[{"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-968":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},2286804,4472,"Chapter 968","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-968",968,"\u003Cp>「……」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ve forgotten who you are—how could our relationship possibly be that good?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confused by Leon’s outlandish logic, Atifi opened her mouth but couldn’t think of anything to say, so she gave him a forced smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「That’s right… I’m really sorry then…」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「It’s fine, I forgive you.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Then… thanks?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「You’re welcome.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「……」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Should I not have come to talk to him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realizing her mind couldn’t keep up with Leon’s thoughts, Atifi felt an urge to retreat. She cleared her throat and spoke up:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Um… my brainstem mapping isn’t finished yet, so I won’t disturb you further. Let’s chat again another time.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「No problem, I don’t mind being disturbed.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if he hadn’t understood the subtext of her words, Leon stepped forward half a pace the instant she turned to leave and grabbed her wrist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though I still don’t know what method was used on the Scorpio Director or why he’s been in a deep sleep, anyone who can be kicked in the balls and still not wake up is almost certainly suffering a soul anomaly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this Atifi, while perhaps not as powerful as future Atifi-00, as the developer of soul-coding technology, surely understands the soul better than I do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Ah!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Startled by Leon’s action, Atifi’s face paled as she opened her mouth to scream—only to see him kick out, hooking the tall, thin man lying on the ground, lifting him horizontally into the air before her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Since we’re on good terms, can you do me a favor?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「W-what favor?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Help me wake him up.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pushing the Scorpio Director forward, Leon said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「He was affected by your soul-coding technology… uh… then, after shaking off its influence due to extreme emotion, he just collapsed without a word. Can you save him?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Affected by soul-coding technology?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Leon’s words, Atifi’s mind went blank. She stammered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「But… my soul-coding technology isn’t scheduled for its first human trial until next Tuesday? Where was he affected?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「…」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn… so I’ve arrived too early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the skeptical look on the glasses-woman’s face, Leon fell silent for a moment, then switched to 【Master of Performance】, sighing helplessly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「I slipped up… Fine then. I didn’t want to say this, but we’re not from this era.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Ah?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’d imagined a thousand possible answers—but never this. The glasses-woman froze, her mind utterly stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To compel her to “treat” the Scorpio Director and help him escape this painting, Leon began fabricating wildly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「In the future, the Kingdom of Koroq suffered a catastrophic crisis: the AI machines slaughtered most of the royal family, six royal direct-command legions were defeated, and Research Zone One was bombed into ruins.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Fortunately, Princess Filia of the future was exceptional. Even in that dire situation, she led the people in resistance, pushing back the AI-controlled legions and nearly achieving victory.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「But when the AI realized the situation was turning, it dispatched this controlled cleaner, using a time machine developed in Zone One to send him back in time, aiming to eliminate Princess Filia early and snuff out the spark of Koroq’s rebellion.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「He accidentally broke free from the soul-coding control, but soon collapsed—and now the AI has sent even stronger hunters after him, who could strike at Princess Filia at any moment…」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After spinning out a time-travel plot straight out of The Terminator, Leon held the sleeping Scorpio Director and looked at the utterly stunned Atifi with earnest sincerity:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「In short, that’s the situation. Whether he wakes up now determines whether the future Kingdom of Koroq will be destroyed. If you have time, can you help save him?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「…」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do I even have a choice? If I don’t save him after hearing all that, it’s no different from destroying the Kingdom of Koroq myself…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Glancing at Leon with cautious skepticism, Atifi said nothing. Instead, she grasped the copper tubes plugged into the brain model, removed several in pairs, and pressed them against the Scorpio Director’s temples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The story he told sounded absurd—but there was a sliver of plausibility. She couldn’t entirely rule out he might be a time traveler.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other things might be lies, but her soul-coding technology was undeniable. Only she fully understood it. So why not check this man’s condition?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the waveform feedback from the Niubo copper tubes showed traces of soul-coding, then his story was true—at least enough to prove they were time travelers!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Click, click, click…」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the glasses-woman version of Atifi operated, the copper tubes connected to wires trembled slightly. On the instrument beneath the brain model, irregular waveforms flickered. After studying the data for a moment, the glasses-woman Atifi’s eyes widened in shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was real! This man’s soul truly bore traces of soul-coding!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「How is it?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the change in Atifi’s expression, Leon knew she was beginning to believe him. He immediately pressed, feigning urgency:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Edward’s power is crucial. Can you wake him up?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「His condition… is complicated.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overwhelmed by too much information, Atifi removed her glasses and rubbed her temples hard:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「His soul strength is astonishingly high. If an ordinary person’s soul is like smoke, his is like diamond—far harder. Soul-coding can’t be etched into it; it’s merely stuck on the surface, like a sticker.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「The AI controlling him knew this wasn’t stable enough, feared he might break free, so it added extra safeguards into the soul-coding.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Simply put: if he shows any sign of breaking control, those ‘stickers’ on his soul will instantly rupture, spreading over his entire soul and completely severing all his perception…」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Say it plainly: can you save him or not?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「I can save him—but there’s little point.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Atifi reassured him:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「I estimate it would take me about three days to remove the soul-coding. But given his soul strength, he’d wake up on his own in one or two days anyway. So it’s not necessary to intervene.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One or two days… by then, the opportunity would be long gone!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Atifi’s answer, Leon’s face darkened instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Filia had already been taken out. Once he brought Filia into this painting and entered himself, the Koroq royal line would be utterly extinct—and the Watch Palace’s power would plummet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I’m trapped inside this painting. To escape and stop him, I’d likely need to use 【Cutting Silver Dagger】 to slice open the world. Yet the only one who can do that—the Scorpio Director—is still unconscious. How can I… hmm…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait! Maybe this could work!\u003C\u002Fp>",1057,"2026-06-20T03:18:35.371Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2916d3680185f8cecf8709cc00bbcb37a54c13d29e51d8ef783acae59de31df9","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-969","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-967",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-the-cleanup-crew-cover.jpg"]