Chapter 132

Not only was Leon cautious, but he also wasn’t one to play nice. The scar-faced bureau director, who had been white-screwed into answering five questions, angrily flipped him off with a pretty vulgar gesture.

Then his soul suddenly split in two, turning into two identical dark flames that collided, twisted, and killed each other. With a puff, they instantly extinguished, and at the same time, his body collapsed onto the table.

Although the scar-faced muscular man’s breathing and heartbeat were still normal, Leon was fully aware that his soul was gone. All that remained was an empty shell without a soul.

So… suicide by soul annihilation, huh? There’s no way I could’ve stopped that.

Leon glanced at the scar-faced muscular man sprawled on the table, couldn’t help but shake his head, then activated the Holy Spirit Pendant. He carefully prodded the guy’s body, confirming there was nothing explosive upon touch before slowly moving closer and starting to grope all over.

Since he didn’t know what item carried the anomaly, Leon had to use his hands to thoroughly check all the scar-faced muscular man’s personal belongings—not just the clothes and pants pockets but every possible place where extra pockets might be sewn in.

However, while he did find some small items, they were all mundane things like ink pens, notebooks, and handkerchiefs—nothing within the “anomalous” category.

So… does his ability work like the Bureau Director’s [Memoryless Love], being something innate rather than tied to an object? After frowning and contemplating for a bit, Leon began directly touching the scar-faced muscular man’s body. As expected, when he made skin contact, the [Materialist Soul] finally flickered to life.

[Encountering… Materialism… Information]

[Name: Replica Workshop (Replication, Replacement, ?)]

[Appearance: ?]

[Ability: By setting a small area as a workshop, it can replicate all non-anomalous things within range and forcibly replace the original items. Replaced items will temporarily be sent to another world.

Due to the previous user’s shattered soul, the third ability cannot currently be detected and requires repair or reforging.]

[Cost: ?]

[File: One of many functional anomalies created by the Clearing Bureau Water Bottle Director to achieve his wish, tentatively numbered 0116.

Because the previous user was shamelessly deceived before death, fragments of resentful souls have been preserved, making it incompatible with those lacking integrity or named Leon Lane.]

[Evaluation: A fairly decent ability, though not limitless, its stealth is strong. In certain special situations, it can perform quite effectively.

After submission to the Clearing Bureau and processing, a good anomalous item should be extractable. Despite poor compatibility with you, someone else might find interest in it.]

[Taint Value: ?]

“…”

Alright… seems like this is similar to the [Money-Changing Toad] incident; both suffered damage due to a broken soul, but this one’s condition is much better—it’s at least clear what the ability is.

After reading the information provided by the [Materialist Soul], Leon couldn’t help but slightly shake his head, then reached into the shopping bag and patted the puppy’s forehead.

“Give me a hand, put him in the mirror.”

“Woof~”

Upon receiving the command, the puppy stepped onto the black goat’s head and wobbled up. First, it peeked at the scar-faced muscular man from the edge of the shopping bag, then barked at the office window.

In the next moment, the scar-faced muscular man disappeared from the real world, but his shadow in the window reflection became much deeper.

Following the somewhat chaotic instructions from the puppy, Leon waved a small mirror at the window, transferring the scar-faced muscular man into his portable mirror. Then, patting the exhausted puppy, he stood up and left the Secret Investigation Bureau Director’s office without disturbing anyone, heading back toward the stairwell.

…

After the scar-faced muscular man’s ability was deactivated, the Secret Investigation Bureau, which had been isolated in another “layer,” had returned to normal. The collapse of the dungeon finally caught the attention of the people in the hall.

“Hurry! There are two injured people below! Get them out quickly!”

“Go call a car! Someone’s been crushed!”

“It’s too slow, just use the official vehicle from the bureau!”

Seeing six or seven bruised and battered casualties, Leon instinctively pulled out the [Infected Blood Bandage] as he descended to the first floor, intending to treat them. But after observing the chaotic crowd in the hall, he ultimately abandoned the idea and wrapped the bandage back around his wrist instead.

