Chapter 29: The Mirror of Omniscience

Liu Mingsheng stared blankly at the confession document.

"If I plead guilty, what will my sentence be?"

The Cleaner replied without a moment's hesitation.

"With what you’ve done, the death penalty is unavoidable!"

Upon hearing the words "death penalty," Liu Mingsheng actually felt a sense of relief.

"Don't be so quick to panic. I have a question for you!"

The Cleaner reached into his pocket, pulled out a pair of sunglasses, and put them on.

"Do you want to live?"

These four words felt like a probe into his very soul. For a moment, a glimmer of life returned to Liu Mingsheng’s eyes. He nodded frantically, his voice trembling as he spoke.

"Of course I want to live! What do you want? Money?"

The Cleaner in the sunglasses shook his finger.

"I’m taking you to a place. As long as you can stay there for thirty days, you’ll be free!"

Liu Mingsheng agreed without a second thought.

"As long as I can live! Never mind thirty days, thirty years would be fine too!"

The Cleaner chuckled.

"Thirty years won't be necessary! If you’re in agreement, let’s sign an agreement."

As he spoke, he produced another document. At the top of the page, several large characters were written:

[Volunteer Recruitment]

"Sign this agreement, and you can become a glorious volunteer!"

The Cleaner looked at Liu Mingsheng with a smile. Liu Mingsheng did not hesitate to press his thumbprint at the bottom.

"What a turn of events! I’ve finally found a way through!" he muttered uncontrollably.

He had already braced himself for death, but the moment he heard he could live, his better judgment withered away. He had completely forgotten the nature of the Magic Mirror: the ending cannot be changed.

The Cleaner nodded and clapped his hands. Behind him, another Cleaner wearing sanitation worker coveralls approached, carrying a yellow vest.

"Put it on."

...

Inside the containment facility, the Magic Mirror had been secured. The Doctor was leading a team in studying it, with Lu Xiao observing from the side. Lu Xiao was curious about the mirror, and he, too, had questions he wanted to ask.

The Doctor adjusted his monocle.

"How should I address you?"

He was speaking directly to the mirror.

On the mirror's surface, a human face emerged.

"You may call me the Magic Mirror, or the Mirror of Omniscience!"

The Doctor nodded and recorded the names.

"What is the price for asking you a question?"

The face on the mirror grinned, revealing a terrifying smile.

"That counts as a question in itself! However, I’ll give you the answer to that one as a complimentary gift."

The Doctor’s face remained expressionless.

The Mirror of Omniscience replied, "The price of a question depends on the answer! If the answer to your question has a significant impact on the world, then the corresponding price will be great enough to cause a significant impact on the world as well."

The Doctor adjusted his monocle. "In other words, it requires an equivalent exchange, correct?"

"Correct," the Mirror of Omniscience replied. "You are much smarter than that fool. That fool only asked stupid questions and tried to deceive me with filthy flesh and blood."

The "fool" it referred to was none other than Liu Mingsheng.

The Doctor nodded, a light glinting through his monocle. "As it happens, I have a question. How should human technology break through its current limitations?"

The face on the mirror grinned. "The price to exchange that answer is something you humans cannot afford!"

The Doctor was not surprised by the response. He adjusted his monocle again. "Can you tell me what the price is?"

The face pondered for a moment before answering. "That counts as a second question, which requires an appropriate price! Of course, the cost won't be too high."

The Doctor nodded without speaking.

The face continued, "Sacrifice a brain filled with vast knowledge, and you can exchange it for the answer to that question!"

While Lu Xiao was still contemplating what exactly constituted a "brain filled with vast knowledge," the Doctor had already pushed his assistant toward the Mirror of Omniscience. Amidst the assistant's horrified screams, the face surged out from the mirror's surface. It opened its mouth at an impossible angle and bit the assistant's head clean off in one gulp.

The other staff members couldn't help but shudder at the sight.

"Hmm! A decent brain!"

The Doctor adjusted his monocle. "Now, what is the answer to the question?"

The face smacked its lips. "To get the answer to a technological breakthrough, you must sacrifice a god!"

Upon hearing this, the Doctor’s eyes lit up.

"Sacrifice a god? Does it have to be any specific god?"

The face wore a look of disdain. "Of course not!"

Hearing this, the Doctor’s face wore a rare expression of regret. He was regretful because the facility just happened to be holding a god—S09, the Corrupted Creator!

At this moment, the face began to tempt him.

"Do you want to know which god to sacrifice? Of course you do! That would be another question, however! But I can give you a significant discount on the answer. You only need to sacrifice one million lives to me! How about that? I’ve already given you a ninety percent discount!"

Even Lu Xiao’s face twitched involuntarily at this. But the words of the Mirror of Omniscience were like a demon's whisper, constantly lingering in the Doctor’s ear, tempting him at every moment.

The Doctor adjusted his monocle. "When the opportunity arises, I will ask you that question."

Evidently, the Doctor had managed to resist the temptation through sheer willpower. The staff members now looked at the Doctor with fear. When he had pushed the assistant toward the mirror, they hadn't seen a hint of hesitation in him.

Seeming to sense their thoughts, the Doctor looked back at them.

"The investigation results regarding Liu Guang being parasitized by the Ghost-Faced Moth have arrived," he said, his voice devoid of emotion, as if speaking of something trivial. "In the course of Liu Guang's movements over the past month, he had physical contact with him."

The "him" the Doctor referred to was the assistant who had been pushed into the mirror. However, the expressions of the staff suggested they didn't quite believe him.

"Dr. Sir! Even if there was suspicion, shouldn't the investigation procedure have been initiated?" one staff member dared to ask.

The Doctor adjusted his monocle but did not answer.

Just then, the Mirror of Omniscience spoke up. "Well? Do you need to ask me for the answer to that question?"

The Doctor replied calmly, "No."

The face looked slightly regretful. "That’s a pity! So, sir, is there anything else you would like to ask?"

The face wore a playful smile. The Doctor thought for a moment and then looked at Lu Xiao.

"S292, do you have anything you want to ask?"