Chapter 32: That Glimmer of Light
“Is it the Saints again?”
“Right! Is that investigator also one of the Saints?”
The Doctor adjusted his monocle.
“If he is one of the Saints as well, then we Jailers might as well disband on the spot!”
There was a brief silence on the other end of the communicator.
The Doctor continued.
“Although Enzo isn’t one of the Saints, he is a vampire!”
“That much is already a fact. It seems there are some serious problems within our ranks!”
The Doctor’s gaze was as sharp as a knife.
“We’ve already begun an investigation into the U01 Containment Facility. We should have the results in the next few days!”
“When the time comes, the Standing Administrative Council will convene a Round Table Meeting to announce the findings!”
The Doctor spoke softly.
“Will I need to cooperate with anything during the Round Table Meeting?”
The sound of fingers tapping on a desk came through the communicator once again.
“There was some unpleasantness between you and them when we were trying to secure S097!”
“They’ll probably target you during the meeting. Respond as circumstances dictate!”
“But S09 must not be handed over to them!”
At that, the Doctor merely replied淡ently,
“I know what to say.”
……
“Captain! Are we really going to see that guy?”
“Can I stay behind?”
Slick looked at Dart with some hesitation.
Before Dart could say anything, Radiant let out a cold snort.
“What are you afraid of? It’s not as if he’s going to eat you.”
Slick nodded emphatically.
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of!”
Radiant was rendered speechless.
“He saved our lives. Isn’t it only right that we go and thank him?”
“Besides, apart from being a little terrifying…”
As he spoke, Radiant himself began to lose heart.
He thought for a long time, yet still couldn’t figure out how to describe Lu Xiao.
Dart said gravely, “Stop imagining things. S292 bears no ill will toward humans.”
Then he turned to Radiant.
“Especially you. S292 has saved your life three times, if anything.”
The first time had been at the Prison Doctor’s clinic. Lu Xiao had brought him back, allowing the Prison Doctor to remove the Ghost-Face Moth parasitizing his body.
Then there was the incident involving Enzo, a member of the investigation team, and the time Lu Xiao had subdued the Puppet Master in the villa estate.
The entire City of Fire Squad could be said to owe Lu Xiao two lives apiece.
Rainy curled her lip.
“You’re both grown men. Why are you acting like a couple of timid girls?”
“Mr. Lu is actually a pretty good person!”
“Of course, he’d be even better if he didn’t act so bizarrely!”
Without realizing it, Rainy had already become one of Lu Xiao’s biggest admirers.
As they spoke, they arrived at the entrance to Lu Xiao’s containment room.
Dart raised his hand and pressed the doorbell.
The door opened soon after, and Lu Xiao appeared before them with a weary, dejected expression.
He lifted his head and glanced at the members of the squad. His lifeless, fishlike eyes made everyone’s skin crawl.
In the end, Dart said solemnly, “Salute!”
At once, the squad members snapped to attention. Then they clenched their right fists and pressed them against the left side of their chests.
Lu Xiao was rather baffled.
However, he did not dwell on it. Instead, he sat back down on the bed.
The Omniscient Mirror’s words had affected him deeply.
According to the Prison Doctor’s diagnosis, the curse would ultimately transform him into a pool of rotting flesh with no mind, possessing only instinct.
Faced with that outcome, Lu Xiao was somewhat panicked.
Between becoming a pool of rotting flesh and simply dying, death was far easier to accept.
Lu Xiao trusted the Prison Doctor, but he had never doubted the Omniscient Mirror either.
Now, he found himself caught in a dilemma.
“I still have a year left. Should I trade with the Omniscient Mirror for the answer?”
His resolve began to waver.
Seeing this, Rainy moved closer.
“Mr. Lu, is something troubling you?”
Lu Xiao nodded.
“My friend, the Prison Doctor, told me that I have only one year left.”
“After that year, I’ll become a pool of rotting flesh with no mind, guided only by instinct!”
Everyone present froze.
“That sudden?” Slick blurted out.
Dart slapped him on the back of the head.
Slick realized that this was clearly not the time for wisecracks and promptly fell silent.
“Is there a way to solve it?” Rainy asked worriedly.
Lu Xiao nodded.
“The Omniscient Mirror knows how to solve it. It’s just that the price for obtaining the answer is a little… enormous.”
Rainy asked curiously, “What price?”
“The sacrifice of the entire living world.”
Lu Xiao’s words were like a stone dropped into water, sending ripples spreading in every direction.
Slick stammered, “Buddy… so you like joking around too?”
Radiant narrowed his eyes.
“So, Mr. Lu, do you intend to trade for the answer?”
Lu Xiao shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“Mainly because I can’t really accept that outcome.”
“If it were merely death, I wouldn’t care.”
“After spending three years in the Dark Prison, I’ve long since become no different from a dead man.”
Those were Lu Xiao’s true feelings.
His lifeless eyes seemed steeped in the weariness of twilight.
Rainy felt a pang of sorrow.
“How could this happen?”
She had no idea what Lu Xiao had endured in the Dark Prison, but after finally returning to the human world, he had been met with such a cruel twist of fate.
Radiant said with utmost seriousness, “Mr. Lu, first of all, I’m deeply grateful that you saved my life three times.”
“But I cannot accept the state you’re in now!”
“You just said that you still have a year left.”
“Why not make the most of that remaining year and let your life shine?”
As he spoke, his voice grew increasingly impassioned.
“Do you know why my codename is Radiant?”
Lu Xiao shook his head.
“Sorry. I’m not interested.”
Radiant nearly choked on the reply, but he continued nonetheless.
“If the world falls into darkness, humanity will need light!”
“I’m willing to become the light that illuminates the world, even if I shine only for an instant!”
His speech was rousing and impassioned, enough to set one’s blood racing.
But Lu Xiao’s confusion could not be dispelled by a few stirring words.
He merely raised his head and cast Radiant a detached glance, saying nothing.
Dart found the sight troubling as well.
He knew more than Radiant and the others did. What worried him was the choice Lu Xiao might make.
If Lu Xiao chose to trade for the answer—even if he merely showed signs of leaning in that direction—the Jailers would absolutely move to eliminate him.
Lu Xiao was powerful, but if the Jailers truly wanted to kill him, it would not be difficult.
Dart did not want Lu Xiao to meet such an end.
It would be unfair to him.
He scratched the back of his head, which had begun to itch.
“Mr. Lu, have you asked the Prison Doctor for his opinion?”
At those words, Lu Xiao abruptly raised his head.
Seeing this, Dart continued.
“It’s obvious that you’re lost right now. You need the guidance of a wise man.”
“I think the Prison Doctor would be more than willing to take on that role.”