It wasn’t because he lacked the stamina to heal; it was simply that there were too many people present, making it unsuitable to use anomalous items. It would be better to apply later and see if their medical expenses could be covered, and perhaps offer some compensation. If the bureau refused, he could deduct it from his own salary—it was his fault the dungeon collapsed anyway…

While pondering this, Leon checked the state of the injured again using his soul vision. Confirming they were all minor injuries, he felt slightly relieved and walked toward the female police officer in the corner of the hall.

“How’s it going?”

The female police officer, who had been staring at the stairwell, had already seen Leon and limped over directly, asking with a complex expression: “Someone noticed the dungeon situation, and the bureau seemed to suddenly return to normal, so I brought them upstairs. What about the director… did you deal with him?”

“Hmm.”

Leon nodded and said, “To avoid being questioned further, he committed suicide. I couldn’t stop him.”

Committed suicide…

Hearing this, the female police officer bit her lip, her eyes slightly sorrowful but eventually spat out,

“What a waste! Aunt Martha was such a great person, never causing trouble in the bureau for years, yet this bastard dared to harm her, along with others… Where did that bastard die?”

“In the upstairs office, but I took the body away. There’s nothing left now… Oh, by the way!”

After answering the female police officer’s question, Leon thought for a moment and suggested,

“Why don’t you say he was part of a rebellion group? If asked, claim that rebels attacked your Secret Investigation Bureau dungeon, not only rescuing the prisoners but also kidnapping the director and stealing large amounts of confidential intelligence.”

The female police officer couldn’t help but be startled.

“Why say that? Even if he was careful, I could probably figure it out if I spent effort. Hmm… oh, I get it.”

Looking up at Leon, the female police officer nodded thoughtfully: “Anyway, that bastard is dead, and Aunt Martha’s revenge is settled. Saying the director was kidnapped sounds better than saying the director infiltrated the Secret Investigation Bureau as a rebel.

If it’s proven he was a spy, the entire Secret Investigation Bureau would likely face investigation, possibly even temporary dissolution until reorganized.

During this chaotic interval, the rebels would surely take advantage to cause massive casualties… Is that what you’re thinking?”

“…”

As for the dirt, it’s best to involve dirt on noble families, officials, and big merchants. Without high-level insiders in the Secret Investigation Bureau aiding them anymore, and suddenly facing increased attacks from all sides, they’ll likely settle down for a while and won’t rush to come after me.

“More or less, more or less.”

Going along with the female police officer’s meaning, Leon vaguely evaded with a few sentences, then noticing her clearly awkward stance, proposed,

“Did your leg get hurt too? How about we go to the hospital first? I see there’s still space in their car…”

“No need! I can apply some medicine at home, but your hand… hmm? Where’s the wound on your hand?”

Grabbing Leon’s left palm and looking at the regrown skin, the female police officer couldn’t help but be surprised:

“You… it was pretty severe earlier, how did wrapping it with a bandage fix it?”

“Erm…”

“Right, how did you guys manage it before?”

With everything settled, the female police officer, who had accumulated a bunch of questions, finally seized the opportunity to ask, grabbing Leon’s sleeve and leaning in to whisper, “Why could he resurrect after dying and produce so many copies? And what about you? Why could you block so many nails? Why, when you pulled me to the corner, did the dungeon collapse? And…”

“One for each content in 69 book bar!

“Erm… I still have work unfinished…”

Hearing the female police officer’s string of whys, Leon couldn’t help but feel a headache and responded evasively,

“I see you’re busy too. Let’s each focus on our tasks for now. Tomorrow, when I’m done, I’ll explain to you, alright?”

“Okay…”

Unaware that after tonight, the clearing bureau’s evil god brain would erase all memories related to anomalies, the female police officer let him go after getting a promise from Leon, earnestly reminding him: “I’ll wait for you in my office tomorrow. Come find me once you’re done, no tricks!”

