Chapter 801: Provocation (Last Day of May, Begging for Monthly Votes)

Lu Mi didn't react with surprise upon hearing Gu Xin indirectly claim he was the second most dangerous man in Morola; instead, he smiled and asked:

"What have you done? I mean, what have you done in Morola?"

Gu Xin's smile faded, and he said seriously:

"Organized uprisings.

"We've all been sent to the 'City of Exile'—why should we still submit to the Rule of the Church of Knowledge? We should unite, drive the Church of Knowledge out of Morola, and then make our own rules, rule this place ourselves!"

Leaving aside other considerations, your words do make sense—but the question is, if you overthrow the Church of Knowledge's rule, why stay in Morola at all? Is this the influence of '0—01'? The residents of Morola never even consider leaving this city… Fortunately, I have the False Angelic Status, and I carry too many strange things; I'm merely reluctant to leave, not entirely without thought… Lu Mi first confirmed from Gu Xin's answer that Morola harbored anomalies, then understood why the locals deemed Gu Xin the second most dangerous man here:

Uprisings were strictly forbidden by the Church of Knowledge; combined with the '0—01' sealing records, Gu Xin must have organized multiple uprisings—and yet he was never captured, never added to the experimental personnel roster!

This alone proved the gentlemanly, mature man was no ordinary figure.

Seeing Lu Mi neither frightened nor visibly resistant, Gu Xin extended an invitation:

"Want to join our group?"

"I'll think about it," Lu Mi replied with a smile.

He genuinely intended to consider it—this might be a way to get close to '0—01' without becoming an experimental subject.

He believed this band of rabble, unable to resist even '0—01's' influence, could never truly overthrow the Church of Knowledge's rule in Morola—but he only needed chaos and opportunity.

These exiles dying meant nothing; and the Church of Knowledge's presence here seemed to consist entirely of puppets.

Gu Xin smiled in satisfaction:

"To remain a prisoner in this open-air prison, or become its ruler—to be eternally oppressed and bound, or to seek freedom—this truly deserves careful thought."

Here, Gu Xin glanced across the small square and said:

"I'll take my leave. When you've decided, hang a red cloth outside the 'Carnivore' bar—the kind used to provoke bulls."

With that, Gu Xin removed his hat, pressed his hand to his chest, and bowed.

After watching him turn calmly into a nearby alley, Lu Mi saw a squad of enforcers clad in black robes approaching from across the square.

"Did you see Gu Xin? A gentleman wearing a hat," the leader asked Lu Mi.

Lu Mi's smile slowly spread as he casually pointed toward the alley Gu Xin had vanished into:

"I saw him. He left that way."

The enforcers stared at Lu Mi for two seconds, then continued chasing Gu Xin.

Lu Mi raised his right hand, stroking his chin, murmuring silently:

"Gu Xin sensed the enforcers' arrival well in advance… and I didn't…

"Is that why he's managed to organize multiple uprisings without ever being caught?

"Ability? Artifact? Or some unique contamination from '0—01'?"

Lu Mi did not linger on the square. He bid farewell to Wei Jiepan's corpse and continued toward the possible hiding place of the 'Pus-Swollen Severed Hand's' head.

After turning onto another street, he suddenly felt a premonition and turned his gaze toward the edge of Morola.

The ground violently shook; soil and rubble surged upward in a torrent, swallowing several buildings and forming a 'mountain' barely ten meters high.

From its peak, thick dust mixed with smoke erupted, crimson lava flowed heavily, radiating heat—heat Lu Mi, standing at the city's center, could clearly feel.

At the same time, distant screams of humans echoed from that direction.

"A volcanic eruption?" Lu Mi blinked in surprise.

He had assumed the volcanic eruptions described in the '0—01' sealing records originated from the surrounding mountains; he never imagined they could occur within the city, on flat ground!

Seconds later, smoke and dust obscured the sky, plunging Morola back into gloom.

Passersby showed no extra reaction—only covered their noses to block the dust.

To them, it was merely another rainstorm.

Lu Mi shook his head, watching:

With such living conditions, how could Gu Xin and his kind never consider fleeing—only plotting to overthrow the Church of Knowledge and replace it? No wonder it's the earliest-numbered '0'-class sealed object…

Lu Mi, who restarted daily at six a. ., fearlessly pressed forward through the dust.

He crossed the current street and reached a square dotted with multiple obelisks; amid the thick dust, he moved along the surrounding buildings toward his target.

Suddenly, he felt a resonance—a resonance from his own special power.

Lu Mi spun sharply toward the classical building beside him, constructed of gray-white stone.

