Lu Yuan pushed open the door and walked in.
His head was buzzing, as if a swarm of flies were circling his ears.
He sat by the edge of the bed and found his hands trembling uncontrollably.
His vision was somewhat blurred, and the flame of the oil lamp dragged long afterimages like some kind of writhing creature.
His mouth tasted bitter, and even swallowing saliva felt like an effort.
His Sanity was too low.
Lu Yuan picked up the kettle at the head of the bed and poured himself a cup.
When he lifted the cup to his lips, his movements froze.
Because Lu Yuan discovered something moving in the water.
Small, white insects were writhing in a mass at the bottom of the cup.
Lu Yuan frowned, poured the water out, and poured another cup.
There were still some.
There were even more insects in this cup, crowded together densely, with a few even crawling up the side of the cup.
Lu Yuan stared at the insects for a few seconds.
Then, he brought the cup to his lips and drank it all in one gulp.
There was only the taste of water in his mouth.
It was cold, with a hint of the saltiness unique to the desert.
There were no insects.
There was nothing at all.
It was a hallucination.
Lu Yuan put the cup back on the table and lay back on the bed.
Something seemed to be writhing on the ceiling as well, but he was too tired to look.
He just needed to close his eyes.
Just as his consciousness began to blur, a slight numbness came from his chest.
It was the Timekeeper.
Those two antennae seemed to have poked out again, writhing gently against the skin of his chest.
It wasn't a hallucination.
Lu Yuan could tell the difference.
Strangely, that sensation made him feel inexplicably more at ease.
Like a kind of soothing.
He didn't think much more of it and fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up again, sunlight was already filtering through the cracks in the window.
At the edge of his vision, greyish-white text quietly surfaced:
【Sanity: +12... 32/120】
The effect of the potion had worn off, and he had only recovered the amount from a normal sleep.
Lu Yuan sat up and rubbed his temples.
His head was still a bit heavy, but at least he wouldn't see those messy things anymore.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Lu Yuan?"
It was Morris's voice.
Lu Yuan was stunned for a moment.
They woke up so quickly?
"Come in."
The door was pushed open, and Morris walked in.
His face was still somewhat pale, with obvious dark circles under his eyes, but his spirits seemed decent enough.
"Sorry to disturb you." Morris stood still at the doorway, his gaze sweeping over Lu Yuan, "I heard from Herman that thanks to you last night, we made it."
Lu Yuan leaned against the head of the bed.
"It was thanks to the Anti-Machinery Gear you guys gave me; it happened to be the perfect counter for that thing."
He paused.
"I had good luck."
Morris was silent for a moment.
He walked over to the wooden stool by the bed but didn't sit down, just stood there as if weighing his words.
"Last night..." he began, his tone somewhat hesitant, "what happened?"
Lu Yuan looked at him.
"What do you want to ask?"
"My Sanity." Morris looked up, staring directly into Lu Yuan's eyes, "It was emptied."
His tone was calm, but Lu Yuan could feel what was being suppressed beneath that calm.
"It wasn't just me; it was the same for Heller and Vincent. The Sanity of the three of us was drained at the exact same time."
Morris paused, his gaze falling on Lu Yuan's wrist.
"Was there a problem with the ring?"
Lu Yuan looked down at that metal ring.
He could tell the truth.
He could tell Morris that he was the one who drained the Sanity of the three of them to activate the Timekeeper's ability.
But if he did that, he would have to explain what the Timekeeper was, why he could accommodate so much Sanity, and far too many other things.
"I don't know." Lu Yuan shook his head, his expression calm, "The situation last night was too chaotic; I only remember that when the bug lunged over, the ring suddenly turned hot, and then you all collapsed."
He paused, then looked at Morris.
"It might have been some kind of interference, or perhaps a defect in the ring itself. I'm not familiar with this thing."
Morris stared at him for a few seconds.
"...That makes sense." He nodded, "This thing was meant for emergencies anyway; it's normal for it to have some issues."
His tone was casual, as if he had accepted the explanation.
But Lu Yuan noticed that the look in Morris's eyes hadn't changed.
It wasn't the look of someone who believed him.
Lu Yuan didn't point it out, and Morris didn't press further.
There was a moment of silence between the two.
"Take this."
Morris pulled a small bottle from his coat and placed it on the wooden stool by the bed.
The pink liquid was the same as the previous bottle.
"A Sanity recovery potion; I have one bottle left."
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow.
"No need..."
"Take it." Morris interrupted him, "Additionally, I will report last night's events, and points will be credited to you. Although you are a Nightwatcher and not one of the pathfinders, the Empire's merit system is universal."
He turned toward the door.
"Heller and Vincent are still resting, and Vincent's injury still needs observation. Gregory left quite a few things behind when he tried to flee; we'll go take a look today, maybe we'll find something."
Morris stopped at the door and looked back at Lu Yuan.
"Are you coming along?"
Lu Yuan thought for a moment.
"Wait for me."
Morris nodded and walked out.
The moment the door closed, his expression changed.
Lu Yuan.
Nightwatcher.
Medical mark.
Rank 1.
Morris silently noted this information in his heart.
How could a rank 1 transcendent's Sanity be so exaggerated that it could drain three rank 2s in reverse?
