Gearmaster

Lu Yuan glanced at the figure disappearing into the shadows, then turned back to Herman.

"Are you sure you've checked everything in the warehouse?"

Herman was taken aback, clearly not following Lu Yuan's train of thought.

"What do you mean?"

"The basement was burned, but the materials above..." Lu Yuan lowered his voice. "The sandworm oil, the sandworm meat, and all those things that have been sitting there for who knows how long. The mayor was conducting experiments down there; who knows if he mixed the source of pollution into them."

Herman's expression changed.

He knew exactly what that implied.

Sandworm materials were the town's lifeblood; if they were contaminated, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"I'll have someone check immediately."

"Get someone reliable," Lu Yuan added. "Don't alert too many people to avoid causing a panic."

Herman nodded and walked quickly toward the waiting townspeople.

Lu Yuan watched him leave, and after confirming that no one else was paying attention to him, he turned and walked toward the direction where Morris had vanished.

Passing through a narrow alley between two adobe houses and rounding a low wall on the verge of collapse, he stopped behind an abandoned shack.

Morris was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, as if he had already expected Lu Yuan to follow.

"You move fast."

"Just say what you need to say," Lu Yuan stood still, his tone flat.

Morris's smile faded slightly, and his gaze became serious.

"I found it."

"What?"

"The source of pollution."

He straightened up from the wall and lowered his voice.

"To be precise, the person who created the source of pollution."

Lu Yuan's brow furrowed slightly.

"A traitor from the Ascension Society," Morris continued. "Three years ago, he defected from the capital, taking a batch of core data and experimental samples with him. The Ascension Society hunted him for two years but couldn't find a trace of him."

He paused, his lips curling into a mocking arc.

"Who would have thought he'd hide in such a backwater place? No wonder they couldn't find him."

Lu Yuan remembered the "he" mentioned in the mayor's experiment log.

There was indeed someone behind the scenes.

"What is the person's name?"

"Gregor."

Morris spat out the name with a hint of wariness in his voice.

"His alias is 'Gearmaster', one of the founding members of the mechanical augmentation faction within the Ascension Society. It's said that back in the capital, he single-handedly dismantled half a garrison's mechanical armor, nearly starting a riot."

"He was rank 2 when he defected three years ago, but now..." Morris shook his head. "Ten to one, he's already rank 3."

Rank 3.

Lu Yuan's expression grew more solemn.

The gap between rank 2 and rank 3 was not something that could be measured by numbers, let alone for someone from the mechanical augmentation side of the Ascension Society.

Lu Yuan inexplicably thought of Marcus, whose combat power was terrifyingly strong; without considering counters, he was at least rank 4.

This would be difficult to deal with.

"His entire body is mechanized, and his fighting style relies completely on those parts," Morris continued. "In a head-on clash, even if the three of us go in together, we wouldn't gain the upper hand."

"But we're prepared."

He pulled something from his shirt and spread his palm open.

It was a gear.

It was about the size of a palm, made of a blackish material, its surface covered in dense runes that faintly glowed with a dark red luster in the dim light.

At the edge of his vision, greyish-white text quietly surfaced:

【Detection target: Anti-Machinery Gear (One-time use item)】

【Traits: Upon activation, suppresses all mechanical operations within a certain range for approximately ten minutes】

【Note: Extremely effective against mechanical augmenters】

Lu Yuan looked at the gear and understood the plan.

"This thing can make his machinery malfunction?"

"More than just malfunction." Morris tucked the gear back into his shirt. "Once activated, all machinery within range will stop working. Firearms will fail, and even blunt weapons will be weakened to a certain degree."

Morris gestured with his hands.

"A range of about twenty meters is enough to cover the mayor's courtyard."

"At that point, it'll be pure physical combat."

Lu Yuan was silent for a moment.

"My Sanity hasn't fully recovered yet."

Morris froze for a second, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes.

"You didn't drink the medicine?"

"I did," Lu Yuan said calmly. "I drank it not long ago; it's still recovering."

Morris stared at him for a few seconds as if confirming he wasn't joking.

"You really have terrible luck, kid."

He sighed and pulled a small metal ring from a pocket at his waist.

The surface of the ring was engraved with complex patterns, looking like some kind of ritual implement.

"This is special equipment for us pathfinders." Morris handed the ring over. "It allows one to borrow Sanity from another to a certain extent."

Lu Yuan took it; it felt slightly heavy, and intricate runes were carved onto it.

【Detection target: Alchemical tool... analysis failed due to insufficient knowledge...】

"You're on the Knowledge Pathway? But your rank isn't high, and since your Sanity hasn't recovered, it probably wouldn't be that high even at its peak, so you should be able to barely use this," Morris explained. "This was originally a protective measure for dealing with high-intensity sources of pollution. In case someone's Sanity collapses under the pressure, others can provide temporary support to pull them back."

He paused and added:

"Heller and Vincent have them too. With you added, the total Sanity of the four of us should be enough to handle any accidents."

Lu Yuan put the ring away and mentally calculated.

He had 71 points, and the three rank 2 pathfinders must have at least sixty or seventy each for their maximum Sanity, right?

