I! Cleaner!-Chapter 763 - 698: Contamination

"It's all sorted."

With a flick of his tongue, he licked the forehead of the last terrified Cleaner and devoured about three hours of his memory. After finishing up, the Cancer Director, who was called to handle the aftermath, put down the now soggy Cleaner and gazed intently at Leon, asking with eagerness in his eyes:

"By the way, have you really not considered giving up your position as Aquarius Director and taking the exam with us again?"

"..."

"Enough! This isn't the time to discuss those things!"

After stopping the Cancer Director, who still hadn't given up and was trying to poach someone, the Sagittarius Director turned to Leon and asked with a furrowed brow:

"Leon, what did you mean by what you said earlier? Hasn't Aquarius already ascended to the palace? Why is he still seeking collaboration with you?"

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure how he managed it either."

Under the scrutiny of the Taurus, Pisces, Sagittarius, and Cancer Directors, Leon began to explain:

"My guess is that when he split his soul, he left a few fragments in the Aquarius Palace, or perhaps used some other trick, which allows him to maintain connection with the Aquarius Palace even after his ascension.

But the reason I've called you all here is not to talk about Aquarius maintaining contact with the mortal world, but rather this."

Taking out the [Past Sign] that foretold the future, he handed it to the Taurus Director closest to him. Leon conveyed solemnly:

"According to the Aquarius Director, in the future he saw, the Slaughter King Association will plan a total of four actions, of which they will successfully sever the bloodlines of three royal families.

After that, the efficacy of the [Watcher's Palace] will deteriorate in three consecutive instances, allowing True Gods with a Leon Value of over 60 to descend freely into the mortal world and wage war against us in the Clean-up Bureau!"

The bloodlines of three royal families severed... the efficacy of the Watcher's Palace drastically reduced... an outbreak of a True God-level war...

Upon hearing this, all four Directors' expressions involuntarily froze, then the Sagittarius Director was the first to voice skeptical:

"This is information passed down from Aquarius; can you be sure he's telling the truth?"

"It's hard to say for everything else, but what's written on paper should be true."

Recalling the intelligence he had previously gathered, Leon affirmed with confidence:

"Besides, since he has something to ask of me, what's on this [Past Sign] serves as an 'advance payment' to prove his sincerity, so it has a high degree of credibility."

Has something to ask of you?

After hearing Leon's words, the Sagittarius Director couldn't help but exchange a glance with the Taurus Director, who then inquired:

"Leon, can you tell us all the specific details of that collaboration?"

"Of course."

Nodding at the query, Leon recounted his experiences in the Aquarius Palace, choosing what he could disclose.

After listening to his narrative of the "collaboration process," the Cancer Director couldn't help but conclude with an odd look in his eyes:

"So... to obtain some intelligence, he wants to help us deal with the Slaughter King Association, help us seize [Law Tome] fragments, then fulfill the duties of a palace sitter, and continue to warn us of potential future dangers?"

"Yes."

The hell with that!

Looking at Leon, who was nodding earnestly in front of him, the Cancer Director's lips moved. He managed to swallow back the retort that came to mind.

How is this something Aquarius could do? Are you kidding me?

"Leon, I think there's something wrong with this collaboration."

Instead of voicing his sarcasm, the Pisces Director, who had been silently listening the entire time, spoke up calmly:

"I'm not questioning your judgment; it's just that you haven't interacted with Aquarius enough to notice what's off. But we've had decades-long... relations with Aquarius and are more familiar with him than you are.

Based on your description just now, both in demeanor and reaction, this isn't the Aquarius I remember. The Aquarius I remember was much more composed and indifferent, and he wouldn't express emotions so intensely."

"I feel the same way."

After Pisces Director spoke, the Sagittarius Director grimly added:

"In my impression, he wasn't someone who liked to talk so much. Given his past personality and behavior, when faced with your threats and probing, there should only be two responses.

If your probing holds, he would smile and admit it, then think of a way to turn the tables. If your threat holds no significance, he would also only smile faintly, then remind you of your erroneous judgment.

But the Aquarius Director you described seems strange in many ways. It feels like he's somewhat impatient, likes to conceal his intentions, and... hmm... seems oddly familiar." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Familiar indeed!

After glancing at the Taurus Director, who seemed to understand something and had a rather peculiar expression, Leon nodded and admitted:

"You're right. The Aquarius Director I remember indeed wasn't so..."

Pausing for a moment, Leon glanced at the Taurus Director, then reorganized his words:

"Wasn't so full of vibrant emotions, so... innocent in thinking, so unguarded against others, so indifferent to personal gains, and maintained such goodwill towards the world..."

"Alright, enough!"

With a flushed face, the Taurus Director cleared his throat and explained on his behalf:

"Aquarius's way of confusing the Watcher's Palace was by almost perfectly duplicating everything about me: soul, body, memory, emotions... all of it within the scope of duplication. He had to abandon everything of himself, allowing me to completely overwrite him to possibly gain recognition from the Watcher's Palace.

So, in a way, the real Aquarius Director disappeared the moment the duplication was completed on the celestial ladder. Living in his stead is another me, bearing Aquarius's obsession and memories."

"..."

Oh... that explains it.

Recalling the usual behavior of the Taurus Director, a knowing look simultaneously passed through the eyes of the other three Directors.

This kind of disadvantageous collaboration—genuine Aquarius wouldn't likely do it.

But if it were a certain Director with a sincere, gullible nature, prone to emotional extremes, highly revered due to status, someone who hasn't used their brain much in seventy or eighty years, easily trusting others, and was quite naive in their youth... then it's not impossible.

Hmm... or put another way, if after being overwritten by Joan's mind, he didn't immediately reveal everything upon meeting Leon, then that's already Aquarius's remaining obsession performing extraordinarily well.

"In any case, thanks to Mr. Taurus's influe... nurturing, the current Aquarius Director seems not entirely untrustworthy."

Seeing the three Directors' bodies abruptly relax, shedding 90% of their guard, Leon continued:

"From what I feel, while his obsession remains strong and seems a bit inflexible, the current Aquarius Director seems to have a vague sense of benevolence toward humanity and the Clean-up Bureau. So, his warnings hold significant credibility. Then... should we call back all the Directors who are out?"