Welcome to Lobotomy Corporation (Pseudo)

In the darkness, three dark golden icons floated silently, giving off a mysterious glow.

[Tree of Light Sapling Ability].

He had already experienced this ability in actual combat.

[Bus Projection].

He had used this function too. It could tear through the barrier between worlds and open a rift in spacetime for a short time.

Although he couldn't bring the whole bus over, he could call on people from the Limbus Bus for help.

Vergilius's earth-shaking slash still left him shaken.

Wei Zhenzu's gaze passed over the first two familiar icons and finally settled on the brand-new function at the far right.

What exactly is this [Abnormality Containment Unit]...? Wei Zhenzu wondered silently.

Taking the name literally, was it meant to hold the monsters he had defeated?

Or did it contain some special energy source of its own?

Intense curiosity drove him on.

Deep in his consciousness, he tentatively extended a tendril of mental energy and gently touched the dark golden icon.

"Ding."

A crisp, emotionless system announcement suddenly rang out deep in his mind.

The next second, Wei Zhenzu's eyes flew open.

To his horror, he found that the laws governing space around him were collapsing, and gravity had undergone a bizarre and complete reversal.

His body, which had been lying safely on the bed, became weightless in an instant.

The desk, the chair, and even Paimon, who was still fast asleep, all remained where they were. He alone felt as though the scene around him had been thrown into a high-speed washing machine, spinning and twisting wildly.

He felt himself passing through the bed beneath him, then through the floor, falling rapidly toward a deep, bottomless expanse above.

All he could hear was the howling wind and the shrill sound of machinery running.

The nauseating dizziness lasted for who knew how long.

Suddenly, the feeling of weightlessness vanished.

There was a dull thud.

Wei Zhenzu's feet landed firmly on the hard, cold floor.

He stumbled two steps, quickly shifted his weight to steady himself, then raised his head warily and surveyed his surroundings.

It was a long, shadowy corridor with a cold metallic feel.

The corridor was wide enough for two carriages to travel side by side. Rows of old fluorescent lamps overhead gave off a pale, slightly flickering light.

The walls on either side were painted a lifeless grayish white. In some places, the paint had peeled away, exposing rusty steel pipes beneath.

There wasn't the slightest movement of air. Only the pungent smell of disinfectant, mixed with a faint, unsettling scent of rust, penetrated his nostrils.

Wei Zhenzu swallowed, his gaze gradually focusing on the wall directly ahead.

A huge electronic sign hung there, glowing faintly dark red.

The screen's pixels were somewhat coarse, but the red lettering scrolling across it was almost painfully clear.

With cold detachment, it announced to the stranger who had suddenly arrived where he was.

The sign read:

[Welcome to Lobotomy Corporation (Pseudo)]

Wei Zhenzu's soft footsteps echoed through the cold corridor.

The fluorescent lights overhead flickered from time to time, casting a pale light that stretched his shadow long.

The place had copied the style of that "Lobotomy Corporation's" underground facilities exactly.

The lower walls were coated in gray-green antirust paint, yellow-and-black warning stripes ran beneath his feet, and in the corners, several employee rule sheets with curled edges and blurred writing were even pasted to the walls.

Oppressive and enclosed, the air was filled with the ever-present smell of disinfectant and a faint scent of rust.

"Tap, tap, tap."

A series of brisk, energetic footsteps came from around the corner, breaking the deathly silence.

"You're finally here, Manager."

A girl's clear, pleasant voice rang out.

Wei Zhenzu stopped and saw a girl with long brown hair and a red headband jogging toward him, clutching a thick notebook.

She wore a brown uniform trench coat over a black top, with black dress pants and brown leather shoes. An enthusiastic, earnest smile graced her face.

She came to a stop in front of Wei Zhenzu, looking a little excited, and bowed very formally.

"Nice to meet you! I'm the patron librarian of the Floor of History at the Library of Ruina... Ah, no, that's not right!"

The girl tapped herself on the head in annoyance, hurriedly opened her notebook to check it, and put on another energetic smile.

"Let me introduce myself again. In this LCE System, I'm Malkuth, head of the Control Team. I'll do my best to be your guide. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Wei Zhenzu was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help smiling.

It was actually Malkuk.

Malkuth, who was always working hard to prove herself and, though she occasionally messed up, was always full of drive.

"Hello, Malkuth." Wei Zhenzu's tone softened.

"Just call me Wei Zhenzu from now on. Can you tell me what this place is for?"

"No problem. Please follow me." Malkuth hugged her notebook and strode energetically ahead to lead the way.

"Simply put, this is a conceptual containment facility the system built for you using Golden Bough energy."

As she walked, Malkuth pointed to the areas farther down the corridor that were still shrouded in darkness.

"Although the department structure is based on Lobotomy Corporation's, the people managing them are librarians like us. However, because of energy limitations, only the Control Team I oversee has been unlocked so far. My colleagues on the other floors are still asleep. You'll need to collect more energy to awaken them."

The two continued down the corridor, and heavy containment unit doors appeared on either side.

Green safety indicators blinked on the consoles beside the doors.

"Abnormalities that you defeat in the outside world and successfully analyze will have conceptual projections generated here so their energy can be extracted."

Malkuth stopped in front of the first door and pressed a button. The reinforced glass in the door gradually became transparent.

Wei Zhenzu leaned closer to the glass and looked inside.

In the center of the dim containment unit stood a little girl, charred black all over, with sparks constantly falling from her body.