“Definitely definitely!”

After making a promise as reliable as “next time for sure,” Leon hurriedly left the chaotic Secret Investigation Bureau, not returning immediately to the Clearing Bureau to report but walking toward the main road outside the municipal district to catch a public carriage.

No reason—mainly because the scar-faced muscular man wasn’t much of a worthy opponent. Not even an hour had passed since leaving the Clearing Bureau, and he’d already dealt with him.

If an external mission lasted half an hour and he returned when only six or seven hundred meters away from the bureau, even the director would hesitate to approve the allowance. Better to go rescue the person from Rose Manor first.

…

Damn, missed the carriage. Now I’ll have to wait half an hour. I should’ve returned to the bureau.

Running to the station nearby and watching the public carriage disappear from sight, Leon couldn’t help but rub his brow in annoyance, feeling his luck had been particularly bad lately.

Sister hospitalized, ran into an out-of-control taint victim; investigating a middle-aged nurse, almost got cut in half by an old man; went to the shopping plaza to deliver stuff, unexpectedly encountered Scale Gold Religion’s Holy Spirit; just wanted a bandage, ended up being targeted by rebels and trapped in the dungeon.

Though everything turned out fine in the end, it feels like misfortune follows me everywhere…

“What’s wrong?”

Probably sensing Leon’s hesitation and confusion through the soul vision, the black goat shook its head curiously,

“That rebel was dealt with, right? What are you daydreaming about now?”

“Not really anything major…”

After hesitating a bit, Leon voiced his suspicion: “I’m wondering if I’m encountering anomalies too frequently. Why does trouble always follow me wherever I go? It’s like Conan attached to my body…”

“Who’s Conan? Some nightmare king?”

“Uh… he’s not a nightmare king, he’s… never mind, forget about him.

What I mean is, ever since joining the Clearing Bureau, whenever I try to do something actively, unexpected situations seem to arise. Am I cursed by some kind of misfortune anomaly?”

“Rubbish!”

After hearing Leon’s doubts, the black goat snorted disdainfully,

“You may have potential, but right now, you’re just a level-three cleaner in the Clearing Bureau. There are plenty of people like you in the Clearing Bureau. Who would bother wasting a misfortune anomaly on you? Wouldn’t it be easier to just kill you outright than mess with your luck?”

“But I really seem to have bad luck…”

“You’re not unlucky. You’re a Clearing Bureau employee now, forced to actively seek out anomalies, so naturally, you encounter them more often. Almost getting sliced by that old man was because of this.”

The demon gave a disdainful glance at the “superstitious” Leon and confidently stated, “That thing at Red Brick Road Hospital would’ve happened regardless of whether you joined the Clearing Bureau or not. Same with the Scale Gold Religion’s Holy Spirit—once Char Department Store started mass selling, those nobles would definitely try to cause trouble. You just happened to be there.”

Hmm… that’s true…

Leon was somewhat convinced by the black goat but then shook his head, unable to resist, “Even if those events were bound to happen, why do I always seem to be there at the right moment?”

“Ho ho, what do you mean ‘right moment’? Those are past events affecting current ones, making you think trouble always finds you.

For example, today’s scar-face had probably been eyeing you for a while. If you hadn’t gone to the Secret Investigation Bureau, he wouldn’t have dared act rashly. But once you entered, seeing you walk right in, he couldn’t resist! Can you call that timing?”

“…”

Indeed, if I hadn’t gone to the Secret Investigation Bureau, that scar-face director wouldn’t have caused trouble. He probably would’ve continued lying low…

After considering the black goat’s words, Leon thought it seemed accurate but somehow still felt something wasn’t quite right.

Seeing his soul flame still wavering, showing signs of uncertainty, the big demon couldn’t help but grow impatient,

“Alright, you’re planning to rescue someone from Rose Manor, right? Let’s see if everything goes smoothly.

If it does, you’re overthinking it. If something goes wrong, we’ll figure out a way to check. Deal?”