Chapter 4: 0004 The World Beneath the Water_1
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*With a mindset of trying to survive as long as possible, or at least secure a pension for his family if he doesn't, Leon walked into the Virgin Sanitation Bureau, which looked like a haunted house.* He followed the crumpled directory signs along the hallway and once again found the large office at the end, knocking hard on the familiar door.
"Is anyone there? I'm here for the interview!"
"Creak."
Accompanied by the awkward sound of metal hinges turning, the pitch-black door was pushed open from the inside. However, the one who came out was not the red-haired female interviewer but... a standing black goat on its two hind legs?
"Whatcha staring at? Never seen a demon?"
Apparently offended by Leon's shocked gaze, the black goat, holding a cigarette in its mouth, expertly puffed out a smoke ring and angrily glared at Leon, saying,
"I can't believe this, have your balls been smashed? We've amplified the evil in your heart seven times over, and you still managed not to stab that fatso with a knife?"
"???"
Demon? Standing goat? You amplified my evil thoughts? So I wasn't out of control just now?
A series of question marks, big and small, flooded into Leon's mind. However, before he could ask further, a giant empty wine bottle soared from inside the office, spinning around before smashing the back of the black goat's head with a bang.
After this critical hit, the arrogant black goat didn't even hum; its eyes rolled back, and its short-haired body collapsed into Leon's arms.
"Sizzle!"
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[Encountered an incomprehensible special entity, Heterochromatic Badge "Materialist Soul (Crimson)" activated. Your cognitive boundaries have been expanded, and you've acquired partial information about this entity.]
Along with the familiar, ear-piercing buzzing, the crimson strange badge briefly flashed, and a bunch of odd text suddenly appeared in the void above the black goat's head.
[Name: Demon Hoof (Corruption, Scholarship, Whisper)]
[Appearance: Two jet-black horns with spiral patterns. After using a Welsh County mountain goat as a sacrificial offering and performing the corrosion ritual correctly, the offering turns into a black goat that enjoys smoking, habitually stands on two legs, and claims to be a demon.]
[Ability: Evil Thought Amplification, Extensive Knowledge, Occult Knowledge]
[Cost: A pack of "Gotth" brand cigarettes or a sinful soul]
[File: Captured and reported by Sixth Branch Supervisor Olivia during the Aslan Campaign, later self-applied for use.
Please note, after application, this anomalous object didn't cause any fatalities but has numerous indirect injury records. Over five years, it has caused more than forty Department of Road Administration employees to be injured and resign.]
[Evaluation: Has the terrifying ability to easily provoke a war, yet the entity itself is extremely frail, no different from an ordinary goat, and is terribly afraid of human males born in Welsh County.]
[Contamination Value: 0.1]
In less than 0.01 seconds, after bizarrely memorizing all the content, Leon, holding the black goat, blinked at the virtual panel where the crimson badge dimmed back down.
Evil Thought Amplification? Contamination Value?
Before Leon could digest this strange information, the red-haired female interviewer from yesterday emerged, holding an equally massive wine bottle.
"Why are you here again?"
After a big gulp of ale and looking at Leon with bloodshot eyes, the red-haired female interviewer frowned, questioning with some hostility,
"Didn't I make it clear? Normal people like you are not suitable to join the Purification Bureau. You should just go..."
"Please wait!"
Seeing that she was about to dismiss him, Leon, not wanting to let go of this last lifeline, hurriedly explained,
"I'm not normal! No, what I mean is, I actually have some abilities beyond a normal person. Maybe that's exactly what you need!"
Abilities beyond a normal person?
Hearing Leon's words, the red-haired woman's eyebrows arched slightly, a trace of skepticism flashing in her eyes. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, noncommittally saying,
"Alright, let's hear it."
Let's hear it... Since Leon planned to join and mix things up here for the pension, he had to first show his value, but how should he talk about "badges"?
After a quick inventory of his situation, Leon's eyes shifted slightly, decisively hiding the existence of the "badges," and instead explained,
"My observation skills are special! I can identify some peculiar things, and if there's direct contact, I can instantly obtain some related intelligence!"
How is that possible...
Upon hearing this, the red-haired woman shook her head inwardly. Although many people were indeed born with "anomalies," such a forced information acquisition ability almost certainly belonged to the most troublesome "conceptual" anomalies, only working when one's "Hierarchy" was stably higher than the target.
