Chapter 51 Exploiting a Glitch
“Rule-bound anomaly?” Dart asked curiously.
Lu Xiao began to explain to Dart. “These kinds of anomalous beings generally won’t trouble you if you just ignore them!”
“Have you seen ‘The Ring’?” Lu Xiao asked.
Dart shook his head, indicating he hadn’t.
Lu Xiao fell silent for a moment, then said, “Simply put, if you hear a phone ring at midnight and you answer it, a vengeful spirit will come to claim your life! But if you don’t answer, nothing will happen.”
“These anomalous beings are bound by rules. As long as you don’t engage with them, you won’t face any trouble.”
While they were talking, the driver had already stood up. His head was twisted at a strange angle, looking extremely terrifying.
“Crack, crack, crack!”
After straightening his neck, the driver returned to the taxi.
He said with a hint of regret, “I thought it was a gift from nature, but it ended up twisting my neck!”
As an anomalous lifeform himself, the driver naturally wouldn’t die easily.
Moreover, he had lived in the Dark Prison for a long time and was familiar with many things, including this type of rule-bound anomaly.
Lu Xiao grinned broadly. “It’s not easy for you to survive so long in the Dark Prison!”
The driver shrugged. “For me, this kind of thing is almost no threat! If I’m lucky enough to encounter one of those seeking enlightenment, well, tsk tsk!”
Dart’s mind momentarily blanked.
That was just a minor incident.
The three waited a while longer before the Chainsaw Man finally returned—but empty-handed.
“Chainsaw Uncle, what happened?” Lu Xiao asked, puzzled.
The Chainsaw Man’s voice was low, tinged with regret. “They ran. Too fast!”
Hearing this, Lu Xiao felt a twinge of disappointment. He had hoped to bring back some local specialties for the doctor to try.
The driver glanced at the time. “It’s about time!”
With that, Lu Xiao gave up.
The driver then headed the car toward the location marked ‘Gate’ on the watch.
...
“Chainsaw Uncle, please look after my friend!” Outside the ‘Gate,’ Lu Xiao said farewell to the Chainsaw Man with reluctance.
The Chainsaw Man revved his chainsaw, signaling it was no problem.
Lu Xiao then looked at Dart, whose expression was somewhat dazed.
Lu Xiao patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t overthink it. Just eat well!”
With that, he opened the car door.
The driver floored the accelerator, and the vehicle passed through the white-glowing ‘Gate.’
Dart stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the ‘Gate.’
On the other side, Lu Xiao and the driver had just gotten out of the car when the doctor approached.
“Mission accomplished?” the doctor asked.
Lu Xiao patted his chest. “Rest assured, Doctor, my friend will be well taken care of. He definitely won’t starve!”
The doctor pushed up his monocle. “The investigation team members should be arriving soon!”
He then looked at Lu Xiao. “Remember to carry S097 with you!”
Though he didn’t understand why the doctor said that, Lu Xiao nodded.
After instructing Lu Xiao, the doctor turned to the driver. “You stay in the car for now, ready at any moment!”
On the ground, in the parking lot of the premier psychiatric hospital in the metropolis, four men in black suits and sunglasses descended from a luxurious limousine.
One of them had soft, long blond hair. He glanced around and smirked.
“Doctor! You didn’t expect that I’m also part of the investigation team this time, did you?”
He removed his sunglasses to reveal a handsome face—it was Adam from the Round Table meeting.
...
When Lu Xiao returned to his containment room, he was surprised to find the Omniscient Mirror mysteriously placed there.
At that moment, a face appeared on the mirror’s surface.
Curious, Lu Xiao asked, “Why are you here? Did you come on your own?”
The face shook its head. “A clever human made a deal with me.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao immediately thought of the doctor.
“Oh? What deal did the doctor make with you?”
The face didn’t answer but changed the subject. “Did you go to the Dark Prison?”
“There’s a certain aura on you that doesn’t make me uncomfortable!”
Lu Xiao smiled broadly. “Asking me questions comes at a price!”
The face was silent for a moment, then awkwardly chuckled. “You do have a sense of humor! Haven’t you forgotten my nature?”
“Omniscient!”
Lu Xiao twitched the corner of his mouth. “Then what’s the point of asking me questions?”
The face replied sheepishly, “Isn’t it to keep you from being bored and have someone to chat with?”
Suddenly, Lu Xiao’s eyes lit up. “Right! I want to ask you something!”
“In the Dark Prison, after I stabbed my heart with the bone spike, what happened?”
“What price must I pay for the answer?”
The face quickly shook its head. “Indescribable!”
Lu Xiao was dumbfounded. “I’m about to smash you right now, believe it or not?”
“Why can’t you answer any of my questions?”
“Do you suspect you’re targeting me?”
The face was momentarily speechless.
Indeed, apart from a few historical questions, it couldn’t answer any of Lu Xiao’s.
“Sorry, I have to follow the rules! If you pay the price, I’ll definitely tell you the answer!”
The face could only say this in the end.
At that moment, Lu Xiao suddenly remembered S097—the Corrupted Revolver.
“By the way! You know this revolver, right?”
He took out the exquisitely patterned revolver.
The face answered, “I know this revolver, number S097, called the Corrupted Revolver!”
Lu Xiao rubbed his hands together. “What if I ask before shooting—which part of my flesh will randomly disappear and what kind of thing will I develop an extreme fear of—what price do I pay?”
This was Lu Xiao’s clever trick to exploit a loophole: ask the Omniscient Mirror before firing, then decide if it’s worth it.
He felt brilliant.
The face’s expression stiffened.
After pondering for a long while, it said, “Those are two different questions. The price for both is one of your fingernails!”
Lu Xiao was stunned. “Can’t you pick something else? Pulling out fingernails hurts, don’t you know?”
The face was silent.
“Then what do you think would be a better price to pay?”
The face cautiously inquired.
Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao fell into thought.
After some consideration, he said uncertainly, “How about a strand of hair?”
That was the only thing he could think of that wouldn’t hurt.
Although he’d long been numb to pain, he didn’t want to keep pulling out his fingernails for no reason.
What difference would that make from a madman?
The face was silent for a moment. “It’s possible, but are you sure you don’t want to think it over again?”
As it spoke, an image appeared on the mirror’s surface.