As the Zodiac Bureau Director's grandniece, a child who grew up in the Aquarius Branch, the female Cleaner obviously had a bit of a "team pet" nature.
With her anxious shout, the Cleaners still remaining in the Aquarius Branch immediately left their rooms and gathered in the largest central tent, which was the Zodiac Bureau Director's office.
"Uncle Grandpa... The Director should have been held up by the Slaughter King Association people; now that member of the Slaughter King Association wearing the wolf's head mask is heading through the molten path to the Earth's core, preparing to break the bureau's blockade on the Stone Marrow World..."
After explaining the current situation as briefly as possible to the Cleaners of the Aquarius Branch, the female Cleaner looked towards a middle-aged man wearing a fur hat, his figure straight, and spoke anxiously:
"Uncle Hope! We need to go down immediately! If the Slaughter King Association people successfully destroy the blockade and release the three clans in the Stone Marrow World, the Uncle Grandpa who went after them might be in danger!"
"Melly, calm down first."
Observing the silently counting Leon beside him, the middle-aged man named Hope slightly furrowed his brows, then adjusted his leather hat and spoke with thoughtful analysis:
"According to your statement, it seems the Director and the members of the Slaughter King Association just set foot on the molten path not long ago, but the Director went down to the underground river a week ago, and the underground river in Rehe City has been madly surging and emitting excessive steam since more than half a month ago.
If the anomaly of the underground river is a sign that the molten path to the Earth's core has been opened, it means the molten path has been open for over half a month.
Yet the Slaughter King Association members didn't go down earlier or later, but just when the Director began investigating the underground river, they entered the molten path with great fanfare, were discovered by the Director, and then were pursued all the way down... Don't you think it's a bit too coincidental?"
In this light... it does seem a bit strange.
Thinking along the lines of the middle-aged man, Leon, waiting for the meal to be served, involuntarily raised his eyebrows and looked at him with some surprise.
This middle-aged man with a mature and steady demeanor seemed to possess not only elite Level 1 Cleaner skills but also had an exceptionally strong analytical ability. After listening to the female Cleaner's disordered account, he, only after a moment's thought, found such a critical point.
The underground river anomaly in Rehe City had existed for a while, yet the Slaughter King Association 'happened' to enter the molten path, was 'happened' upon by the Director going down the river, and was 'happened' to be chased all the way to a place far from Rehe City.
The three 'happenings' together clearly smelled strongly of a 'luring the tiger out of the mountains' strategy.
...
Upon realizing, through Hope's reminder, that the Slaughter King Association might have other plans, Leon couldn't help but furrow his brow.
It was guessed that when the Director realized this, he might have hesitated, but since the molten path in the river led to the Earth's core, if he dared to let it go, the three clans in Stone Marrow World might indeed be released by the Slaughter King Association.
And initially, the Clean-up Bureau deployed two directors and four Zodiac Bureau Directors to barely seal Stone Marrow World. If the three clans were released now, the currently very stretched Clean-up Bureau wouldn't have the manpower to secure them again.
In other words, this was a kind of open conspiracy, betting that the Director wouldn't dare not pursue.
Hmm... upon careful thought, such dilemmas might never be in short supply, for although the Clean-up Bureau was strong, the territory it had to guard was immensely vast, and there was never enough manpower.
All 87 branches of the Clean-up Bureau combined had only a few thousand Cleaners, and these few thousand, most with some psychological issues, had to guard a huge planet with a surface area of hundreds of millions of square kilometers and a population of at least twenty or thirty billion. It would be a miracle if nothing went wrong.
And the certain Union X with tens of thousands of employees couldn't even get a grip on one Earth. Expecting these few thousand 'madmen' to keep the secular world, with barely a few 'telephones,' secure amid the wild harassment of a bunch of 'aliens' was really too much to expect...
Shaking his head somewhat helplessly, Leon looked at the seemingly very smart middle-aged man, ready to take advantage of the time before the rest of the Aquarius Branch people arrived to listen more to his judgment to see if he could gain more insights.
However, at this moment, the middle-aged man looked over first, frowning tightly, and asked:
"What exactly do you want to do?"
"?"
"I can tell; you've been waiting for everyone to gather."
Adjusting the fur hat that kept sliding down, Hope, with his eagle-sharp eyes, stared hard at Leon, cautiously continuing:
"But the Level 1 Cleaners who can help when facing the True God are already here, and at such a critical time, you didn't immediately propose leading us down but are waiting for those Level 2 and 3 Cleaners... What are you planning?"
"..."
Of course, I plan to eat as many as possible to ensure I have enough stamina in case of a protracted battle... Did I make it so obvious?
"Uncle Hope, Leon is sent by the main bureau to support us."
Seeing the middle-aged man, not knowing why, suddenly targeting Leon aggressively, the female Cleaner quickly explained:
"We were attacked on the Sky Clipper, and the other three branch directors who came to support were thrown onto the Hexagonal Snow Mountain, so Leon plans to take some Level 2 Cleaners down as well."
"He's deceiving you... or not telling you the whole plan!"
Glancing sideways at the female Cleaner, the middle-aged man pulled her a bit behind him, then stared at Leon with full alertness, saying:
"Haven't you noticed? He hasn't said a word to us until now!"
"Ah?"
"Even if the people he plans to take aren't all here, he could still give us a rundown of known information or take this time to inquire about our skills... Why hasn't he done these things?"
After giving reasons he found suspicious, seeing the still somewhat bewildered female Cleaner, the middle-aged man had to continue explaining:
"He hasn't spoken because he probably feels it's unnecessary! What he wants isn't us 'helping' him at all!"
...
Success!
Concealed in Hope's stirring heart lake, noticing that under his hints and provocation, the Cleaners, who had vaguely encircled Leon in the center, were full of vigilance, the corners of the snow-cracked mask under which his mouth unconsciously curved with delight.
Even though the distance was too far for him to completely control this elite Level 1 Cleaner, just giving his heart lake a slight nudge was enough to make him think all discoveries were his own, which sufficed to stir emotions.
As for all the earlier "he deceived you," "not speaking because it's unnecessary," they were naturally pure nonsense, merely to mess things up so that the Food God couldn't defend himself, making actions tense, hence stirring the heart lakes of other Cleaners, letting him...
"I never imagined there'd be someone this incredibly smart in the Aquarius Branch."
Looking at the middle-aged man whose fur hat slid down to reveal a shiny bald head, Leon, full of admiration, nodded in acknowledgment:
"I indeed didn't tell Melly the truth, and the reason I didn't converse with you before was truly that I thought it unnecessary. Your guesses are entirely correct... I need to consume all of you."
"..."
Ah?
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