He was very clear on the mechanism of that ring.
How could a mature product verified by multiple experiments suddenly malfunction?
Unless...
It wasn't a problem with the ring.
It was something Lu Yuan did himself.
But there were no traces of pollution on him; he didn't seem like an enemy.
And he had indeed saved the three of them.
There was no need to make an enemy of him.
Morris suppressed the doubts in his heart and walked toward the outside of the courtyard.
After going back, he would have to thoroughly investigate this person.
Gregory's belongings were at the Mayor's house.
But before that, they had to handle the corpse.
Lu Yuan and the others stood in the courtyard, looking at the shriveled husk on the ground.
Gregory's corpse was even more horrifying than it had been last night.
The skin was tightly adhered to the bone, as if all moisture had been drained away.
The facial muscles had completely atrophied, and the lips were cracked and turned outward, revealing blackened gums inside.
The strangest parts were the mechanical components.
Gears, connecting rods, metal pipes... things that should have been precise and shiny were now entirely rusted over, as if they had been buried underground for decades.
Morris took a look and raised an eyebrow.
Heller also frowned.
The two exchanged a look but didn't speak.
Lu Yuan stood to the side, his face calm.
He knew what the two were thinking.
This kind of death was too abnormal.
A mechanical augmenter's body would age, but not this quickly.
It was even less likely for the mechanical parts to rust away as well.
Unless... something had accelerated time.
He had used Deprivation twice last night, and the effect was more pronounced than expected.
It was a bit foolish.
But what was done was done; there was no use dwelling on it.
Lu Yuan's expression didn't change as he knelt down and began to examine the corpse.
Morris glanced at him but didn't press him.
He was quite tactful.
"There's nothing valuable on him."
Lu Yuan stood up and patted his hands.
Even if there were, it would be useless now.
Those mechanical parts were all rusted solid, and the potion bottles were either shattered or spoiled.
The effect of Deprivation was too thorough, scrapping everything on Gregory's person along with him.
"Let's go look at the things he was planning to take with him," Lu Yuan said.
The group walked into the side room of the Mayor's house, where several bundles and boxes were piled in the corner.
Morris opened one of them and rummaged through it.
"Clothing, dried rations, alchemical materials..." He shook his head at the sight, "Most of it is common stuff."
Lu Yuan didn't speak, his gaze sweeping over the items before finally landing on a leather satchel.
He walked over and opened it.
Inside was a manual with a few words written on the cover:
【symbiote】
Lu Yuan flipped to the first page.
It was Gregory's research record.
"Experiment No. 47: Refined the host selection standards, prioritizing individuals with strong physiques and weak wills; the parasitic success rate has increased significantly..."
"Experiment No. 63: The rejection issue has been basically resolved. The survival time of the new generation of larvae has been significantly extended..."
"Experiment No. 89: Cultivated the first stable symbiotic larva. Survival time exceeds two weeks, the host's mobility remains normal, and we can proceed to the next stage of testing..."
"Experiment No. 127: The parasitic matriarch's intelligence has broken through the critical point and begun to show autonomous judgment. This is a major development, but it also brings new problems; it has begun to have its own thoughts. I need to complete the symbiosis as soon as possible and use my consciousness to suppress it, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable..."
Flipping further back, it was all even more detailed records; Lu Yuan closed the manual.
So that was it.
Gregory was in a hurry to achieve symbiosis with that bug not to gain power.
It was to use his own consciousness to suppress it before it went completely out of control; this method was very much like a variant of an eerie transcendent.
Judging by this progress, he had seemed to be only one step away from success.
Unfortunately, he didn't live to see that day.
"Find anything?"
Morris's voice came from behind him.
"A research log." Lu Yuan handed him the manual, "Gregory's experiment records; you guys should find them useful."
Morris took the manual and quickly flipped through a few pages, his expression turning somewhat grim.
"This fellow was truly a madman."
"People of the Ascension Society are mostly like that." Lu Yuan was noncommittal.
Morris looked at him.
"As for the remaining things, you take your pick first, Lu Yuan."
Lu Yuan gave him a look.
"Is that alright?"
"In principle, no." Morris shrugged, "But this is Sandworm Town; principles don't reach this far."
He paused.
"Spoils of war belong to the one who made the kill; it's only natural."
Lu Yuan didn't stand on ceremony.
He walked over to the pile of belongings, his gaze sweeping over the various bottles and jars.
Most were alchemical materials, along with a few bottles of potions and some scattered mechanical parts.
He picked up a few bottles of potions that looked useful and tucked them into his coat.
Then, he noticed a leather satchel in the corner.
Opening it, most of the contents were miscellaneous items.
But hidden in a secret compartment was a badge.
Lu Yuan took it out.
It was copper and thicker than an ordinary badge. The surface was carved with a clock pattern, the hands frozen at a certain position.
There was a thin slit on the back, as if there were a hidden layer.
Lu Yuan tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.
After thinking it over, Lu Yuan tucked the badge into his coat.
"Just these."
Morris nodded.
"We'll take the rest and handle them." He looked at Lu Yuan, "Thanks for the cooperation."
Lu Yuan turned and walked outside.
"Look for me if you need anything else."
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