"Hmm... it looks quite serious."

Li Ang absentmindedly tapped his fingers on the tabletop a few times. According to the American news program on TV, up until now, two former directors of the intelligence agency, one minister, two deputy chiefs of staff, three high-ranking agents, one chief special agent, and multiple special operatives (some retired for more than a decade) had met unfortunate ends.

The methods, locations, and times of death varied.

Generally speaking, the death incidents of personnel in such intelligence departments are not reported as news, but this case was too bizarre.

All the death incidents happened within a month, spanning multiple states. Some victims were even attacked in public places, their heads suddenly exploding without any warning while they were shopping.

The sensitive identity of the deceased, coupled with the depiction of the serial murder cases, made the case itself highly focused, causing quite a stir in the United States.

Many believe that hostile forces have targeted these intelligence personnel in a revenge action.

The American intelligence agencies initially tried to imply that all deaths were influenced by some supernatural item capable of spreading memes, so as to not seem so embarrassed,

yet while the spokesperson hosted the press conference, more attacks occurred on federal judges, politicians, and former senior personnel of the intelligence agency.

In response, the American intelligence agencies were immensely embarrassed and furious, keeping silent externally while intensifying the investigation of the case. Within a few days, they had already sifted through tens of thousands of suspicious individuals.

"Regardless if the killer is a mutant natural disaster or a Transcendent, they've gotten into trouble."

Li Ang thought carelessly, the history of the United States is short, only over two hundred years.

The foundation in the field of Transcendence is not much, completely unable to compare with hidden organizations like the Heterodox Academy, Bell Tower, Tribunal, and Temple Knights.

But they also have other supplements—the native Indians of the United States, who recorded quite a few supernatural events in the form of myths, legends, totems, poetry, songs passed down from generation to generation.

The United States drove out and slaughtered the Indians, occupied the latter's land, built towns and villages, and now enters the deep mountains and forests according to Indian records, searching for the existence of Transcendent elements.

According to some posts on player forums, historically, the Indians feared and were terrified of any supernatural power other than their ancestral spirits,

generally adopting an attitude of closing their eyes and ears towards Transcendent elements, never attempting to contact, understand, explore, or study,

only being vigilant towards those extremely dangerous forces and recording them.

This led to the modern American intelligence agencies exploring the deep mountains and forests based on Indian data, suffering a lot, with quite a few deaths before reaping any rewards.

Apart from excavating Indian historical legends, the American intelligence agencies also gained significantly from scientific research materials from World War II and after its end.

After World War II, the United States' Operation Paperclip sheltered and accepted many German scientists and formed secret research institutions.

According to a secret report from the United States Department of Justice exposed recently, the Operation Paperclip had been continuously expanding personnel, increasing budgets, and augmenting projects since the 1950s.

By the 1970s, they had already made significant breakthroughs in multiple fields such as supersonic missiles, human potential-stimulating serum, and brain interference technology, with intricate connections with the United States CIA, FBI, and DARPA.

In fact, the United States intelligence agencies are not the first official institutions to study supernatural powers (the earliest can be traced back to the German Third Reich),

but they are definitely the longest-lasting, most invested, and largest scale official institutions in this field.

It is through these long-term operations that the United States has not fallen too far behind in the pursuit of supernatural powers.

The overall strength of the players, when compared horizontally to organizations like the Special Affairs Bureau and the European Heavy Industry Group, is not too bad.

The murderer who killed multiple powerful individuals and publicly humiliated the American intelligence agencies (whether a single person or an organization) will, in the foreseeable future, face persistent pursuit by the American intelligence agency players, fighting tirelessly to the death.

"Hmm..."

Li Ang watched the TV program, raised his eyebrows, and casually turned off the TV.

In the past, he might have worried and been anxious for a while, fearing that these intelligence agencies might seek out the Special Affairs Bureau, use a new criminal investigation system to scout this case, and consequently uproot him during their investigation.

But now...

Li Ang glanced at his right hand, the Divine Mark unique to him slightly heated under the glove on the back of his right hand, providing him with continuous strength.

How many divisions does the Federal Bureau of Investigation have?

After meeting the Jumper penguin Archille, Li Ang's mindset calmed down a lot. He quietly sat at the back of the checkout counter for a while, and soon, the mule with the horse-head mask reappeared.

"Sorry, I encountered a bit of a problem in the real world, was slightly delayed."

The mule entered, nodded apologetically towards Li Ang, holding Laura's right hand,

the latter wearing a slightly smaller purple Unicorn mask, without showing her face, but Li Ang keenly noticed her mood was not good.

"It's okay."

Li Ang casually nodded and put down his crossed legs, "How do we sign the contract?"

"Just apply for a labor contract from Game Square."

The mule chuckled, pulling out two scrolls from the void, "I've already applied for them, take a look."

She spread one of the scrolls on the checkout counter in front of Li Ang, who glanced at it. It was indeed a labor contract produced by the System,

the contract specified the scope of rights and duties of both parties and the form of payment, emphasizing that the contract would be monitored by the power of the System itself, and if breached, would face punishment and enforced execution by the System.

The System's "enforced execution" is far more decisive than in the real world, there won't be situations of malicious violation and refusal to comply.

Moreover, to prevent people from maliciously abusing labor contracts and forcing others to sign them for farming-style exploitation,

the System also notes that both parties must remain independent, rational, and clear on a mental and physical level, not under threat or coercion—attempting to force or deceive others into signing contracts will also face severe punishment by the System,

the heaviest might even directly throw the aggressor into a nightmare-level scenario task with a mortality rate close to 99.999%.

"Just like other shops on the Square, a contract is signed for 6 months at a time, renewed every 6 months, right." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

After finishing reading the contract, Li Ang placed his palm on the paper, letting the System-provided pen quietly appear in his hand, "The payment is also calculated according to the average level of other shops.

