Driver lost his footing and nearly fell to the ground.
It all felt like a dream.
In a single day, he had faced death three times.
Once when Lu Xiao had used him as bait.
Once when he had ridden in a car driven by Lu Xiao.
The last time had brought him closest to death.
Dante lit a cigarette.
"Buddy, I'm going back to change my pants first!"
"Next time there's a mission, I'll ask Doctor to let me bring you along again!"
Lu Xiao nodded, then seemed to think of something.
"Mr. Dante, are you really not considering having Prison Doctor perform that little operation?"
Dante nearly choked at Lu Xiao's words.
He turned and waved.
Driver passed the Box Experiment without any surprises.
Over those seven days, no matter how the expendables outside provoked him, he never took a single step out of the first room.
On the day he passed the Box Experiment, Lu Xiao personally made him a name badge.
The moment Driver received it, he hung it around his neck and never took it off, not even for a moment.
Lu Xiao was not someone who could sit still, either.
With no missions to go on during this time, he came to chat with Driver whenever he had nothing to do.
From Driver, he learned that Driver was a human from the same era as him.
As for Driver's beautiful wife, she really had run off with her ex.
When asked how he had fallen into the Dark Prison, Driver stammered and could not explain it clearly.
Like Lu Xiao, Driver seemed to have lost his memory.
He could not remember anything that had happened during the intervening period, either.
In any case, he had been in the Dark Prison when he woke up.
Of course, there were differences between them, too.
Lu Xiao was still human, while Driver was already a Weird Life.
Doctor had confirmed this.
"Lu! I'm glad to see you moved past it so quickly!"
Prison Doctor spoke from his chair carved from white bones.
Lu Xiao patted Driver's shoulder beside him.
"Let me introduce you. This is my new friend, Driver!"
Driver sat trembling in the chair, unable to stop his body from shaking.
The figure wearing a beaked mask, standing over three meters tall, filled him with fear from the bottom of his heart.
The aura radiating from the other skeleton also made his body shudder uncontrollably.
Ivan's voice came from inside Lu Xiao.
"Lu! Prison Doctor told me. Congratulations on making the right choice!"
"You really are a kind human who appreciates art!"
Lu Xiao felt a little embarrassed by Ivan's praise.
"Oh, not at all!"
"There are bound to be some bumps along the road to the truth!"
"Thankfully, Prison Doctor helped me see things clearly, or I might have gone astray!"
Prison Doctor nodded, looking very pleased.
Then he looked at Driver, who was sitting on pins and needles.
"My friend! You seem afraid?"
Hearing this, Lu Xiao hurried to reassure him.
"Driver! Don't be afraid. These two are my friends! They're both very kind... um... people?"
A shrill laugh rang out. It was Prison Doctor.
"Ivan, it seems our friend is a little frightened of us!"
The soul flames in Ivan's eye sockets flickered.
"My friend! Are you afraid of us?"
Driver did not dare answer. He could only sit in the chair, shaking his head over and over as he cried inwardly.
The Present World is too dangerous! I want to go back to the Dark Prison!
The sight gave Lu Xiao something of a headache.
He spoke to Prison Doctor and Ivan with a hint of apology.
"Sorry, my friend may have caught a cold. He's feeling a little unwell!"
"I'll take him back to rest first! I'll visit you two again later!"
The beak on Prison Doctor's face opened and closed, a grating voice spilling out of it.
"Lu! Have you forgotten that I'm an excellent doctor?"
"Let me give our friend a physical examination!"
Lu Xiao's eyes lit up, and he said to Driver.
"Driver, don't worry. This friend of mine is a highly skilled doctor with abundant medical ethics!"
"If you're sick, feel free to see him!"
At the end, Lu Xiao seemed to remember something and hurriedly added.
"Don't worry! His treatment is free!"
Hearing this, Driver shook his head faster than a pellet drum.
"N-no need!"
"I probably just... didn't sleep well!"
He would not dare let this man diagnose him.
When Lu Xiao brought him to see Prison Doctor, he had seen Prison Doctor's information on the little screen outside the door.
Prison Doctor spoke with a hint of regret.
"What a shame!"
"My friend! If any part of your body feels unwell, remember to come see me!"
"Yes! I'm free!"
Driver wished he would never again see Prison Doctor's face in that beaked mask.
Or that skeleton.
After Lu Xiao left with Driver.
Only then did Ivan's voice emerge from inside Prison Doctor.
"Prison Doctor! Did you sense that aura?"
Prison Doctor nodded.
"Yes! I smelled something from the depths of the Dark Prison!"
"It seems our new friend is no ordinary fellow!"
Ivan's voice rang out again.
"I'm worried that Lu..."
Prison Doctor shook his head.
"No need to worry!"
In the laboratory.
An assistant carried a lead box into Doctor's office.
"Doctor! Sequence 097-Corrupted Revolver has arrived!"
Holding a tablet Smart Brain, Doctor nodded.
"Put it into containment for now!"
The tablet Smart Brain was displaying the information on Sequence 097-Corrupted Revolver.
[Sequence number 097-The Cursed Toy Gunpowder Pistol] [Containment class: S] [Target abilities: penetration, destruction, corruption, curse] [Containment requirements: must be kept in a container made of lead; no contact with flesh permitted] [Combat capability: noncombat-type Weird Life] [PS: a cursed toy gunpowder revolver!] [PS: anyone who touches the gun will gradually suffer rotting flesh!] [PS: each discharge of the toy pistol draws flesh and blood from its wielder. Every shot causes the wielder to develop an extreme fear of a random thing or object. Duration unknown! To date, no one has lasted until the effect wore off before turning into a puddle of rotten flesh!] [PS: not recommended for combat!]
This contained object had remained in the U01 Containment Facility, ignored by everyone, because its terrifying side effects made it entirely unsuitable for combat.
After learning of Lu Xiao's terrifying cellular activity, Doctor had developed a strong interest in this contained object.
He was very curious whether Lu Xiao's cellular activity could counteract the Corrupted Revolver's side effects.
After setting down the tablet Smart Brain, Doctor looked at a huge culture dish beside his desk.
Lu Xiao's hematopoietic stem cells were being cultivated inside it.
The cells in the culture dish, originally no more than a tiny speck, had now grown to the size of a fist.
Those cells had joined together into a bizarre lump of flesh that was still writhing nonstop.
Just then, the tablet Smart Brain emitted a synthesized system voice.
"The Round Table Conference is about to begin. Please make your preparations!"
Before you continue