CHAPTER 645: CHAPTER 581: MIGHT AS WELL BE DEAD

The headquarters of the Clean-up Bureau, inside a small conference room named Between the Sun and Shade.

"Everyone, the Sagittarius Director and I have gathered you here today because there are several very important matters that need to be communicated to you promptly."

The main seat was vacant, and Mr. Taurus, sitting in the second seat, looked around at the eighty or more phantom images summoned below with a complex expression and announced:

"Firstly, after the investigation by the Scorpio Branch, it has been confirmed that the Gemini Branch located in the Kingdom of Crolock has been completely destroyed. Nearly half of the members were either killed or imprisoned, and the rest were subjected to soul-level enslavement. Only the original Level 1 Cleaner, Nicole Korolman, managed to escape unscathed."

"??!!!"

Although everyone knew that in the self-sealed state of the headquarters, urgently summoning long-distance meetings with division leaders from all branches must indicate something major had occurred, the explosiveness of this news still caught everyone by surprise.

Faced with such shocking news, although the division heads of all sizes couldn’t whisper to each other due to their actual bodies not being present, looks of shock were still flying around, and some even secretly started private chats.

"Everyone, please keep quiet!"

After clapping his hands forcefully, cutting off all the ’private chats’ among the division leaders, Mr. Taurus said with a less-than-pleased expression:

"You can discuss this matter among yourselves later. Right now, we need to deliberate on what to do about the vacancy of the Gemini Branch!"

What should be done about the vacant Gemini Branch?

Upon hearing Mr. Taurus’s words, a slightly hunched phantom figure in the Yellow Road Zodiac Twelve Division’s seats coughed twice before raising a hand and saying:

"Mr. Taurus, Boris, the division head of the Furnace Branch, broke through 60 Leon Value twenty years ago. He can be directly promoted to take the responsibility of rebuilding the Gemini Branch."

Upon hearing the words of the hunched phantom figure, the phantom images suddenly realized the solution, and they each raised their hands in succession and recommended:

"Mr. Taurus, I recommend Anduin from the Sagittarius Branch!"

"I also recommend Boris from the Furnace Branch!"

"Mr. Taurus! The Compass Branch self-recommends!"

"Silence!"

Clapping his hands again, interrupting the various phantoms’ recommendations, Mr. Taurus couldn’t help but glance toward the Virgin Branch’s seats, then said:

"The situation is a bit complicated this time; simply choosing someone to replace won’t work.

Although most of the Cleaners from the Gemini Branch were saved, many of them participated in the rebellion initiated by the Aquarius Director, committing numerous violations that need to be thoroughly investigated and held accountable.

Moreover, it’s not just the Gemini Branch that had problems; the third prince of the Kingdom of Crolock, Andre, also colluded with the Aquarius Director, killing most royal family members... Forget it, Edward!"

After calling out to the Scorpio Bureau Director, Mr. Taurus raised his hand to support his forehead, speaking with a look of exasperation:

"You’re the lead in this investigation mission; you talk about the Kingdom of Crolock’s situation."

"Alright..."

Upon responding, the phantom of the Scorpio Bureau Director stood up, hesitated slightly, then frankly stated:

"Everyone, the Kingdom of Crolock is no more."

"??!!!"

A thunderous revelation from the Scorpio Bureau Director caused all the phantom figures present to tremble simultaneously. Across from him, the red-haired director unconsciously widened his eyes, feeling a sudden surge of extreme foreboding.

"Mr. Edward?"

After a long silence, the most initially recommended replacement figure, the hunched phantom figure, broke the silence first, exclaiming in shock:

"Can you explain more clearly? What exactly happened to the Kingdom of Crolock?"

"The Kingdom of Crolock... has been utterly destroyed."

The Scorpio Bureau Director slightly bowed his head and said:

"Although 1.3 million citizens remain, over 99% of the land has been completely incinerated. Virtually all royal family members are dead, and the only surviving princess has no intention of claiming the throne, surrendering on behalf of the Crolock royal family. The Kingdom of Crolock is truly gone."

"This..."

Even with some psychological preparation, upon hearing the outcome of the Crolock Kingdom, everyone present couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath, with the initially speaking hunched figure with a face full of disbelief pursuing further:

"Mr. Edward! Could you please explain how, with your presence, the Kingdom of Crolock still ended up utterly destroyed?"

"..."

Because I got careless and was ambushed, almost dying and then being forcibly controlled, where I ended up fighting our surviving Cleaners. I was barely rescued and passed out, and when I woke up, the Kingdom of Crolock was gone. Not only did I not help at all, but also added to the chaos...

If explained like this, I might as well have directly died in the Kingdom of Crolock!

Just then, the Scorpio Bureau Director’s clothes were tugged, and a phantom figure appeared from behind him.

"Division leaders, Mr. Edward is still recovering from his injuries, so I’ll explain the rest."

Having bowed slightly to the leaders, Leon, brought in by the Scorpio Director, said:

"I am also part of this investigation squad. This task was extremely dangerous because we faced formidable opponents not only in the Slaughter King Association targeting various royal families but also in the royal family members themselves who should’ve been protected.

Mr. Edward detected anomalies beforehand and deliberately split the team into two units. I was responsible for protecting the already rescued Princess Feiliya and was fortunately left with the Level 1 Cleaner Alger, while he led a team in continued perilous reconnaissance.

In the face of an ambush, he initially resisted control by the opposing side, buying time for Alger and me, and sharply noticed issues with the controlling methods, cleverly escaping enemy restraints through our mutual understanding.

Ultimately, upon discovering tampering with his soul, he bravely risked soul damage, decisively becoming devoured by me to provide the crucial force allowing Alger and me to escape the crisis, leading to a successful turnaround..."

Those capable of reaching a branch position usually possess a reasonable level of intelligence. Therefore, upon hearing Leon’s complete narration of the investigation mission, dozens of phantom division leaders exchanged glances, each seeing comprehension on the others’ faces.

So... Rashly seeking achievements, caught in an ambush, tragically controlled, knocked out until the end?

No matter how hard this newcomer tried to defend, in this investigation task, Edward was undoubtedly the hindrance, while the person who truly bore the brunt of the responsibilities probably was this newcomer he brought along.

"I see..."

After giving the newly emerged Leon a glance, then looking back at Edward, aware that a similar scenario might put them in Edward’s shoes, the hunched phantom figure chose not to press further but decided to save face for Edward, nodding and stating:

"Then Edward can’t be blamed. This enemy was indeed particularly tricky, and to ensure the Watcher’s Palace remains unaffected, burning down the Kingdom of Crolock was unavoidable... Edward."

Calling out to Edward, the hunched phantom figure inspected Leon, whose face wasn’t clearly visible behind the Scorpio Director, expressing some curiosity:

"The speaker earlier, he’s a Cleaner from your Scorpio Branch, right? It seems he made significant contributions this time; can you introduce him to us?"