[{"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-974":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},2286810,4472,"Chapter 974","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-974",974,"\u003Cp>“I…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing Li Ang's outstretched right hand, Prince Andre, who looked like a seven- or eight-year-old boy, involuntarily showed a fearful expression, instinctively stepping back half a step, then frantically shaking his head:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t go! They’ll never forgive me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course they won’t—what a stupid thing to say!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Li Ang kept his hand extended and gave a flat, exasperated retort:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Look at what you’ve done these past years—anyone else would find it impossible to forgive you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, if I were your father, the regret I’d leave behind in [Yihui City] wouldn’t be about our misunderstandings—it’d be about why I didn’t shoot you in the womb… uh… why I ever let you be born. They’d be insane to forgive you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait… do you even want to persuade him or not?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hoping for comfort from Li Ang—something like “parents never blame their children”—Andre instead received a double-strength emotional gut-punch. His already fractured psyche shattered instantly under the blow; eyes wide with fear, he shook his head violently:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No! I don’t want to go to the Death Realm! I don’t want to go to [Yihui City]! They’ll never forgive me—so I…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Slap!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ang suddenly swung his hand sideways, delivering a hard slap to the young prince’s face. As he wiped the paint smudged onto his palm, he glared at the stunned Andre:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop acting like a child. No one owes you forgiveness. I told you to apologize not to make your parents feel better—but so you can feel better yourself!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re just like the figure you painted—a giant toddler.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the young prince clutching his stinging cheek, Li Ang sneered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The sign of adulthood isn’t height or facial hair—it’s stepping out from under your parents’ protection and taking responsibility for your own actions, facing and accepting the mistakes you’ve made.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though you’re older than me, you’ve been coddled too well. You’ve never faced real hardship. Your mental state is still that of an ungrown child.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… I’m not…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Slap!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t argue.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After delivering a second slap from the other side, Li Ang finally felt relieved. He looked down at the helpless young prince and extended his right hand again, speaking slowly and clearly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you truly believe you’re not a child, then grab my hand—prove it to me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… I’m too scared to go…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After being slapped twice, Prince Andre’s psychological age seemed to regress to his physical age of eight. He turned his head away, unable to meet Li Ang’s gaze, voice trembling with tears:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I still want to see them… but… they’ll be so, so angry. If they see me…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Slap!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why are you hitting me again?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry. Reflex.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After wiping the paint on his clothes, Li Ang stared at Andre and asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So even if they don’t forgive you, how much worse could it get than now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’re already dead. They can’t kill you again, no matter how angry they are. At worst, they’ll hit you and yell at you—but you’ll get to see them again in ten years, speak to them, even be held in their arms once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You risked being erased by the Cleanup Bureau just to meet your fake parents you painted. Now, all you need to do is endure a few scolds to meet your real parents—what are you hesitating for?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s right… compared to seeing them again, what do I have to fear?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Li Ang’s words, Prince Andre bit his lower lip, trembling, and slowly raised his eight-year-old hand toward Li Ang’s palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though he’d made his decision, his tiny arm felt as heavy as if carrying a mountain. He tried lifting it several times but couldn’t reach Li Ang’s hand—only waved it uselessly below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You… you lower your hand a bit…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After several failed attempts, the eight-year-old Andre pleaded:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re too tall. Lower your hand—I can’t reach it…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You can reach it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the trembling arm, Li Ang—who had always looked down on him with cold disdain—softened his tone for the first time, gently reminding:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Andre, the path ahead is yours alone. You’re not grabbing my hand—you’re grabbing your own conviction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when your desire to see your family is strong enough can you cross [The Path of No Return], reach [Yihui City], apologize to your parents, and make amends for your past sins… Finally, Andre—if you grab my hand, you’re no longer a child.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m not a child anymore…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Li Ang’s words, the eight-year-old Andre looked up at the steady hand above him, then through the fingers at the calm, no-longer-contemptuous face, and softly asked, voice thick with tears:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So… you’re not just trying to save Filia and the others… you’re trying to save me too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t save you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ang shook his head:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I only showed you that besides this dead end, another path exists. Whether you walk it is your choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one saved you—you simply stopped running away and learned to face your mistakes like an adult.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Running away… facing…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Li Ang’s words, Andre’s trembling hand finally steadied. Quietly, he reached upward, grasping Li Ang’s warm, firm palm—and it closed tightly around his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Holding the small, paint-smeared hand of the eight-year-old, Li Ang showed, for the first time, a hint of approval—and silently bowed his head in his heart to [The Trustworthy Older Brother].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Andre regressed to his eight-year-old state, this Bronze-tier “Good Older Brother” badge had unleashed an unimaginable, godlike effect. Without it, this whole situation might have spiraled out of control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are no useless badges—only badges whose purpose hasn’t been found yet!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reminding himself once more never to underestimate any badge’s power, Li Ang, still fully activated with his Gold-tier [Master of Performance], held Andre’s now-steadier hand and asked gently:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll ask one last time—are you ready?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Li Ang—who, despite having removed his soul’s defenses, still asked gently if he was ready instead of seizing him—Prince Andre nodded gratefully, eyes resolute:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m ready! Whatever awaits me, I want to see them again!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a confirmed answer, Li Ang used the Three-Headed Dog God’s authority to connect to [The Gate of the Dead], then pulled Andre’s soul out with force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he yanked Andre’s soul out of [The Sunset Over Klorok], Li Ang opened the path to [The Gate of the Dead] and added kindly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When you get there, don’t mention you know me. If anyone notices something’s off and asks why you carry my aura, say I killed you—you’re sworn enemies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay… huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What? You said you had connections over there—lots of friends!\u003C\u002Fp>",1099,"2026-06-20T03:18:35.371Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","66f65db5b71d81c12c97cf3124cefa71d221f9fefaadd92e8aaad7d16d92174f","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-975","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-973",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-the-cleanup-crew-cover.jpg"]