Weekly fixed salary of 225 points of Game Currency, plus personal additional work earnings—you'll get a 10% commission for every customer you bring in.

Is that okay?"

The mule glanced at Laura, who silently nodded, a slight sound coming from beneath the purple Unicorn mask, "Hmm."

The new shop assistant doesn't seem very enthusiastic.

Li Ang relaxedly spread his hands, anyway she was an employee introduced through connections, as long as she doesn't affect the normal operation of the shop.

"I've signed it."

He completed his part of the contract, and Laura signed hers under the gaze of the mule.

"Then from today on, you are my employee." Li Ang smiled, "Shall I say some motivating words?"

"Ah?"

Laura was clearly still immersed in a low mood and raised her head in confusion when she heard Li Ang's words.

"Come on, work hard, strive. Your diligent work will let me drive a Maserati sooner, live in a mansion;

Tired? Great! Comfort is for the rich;

I've fought for over ten years to have a life like this, a vast enterprise, loyal employees, countless high-class business partners. Employees in the company aren't for exploitation; I've led them well, and they naturally devote decades of loyalty and service.

Work hard like me, and maybe your child will see my child's back at the starting line."

Li Ang said earnestly, pulling out a black round top hat and a monocle from somewhere, putting them on himself, fully looking like a capitalist tycoon.

"How is it? Feeling much happier, more motivated for work?"

Li Ang said with a chuckle, rubbing the whiskers of his Dragon Head Mask.

"...Yeah."

Laura glanced at the mule, her voice beneath the mask was somewhat awkward yet polite.

"Anyway, just work well here."

Li Ang clapped his hands and stood up, "The cashier's job is actually quite simple,

write your player information on the customer registration form at the checkout counter. Customers in need will actively add you as a friend, and all you have to do is send the more valuable customer registration information to me through the friend link.

Specific working hours... just come as you please, mainly completed through the friend link,

There's no strict requirement for you to personally come to the shop."

After all, it's just a cashier position,

Li Ang wouldn't exploit his friend's sister too much, so after briefly introducing the workflow, he let Laura sit behind the checkout counter to familiarize herself with the business.

And as for Li Ang himself, he walked with Laura to the surgical room behind the Immaculate Furnace.

"Thanks for the trouble this time."

The mule nodded gratefully, knowing Li Ang, although his thoughts often diverge from normal people, he has never made a mistake in serious matters, very professional and with a spirit of contract.

Since Laura has become his employee, she now has new guarantees of safety and protection.

Even if the mule herself were someday captured or killed by the Intelligence Bureau, Laura... would not be implicated, right?

Li Ang waved his hand casually, "It's nothing, a small matter."

The mule didn't argue further, retrieving two items from the backpack section and holding them in hand.

One was a pumpkin shaped like a lantern, hollowed out and carved into a Halloween ghost shape, with a flickering, ghostly blue fire burning inside.

And the other was a handheld vacuum cleaner.

The vacuum cleaner was light blue in color, fully equipped with assembly heads, hoses, motors, and all, but without any cables.

[Name: Pumpkin Head of the Headless Horseman]

[Type: Magic Tool]

[Quality: Perfect]

[Special Effect: Summon a ghostly Headless Horseman, ordering it to attack a designated enemy. The Headless Horseman cannot be destroyed or killed; any attempts to annihilate the ghost will only resurrect it. The Headless Horseman can be summoned for a maximum of 30 minutes, requiring a designated enemy to attack within 5 minutes of summoning, otherwise the ghost will disappear. The horseman holds an iron spoon, with attack power and frequency equivalent to a healthy, untrained 35-year-old adult male, only making physical contact during attacks.]

[Consumption: 500 Spirit Energy Value, 200 Sanity Value]

[Cooldown time: 24 hours]

[Usage requirement: Horsemanship level equal or greater than intermediate]

[Note: Long ago, the Headless Horseman rode his warhorse through foggy valleys, wielding magic sword spears, making all intruders become like him. Until one day, a cunning thief named Oduron stole his weapons and placed an iron spoon in the hands of the sleeping horseman]

[Note: Caution! Always summon the headless horseman when enemies are nearby, otherwise he will attack the only living creature in sight with a spoon—namely you. It's not lethal, but it really hurts]

"I got this item from the auction at a low price."

The mule chuckled helplessly, introduced, "Since this equipment isn't bound to an individual, I tried it out before.

Uhm... how to say,

This thing, even among all bizarre equipment, is quite outrageous.

The summoned Headless Horseman cannot be killed within the 30-minute summon limit, and will relentlessly attack the target until time runs out.

Sounds powerful, but the attack power...

Exactly as described by the System, it's just a regular middle-aged man with a spoon, unable to break a steel plate in 30 minutes.

It's only useful to harass and anger the enemy—in this aspect, it's actually quite effective."

The mule awkwardly rubbed her palms together, "But you only need the perfect quality item, right?"

"Hmm..."

Li Ang's gaze lingered on the item notes for a while; he often encountered such inexplicable things, so he wasn't surprised, "What about the other one?"

The mule revealed the item description of the light blue handheld vacuum cleaner.

[Name: Blood Sweeping Vacuum Cleaner]

[Type: Magic Tool]

[Quality: Perfect]

[Special Effect: Absorb 30% of the blood from all flesh creatures within the frontal cone range]

[Consumption: 400 Spirit Energy Value]

[Cooldown time: 10 minutes]

[Usage requirement: Possess the bloodline of the Blood Clan]

[Note: Blood Sweeping Vacuum Cleaner, allowing you as a Blood Clan Noble, to have a mansion that's immaculate again]