Chapter 75

No matter what happens, am I still your little sister? Anna, who had received Leon’s promise, didn’t feel relieved but instead subconsciously bit her lips until they turned pale, as she looked at Leon, who was sound asleep on her shoulder with his breathing getting lighter and lighter.

But what if… I’m not even your sister, and all the happiness I currently have is stolen by me? Would you still think about me like this after finding out everything I’ve done to you?

…

Amidst the sickly girl’s overwhelming fear and unease, the carriage carrying a family of four sped through the streets of the Capital City. Leon, who had only dozed off for less than thirty minutes, woke up to the sound of the carriage horn.

Is the carriage really that fast?

After rubbing his sleepy eyes and yawning again, Leon first smoothed out the wrinkles pressed onto Anna’s shoulder, then slapped the bottoms of his sleeping younger siblings on the opposite seat.

“Time to wake up! We’ve arrived at our new home!”

“Already here?!”

Upon hearing Leon’s words, William rubbed his eyes and sat up, mimicking Leon’s actions by carefully tidying up his disheveled clothes, then mercilessly poked his sister Melanie’s ribs.

“Get up! We’re here!”

“Don’t disturb me…”

Melanie grumbled twice in her sleep, kicking her little feet clad in leather shoes in the air, then wriggled away from William like a baby worm, leaving a trail of saliva over ten centimeters long on the seat.

“Let me sleep a little longer…”

“Eww… That’s so gross!”

With disdain, William grabbed Melanie’s arm and wiped the chair with her sleeve before slapping her face.

“Hurry up and wake up! Our new home is on the sixth floor; how are you going to get up there if you don’t wake up?”

“Ugh… Don’t hit me…”

Pouting as she climbed off the chair, Melanie saw Leon’s helpless expression across from her and couldn’t help but brighten her eyes, stretching out her arms toward him.

“I’ll sleep in Big Brother’s arms; Big Brother can carry me upstairs!”

“No way, Big Brother really can’t carry you upstairs today.”

“What? Why not…”

“Because Big Brother has to work to support the family, so we can afford those pretty little dresses for you~”

Chuckling, Leon pinched his sister’s pouted little face, then carried her and William off the carriage. He glanced toward the Happiness Apartment.

Sure enough, a robust old man claiming to be “physically frail” was standing in the small garden in front of the building, glaring at him while wielding a gardening shear over a meter long. He was trimming the bushes as thick as bowls like cutting leek leaves…

Stop cutting, stop cutting, I won’t go over there, alright? Glancing at the explosive muscles under the old man’s thin tank top and then at his own thighs thinner than the old man’s forearm, Leon genuinely didn’t dare to linger any longer. After laboriously moving the luggage from the carriage to the apartment gate, he fled without hesitation.

Seeing the “demon spawn” sensibly staying away, the robust old man snorted, casually jamming the gardening shear into the ground, then limped to the door and looked at the new residents of Happiness Apartment.

“Sorry to bother you, Mr. John.”

Anna, who had visited Happiness Apartment twice these days, was already familiar with the intimidating-looking manager. After politely greeting him, she picked up all the luggage she could carry and asked her younger siblings to take some too, then apologized profusely:

“My brother is busy with work, so he can’t help us move. Could you please… Ah!”

After adjusting his position slightly and making sure the luggage weighing over three hundred pounds was securely balanced on his back, the robust old man forcibly took the luggage from Anna’s hands, hung it on himself without a word, and turned around and walked away.

“Mr. John?!”

Startled, Anna quickly pulled her younger siblings along and chased after him, wanting to help carry something. But seeing the mountain of luggage piled on the old man’s back, she felt completely powerless and could only keep thanking him repeatedly as she followed behind…

Phew… It seems everything is absolutely fine.

Seeing that Anna and the others were indeed accepted by Happiness Apartment, Leon hiding in the corner finally relaxed completely. Then, he frowned and hurried toward the Clearing Bureau.

As long as I complete six hundred more live-fire shootings, the shooter badge will be able to upgrade. But before that, I still need to visit the Bureau Director and use her connections to investigate Anna’s situation and see what’s troubling her…

What? Didn’t I just promise half an hour ago that as long as Anna doesn’t want to say it, I won’t ask?

I said I wouldn’t ask, but I didn’t say I wouldn’t investigate! As the Bureau Director would put it, asking is one thing, investigating is another; these two matters should be treated separately.

Or as Senior Emma would say, never harbor any侥幸psychology. Only by having sufficient intelligence beforehand can you ensure being always in control!

If Anna’s secret is trivial, then I might pretend to not know forever, but if it’s a very dangerous secret, shouldn’t I find out now and solve it early rather than waiting for her to do something foolish?

Equipped with the steadiness learned from Senior Emma and the shamelessness learned from the Red-haired Bureau Director, Leon arrived early at the Clearing Bureau and knocked forcefully on the Bureau Director’s office door.

“Director, are you there?”

However, since he came rather early, the sun hadn’t fully risen yet, and the Red-haired Bureau Director either hadn’t woken up or simply wasn’t at work, showing no response.

After waiting a while and receiving no response, Leon knocked again, raising his voice slightly.

“Director, it’s me, Leon! Are you there?”

“I’m here.”

The louder voice seemed to have worked; the Red-haired Bureau Director finally responded to him. However, the voice didn’t come from inside the office but seemed to penetrate directly through the floorboards.

“Director? Are you upstairs?”

“Yeah, I’m upstairs.”

With a calm, almost indifferent tone, the Red-haired Bureau Director gave the answer and continued in a somewhat muffled voice: “Are you looking for me? If you’re looking for me, come up.”

Going upstairs?

Hearing the Bureau Director’s words, Leon couldn’t help but pause slightly, instinctively feeling something was off.

Although the Sixth Clearing Bureau has no rule against going upstairs, according to his observations, no one in the bureau has ever gone upstairs. The staircase is not only free of footprints but also covered with a thick layer of dust, probably untouched for at least half a year. Why would the director suddenly call me up today?

Also, didn’t the director mention that the upstairs was filled with her anomalous items? Though it sounded like she was joking at the time, when I asked about the bureau’s job content, she mentioned it in a playful tone.

Later, I confirmed with Senior Emma, and what she told me back then, although it might happen only once every few years, is indeed true. So…

Could it be that this time it’s real? Is the anomalous item of the Bureau Director talking to me right now?(Chapter End)