Chapter 466

Indeed, Blood-Haired Girl arrived really fast. If she had come just a moment later, the two of us might’ve been completely digested.

After hearing Leon’s words, the female journalist nodded and prepared to follow behind him, ready to return the same way through the Hound God’s big mouth. However, before they’d gone far, Leon stumbled and with a splash, fell down.

What the actual fudge…

Noticing something was off, Leon looked down at his own legs and helplessly realized that his two legs had almost entirely turned transparent and could no longer support the “weight” of his body.

Now that I think about it…

When the Hound God was still alive, its pitch-black stomach walls were constantly secreting digestive fluids that eroded souls. Just by punching its stomach wall twice, my right hand turned transparent more than half-way.

And after being swallowed by the Hound God, my feet had been in constant contact with those secretions. The speed at which my legs became “transparent” was naturally faster. It’s already pretty good that they’re holding up this long.

“I’ll go ahead.”

After pulling Leon up from the ground and looking at his now mostly transparent soul, the female journalist couldn’t help but shake her head and say, “My soul has been digested by nearly thirty percent, your soul strength is much weaker than mine. I estimate it’s been digested by sixty to seventy percent by the Hound God. With your current soul strength, even brushing against the Hound God’s teeth would cause you to instantly disintegrate.”

“Alright…”

After hearing the female journalist’s words, Leon helplessly nodded and followed behind her as they crawled into the Hound God’s spacious esophagus.

However, just as he was following behind the female journalist and about to exit the Hound God’s throat, the female journalist suddenly went crazy, forcefully kicking her right foot back and directly stomping Leon back inside.

Huh?? What? Are you serious? As Leon, confused and angry after getting kicked for no reason, was preparing to ask her what she was doing, he heard the female journalist outside exclaim in horror:

“Aquarius?! How… how are you here?!”

Aquarius?!

After hearing the female journalist’s shout, Leon’s brain buzzed loudly, completely going haywire.

So the one who came to rescue wasn’t my Bureau Director, but your Bureau Director?! …

“Nicole…”

Unaware of what happened inside the Hound God’s stomach, the Aquarius Director sighed, gazing at the female journalist who was eyeing him warily. A hint of weariness flickered in his youthful eyes.

“You won’t even call me Director anymore?”

“…”

After hearing the Aquarius Director’s question, the female journalist’s lips quivered slightly but quickly clenched tightly. She pressed her lips together, staring at him without saying anything.

“Fine, if you don’t want to call me, then don’t.”

Looking at the journalist whose expression lacked any past intimacy and was instead filled with caution and defense, the Aquarius Director sighed again, showing signs of fatigue as he instructed: “I’m leaving. When Blood-Haired Girl comes, just say you haven’t seen me and know nothing. The method I used to take care of the Hound God can’t be traced by Clearing Bureau investigators.”

“…”

“And also, you don’t need to hide information about me.

When Virgo Subdivision asks you, you can tell them the truth. You don’t have to worry that the information will affect me because ever since I had you go undercover in the Capital City, all the information you knew was fake.

But the places those false leads point to, along with the safe houses and labs you know about, I deliberately left some traces. If the Clearing Bureau investigates according to the information, they’ll find that I just left and may gain some ‘key’ findings, so no one will suspect you gave false information.”

“Why?”

After hearing the Aquarius Director’s somewhat cryptic instructions, the female journalist touched the deer antler mark on her head and couldn’t help but ask:

“Director… didn’t you tamper with my soul so that if I spoke, I’d be sent straight to Deathscape? Why did you arrange all this?”

“…”

“To put it simply, if it were the Level 3 Cleaner from the Virgo Subdivision, I reckon he would’ve guessed around seventy to eighty percent of what’s happening even if I kept quiet.”

“…”

“If you’re talking about Leon… well, he’s actually right here, less than two meters away from me, and he can even hear our conversation…”

“Alright, let me explain it to you anyway.”

Seeing the female journalist still full of confusion, worried that she might spill everything to Blood-Haired Girl due to not understanding, the Aquarius Director sighed and said,

“To make it clearer… being sent to Deathscape doesn’t necessarily mean death. Although this trip is dangerous, it’s actually beneficial for you.

According to my plan, if the Three-Headed Dog God hadn’t suddenly awakened and inexplicably eaten you, you would’ve only been dragged near [Hidden Garment Mirror Lake] and stopped there, not all the way to the deepest part of Deathscape.

And when Blood-Haired Girl finds you, having been given the death sentence for betraying me and being ‘almost’ completely dead, you’ll truly cut ties with me, avoiding being executed as a traitor by the Clearing Bureau… Do you understand what I mean?”

Meaning… the Director never intended to kill me?

“You’re really…”

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Looking like she understood something but still full of doubts in her eyes, the female journalist prompted the Aquarius Director further:

“My goal is to replace the Taurus Director and become the palace resident who ascends to the Watchtower Palace. So, what do you think will happen to you if I succeed?”

“I…”

“Don’t think about it. I’m not asking you a question. Whether you thought about it or not doesn’t matter. In reality, your fate will only be death, or worse.”

Shaking his head helplessly, the Aquarius Director continued,

“Just consider it as me sparing you from dying stupidly out of twenty years of friendship, so I arranged a way for you to continue living foolishly even after I ascend to the Watchtower Palace.

And regarding anything involving the Watchtower Palace, there are no small matters. To ensure you aren’t held accountable for my actions, someone above the level of Yellow Path Director must vouch for you. Otherwise, your outcome won’t be good.”

At this point, the Aquarius Director paused briefly and then added somewhat irritably,

“Although Blood-Haired Girl ruined my plans, I must admit, she is a good person. And among those qualified to vouch for you, only she would stand up for you simply because ‘you’re a good person.’ Similarly, with your clean record but history of betrayal, only she and her quirky Virgo Subdivision could possibly tolerate a traitor like you… Do you get it now?”

“I think I do…”

“If you get it, go back immediately and insist that you know nothing, saw nothing. Don’t say another unnecessary word! The fact that you managed to escape death itself is the biggest question, and at such times, speaking more only leads to more mistakes!”

Pointing toward the Hound God’s corpse, the Aquarius Director rubbed his temples, headache evident as he said,

“Bloody Hair Girl is cunning, and sometimes that Level 3 Cleaner thinks even more than she does. With your intelligence, I don’t expect you to keep this hidden forever. All I hope is that it stays hidden until I ascend. But they’re not hard to deal with. Remember, as long as you continue being a good person, even if they notice something’s off, they definitely won’t harm you and might even choose to help cover for you.”

“Okay…”

“Then I’m leaving… Don’t forget what I said!”

Watching the female journalist finally understand his arrangements, her expression becoming unusually complex, the Aquarius Director shook his head and prepared to leave after giving her a final reminder.

But before leaving, he seemed to suddenly remember something and turned back, staring intently at the female journalist who had just relaxed and asked,

“Oh, and the other soul that entered Deathscape with you—whose soul was that?”

(End of Chapter)