Chapter 5

“Apart from the headquarters whose exact location is unknown, our Clearing Bureau has a total of 87 branches, each assigned a constellation as a code. The one you’ve just joined uses the Virgo constellation as its code, known as the Sixth Clearing Bureau or Virgin Bureau.”

After leisurely explaining the situation of the Clearing Bureau, the red-haired woman glanced at Leon who had clearly sighed in relief. Satisfied with her mischief, she tilted her lips and pointed at the black goat beside her:

“As for our job content, it’s about handling these troublemakers so they don’t interfere with ordinary people’s lives.

Specifically, but not limited to, demons scavenging for souls, insane elder gods trying to manifest their will, radical deities planning to control the world, peculiar creatures born from human obsession, marine races plotting to reclaim the land, prehistoric civilizations frozen in polar glaciers, ancient beings dwelling deep within the Earth’s crust, immortal spirits that have escaped normal time sequences, and indigenous inhabitants breeding behind the moon…”

“…”

Wow… Is this world really this complicated? I thought it was just like the 19th century with a tech tree gone wrong, but there’s actually so much danger lurking in the shadows?” Didn’t you believe me!”

Looking at Leon whose eyes were full of astonishment, having been easily duped by her, the red-haired woman seemed to have found something amusing. She raised her hand to cover her slightly upturned lips, her supple waist bending forward slightly as she couldn’t help but chuckle lightly.

And with the gentle sway of her ample figure, her face, already flushed with intoxication, quietly blossomed with a charming blush, like a cluster of bright and beautiful Nerium flowers, quietly blooming in the dim corridor, faintly emitting a sweet and slightly toxic aroma…

So she was just fooling around, gave me quite a scare…

Looking at the red-haired woman laughing charmingly in front of him, although he had just been tricked, for some reason, Leon’s heavy heart due to his sister’s relapse strangely felt a bit lighter. However…

Hold on, what did I ask again? Did she answer my question? In the radiant smile of the red-haired woman, a faint mist suddenly appeared in Leon’s mind, erasing a part of his clear memory as if something had been silently wiped away.

Standing there hesitating for a moment, unable to recall the reason no matter how hard he tried, he could only temporarily bypass this strange fog and asked about the thing he cared most about.

“That… may I ask about our Clearing Bureau’s benefits…”

“The benefits are pretty good.”

Staring into Leon’s eyes, capturing that familiar look of confusion, the red-haired woman replied with a smiling tone: “As long as you pass the probation period, you’ll become an assistant-level civil servant of the kingdom, but your salary will be equivalent to a document-level position, with a weekly wage of around 12 Golden Wheels.”

12 Golden Wheels?! That’s so much?! Upon hearing the salary level of the Clearing Bureau, Leon immediately couldn’t help but tremble all over, instantly forgetting that little doubt.

1 Golden Wheel = 10 Silver Wheels = 100 Copper Wheels, 12 Golden Wheels equals 1200 Copper Wheels, and with 52 weeks in a year, that’s 62400 Copper Wheels!

According to the consumption level of the capital city, a very sumptuous breakfast costs no more than two to three copper wheels. After getting promoted, earning over sixty thousand copper wheels a year means stepping directly from poverty into the middle class!

There’s nothing else to say; starting now, the Clearing Bureau is my second home!

“And besides the salary, you can also enjoy other benefits.”

Glancing at Leon whose breathing had clearly become somewhat rapid, the red-haired woman smiled and added:

“A regular document-level civil servant gets two ten-day vacations per year, plus weekends off, totaling about 160 days of rest when holidays are included.

But our Clearing Bureau work is special, requiring us to be on standby at all times, so we don’t have these holidays. Plus, since you’re not a wanted criminal but someone who voluntarily joined a dangerous department, you can receive additional special benefits.

Besides double pensions and housing discounts enjoyed by other civil servants, you, your spouse, and all your direct relatives can enjoy free medical services, with a reimbursement limit of two thousand golden wheels per person annually.

Also, when your children reach school age, they can freely choose any public school except the royal internal school, without exams for internal promotion, and external transfers are also unrestricted;

Martyrdom! I’m ready to martyr myself right now!

Ah, no! What I mean is, from now on, I belong to the Clearing Bureau while alive and am the Clearing Bureau’s dead man when I die! Even after cremation, I’ll be the Clearing Bureau’s ashes! If someone scatters them, I’ll still be the Clearing Bureau’s sandstorm!

After secretly taking two deep breaths, Leon, whose sense of belonging to the Clearing Bureau exploded, looked up, clenched his fists tightly, and asked as calmly as possible: “Then… when can I start?”

“Now.”

Returning to her large desk, rummaging through the drawers, the red-haired woman tossed a palm-sized booklet and said with a smile:

“Hold on to it. This is your ID. Write your name first, then pin the badge inside. Once you do that, you’re officially done with the procedures.”

Is it really this simple? Catching the booklet, Leon skeptically opened the newly acquired ID, glanced at the emblem inside, and couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise: “This woman pushing the ball is…?”

“It’s our Sixth Bureau’s emblem.”

The red-haired woman explained: “The Clearing Bureau’s logo is a dung beetle pushing a dung ball, symbolizing that the Clearing Bureau, like the dung beetle, clears pollutants and gains nourishment and strength from them.

None of the content is missing!

However, because there’s a need to distinguish members of different branches, each branch’s badge is different. For example, our Sixth Clearing Bureau, which uses the Virgo constellation as its code, changed it to a woman pushing a dung ball.”

“…”

A woman pushing a dung ball… lady scarab? Who the hell designed this?

Holding the bizarre badge that seems more lethal than creative, Leon’s face couldn’t help but twitch violently, feeling like he had ten thousand grievances to vent.

For the sake of the generous benefits of the Clearing Bureau, he swallowed those grievances hard and silently pinned the ‘lady scarab’ badge before accepting the feather pen from the red-haired woman and writing his name in the booklet.

“Zzzz”

[You successfully obtained a job and activated the Black Iron Badge “Probationary Employee”]

[Probationary Employee: A job seeker hired by a company or organization due to meeting basic job requirements but still under observation, being the lowest-ranking member of an enterprise or government department. Since not yet formally employed by the company, sometimes referred to as a temporary worker]

[Wearing Effect: When performing duties, work efficiency will slightly increase]

[Advancement Path: If worn continuously for over two months without being fired, this badge will automatically upgrade to the Bronze Badge “Worker”, and cannot be removed until the upgrade is complete]

[Hidden Trait (No Need to Wear): If this badge hasn’t upgraded to Bronze Level and serious issues arise within the department, the probability of you taking responsibility and being fired will significantly increase]

[Please note, this badge conflicts with the previously owned badge “Unemployed Youth”, preventing simultaneous wear. The “Unemployed Youth” badge has been automatically removed]

(End of Chapter)