So if he could truly achieve that, then his base Hierarchy must be astonishingly high, at least comparable to an Evil God from another plane. But would such an entity be applying for a job with us at the Purification Bureau?
Despite doubting Leon's words, the red-haired woman didn't directly refute him. Instead, she pointed her chin toward the unconscious black goat, calmly saying,
"Well, it's a 'peculiar thing,' and you've made contact with it. Start telling me now, and let's see precisely what's special about you."
Whew...
Hearing the "test" given by the red-haired woman, Leon secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
What he feared most was being turned away without a chance. Now that he had the opportunity to showcase his ability, as long as the "badge" didn't malfunction, he should secure the job. After all, regardless of the organization, intelligence should always be valuable.
Moreover, if this Purification Bureau placed a significant emphasis on intelligence ability, then even if he wasn't heavily relied upon, he shouldn't be used as cannon fodder either. He might even receive special treatment, surviving several rounds in the terrifying death rate statistics tabulated monthly.
Although when entering here, he had already prepared to trade his life for the pension, who wouldn't want to live if they could?
...
*Hoping to extend his life by a few more years, Leon composed himself, selectively answering,*
"The essence of this goat is actually that pair of horns on its head. Its ability is to amplify people's evil thoughts, and it also possesses a wealth of occult knowledge.
Also, it likes 'Gotth' brand cigarettes and sinful souls, now belonging to someone named Olivia. Over the past few years, it has caused many Department of Road Administration officials to get injured and resign. It fears male humans from Welsh County..."
As Leon relayed, piece by piece, the intelligence obtained from the badge, the red-haired woman's initially indifferent expression gradually grew serious, finally squinting as she repeatedly scrutinized this lean young man before her.
Evil Thought Amplification and liking Gotth cigarettes — these pieces of information could be easily obtained; the goat causing injuries to Department of Road Administration employees could also be discovered by reading more newspapers. But the fact that the goat's essence was its horns and its owner's name were entirely out of reach for ordinary people.
Plus, the notion that the goat feared men from Welsh County was something even she hadn't known.
So, if what this guy said was true, his innate "abnormality" had a frighteningly high Hierarchy. Even if it didn't reach the level of an interdimensional Evil God, it certainly had to be higher than this Great Demon goat...
With this in mind, the red-haired woman raised her head and downed the rest of her ale. Then she hefted the weighty empty wine bottle and banged it heavily on the black goat's head.
"Ugh... what the... damn! Ollie... you nasty woman! You hit me with the bottle again!"
Under the red-haired woman's glare, the black goat, its half-spoken name cut short and swallowed back, clapped a hoof over its head, grumbling irritably,
"I used to be a Great Demon! Could you at least show me a bit of respect?"
"Ha-ha. With the kind of stuff you've done, you don't deserve my respect."
Tilting her head to drink down the last residual beer clinging to the bottle's walls, the red-haired woman pointed at the obviously uneasy Leon, eyes slightly narrowed as she turned to the black goat,
"This young guy from Welsh County just gave me a bottle of good wine worth two Silver Wheels. From now on, you're his."
From Welsh County?!
Hearing the red-haired woman's words, the black goat couldn't help but tremble violently, glancing nervously at Leon before quickly realizing she was likely bluffing. It then crossed its forelegs in defiance, huffing with disdain,
"Heh, you can't fool me. With only two months till year-end, a headquarters audit is inevitable. Even you couldn't possibly mess around at a time like this!"
"You're right, I was bluffing."
The red-haired woman nodded, candidly acknowledging the black goat's insight, then slightly curled her lip in curiosity, asking,
"But... you seem to be quite fearful of men from Welsh County?"
Damn it! How did she find out?!
As the black goat's eyes darted, pondering how to hide its "weakness," the red-haired woman chuckled softly, verifying the truth of the intelligence, before turning to extend her pale right hand toward Leon. With a friendly smile, she said,
"Very good, it seems you're exactly the kind of person we need. From now on, you're a member of our Virgin Sanitation Bureau."
Whew... it's really not easy!
Hearing the news of his employment, Leon couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as the nervous expression on his face slightly relaxed. However...
Wait a minute? Something seems off here.
Re-evaluating the red-haired woman's words, Leon's eyes widened in shock.
Say that again? Your bureau is what now???
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