Chapter 57: The Agony Oath Experiment

Someone of Su Huaijin's status and position taking the trouble to tell him these words solemnly meant that Lin Xiao would never simply dismiss them as clichés or hollow motivational advice.

In his view, the crux of the statement lay in the first half: "Follow your true heart."

As for "moving forward toward the golden goal in your memories," that required no reminder at all; it was tied to his painful oath and a multitude of confusing secrets. Lin Xiao could never abandon that goal.

Yet people easily forget their true hearts. Perhaps once the true heart is lost, the golden goal in one's memory can never be realized.

Lin Xiao believed that Su Huaijin and the person who had sent the message through her were reminding him to consult his true heart before making every important decision:

What is your truest thought deep within your soul?

Now was a moment standing at a crossroads.

If you asked Lin Xiao for his truest thought right now, he would only say: You fat bastard, I want to wreck your world!

Whether through empathizing with Yue Chongguang's memories or extracting those of the cross-eyed man and Zhang Kui, Lin Xiao felt an intense disgust for that fat man.

The man had sent people to surveil and kidnap him, and had even intended to use brutal torture. This sequence of malice had long since exceeded the limits of tolerance.

Lin Xiao knew very well that even if he were to beg for mercy on his knees right now, that ruthless fat man would never let him go.

Moreover, after capturing Zhang Kui, he and Jin Baolai were already locked in a mortal struggle.

Looking at it from another angle, the potential rewards of opposing Jin Baolai seemed quite favorable.

While he wouldn't dare to actively go out and rob others, his courage to fight back in self-defense and harvest the spoils was not only present, but immense.

Tonight alone, he had harvested over four hundred thousand in cash, along with two painful memory ambers—a haul that exceeded the earnings of an entire past month.

Therefore, Lin Xiao asked his true heart: Is fear useful? Not at all!

Does taking the initiative yield rewards? Quite substantial!

Do you loathe that fellow? Absolutely!

So he turned to Yue Chongguang and said, "Jin Baolai won't let me go. This matter is already my own affair."

Yue Chongguang was about to speak when he saw Lin Xiao pointing at the "charred coal" on the ground. "I know there is danger, but you needn't worry. I am not weak, and I have the ability to protect myself."

Yue Chongguang fell silent.

Weak? Not by a long shot... He was practically absurdly strong...

He began to seriously consider whether to let Lin Xiao participate.

At that moment, Lin Xiao added another question: "During the investigation, do you truly not need a memory-path esper?"

Hearing this, Yue Chongguang made up his mind instantly. "Let's go!"

"Go?" Lin Xiao looked down at the corpse on the ground.

"You needn't worry about the body. No one comes to this ghost place for half a year." Casually, Yue Chongguang hoisted the lump of charred remains and strode toward the cave entrance.

"My men will handle it tomorrow morning. Let's find somewhere else to talk for now."

The two stepped out of the mine, and the night wind carrying fresh air rushed over them, far superior to the foul-smelling interior of the cave.

***

Yue Chongguang pulled out his car keys. "Want to ride with me?"

Lin Xiao glanced at Su Wan's expectant gaze. "I'll take her car. I'll have to trouble her to drive me back later anyway."

The little subordinate's eyes lit up instantly!

A minion who was needed by her boss was a valuable minion!

Seeing Lin Xiao make his decision, Yue Chongguang said no more. He casually tossed Zhang Kui onto the floor of the back seat.

The charred body hit the floor with a dull thud.

Lin Xiao noticed that even though Zhang Kui was wearing spirit-suppressing handcuffs, once back in an oxygen-rich environment, his necrotic tissue began to regenerate, revealing wriggling pink granulation underneath.

He had to admit that the Extraordinary Body esper ability was truly formidable, stirring a sense of envy even in Lin Xiao.

Who wouldn't want greater strength, higher speed, a longer health bar, and automatic health regeneration?

Lin Xiao gazed at the pink charred corpse with a hint of envy, but by then Yue Chongguang had already closed the car door, started the engine, and driven off first.

Amid the roar of engines, two cars drove one after the other toward the western outskirts of Donghai City. After passing through several secluded paths, Yue Chongguang's official vehicle turned into an unassuming courtyard.

Through the car window, Lin Xiao sized up the dwelling—the grayish-white walls were slightly mottled but sturdy, and a few fruit trees were scattered across the yard.

