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Chapter 23: Badge Inventory Check (2 in 1)
[The Martyr of the Wine Realm: Is this wine? No, it is flowing cold fire, a remedy for worries, an oasis in the city, a cure for the pain of life, a river with warmth, and the boiling loneliness deep within one's heart in countless cold nights.
[Equipping Effect: The more alcohol content in your body, the less fear, timidity, panic, and other negative emotions will affect you. When the alcohol content reaches 0.1 gram of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, this effect reaches its maximum, granting immunity to the influence of related negative emotions, but entering the special state "Drunkenness."
[Drunkenness: Your reaction time increases by 50%, limb coordination decreases by 50%, perception of the surrounding environment decreases by 50%, and courage increases by 300%.
[Upgrade Path: After tasting one thousand "craft" level or above, one hundred "fine brew" level or above, ten "mellow brew" level or above, and one "intoxicating brew" level or above, this badge will automatically upgrade to the anomalous-colored badge "Wine Immortal." Current progress: 117/1000, 7/100, 1/10, 0/1.
[Hidden Attribute (No Need to Equip): After enduring a hellish level of heavy drinking, your body has adapted to the ravages of alcohol and found ways to cope, drastically increasing your alcohol metabolism.]
Drinking like a madman all night and then sleeping through the day actually earned me a gold-tier badge… This… somehow… isn’t entirely unacceptable?
After reviewing the specific effects of The Martyr of the Wine Realm, Leon’s emotions finally began to calm down.
No wonder it was a gold-tier badge—its effects were indeed incredibly potent.
His courage wasn’t exactly small, but when facing that hospital where people were literally being "eaten," he couldn’t deny feeling some fear. Especially the sight of the first-floor hall, which resembled a living hell—even observing it through the scope made his heart race.
Honestly, if he hadn’t been hiding at a distance to snipe, but instead charging in alongside Emma with a gun, in such a terrifying scenario, he doubted he’d have been able to shoot anyone face-to-face.
But now, with this gold-tier badge, as long as he carried a bottle of strong liquor, he could significantly reduce the impact of these negative emotions and regain his composure. In a job that constantly teetered on the edge of life and death, staying calm and rational could be the difference between life and death.
Moreover, according to Emma, while abilities that directly affected one’s soul—like the black goat’s—were rare, they weren’t impossible to encounter. Given the vast and terrifying scope of the Anomaly Cleansing Bureau’s work, he might run into something similar sooner or later.
And though The Martyr of the Wine Realm had a limited scope, only granting immunity to fear, timidity, and panic-like negative emotions, if the opponent’s ability happened to fall within that range, it would be completely countered, potentially leading to their demise. Even with its narrow scope, this was still an extremely powerful trump card.
It seems… There is much more to explore within the badge system.
Glancing at the four slots on his interface and the seven badges—three Black Iron, two Bronze, one Gold, and one anomalous-colored—Leon couldn’t help but sink into deep thought.
Of the seven badges he currently had activated, Unemployed Youth not only had a confusing ability but also required leaving the Anomaly Cleansing Bureau to upgrade—it wasn’t something that could be improved through sheer effort alone. He temporarily set it aside, as did Probationary Worker, which required two months of employment to upgrade.
As for Reliable Older Brother, it had no upgrade path, and Materialist Soul was already maxed out. The Martyr of the Wine Realm still had room to grow, but Leon didn’t know much about wine, nor did he have the money to buy so many fine bottles, so he reluctantly put it aside for now.
That left only Demon’s Votary and Shooting Rookie as badges he could actively upgrade.
The former was the easiest—just buy a few packs of "Gott" cigarettes for the black goat behind the bureau’s back. For the latter, however, he’d need live ammunition training, which might require assistance from the military department.
Hmm… Wait, doesn’t the Police Department have a shooting range too?
Recalling that he’d seen armed police officers during his meals at the Police Department cafeteria, Leon began to hatch a plan.
Though the Anomaly Cleansing Bureau was technically under the Police Department, borrowing their training facilities shouldn’t be an issue, right? After all, he could count himself as half a member of the department.