At its roof hung a massive sign, inscribed in Lunbao script:

"Dades Agricultural Company"

Directly beneath the sign, two glass windows flew open, revealing a figure.

The figure wore only a thin white shirt, its top two buttons undone, even in the cold winter; his hair looked dyed crimson, his eyes iron-black, his face sharply angular, age indeterminate but radiating intense sharpness.

Without introduction, Lu Mi had already confirmed the figure's identity from the Dades Agricultural Company sign and the resonance of his aura:

Morola's most dangerous criminal—the former experimental subject, Wanake!

"Was the earlier resonance caused by direct contamination from '0—01'?

"Did the Law of Aggregation bring us together like this?

"Did Wanake shed his status as an experimental subject and regain human form by fully submitting to '0—01'?

"Is he now effectively '0—01's' proxy within Morola?

"Though this sealed object lacks intelligence, it still instinctively seeks a chance to escape its seal?"

As Lu Mi's thoughts flashed, the man suspected to be Wanake suddenly transformed into a blazing spear of white-and-blue flame, hurtling toward him with a destructive aura.

Lu Mi's figure vanished instantly, never reappearing.

He had directly 'teleported' to a location closer to the 'Pus-Swollen Severed Hand's' head; his ears echoed the mocking voice of the man suspected to be Wanake:

"Coward!

"Chicken!"

Lu Mi snorted, did not turn back, and did not engage the man in battle.

First, gather the 'Pus-Swollen Severed Hand's' corpse!

He feared a fierce fight might trigger an accident, causing him to encounter '0—01' before collecting all the severed pieces—something that would render all future developments uncontrollable.

Moreover, the man suspected to be Wanake's aura and his transformation into a flame spear made Lu Mi suspect he had gained a touch of divinity—even if not yet a true Rank 4, he had already diverged fundamentally from Rank 5 Adepts.

Demigods were forbidden to approach '0—01'—but perhaps '0—01's' own pseudo-demigods were exempt!

Lu Mi turned his gaze forward and realized he had arrived within the boundless graveyard behind the Church of Knowledge, flanked by gravestones on both sides and trees ahead and behind.

"Huh…" Lu Mi paused, then thought this made perfect sense.

The 'Pus-Swollen Severed Hand's' half-body being acquired by the bar owner, a part-time cook, and put to use—that was the exception. Normal people, even hardened criminals, upon encountering a mutilated, rotting corpse, would first call the enforcers to clean up—and the enforcers would bury such remains in this graveyard, as part of the sealing.

Of course, this was based on normal circumstances; those with a fondness for corpses were not under consideration.

Lu Mi walked forward, moving toward the source of the subtle connection.

In the process, he recalled something:

"The Magician" had said that once the 'Pus-Swollen Severed Hand's' body was fully assembled, something dangerous would occur—best accomplished within the 'City of Exile,' using '0—01's' presence to offset the risk…

If I retrieve the Hand's head now, does that count as assembling it?

Would something dangerous happen then?

Should I wait a bit longer? Wait until I encounter a dangerous, unmanageable situation, then 'teleport' here to reunite the Hand's body—deliberately creating unknown risks to stir the waters?

I shouldn't be the only one facing the danger the Hand brings—people must learn to share…

Also, the Magician's words implied the Hand could use the changes from his body's reunion to break free from the seal and enter Morola?

Otherwise, why say "assembling"?

Normally, he couldn't even summon a messenger—or a pact creature…

This might help me escape Morola…

As Lu Mi's thoughts swirled, he stopped before a freshly filled grave, still without a headstone.

His pact mark told him a portion of the 'Pus-Swollen Severed Hand's' corpse lay within this pit.

Gazing at the unnaturally fresh marks on the pit's surface, Lu Mi tightened his grip, crouched down, and extended his hands to perform a directional explosion.

Amid deep, rumbling detonations, he blasted away tons of soil and unearthed a black wooden box from the pit's bottom.

Opening the box, Lu Mi saw a highly decayed, swollen, bluish-black ear, and a folded white sheet of paper.

Lu Mi unfolded the paper and saw it written in Intis script:

"You clearly wanted this rotten head.

"But unfortunately, before I reached the 'Carnivore' bar, I already obtained it and hid it away.

"Perhaps you could beg me.

"Albus Medich."

ps: Last day of May, begging for monthly votes~

ps2: "I Run a Monster Inn"

Synopsis: Strange conspiracies, tragic fates. Crows whisper. Demons roar. Li Yang raises his three-meter-long cleaver and grins: "Welcome to Monster Inn!"

(End of Chapter)