Combined, it was indeed enough.

"Where is the target now?"

"The mayor's house." Morris jerked his chin in that direction. "Heller and Vincent are keeping watch. That guy just fled there; he's likely waiting for something."

Lu Yuan recalled the experiment logs in the underground laboratory and the parasites crawling out of the mayor's chest.

"A symbiosis experiment."

"What?"

"The mayor was conducting a symbiosis experiment," Lu Yuan said as briefly as possible. "Using mutation extract to cultivate a certain parasite, trying to achieve human-insect symbiosis. That Gregor guy has been providing the mayor with materials and methods."

Morris's expression changed slightly.

"No wonder the sandworms mutated." He cursed under his breath. "This is more trouble than I thought."

"What's the plan?" Lu Yuan asked.

Morris reigned in his emotions, his expression becoming serious again.

"We move tonight. I'll contact you through the ring when it's time."

"Everyone in town will be asleep then, so we'll keep the noise down. The three of us will enter from the front to force him out. You stay on the perimeter for support and see how things go after the gear is activated."

He glanced at Lu Yuan.

"If we can handle it, you won't need to act. If an accident happens..."

"I understand."

Morris nodded, appearing satisfied with his decisiveness.

"Then it's settled."

He turned to leave but stopped after two steps.

"By the way, that old man knows too much. Once this is over, we need to find a way to make sure he doesn't talk."

Lu Yuan didn't respond.

Morris didn't expect an answer either; with a flicker of movement, he vanished into the shadows.

Lu Yuan stood in place for a while, and after confirming there were no anomalies nearby, he turned and walked back toward the warehouse.

When he returned to the warehouse, Herman was directing several people to move items.

Barrels of sandworm oil, dusty sandworm hides, and various miscellaneous materials were all being moved outside to be inspected one by one.

"How's it going?" Lu Yuan walked over and asked.

"No problems found for now." Herman wiped the sweat from his forehead. "But there's too much stuff; I'm afraid we won't finish checking tonight."

He glanced at Lu Yuan.

"Where did you go just now?"

"Walked around the perimeter," Lu Yuan's tone was very flat. "Making sure nothing was missed."

Herman nodded and didn't ask further.

The old merchant was smart; he knew what to ask and what not to ask.

Just then, a small, thin figure poked its head out from the warehouse entrance.

It was Karl.

But his state was clearly off.

His small face was pale, his eyes were red as if he had been crying.

He was huddled behind the doorframe, his gaze blankly staring at a certain spot on the ground.

It was the spot where the mayor had fallen.

Although the corpse had been burned, the charred marks remained on the ground, and the pungent smell still lingered in the air.

Herman frowned.

"Karl! Who told you to come here?"

Karl seemed startled; his whole body jerked, and tears began to stream down his face.

"I... I had a nightmare..."

His voice was trembling, and his small body was shaking as well.

"I dreamed of Grandpa Mayor... I dreamed of many worms crawling out of his chest..."

Herman sighed and walked over to pull his grandson into his arms.

"It's okay, it's okay... Those things have all been burned away; they won't be back."

Karl leaned against Herman's shoulder, sobbing silently.

Lu Yuan stood to the side, watching this scene without speaking.

"Go back for now." Lu Yuan shook his head slightly and spoke up. "The warehouse can wait until tomorrow. Karl is terrified; he needs to rest."

Herman looked up at him, seeming like he wanted to say something, but ultimately he just nodded.

"Alright."

The few of them tidied up and walked toward the town.

As they passed a row of adobe houses, Lu Yuan noticed the door of one was slightly ajar, with a dim light leaking through the crack.

"Whose house is that?" he asked casually.

"Reid's." Herman took a look and frowned. "I haven't seen him out all day; who knows what he's up to."

Lu Yuan's footsteps paused.

He remembered the young man, the purple bulges on his body, and his evasive gaze.

"No one has gone to check?"

"I sent someone to call for him, but he said he wasn't feeling well and didn't want to see anyone." Herman shook his head. "Young people... he's likely just spooked by that mutated sandworm."

Lu Yuan didn't ask further, nor did he want to say anything more; he had already given his warning, and it seemed the people here still hadn't learned their lesson.

By the time they returned to Herman's house, it was completely dark.

The sandworm oil lamps in every household were lit, their white light enveloping the town in a halo.

Martha brought dinner: stewed sandworm meat, hardtack, and a small bowl of soup.

Lu Yuan took a few bites but didn't have much of an appetite.

Karl sat in the corner and didn't touch a bite, just staring blankly at his bowl.

The little girl didn't know what had happened and tried to go over to talk to her brother, but Martha pulled her away.

The atmosphere was oppressive.

After dinner, Lu Yuan returned to his room. He didn't lie down but sat on the edge of the bed to rest his mind.

The events of the day replayed in his head.

The mayor's death.

The underground laboratory.

Gregor.

And that parasite that crawled out of the mayor's chest—no one knew where it went.

Only some newly hatched small worms were left at the scene.

And Reid...

Just then, a commotion came from outside the window.

Someone was shouting.

"Help! Someone come quickly! Reid... Reid has come out! He's not right!"