Hmm… Training to upgrade badges, investigating the Waterworks Company and the Department of Public Works, paying a visit to that middle-aged nurse named Hanna… It has only been two days since I joined the bureau, yet I already have so much to do…
Pressing a hand to his still-dizzy forehead, Leon climbed to his feet, his pale face betraying his exhaustion. He rummaged through the old drawer by his bed, producing a broken piece of charcoal and some scrap paper after a clattering noise. Carefully jotting down his tasks, he folded the paper neatly and tucked it into his pocket alongside his wallet.
"Big Brother! You’re awake!"
Hearing the rustling sounds, a young boy who bore a striking resemblance to Leon—though with a slightly dopey expression—peeked through the door crack. Seeing Leon up, he burst in with joy, clinging tightly to his leg. His eyes welled up with tears as he stammered:
"Sister coughed so loudly the day before yesterday that her handkerchief turned red, and she hasn’t come back yet… And then you came home and wouldn’t wake up no matter what I did… I… I thought…"
"William! What are you doing?"
Another young girl, about the same age, with light golden hair, rushed over, tugging at the boy’s sleeve angrily.
"Didn’t that elder sister with tomato-red hair tell you already? Big Brother was just drunk! Drunk, do you understand? It’s like a little cold—he’ll sleep it off and be fine! He’s not going to die! If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll hit you!"
After scolding the little boy who was half a head taller than her, the little girl with the same hair color as Anna hesitated for a moment before finally rushing over to hug Leon's other leg.
Lowering her head and with red-rimmed eyes, she asked softly: "Big Brother, how is Sister Anna...?"
"Anna is fine now. She’s out of danger," Leon replied gently.
Looking at the two children clinging tightly to his legs, one on each side, a flicker of guilt passed through Leon’s eyes.
Two nights ago, Anna had suddenly started coughing up blood. In a panic, Leon hastily entrusted the two younger ones to a neighbor without even giving instructions, then rushed Anna to the hospital. After spending an entire day there, he joined the Anomaly Cleansing Bureau that night, dealt with another abnormal incident, and stayed up all night again.
By the time they resolved the out-of-control contaminated individual, Leon and Emma had managed to revive the doctors and nurses. They moved Anna to a new room and administered better medicine. By then, dawn had already broken, and Leon—exhausted beyond measure—couldn’t make it back home. He ended up dozing off awkwardly by Anna’s bedside.
When he woke up, he immediately reported back to the bureau. After finishing his report, he specifically requested leave, intending to check on Anna’s condition and return home. But just as he was about to head back, he heard some suspicious information from a baby-faced employee of the gas company regarding what might be an anomalous object. With no choice, he had to rush back to the bureau once more.
Sigh… Leon couldn't help sighing.
He hadn’t slept properly for two days, and in his exhaustion, he hadn’t thought to send word home or reassure anyone. Worse still, after work, he’d been dragged into a heavy drinking session and passed out for an entire day.
Truly… Both adults in the house were either sick or drunk, and he hadn’t been home for over two days. The kids must have been terrified. As their older brother, he felt utterly inadequate.
...
Gently patting the heads of his younger siblings, Leon sat them down beside him on the bed. Leaning forward, he spoke softly to comfort them:
"Don’t worry. I asked the doctor yesterday, and he said Anna’s condition is stable. Her illness isn’t a problem anymore."
"Really?!" Upon hearing this, the lively little girl immediately lifted her head, her face lighting up with joy, while the somewhat slow-witted William remained silent, his head bowed.
"So what that red-haired sister said was true? Anna will be coming home soon?" the girl asked eagerly.
"Mm-hmm," Leon nodded with a smile. "The doctor said she just needs to rest for two more days, and then she can come home. As long as she takes her medicine on time, she’ll recover fully within three months, and she won’t cough anymore."
Hearing this wonderful news, the two children were ecstatic. Their faces radiated pure happiness from the depths of their hearts.
Having lost their parents—a pair of mechanics who sacrificed themselves during the war several years ago—the siblings barely remembered their parents. It was Anna who had practically raised them since they were toddlers. Though Anna herself was only fifteen, to these two younger siblings, the phrase “elder sister like a mother” wasn’t an exaggeration—it was literal truth. To them, Anna’s recovery meant more than anything else in the world.
After carefully examining the children’s appearances and confirming they hadn’t gone hungry or cold in his absence, Leon finally relaxed. Gently stroking the little girl’s golden hair, he asked with a smile:
"What about that red-haired big sister? Melanie, tell me—when did she leave, and what did she say to you?"
