why do they keep repeating this like I'm some reckless hothead?

With a skeptical grimace, Li—Zha Zui, the Porcupine—Ang pondered, then offered thoughtfully:

"Director, what if we change our plan and adopt the Scorpio Branch's approach?"

"Hmm?"

Hearing Li Ang's suggestion, the Red-haired Director blinked, then understood immediately.

"Send your mistress as a diplomatic delegation too?"

"..."

What mistress... where did that come from?

Her lips twitched slightly; Li Ang sighed.

"Since Korok is pressing for a response, let's send a delegation to explain the boarding tower incident. Then Nicole and I can blend into the delegation—it'll attract less suspicion."

"Mm-hmm, excellent, excellent."

The Red-haired Director nodded with a pleased smile.

"Compared to sneaking in disguised as travelers or merchants, this is definitely better. Though more eyes will be on you, you'll also have more ways to confuse Korok's authorities—and it'll make operations easier."

"Besides, as a diplomatic delegation, if you, a Prince, lead it, according to the unspoken diplomatic etiquette between kingdoms, Korok must send a royal member to receive you."

"That gives you the perfect excuse to contact the Korok royal family, investigate their situation, and even intervene to rescue them—truly a win-win... no! A triple-win!"

"That's exactly what I thought."

Li Ang added:

"Sending our delegation simultaneously with Oleson's will also allow us to make official contact with the Scorpio Branch agents without arousing suspicion from Korok, making joint operations smoother."

"Yes, but that means we'll have to move sooner—not only will your leave be cut short, but Lady Taurus won't have time to provide you with new primary anomaly items..."

Frowning in thought, the Red-haired Director asked:

"By the way, I recall the dagger Aquarius used to kill the Dog God was also a very powerful anomaly?"

"Hmm... but its ability doesn't suit me."

Li Ang considered, then replied:

"It's a silver paper-cutter named 【Silver Shear】. Its ability lets it cut anything as easily as slicing paper—even intangible things."

"But to activate it, you must physically wield it yourself. My physical strength and reaction speed are only at the bare minimum of a Level Two Cleaner—fine for bullying ordinary people, but against the Cleaners controlled by the Gemini Branch, I'd still be outmatched even with it."

So the problem is insufficient reaction speed—hard to land effective attacks against stronger Cleaners?

After hearing Li Ang's answer, the Red-haired Director pondered, then reached up, touched her ear, and removed a half-heart-shaped earring.

"Here, take this~"

"???"

Under Li Ang's puzzled gaze, the Red-haired Director handed him the 【Heartstealer Nail】, smiling warmly as she explained:

"Li Ang, your greatest strength has always been taking hits. Even if the Sheep Heart's substitution ability is unusable, you still have two forms of immortality—【War's Counterpart】 and your drunk state. Your problem isn't survivability—it's reaction speed. You can't land hits because you're too slow."

"My solution? Don't bother reacting."

"Instead of trying to improve your speed, just rely on your two immortality states to absorb the blow, then use this 【Heartstealer Nail】 to eavesdrop on your opponent's thoughts as you're struck."

"When they land a hit and grow slightly complacent, preparing to strike again—you'll already be ready, knife in hand, waiting for them to run straight into it!"

「……」