*Was she... afraid?* Leon paused his struggling, noticing the red-haired Director's state, and couldn't help but be slightly startled. Then, enduring a pressure akin to a hydraulic press, he leaned to her ear and softly asked,
"Are those people starting to curse you?"
Following a faint sob, the red-haired Director nodded slightly, and as if desperately trying to avoid something, she trembled uncontrollably, burrowing into Leon's arms.
*Stop burrowing, any deeper and I might be gone!*
Although the red-haired Director's particularly weak and pitiful appearance tugged at the heartstrings, Leon kept feeling his ribs creaking and the loss of a third of his lung's air, making him feel more pitiful.
Crossing his hands to brace against the red-haired Director's forehead and using all his strength to push her out, Leon finally rescued his lungs. Flushed red, he took two deep breaths and reached out to cover the red-haired Director's ears.
"How about now? Can you still hear them?"
"I can still hear..."
She nodded pitifully, sobbing softly, "They aren't cursing me through my ears. Even if I cover my ears, I can't escape..."
*If it's not the ears, what is it? Mind? Soul?* But when I usually use the Black Goat and look upstairs, I don't see anything!
Straining his ears for a long time but still hearing no so-called "curses," Leon could only pat the red-haired Director's back forcefully and urged,
"Listen... Let go a little, you're holding too tight..."
Rubbing her head in Leon's arms and sobbing as if she were a little girl of five or six, she said, "If I let go, you'll run away like the others. I don't want that!"
*You don't want it, but I can't afford not to! If you keep squeezing , I won't be able to run away, but my soul might leave first!*
Feeling the iron grip tightening on his back, Leon couldn't help but slap her back harder, trying to coax her,
"I won't run! I definitely won't run! And not only won't I run, I'll help you curse them!"
"Really, you can trust my eyes!"
"Then... let me see..."
After rubbing against Leon's chest twice, she looked up with teary eyes, half-believing, and finally relaxed her arms, gripping Leon's chest again, saying miserably,
"Actually... you don't have to curse them, just don't run away and leave me to be cursed alone..."
"Yeah, yeah, I won't run."
*I surely won't run! If I get caught and held again, I might really be gone!*
Merely thinking of trying to leave almost resulted in getting choked to death. Leon barely coaxed her to release her grip, and naturally, he dared not make any reckless moves.
To prevent her from getting agitated by the "cursing" and reaching out with a deadly hug, Leon pondered a moment, then chose to grasp the red-haired Director's shoulders, turning her sideways bit by bit.
Once they switched from face-to-face hugging to a position where she was nearly back-to-back, Leon clenched his teeth and exerted all his strength, reversing the hug to pin her deadly arms down tightly.
*I mustn't release my grip before she sobers up! If I get hugged up front again, my bones will surely snap!*
"Leon... you're so good..."
Unable to see Leon's gritting expression while being embraced "warmly" and "securely," the tear-streaked red-haired Director snuggled into his embrace and regretfully whispered,
"When Emma was still living at the office, she would sometimes hug me to sleep. But after drinking too much one night and being hugged back all night, she refused to let me hug her again and moved back to Redwood Street the next day..."
*So the last victim was actually Senior Emma?*
Hearing the red-haired Director's words, Leon, in stark pain and tears welling, couldn't help but shiver and hugged tighter.
*I mustn't release! Absolutely mustn't release!*
Even Senior Emma, with her Undying Body, couldn't withstand a night of hugging from the Director. I don't have the Undying Body as a backup; if she turns and gets me in a hug, I could really be done for!
And that damned Black Goat had the nerve to say my luck was fine. Just seeing the Director drunk and trying to help her to rest turned into a life-or-death crisis, nearly being strangled to death. This luck is supposed to be fine?!
Just as Leon was desperately praying for her to fall asleep quickly and surely not roll over in her sleep, gaining the hug seemed to calm the red-haired Director. She no longer trembled uncontrollably but leaned against him, speaking softly again,
"Do you want to know what's really upstairs?"
Hearing her question, Leon was momentarily startled and then reminded her,
"Director, although I don't know what's upstairs, according to confidentiality regulations, whatever the Director of the Zodiac Branch Office is guarding should be confidential to Level Three incident handlers."
The red-haired Director shook her head, replying, "Unlike other Anomalous Objects of the same level, that thing's existence isn't a secret. Not only do branch directors know about it, but many Level One and Level Two veteran employees know about it, and they even know it's in my hands.
Though the threat level is very high, like with the Watcher's Palace, it has been categorized as public secret knowledge. Even if I tell you, it doesn't constitute a violation. You can listen without worry."
*It seems... the Director's speech suddenly became much more coherent. Did she become sober after some fussing?*
Sensing something was off, Leon pondered for a moment, realizing the red-haired Director wasn't genuinely trying to enlighten him but needed someone to talk to. He gently relaxed his grip and nodded,
"Then go ahead, I'm quite curious."
"Alright, hold me tighter again, and I'll tell you."
Seemingly craving the warmth behind her, she snuggled back into Leon's embrace. With the alcohol redness largely faded from her cheeks, the red-haired Director closed her eyes, curled up slightly, and softly said,
"What's placed on the top floor is an Anomalous Object with the ID 004. As for the 1,296,000,000 'people' always cursing me, combined they form another Anomalous Object with the ID 013, both currently mine."
"The ID I'm talking about was assigned by the central office's scholars before you proposed the Leon Value, artificially ranking Anomalous Objects by factors such as user, past performance, effect intensity, range, cost to use, and other impacts."
Seemingly aware Leon would question the numbers, the red-haired Director continued softly, explaining with her eyes closed,
"Typically, the closer an Anomalous Object's assigned number is to the front, the more terrifying its effect when pushed to the limit. Like your Holy Spirit pendant, if pushed to limits, should rank within the top 150.
And if you assemble all seven parts of that goat, with your super high affinity, it should have a chance to squeeze into the top 100 when you use it."
*The Black Goat... that guy brags about being invincible under True God, and it only ranks in the top 100? And only with the enhancement from the Gold-Level Badge do I 'have a chance' to squeeze in?*