"Ah… let me think…"
Though the youngest in the family, Melanie was far sharper than her somewhat dimwitted twin brother. After tilting her head in thought for a moment, she began recounting earnestly, counting on her fingers:
"After the red-haired big sister carried you back, she gave Auntie who was looking after us a silver coin and asked her to take good care of us until you woke up. Then she said today would be your day off, and you shouldn’t bother with finding some nurse until tomorrow. Oh! And she bought us really sweet candies and said she’d get us new clothes…"
"But we didn’t take them!" William interrupted suddenly, unable to stay quiet any longer.
"Big Brother and Elder Sister have told us that if someone tries to give us candy or clothes, they’re definitely bad people—kidnappers! We must never go with them. So when she said she wanted to buy us clothes, I glared at her really hard and shouted, ‘Someone’s trying to kidnap us!’ That scared her away!"
"..."
(⊙_⊙)
As Leon stared blankly, torn between exasperation and confusion, the usually dopey William stood up abruptly, puffing out his tiny chest with pride.
"Big Brother! I scared off the bad person and protected Melanie! Did I do well?"
"Humph! How dare you brag about that!" Before Leon could respond, the furious golden-haired girl lunged at her twin brother, smacking his forehead repeatedly with her small hands while yelling angrily:
"Idiot! Moron! Stupidhead! Thick-skulled fool! Can’t you use your brain for once?! She carried our big brother home—how could she possibly be a bad person? Now apologize for ruining my chance at new clothes! And if you were so scared she was a kidnapper, why did you eat the candy she gave us? You’re insufferable!"
"I… didn’t you eat several pieces first?" William retorted defensively, shielding his head with his skinny arms.
"I figured if you ate the candy and nothing happened, it must not be poisoned! So why shouldn’t I eat it too?"
"..."
Good grief… His logic wasn’t entirely flawed, but was he a genius or just plain dumb?
Watching the escalating chaos as one sibling chased the other around the room, turning it upside down, Leon—who moments ago had been consumed with guilt—quickly shifted into full-on parental mode. Clutching his pounding head, which still throbbed from last night’s drinking binge, he waved his hand weakly:
"Enough, enough… You two are driving me crazy. Look, we’ll soon have money. Once I get paid, I’ll buy you both sweets and new clothes, okay?"
Promising such extravagant rewards—worth two copper coins—finally calmed the squabbling duo. Glancing outside at the darkening sky, Leon forced himself to stand up and prepare something to eat.
"You must be starving. Let me cook dinner for you."
"No need! We’ve already eaten!" Melanie chirped happily, shaking her twin braids.
"Even though Dummy William scared her off earlier, the red-haired sister came back secretly and left lots of food in our house—enough to last us for days! We finished eating before coming to see you."
"Yeah, yeah!" William chimed in enthusiastically, licking his lips at the memory. "Especially the fried fish and smoked sausages—they were amazing, and we ate so much!"
"Hmph! Didn’t you call her a bad person? Why did you eat her food? Weren’t you afraid she’d kidnap you?"
"Not at all! I waited until you ate first and saw you were fine. Anything you didn’t touch, like the mashed potatoes, I didn’t eat a single bite of—I’m smart like that!"
"Gah! You’re impossible!"
"Alright, alright!" Leon interjected quickly, grabbing each child by the arm to prevent another round of bickering. Rubbing his temples, he tried to steer the conversation elsewhere:
"So… after eating all that delicious food she brought, did you thank her properly?"
"Of course we did!" Melanie declared proudly, flipping her braids over her shoulder after shooting her foolish twin a glare.
"Sister Anna always says we may be poor, but we’re not wild children without parents—we must always be polite! So I thanked the big sister myself, and I even made William bow his head and say thank you too. But… um… she didn’t seem very happy. When I tried to hug her, she ran away…"
Melanie paused, blinking her bright, innocent eyes as she fiddled with the hem of her dress, clearly puzzled.
"She said… she doesn’t like children because once they get familiar with her, they’ll start treating her like a mother figure, and then they’ll forget about her… Big Brother, I don’t understand. Why would we forget her if we got close to her?"
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