Chapter 222

“Hmm, I understand.”

After giving a sidelong glance at the audacious young man who dared to play mind games with him, the Clearing Bureau Director gave a lukewarm nod. He then stared off into the distance at the Aquarius Director, who was being licked repeatedly, and began to ponder privately.

Leon’s “little schemes” were utterly transparent; the director had seen through them immediately. It was nothing more than an attempt to use this opportunity to smear Aquarius and help Olivia win the inquiry.

But so far, he had indeed been speaking the truth. And seeing the puzzled expression on Taurus Director’s face, it seemed she hadn’t figured out why the Dream Recall Furnace had malfunctioned…which meant Leon’s words needed serious consideration.

Could it be that the Aquarius Director truly had some kind of trump card that allowed her to slip past even a divine-level brain-eating demon’s probe?

As for the Dream Recall Furnace malfunctioning, could it have been tampered with by Leon after coming into contact with the brain-eating demon?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible! After sensing the pitifully weak level of contamination on Leon, the Clearing Bureau Director shook his head instantly, dismissing this overly unreliable hypothesis.

The gap between this young man and a divine-level brain-eating demon was probably even greater than the difference between an ant and an elephant. If not for his protection, the brain-eating demon would’ve crushed Leon flat the moment it “spread out.”

A person this weak, capable of interfering with such an operation and forcibly controlling a divine-level brain-eating demon? The odds were lower than an ant impregnating an elephant!

…

Steady, the blame has been mostly shifted! Sneaking a peek at the Clearing Bureau Director’s expression and confirming that he now harbored suspicions toward the Aquarius Director, Leon couldn’t help but give himself a mental pat on the back. He then subtly increased the power of the Dream Recall Furnace a little more.

It wasn’t out of pity for the Aquarius Director but because during the first attempt, only five percent of memories were copied. If the second attempt also resulted in just five percent, it would take twenty sessions with the brain-eating demon for the process to finish, which might cause the Aquarius Director to flip the table.

However, if the second session copied twenty percent of the memories, it would likely take three or four rounds to prove her innocence. Given her nature, considering the sunk cost of already being read twice, she’d probably endure another round.

And when she undergoes the third reading, he could adjust the “power” of the Dream Recall Furnace again, directly extracting thirty percent of her memories, though twenty-five percent of it would be repeats.

Heh, after all, memories should be randomly distributed like gacha pools in mobile games—there’s no rule against duplicates appearing. Getting repeated cards is quite common.

And if she still doesn’t explode after all this and decides to tough it out for a fourth time…he’ll throw in another five percent, letting her experience firsthand what it means to rely on luck rather than money!

“You should be a bit more careful.”

Just as Leon was plotting how to toy with the Aquarius Director, forcing her to draw a few more times, the Clearing Bureau Director seemed to sense something. He turned around, glanced at Leon, and warned:

“You touched it so many times just now—you might’ve been contaminated by the brain-eating demon. The demonic aura on you has grown stronger. Take a step back behind me, be cautious about getting assimilated.”

“Oh…thank you, Director. I’ll definitely pay attention.”

With a solemn nod, Leon withdrew his right hand, which had finished adjusting the Dream Recall Furnace’s power, stood behind the Clearing Bureau Director, and quietly observed the Aquarius Director’s condition.

Finally…it’s over…

As the slimy tongues departed once again, the Aquarius Director, whose brain felt nearly fried, slowly rose, struggling to open her blurry eyes, and looked toward the Clearing Bureau Director standing on the main platform.

“This…”

Though warned by Leon that the Aquarius Director might have used some tricks, when the Clearing Bureau Director met her gaze tinged with a hint of pleading, his upper lip quivered slightly. He couldn’t bring himself to ask her to do it again and instead turned away, trying to imply from the side: “The situation is better this time, maybe twenty percent…combined with the last time, that’s about a quarter of your memories.

If we get another thirty percent, that would exceed half. Half the memory should be enough to prove your innocence, so…would you consider…”

So, are you guaranteeing this time it won’t fail? Hearing that she might need to go through another session, possibly even two more if unlucky, even someone as composed as the Aquarius Director snapped. Her bloodshot eyes glared at the Clearing Bureau Director, and she coldly questioned, “Director, instead of persuading me to undergo another reading, why don’t you try it yourself and see what’s wrong with this thing?”

“I’ll pass.”

Seeing the emotionally unstable Aquarius Director baring her teeth at him, the Clearing Bureau Director turned back, narrowing his eyes as he stared at her. “Aquarius, if you don’t want to continue with the memory extraction, perhaps you could ask the Fish Division Director to rewind your movements over the past years. However, due to your rank, this investigation will take its time—about a year.

During this period, you’ll stay in the General Bureau’s basement, sleeping until the Golden Bull ascends to the Watchtower Palace. You must remain unconscious throughout to ensure neither the Watchtower Palace nor the Honorable Taurus is disturbed…how does that sound?”

No choice either way—enduring one or two more memory readings or sleeping in the basement for a year until Taurus ascends…do I really have a choice?

Her bloodshot eyes locked onto the Clearing Bureau Director for a while before silently turning away. She wobbled back to stand in front of the divine-level brain-eating demon and pressed the thin copper plate embedded in the back of her skull again.

The first time without activation only yielded five percent of her memories, and after the second shock, it jumped to twenty percent. What if she adjusted it a bit higher? Would it reach thirty percent or even more?

Though the electric shocks were painful, enduring them once less made the pain negligible!…

Hmm? Wasn’t he pressing something? Most people noticed the Aquarius Director pressing the back of her head, but the members of the Clearing Bureau, considered part of the “magic faction,” paid little attention.

Including the Clearing Bureau Director, everyone was focused on checking for any anomalies, preventing her from cheating with abnormal objects. Only Leon, who had witnessed “scientific-side” abilities before, took slightly more notice.

After observing the back of the Aquarius Director’s head for a while and spotting faint metallic glints amidst her sparse hair, Leon couldn’t help but frown. Before the brain-eating demon initiated another reading, he loudly asked, “Aquarius Director, could you explain why there’s a metal plate on the back of your head?”

(End of Chapter)