Leon, who had turned over in his sleep and fallen off his desk, groaned in pain, feeling as if there were three worlds before his eyes, constantly shifting and alternating.
The director, she really was a dangerous woman… in the literal sense.
Recalling last night's disastrous drinking party and healing his broken ribs, Leon shivered with lingering fear.
Although the director was a good supervisor who took care of him in every aspect, she was indeed an incorrigible drunk.
Before, there was no one to drink with her, so she could only drink alone. But ever since she met him, who barely kept up with her drinking, it was like she opened a new door, and the further they drank, the more she enjoyed it.
By the time she was fully high on alcohol, even if a dog wandered into the Purification Bureau, it could be dragged onto the table for a drink. Yesterday, he even pretended to be drunk twice but was miserably seen through, only to be pulled up for more drinks with her arm around his shoulder.
But it wasn't all for nothing.
Looking at the three red hairs wrapped around his right hand, the slightly pale Leon smiled reassuringly after the hangover.
Anna and the others lived in Happiness Apartment, with a brawny old man patrolling with large scissors at night, and a blessing of protection from the apartment during the day. Plus, the hair he had asked from the director, they were completely protected this time, and he could be at ease…
Ugh… my head hurts… It seems like, while the drink was worth it, it was still a bit too much…
After rubbing his throbbing temples, Leon sighed as he sat back down at his desk, looking at the still slightly shaking world before him. He silently vowed that the next time the director tried to drag him to drink, he would refuse without hesitation, just like Senior Emma.
*Although it was a bit like discarding the donkey after the millstone, taking the benefit and then not acknowledging it, but drinking with the director was really not something a human could endure. If I ever drink like that with her again, I'm a dog!*
Looking at the little Husky lying belly-up on his desk, also reeking of alcohol, Leon, whose vision was still a bit spinning, was stunned. He glanced speechlessly in the direction of the director's office.
*I was just speaking hypothetically, but didn't expect you actually managed to make even a dog drink two shots!*
Leon carefully flipped the little Husky over, patting its back. The little Husky, who had crashed the party, let out two puppyish alcoholic hiccups before it finally came to and opened its bleary, drunken eyes.
"Woof woo, woof woo woof woo…"
(That scared the hell out of me, who would force even a dog to drink…)
The little Husky complained weakly to Leon, then wriggled like a fat caterpillar, its tiny legs wobbling as it reached for the photo on the desk, pulling out what had caused it to spend a drunken night.
(It's not what you initially put in, I'm going back to sleep for a while…)
Watching the little Husky stagger into the bottle and fall asleep without a sound, Leon rubbed his brow, then warmed his hands and placed them on his eyes for a moment. Once the world stopped spinning, he reached for the photo on the desk.
[Name: Hypothetical (Substitution, Modification)]
[Appearance: A brand-new photo showing a beautiful woman smiling at the viewer. If you continue staring at her, you'll unconsciously feel an inexplicable envy toward her.]
[Ability: Substitute identity, modify the world]
[File: One of the numerous anomalous objects created by the Aquarius Director of the Purification Bureau to fulfill a wish, temporarily numbered as 0006.
This anomalous object had once completely lost its original power due to the creator's resistance and denial, but after some impactful events, the creator's mindset began to evolve, generating new desires, allowing this broken anomalous object to be repaired.]
[Evaluation: An extraordinarily powerful functional anomalous object, capable of substituting anyone you desire without cost, even erasing all associated traces.
Unfortunately, a person's heart is harder to manipulate than the entire world. Even if you can change the world, you can't change someone who doesn't love you; they only love the identity you've borrowed.
If someone seeks happiness through it, they might find even greater disappointment. Perhaps this unrequitable pain is the true cost of using it.]
[Contamination Value: 9]
[Due to your special relationship with this anomalous object's creator, you have full permissions to use it directly.]
[Your contamination value has increased.]
[The current contamination value is 4.1]
*This thing… is that Anna's family photo?*
As he stared at the photo, which was almost another complete anomalous object, except for retaining its world-modifying ability, Leon furrowed his brows deeply.
'The creator's mindset evolved'
'Generated new desires'
'Even if you could change the world, you can't change someone who doesn't love you'
This explanation, exuding a certain pitiable vibe, along with the identity substitution ability and the somewhat familiar beautiful woman on the photo…
*Could it be Anna is in love? And she fell for this woman in the photo? To the point that it caused a change in the anomalous object?*
With the limited information and his hangover-clouded mind, Leon clutched his head and scratched at his hair, arriving at this possible conclusion.
*What the hell is happening! I just took a nap, and suddenly the whole situation changed!*
Just as Leon, full of existential crisis, was about to consult the Black Goat, trying to figure out if he had slept for a night or a week, there came a polite knock at the door.
"You're finally awake."
Pushing the ajar door open slightly, seeing Leon was already off the desk, Jerry sighed in relief and then asked,
"Leon, someone came to file a report at the bureau today, claiming everyone suddenly forgot about her. I suspect she might have been attacked by some sort of abnormal ability.
The director drank too much with you yesterday and hasn't woken up. There are no tasks for anyone else in the bureau except Emma and me, but neither of us is good at handling soul or mental-related situations.
So if you're available, could you give me a hand? If there's any outcome, we'll distribute based on contribution size, and if it's soul-related stuff, you get it all. How about that?"
"Well… I don't have any tasks at hand, but I think there might be some issues at home…"
Glancing at the photo on the desk, though Leon was tempted by the offer, considering the changes over at Anna's side, he decided to decline,
"How about this, Senior Jerry, I need to head home first, and if it turns out there's nothing major, I'll then… um…"
*This person filing the report… why do they seem familiar?*
Seeing the door open, the woman in the hallway looking at him curiously, Leon paused, then looked down at the photo on the desk again.
*Isn't this the same person?*