Lived for over a thousand years

Lu Xiao hummed thoughtfully.

"One last question!"

"I've only been in the Dark Prison for three years, but more than a thousand years have passed since the day I fell into it!"

"What happened to me during those thousand-plus years?"

At those words, even the Doctor pricked up his ears.

"According to 292, he's from the Near-Ancient Era?"

The Doctor instantly grasped the key point.

The face in the mirror shook his head frantically again.

"The price for that answer is the same as for the last one!"

Lu Xiao looked somewhat bewildered at that.

"Would this answer destroy the present world too?"

The face nodded.

After thinking for a moment, the Doctor phrased the question differently.

"Another question, then. Did he exist within the timeline of those thousand-plus years?"

At the Doctor's question, the face finally nodded.

"The answer is yes!"

He then added.

"Since this answer won't have any impact, there's no price to pay!"

The Doctor habitually moved to adjust his monocle, then froze briefly when he realized he wasn't wearing one.

Lu Xiao had also sunk into thought.

There was a lot of information in the answer to this question, and he hadn't fully digested it yet.

After a long while, the Doctor offered his analysis.

"In other words, 292 existed during those thousand-plus years!"

"The curse on him also arose during that period!"

"As for what happened during those thousand-plus years, 292 himself has no memory of it!"

"And recovering those memories is the key to breaking the curse!"

A faint gleam shone in the Doctor's eyes.

"Correct?"

The face nodded and said.

"Clever gentleman, your analysis is quite correct!"

The Doctor looked somewhat surprised by the face's reply.

"Don't I have to pay a price for you to answer that question?"

The face shook his head.

"Since you worked it out yourself, it doesn't count as a question!"

The Doctor nodded.

He now had a general understanding of the Omniscient Mirror's properties.

Lu Xiao interjected.

"So that means I've actually lived for over a thousand years?"

The face hesitated briefly before replying.

"You could understand it that way!"

Lu Xiao felt his head itching... no, aching.

After the questioning ended.

The Doctor returned to his office.

His assistant knocked and came in just then.

"Doctor! There's a call for you!"

The Doctor nodded, then took the communicator from his assistant.

"This is the Doctor!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by a deep voice.

"Doctor! Return the String Puppet!"

The Doctor refused without a second thought.

"I refuse!"

The person on the other end sounded somewhat angry at his reply.

"Doctor! 137 is a Contained Anomaly belonging to our J01 Containment Facility. How dare you refuse to return it?"

"Aren't you afraid I'll report this to the Highest Office?"

The Doctor listened patiently before replying in an even tone.

"Since 137 appeared within our borders, that means your containment failed!"

"Under the Warden Regulations, when a Contained Anomaly whose containment has failed appears on our territory, our Containment Facility has both the right and the obligation to contain it!"

The other end fell silent after hearing the Doctor's words.

Only after a long while did the voice reply heavily.

"But you know that 137's containment didn't fail!"

The Doctor replied coldly.

"Sorry! I don't know that!"

"All I know is that 137 appeared on our territory, and we contained it to prevent a Contained Anomaly from running out of control!"

"If you have any objection to this outcome, you can report it to the Highest Office for adjudication by the Standing Management Council!"

The person on the other end stammered, unable to refute him for the moment.

Under the Warden Regulations, no Prison Warden special operations team was permitted to enter another country's territory.

Otherwise, it could be regarded as an invasion.

Clearly, that was a charge the J01 Containment Facility couldn't afford to bear.

"Doctor! I'm willing to trade other Contained Anomalies for it!"

"You know how important 137 is to our J01!"

The person on the other end offered a compromise.

"Fine!"

"Really? Which Contained Anomaly do you want? I'll arrange for someone to deliver it immediately!"

The Doctor took a monocle from his desk drawer and put it on before speaking slowly.

"Sequence 012-Pen!"

"Are you messing with me?"

The person on the other end began to sputter with rage.

"Just you wait! I'll make you obediently deliver 137 back to me!"

With that, the call was abruptly disconnected.

The Doctor paid it no mind and casually tossed the communicator aside.

Then he began recording the Omniscient Mirror's properties.

[Designation: Sequence 301-Omniscient Mirror]

[Containment class: S]

[Subject abilities: suspected omniscience]

[Containment requirements: no one is permitted to approach]

[Combat capabilities: noncombat-type anomaly]

[PS: You may ask it any question, but you must pay a price commensurate with the answer!]

[PS: If you already have an answer, you may ask him to verify it. He will tell you whether it is right or wrong! This does not count as a question and requires no payment!]

[PS: Researchers below Class A are not authorized to access it!]

The Doctor then uploaded this information to the Prison Wardens' system.

Once he finished everything, he rubbed the corners of his eyes.

"Should I update Sequence 292's information?"

He murmured to himself.

After thinking it over, he abandoned the idea.

Lu Xiao's containment information remained at the previous version.

[Serial Number 292-Lost Person]

[Containment class: S]

[Subject abilities: unknown (pending research)]

[Containment requirements: do not provoke him, and provide sufficient food]

[Combat capabilities: level 1]

[PS: A human lost in the Dark Prison. Everything remains under observation. It is recommended that you do not provoke him!]

Just then, the communicator rang again.

The Doctor glanced at the communicator he had tossed aside, then answered it.

"This is the Doctor!"

A man's slightly resonant voice came through the communicator.

"Doctor! I've secured the Sequence 097-Corrupted Revolver you wanted!"

At the news, the Doctor merely gave a calm grunt of acknowledgment.

"By the way! Are the results of the investigation into that special operations team member out yet?"

"The detailed results are already out, and I've already disposed of that man!"

The voice on the other end sounded somewhat surprised.

"You've already disposed of him? Did you initiate the investigation procedure?"

The Doctor replied coldly.

"No. I sent everyone who saw it for F-Class Memory Erasure!"

The other end fell silent for a moment, and the sound of fingers tapping a desktop came through the communicator.

"Since you've already dealt with it, let it be!"

"Do you know which organization was involved behind the scenes?"

The person on the other end didn't seem particularly concerned about the Doctor acting on his own, caring more about the final result instead.

The Doctor adjusted his monocle.

"The Saints!"