### *Chapter 42: The Cleaners*
In less than about thirty minutes, a large group of Cleaners, wrapped in bandages and wielding two hooks connected to tanks on their backs, walked into the nightclub that could no longer be called a building.
During this time, Ye Lan had already collected all the An and other valuables he could find in the nightclub, all packed into a large backpack at his feet.
"1-9-5-3-2-6-2-2."
"8-3-8-8-2-5-2-4."
These Cleaners, who hid their inhuman features behind masks and armor, communicated with each other, evaluating the man in the suit before them in a unique numerical language.
In fact, perhaps only the Head and Angela in the entire City could communicate with these Cleaners, and even the Head might not use language to do so. Their special numerical language was not something an ordinary person could decipher. Only a non-human intellect like Angela could possibly translate it.
Of course, from this day forward, perhaps Ye Lan could be added to the list of those who could understand the Cleaners' language. His still-unnamed E.G.O. ring worked its magic again, turning the Cleaners' language into something he could understand.
Honestly, with the effects it had shown so far, Ye Lan was tempted to call it the One Ring of Sauron. And you know, looking at the effects it had displayed, it really did resemble the One Ring.
Thinking about this, Ye Lan almost laughed out loud in front of the Cleaners in their own language, but he managed to hold it in.
And what the Cleaners had just said, translated, meant:
"Big brother, that man is strange."
"Everyone be careful, he feels strong."
"Ahem," Ye Lan cleared his throat and said to the group of Cleaners, "Gentlemen, before we fight, would you be willing to have a chat with me?"
"You... are you family?"
The lead Cleaner was astonished by the language Ye Lan spoke, for a moment even forgetting his etiquette.
Ye Lan spread his arms wide, showing his appearance to the Cleaners, and said to the leader, "How could that be? Look at me, I'm completely different from you."
"But you speak our language. I've never seen anyone who isn't family speak our language."
"It's incredible, neighbors. This gentleman here is not our family, but he can speak the same language as us."
"I know. This is the first time I've spoken normally to someone who isn't family."
Several Cleaners began to talk excitedly. They were all amazed by Ye Lan, even forgetting for a moment that it was the Backstreets Deep Night and they needed to gather more food for their family.
"Alright, gentlemen. Isn't it the Backstreets Deep Night? Hurry up and decide whether you want to fight me or ignore me and continue to the other end of the street."
Ye Lan paid no mind to their threats and even found an unbroken bottle of whiskey behind the nightclub bar, pouring himself a glass right in front of the neighbors.
The sound of the ice puck falling into the glass startled the still-conversing Cleaners. They needed to make a decision for the sake of food and shelter.
"Sir who speaks our language, we have decided to leave this place." The lead Cleaner, the one who was called "big brother" at the beginning, bowed to Ye Lan and gestured for the other Cleaners to go on ahead and continue clearing the other corpses and living beings on this street.
Before leaving, the leader of the Cleaners said to Ye Lan, "Sir, my name is Ethan. Thank you for not choosing to harm my family. May we Cleaners know your name?"
"My name is Ye Lan. I was just talking to you out of curiosity about my own power. I think this will be the last time we meet."
The Cleaner named Ethan said his goodbyes to Ye Lan and returned to his neighbors' ranks, continuing to direct them to clean up the bodies left by the Southern Thumb.
Ye Lan, on the other hand, picked up the large backpack filled with the wealth he had plundered from the Thumb branch and walked in the opposite direction of the Cleaners. There was also an exit from this Backstreet in that direction. He planned to go back to Backstreet 10, first to exchange this wealth for numbers in his account, then to go to the hotel where Luna was staying to catch up on sleep.
That guy Roland, with his injuries, wouldn't be able to fight again today, at least. Ye Lan calculated the time of Roland's next attack in his head while hailing a taxi that hadn't finished its shift or had just started.
"District 10. The entrance will do."
Lying down in the back seat, Ye Lan said no more. The taxi driver nodded silently in the rearview mirror and started the car.
The taxi drove quietly, and both Ye Lan and the driver in the car were silent for a while. For Ye Lan, who had once lived on Earth, this was a very unique experience. In the city he had lived in, or rather in every city in that country, taxi drivers were quite talkative.
But this was convenient for him to think about the Cleaners.
In Lobotomy Corporation, the Cleaners' ordeal level was Noon, and their color was Indigo. Among all the ordeals, this was the most unique color. Because the Indigo ordeal only had a Noon level.
Correspondingly, the Amber ordeal was the only one that didn't have a Noon level. From the names of the Amber ordeals—Fresh Food, Food Chain, and Eternal Feast—this type of ordeal, which could directly point to the apocalypse, was mostly related to appetite.
And its image was also that of some kind of insectoid race. The Amber Midnight, a scene from the apocalypse, was also presented in the company facility in the form of an insect nest.
And the Cleaners, in the social structure of the City, were very similar to a swarm of insects. In Ye Lan's past life, many players believed that the Cleaners were an insect swarm controlled by the Head through some means, who had come to recognize their own race as human.
This prevented them from evolving towards the apocalypse, which was why they appeared as the unique Indigo ordeal in Lobotomy Corporation.
"Arrived... cash, or card..."
The jolt of the taxi stopping startled Ye Lan from his thoughts. The driver, who hadn't said a word the entire way, asked Ye Lan for the fare in a hoarse and slow voice.
Ye Lan asked him, "How much?"
However, the driver didn't answer his question, merely repeating what he had just said:
"Arrived... cash, or card..."
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