Chapter 36: The Flesh Engine

Lu Xiao stared with dead-fish eyes, watching helplessly as the sharp blade lunged toward him.

At the same time, Dante, sitting in the back row, reacted with lightning speed, immediately pulling out his pistol and pressing it against the driver's head.

The blade stopped an inch from Lu Xiao’s chest.

An invisible aura radiated from Lu Xiao’s body. He had long since judged the level of the anomaly before him. The suppression of a higher-ranking entity pinned the driver in place, unable to move a muscle.

Lu Xiao’s lips curled into a gentle, friendly smile.

"Friend! If you have something to say, just say it. Why all the physical aggression?"

He extended a finger and lightly flicked the blade. The knife vibrated incessantly before shattering into countless fragments.

Dante was left dumbfounded by the scene. The driver was equally stunned, stammering, "M-my... my lord! It was my eyes that failed to recognize a superior being!"

At this point, how could he not understand that the two people before him were clearly fishing for anomalies? The driver felt an overwhelming sense of regret.

Dante picked up the half-burned cigarette butt that had fallen into his crotch. "Buddy! Is that it? Already solved?" He hadn't expected this containment mission to go so smoothly.

Lu Xiao shook his head. "Not yet. There should still be a bigger fish."

He then spoke kindly to the driver. "Don't be afraid! I won't eat you."

The driver nodded blankly.

Lu Xiao grinned. "Whatever destination you originally intended to take us to, take us there now!"

Hearing Lu Xiao's words, the driver wore a smile that looked worse than crying. "No, no! I didn't intend to take you anywhere!"

Dante interjected, "Where did all the humans who got into your car end up?"

The driver hesitated for a moment, then replied with a guilty look, "They... they were all killed by me!"

Dante had already suspected as much. When humans fell into the hands of anomalies, the outcome was rarely good.

"And their bodies?" Dante pressed.

The driver glanced hesitantly at Lu Xiao.

Lu Xiao let out a soft huff. "Although I haven't eaten low-level anomalous creatures, if you dare to lie, I wouldn't mind tasting what a low-level anomaly tastes like."

These words, reaching the driver's ears, made him tremble uncontrollably. He never dreamed that he would go out to pick up an unlucky soul only to run into a brutal powerhouse who devoured anomalies alive.

As it turned out, he was the unlucky one. He did not doubt Lu Xiao's words for a second. As an anomaly, he knew all too well why a human would possess the aura of a high-ranking entity—it must have come from consuming many such creatures. Judging by the big man's words, he even consumed high-ranking anomalies. Such a ruthless figure was merely a legend, even within their own circles.

The driver stammered, "I wouldn't dare lie! I wouldn't dare! They were indeed all killed by me! Their bodies were fed to this taxi!"

Dante was taken aback by the answer. "Fed to the car?"

Lu Xiao said nothing, only watching the driver with those dead-fish eyes. The driver felt his skin crawl under the gaze and hurriedly said, "It’s true! This car is an anomalous object!" Fearing they wouldn't believe him, he quickly added, "I'll show you!"

Dante looked at Lu Xiao, and seeing him nod, the driver opened the door, walked to the front, and popped the hood.

The two men peered under the hood. It was the engine compartment, but there was no mechanical engine there. In its place was an engine composed of flesh and blood. Dense, tangled blood vessels looked like fuel lines, appearing truly horrifying. At that moment, the flesh engine was pulsing slightly, just like the heart of the vehicle.

Dante took a deep drag of his cigarette. "What a peculiar little thing."

The driver trembled. "This car requires flesh to function. I had no choice but to hunt humans!"

Dante looked at Lu Xiao. "Buddy, what do you make of this?"

Lu Xiao mused, "No, there is the scent of another anomalous creature! And the scent makes me drool." He looked at the driver. "Where did you find this car?"

The driver blurted out, "In the Abyss! I found it in the Abyss and drove it into this world full of humans!"

Dante’s expression grew heavy. "Are you saying this car can travel freely between the Abyss and the present world?" If the car possessed this capability, it was terrifying.

The driver shook his head. "No. It was just a coincidence that I drove into the present world, and now I can't go back! This car only started needing flesh to run after it arrived in the present world; it didn't need it at all while in the Abyss!"

Dante looked at Lu Xiao. "Is he lying?"

Lu Xiao shook his head, lost in thought about something else. "When I first saw this car, I smelled three different scents on it," Lu Xiao pointed to the orange taxi. "One belongs to the car itself. Besides the driver’s scent, there is another that makes me drool. That must be a high-ranking entity of significant status, which means the driver is not the true owner of this car."

Lu Xiao analyzed calmly, "I originally thought this driver was working for that entity, which is why I said there was a bigger fish. But it seems that is not the case."

Lu Xiao wasn't concerned about whether the driver was lying. Low-level anomalies could not lie in the presence of a high-ranking one. This driver was the lowest of the low. Back in the Abyss, Lu Xiao wouldn't have even spared him a glance.

Dante pondered, "Buddy, what should we do next?"

Lu Xiao scratched his head. "Forget it! Let’s go back and ask the Doctor."

Dante nodded and opened his communicator. "Doctor! This is Dante, the mission is complete."

The Doctor’s voice came through the other end. "Very good, thank you for your hard work! Bring S292 back."

Dante nodded and looked at Lu Xiao. "The Doctor wants us to head back." Suddenly, he thought of something and pointed at the driver. "How do we deal with this anomaly?"

Lu Xiao pondered for a moment, rubbing his chin, then gave a friendly smile. "I'll drive this car back with him; you take the ambulance."

Dante didn't hesitate and nodded.

...

In the car.

"Whatever happened to that beautiful wife of yours?"

The driver looked like he was about to cry. "She died!"

"Didn't you say she was as noble as a swan?"

"I am a toad."

Lu Xiao: "..."