[Appearance: A pair of female dance shoes heavily stained with blood, styled after a popular design from 50 years ago. Due to being favored by a renowned dancer, they once became all the rage across Belai County…]
[Ability: Graceful Dance, Infectious Charm]
[Cost: Doubled stamina consumption, and cannot be voluntarily removed until physical inability]
[File: These were the favorite pair of shoes of a famous dancer in Belai County. She once performed a record-breaking twenty-three pirouettes in one performance, captivating nearly six thousand audience members.
However, after the performance, she had to completely retire from the stage due to torn tendons. But after years of silence, she returned with the ability to dance again.
This time, her dance was no longer a solo act but would force everyone around to join in, unable to stop even if they fainted, continuing to move like puppets.]
[Assessment: Once you wear them, you’ll become the best dancer, and anyone who sees your dance will follow suit until you’re physically exhausted or your muscles tear apart.]
[Taint Value: 2.5]
…
[Name: Dehydrated Mermaid Jerky (Transformation, Elemental)]
[Appearance: The dried-out corpse of a dugong…]
[Ability: Transform into a mermaid, temporary water control]
[Cost: Cannot drink water for 48 hours]
[File: Ariele (male), a third-level accident handler at the Clearing Bureau’s Libra Division, used this anomalous item to transform into a female mermaid and infiltrate the sea race to gather intelligence, but was unexpectedly chosen by the Mermaid Prince…]
[Assessment: Quite practical ability; just a lick transforms you into a sea creature for 48 hours, but unfortunately, the taste is absolutely disgusting—like licking sweaty feet soaked in stinky tofu juice.]
[Taint Value: 1.1]
…
[Name: The Monster Under the Bed (Degeneration, Shock)]
[Appearance: A demon hand that emerges from under the bed during the night, its size and number changing depending on the bed’s size…]
[Ability: Physical damage, spread fear]
[Cost: After each use, suffer nightmares for a whole night, forcing you to confront your inner fears]
[File: A special anomalous item created by the Nightmare Black Cult, it caused quite a bit of trouble for the Clearing Bureau’s Puppy Division. It wasn’t until Jerry Beck, a Level Two Crisis Handler from the Virgo Bureau, was temporarily borrowed and drove three million ants to gnaw away all surrounding bed boards that it was…]
[Assessment: Both physical and mental harm make it a decent anomalous item, but it requires a huge bed board to form combat power, making it hard to carry around. Plus, it can only activate in the dead of night, so there are many restrictions.]
[Taint Value: 8.7]
…
After almost an hour, Leon finished investigating the pile of anomalous items on the table and recorded all relevant information. With his wrist sore from writing, he put down the pen, stretched his wrist, and sighed in thought.
The last sentence of these anomalous item files basically said the same thing—”Stolen after brief contact with Level Two Crisis Handler Jerry Beck of the Virgo Bureau.” And the identities of their previous owners varied wildly.
Ordinary people who lost control after awakening anomalies, high priests of underground cults, members of royal families from another kingdom, core employees from other divisions—even bureau directors from the Twelve Zodiac Bureaus. There was practically nothing he wouldn’t steal.
But overall, the quality of these items could only be described as average. The highest taint value among them barely exceeded 12 points, only slightly stronger than one-seventh of the miscellaneous items, and the cost of using them was quite significant. They couldn’t compare to something on the level of a Holy Spirit Pendant…
“Fantastic! Haha! This is truly… uh… I really have to thank you!”
Unaware of Leon’s thoughts, the short man was now flipping through a stack of “appraisal reports,” his face full of joy, feeling like he’d hit the jackpot this time.
His own skills were already close to those of a Level One Disaster Handler, but he fell slightly short in Leon Value. Moreover, his two strongest anomalous items were theft-related and beast-controlling ones, lacking sufficient combat strength and methods. That’s why he couldn’t pass the Level One Disaster Handler evaluation.
Once these anomalous items were appraised, selecting a few suitable ones to fill his gaps and spending half a year increasing some Leon Values, he estimated he’d soon reach the standard of a Level One Disaster Handler! “This one, this one, and this one I need to keep; these are really perfect for me.”
Selecting three appraisal reports from the stack and carefully tucking them away, the smiling short man pulled Leon’s hand, stuffed the remaining reports into his hands, and then waved grandly.
“The rest are yours to choose! Take whatever you want, and if one isn’t enough, take another!”
“I won’t hesitate then.”
Smiling and nodding, Leon took the appraisal reports and flipped through them. He realized Senior Jerry was genuinely generous. Aside from an anomalous item with a ten-point taint value that was selected, almost all high-taint-value anomalous items were still available.
But the things Senior Jerry brought for appraisal were either too costly to use conveniently or could achieve similar effects with the Holy Spirit Pendant, somewhat redundant in function.
And with his mere 2.6 taint value, he could only push two anomalous items with 1.3 taint values to their limits simultaneously or one anomalous item to the 2.6 taint value level. Not even the revived Black Goat could be fully utilized. He felt that the existing few anomalous items were enough to keep him busy.
Moreover, his physical strength wasn’t strong enough to even lift the box issued by the bureau. Several relatively useful anomalous items in this pile were rather large, and even if he claimed them, they’d just sit unused in the office… Hmm… Wait! Thinking about this, Leon couldn’t help but look at the glass plate on the table, then put down the stack of appraisal reports and tentatively asked, “Senior Jerry, was the thing inside the glass plate earlier also an anomalous item?”
Hearing Leon’s question, the short man couldn’t help but pause for a moment, thought for a bit, then nodded. “It should count as one. Three years ago, during a Mirror World invasion at the border between the Libra Division and our division, Lisa was a Mirror World creature I took in during that mission… Do you want her?”
“I’m a little interested…”
Leon nodded, somewhat embarrassedly saying, “I’ve been in the bureau for a short time, with only a two-point-something taint value, and activating anomalous items often drains my stamina. The bureau-issued box isn’t suitable for me, and I happen to need someone like her to carry things…”
Thinking about the possibility that the other might be a “Great Druid,” Leon quickly added, “Of course, I don’t necessarily need her. I just think her abilities fit perfectly. If it’s inconvenient, another replacement would work too.”
“This… it is indeed a bit inconvenient…”
After hearing Leon’s words, the short man couldn’t help but sigh in relief before explaining:
“Lisa is more of my friend than my anomalous item, so I can’t trade her… But other [Mirror Dogs] are fine.”
After speaking, he knocked on the glass plate again, summoning the golden retriever named Lisa, then rubbed his throat and exchanged a few barks with her.
After a meaningless exchange, the golden retriever in the glass plate stuck its head out of the “screen” and made a “bite” motion. Subsequently, a dazed puppy was thrown out from the glass plate.
(End of Chapter)
