Hello, Xi Juan

Learning from Anomalous Item-055 that Xi Juan was right here in Site-19 came as a complete shock to Luo Shu.

He immediately perked up his ears.

"He's right here."

"Here? You mean Site-19?" Luo Shu was stunned.

He had spent months exploring Site-19 at night, familiar with every anomaly and even some of the Foundation personnel.

And now 055 was telling him that Xi Juan had been hiding here all along!

"What's his identity?"

"Anomalous Item-116."

Anomalous Item-116—The Fragile Boy!

Luo Shu felt like his brain had just exploded.

After the containment breach of Anomalous Item-049 (The Plague Doctor's Mask), Site-19 had conducted a large-scale inspection, and Luo Shu—as a Containment Expert—had been responsible for Anomalous Item-116.

Back then, Anomalous Item-116 had even spoken to him!

What had he said?

Luo Shu wasn't entirely sure, but he had a way to check.

He flipped open the Anomalous Item Catalog to Page 17 and replayed the interaction history between him and The Fragile Boy (Xi Juan).

"Sunny, melancholy, hello, no, person, truth..."

"Stairs, room, world, I, he, inform, author, goodbye..."

(Author's Note: See Chapter 48 for details.)

These were the two fragmented sentences Xi Juan had spoken to him, packed with key words.

At the time, Luo Shu had even asked Anomalous Item-055 about the word "truth."

055's response had been:

"Anomalous Item-116 ████████, he ████ truth ████."

Though Luo Shu still couldn't fully decipher that sentence, knowing that Anomalous Item-116 was Xi Juan was enough!

This was a higher-dimensional projection!

This was 682's owner!

Xi Juan's knowledge of the truth far surpassed 055's!

To be fair, Luo Shu couldn't be blamed for not realizing earlier—after all, the ability listed for Anomalous Item-116 in the Catalog was "Intelligence Reduction Aura."

Why wasn't it "Higher-Dimensional Projection"?

Giving misleading clues is unethical!

But then, recalling Anomalous Item-116's pitiful state, Luo Shu quickly understood.

When Xi Juan descended into this world, had he face-planted straight into the Capitol's white dome?

Not only had he shattered like glass, but he'd also developed a speech disorder—and been saddled with an Intelligence Reduction Aura.

So tragic.

Absolutely tragic.

If Luo Shu had to project into My Cultist Simulator in that state, he'd rather kill himself and start over.

Come to think of it, Anomalous Item-116 had tried to commit suicide—but the Foundation wouldn't allow it.

Site-19 had given him a rubber-lined room and life-support equipment, ensuring he couldn't die.

Now knowing that Xi Juan was just a few floors away, Luo Shu rushed to Sublevel 4.

The truth was within reach!

He burst into Anomalous Item-116's Unit and announced:

"Hello, Xi Juan! I met your pet lizard in Area-14."

"Gone, lizard, you, home, death, world..."

Xi Juan, still suffering from severe speech impairment, spat out another jumble of incoherent words.

This wasn't just a matter of word order—his speech was littered with red herrings, lacking any logical connection.

Though these fragments contained more keywords, Luo Shu was at a loss.

He decided to reuse his earlier strategy with 055:

"I'll ask, you answer 'Yes' or 'No.'"

But Xi Juan just stared at him blankly, seemingly uncomprehending.

Luo Shu pressed on regardless:

"Do you recognize me? I'm Luo Shu. You spoke to me last time!"

"Truth, author, past, distance, death."

Total miscommunication.

However, Luo Shu noticed that Xi Juan kept repeating the word "death."

So he echoed:

"Death?"

"Hello!"

Another non-answer.

It seemed Xi Juan had genuinely scrambled his brains during his descent into this world.

Luo Shu flipped open the Anomalous Item Catalog and hit Xi Juan with a "Cure-All" ability.

Xi Juan's pale complexion regained some color, and he let out a pleased groan.

"Can you speak properly now?"

"Beauty, ugliness, tomorrow, death."

Nope, still broken.

Luo Shu realized that Xi Juan's condition was likely psychic damage from higher-dimensional projection—something Anomalous Item-500 (Panacea) couldn't fix.

At best, the Panacea could alleviate his physical fragility, but not restore his mind.

"If you can't talk, can you at least nod or shake your head?" Luo Shu refused to give up. "Do you know me?"

Xi Juan attempted to respond—

CRACK.

His neck vertebrae snapped.

Luo Shu couldn't even tell if he'd been trying to nod or shake his head.

Facepalming, Luo Shu admitted defeat.

"Just lie still. At this rate, I might accidentally kill you."

Xi Juan looked at Luo Shu with complicated emotions, as if bursting with unspoken words.

Noticing this, Luo Shu got a new idea:

"How about answering with your eyes? Look up and down for 'yes,' left and right for 'no.' Let's try again—do you know me?"

Xi Juan responded by rolling his eyes back and passing out.

Seriously?!

You can't even move your eyes without breaking?!

Luo Shu finally understood—any attempt to answer key questions would overwhelm Xi Juan's fragile body.

He administered another "Cure-All" to ease Xi Juan's suffering.

Then, saying nothing, he simply stared into Xi Juan's eyes, trying to read his thoughts through the "windows to the soul."

But two grown men gazing deeply into each other's eyes...

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Before Xi Juan could react, Luo Shu gagged first.

This wasn't working.

It was even more frustrating than talking to 055.

And Xi Juan was suffering more than Luo Shu.

"Death!" he said again.

Internally screaming:

"I've made myself clear, haven't I?! Kill me! Let me escape this hell!"

"Sure, sure, death," Luo Shu敷衍道.

Even if he understood Xi Juan's plea, he couldn't grant it.

The truth of this world depended on Xi Juan!

Gently patting Xi Juan's shoulder, Luo Shu said:

"Rest up. I'll find a way to fix you. I'll be back. Goodbye!"

Xi Juan's heart was filled with despair.

"I don't want you to come back!"

"Just kill me! I don't want to stay in this world anymore!"