One of the peach trees was right in season, laden with heavy, pink peaches that hung all over the branches.

Between several fruit trees, a freshly washed uniform gently fluttered in the night wind on a clothesline.

Was this Yue Chongguang's home?

Lin Xiao could tell the courtyard was old yet well-kept, kept in meticulous order.

The yard only grew fruit trees that bore edible fruit, and their trunks were even used to string up a clothesline—all of which highlighted the owner's pragmatic character.

Yue Chongguang parked the car efficiently, hoisted Zhang Kui from the back seat like a sack of grain, dumped him straight into the outhouse by the courtyard gate, and casually locked the door from the outside.

Lin Xiao remained speechless.

This move inflicted minimal physical damage, but carried maximum psychological humiliation.

Yue Chongguang pushed open the wooden door of the inner room, its wooden hinges emitting a creaking sound. "Come in and talk."

Su Wan stood hesitating at the threshold, momentarily unsure of what she should do.

Lin Xiao first said to Yue Chongguang, "Miss Su is my most trusted friend, and she participated in this matter tonight. Let her come in and listen as well?"

Yue Chongguang nodded.

So Lin Xiao beckoned to her. "It's windy outside. Come on in together."

The little subordinate immediately brightened up, thinking to herself: The boss is slowly starting to accept me! He's even letting me in on his secrets!

She stepped inside briskly, not forgetting to pull the door shut behind her.

Inside Yue Chongguang's room, a dim desk lamp cast the shadows of the three figures against the mottled wall.

Lin Xiao's gaze was drawn to a spotless photo frame on the desk—the woman in the picture was clad in blood-red priestess robes.

She looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, her skin as white as snow, which made her long, narrow phoenix eyes appear even more piercing.

Upon seeing the photo, Lin Xiao's first impression wasn't beauty, even though she was easily a nine-out-of-ten stunner.

***

With the worldly experience of someone living a second life, Lin Xiao knew of only Yang Shubai who could surpass her in sheer appearance, yet this woman gave off an intensely sharp and biting aura, like an ice blade piercing through any casual romantic illusions.

Lin Xiao knew that Yue Chongguang had only one son, and his wife had passed away long ago.

Curious, he asked, "Is this your late wife? She is strikingly beautiful!"

Upon hearing this, Yue Chongguang was startled. "You mustn't speak carelessly! This is my former superior, the person I respect most in this world!"

With a trace of panic, he flipped the photo frame face down onto the desk, clearly unwilling to dwell on the subject.

At the same time, Lin Xiao acutely noticed that Su Wan, standing nearby, suddenly held her breath and widened her eyes—she recognized this woman as well.

Lin Xiao silently took note without speaking; this was not yet the time to press the question.

The three of them sat around the old wooden table, and Yue Chongguang went straight to the point. "You know about painful oaths, don't you?"

"Trading the shackles of a lifetime in exchange for ultimate power," Lin Xiao replied.

"Then you should understand that painful oaths vary from person to person, and it's hard to establish a clear pattern, right?" Yue Chongguang continued.

Lin Xiao nodded to show his understanding.

The essence of a painful oath lay in restraining desires; the harder a desire was to suppress, the more powerful the ritual it granted.

Yet the intensity of desires varied entirely from individual to individual.

For instance, a glutton like Xu Tao, who swore never to derive pleasure from eating again, might establish a tier 4 or tier 5 ritual.

If the exact same oath were sworn by someone entirely indifferent to fine food, reaching even a tier 2 ritual would be a stretch.

Furthermore, the precise wording chosen when making a painful oath held profound significance.

This reminded Lin Xiao of a joke from his past life:

When casting a "Wish Spell," one asks to become the strongest person in the entire world.

Only to be dumped into a world where they are the sole living human...

Well, you can't deny the wish was fulfilled!

In this world, figuring out how to make painful oaths more precise and how to avoid unpredictable consequences was also a difficult problem that required constant exploration.

Yue Chongguang went on, "Then tell me, do you think anyone would want to figure out the underlying rules behind this?"

Lin Xiao was shocked!

Holy crap! That was entirely possible!

Why would no one want to explore and summarize the "optimal solutions" for painful oaths?

And such exploration and categorization work would inevitably require a massive number of experimental subjects!

Lin Xiao had already guessed the true purpose of the camp where Yue Chongguang's son had been six years ago, and Camp 37 overseen by Zhang Kui...