The air was filled with a faint scent of medicinal herbs and ink, the lingering traces of scholars who spent years studying.
"Start from the first floor and check every level." Miller stopped and turned to look at his team.
"If you see anything abnormal, report it immediately. Do not disturb the students and do not enter the rooms. This is just a patrol, understood?"
"Understood," the team members replied in low voices.
Miller nodded slightly and turned to lead the way down the corridor.
Every time he passed a room, he would peer through the crack in the door or give it a light knock.
He would explain that the Nightwatchers were increasing patrols tonight to ensure student safety.
The students visibly relaxed upon seeing the Nightwatchers, many stating that everything was fine there.
Miller nodded and continued forward. Lu Yuan followed at the back of the group, his gaze sweeping over every room.
Through the door cracks, he saw students writing at desks, the nibs of their pens scratching across paper with a rustling sound.
Some students sat on their beds reading, their gazes focused and completely immersed in the worlds within their books.
Indeed, nothing seemed wrong.
The team walked from one end of the corridor to the other without finding any abnormalities.
Miller led the team upstairs to continue the patrol. On the second floor, third floor, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh, the situation was much the same.
Most students were already resting, and they expressed joy at the Nightwatchers' increased patrol presence.
Of course, he occasionally saw someone conducting experiments in their dormitory, desks covered in bottles and jars that emitted strange odors.
The magic lamps in the corridors emitted a soft glow, illuminating every corner.
Everything was normal; no anomalies were found. Miller's expression relaxed slightly, and the other Nightwatchers in the team followed suit.
But Lu Yuan remained vigilant. Throughout the patrol, grey-white text occasionally flickered at the edge of his vision:
【Weak source of mental contamination detected】
These prompts mostly appeared near dorms where experiments were still being conducted; it was likely contamination brought by experimental materials.
But even so, Lu Yuan did not dare let his guard down.
The team reached the end of the seventh floor, where a staircase led to the eighth floor.
"To the eighth floor, the last level."
Miller looked back at the team and then took the lead upstairs.
The moment Lu Yuan stepped onto the stairs, the grey-white text flickered at the edge of his vision once again:
【Source of mental contamination detected】
Lu Yuan's footsteps paused as he looked up toward the top of the stairs.
Under the bright light of the magic lamps, nothing could be seen.
Only the sound of his teammates' footsteps echoed in the stairwell.
Lu Yuan took a deep breath, quietly gripping the revolver at his waist as he followed the team further up.
The eighth-floor corridor was just like the ones below, bright and tidy.
The magic lamps emitted a soft glow, illuminating every corner.
But it was very quiet here; it seemed the students had all gone to rest.
Everything still appeared normal.
But Lu Yuan's heart sank further and further.
Because the grey-white text flickered again:
【Weak source of mental contamination detected】
【Weak source of mental contamination detected】
Lu Yuan stopped in his tracks and looked around.
The corridor was empty, with no anomalies in sight.
But clearly, something was wrong with a student on this floor.
"What's wrong?"
Miller noticed Lu Yuan had stopped and turned to ask.
"Nothing," Lu Yuan shook his head.
Miller frowned but didn't ask further. He turned and continued leading the team. "Keep up."
At that moment, hurried footsteps came from around the corner of the corridor.
Everyone turned their heads.
Two students rushed out from around the corner.
They were covered in blood, their clothes were tattered, and their faces were deathly pale.
One student collapsed to the ground, propping himself up with his hands while gasping for breath.
The other leaned against the wall, stumbling forward.
"What happened?" Miller immediately moved forward, reaching out to help the student on the ground.
Two other Nightwatchers also approached, preparing to check their injuries.
But Lu Yuan stayed where he was, his gaze fixed tightly on the two students.
He saw it.
The students' eyes were hollow, devoid of any emotion.
Their movements were too stiff, like marionettes.
The bloodstains on their bodies were also unnaturally distributed.
At the edge of his vision, the grey-white text jumped frantically:
【Contamination source detected; immediate evacuation suggested】
Lu Yuan drew his gun in an instant.
"Watch out!" he shouted, pulling the trigger at the same time.
Bang!
The gunshot exploded in the corridor, deafeningly loud.
The bullet struck one of the "students" in the shoulder, sending blood flying.
But the "student" did not fall; instead, he let out an eerie screech.
His body began to distort, and something began squirming beneath his skin.
The other "student" suddenly pounced toward the nearest Nightwatcher, his speed staggering.
The Nightwatchers reacted, drawing their weapons one after another.
Miller swung his longsword, slashing at the pouncing "student."
The blade sliced across the "student's" chest, cutting open the skin. But there was no flesh or blood inside.
There were only dense swarms of insects.
Black insects poured out from the wound like a dark tide.
A thick stench of rot permeated the air, making one gag.
"What are these things?!" a Nightwatcher asked, his expression grim.
Lu Yuan didn't answer, pulling the trigger repeatedly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets struck the "student's" head, and the skull cracked open to reveal a hollow brain cavity.
Almost no brain was visible, only tangled clumps of pitch-black insects.
Insects poured out from the shattered skull, scurrying in all directions.
The "student's" body seemed to lose its support and finally collapsed, hitting the ground with a dull thud.
On the other side, Miller severed the other "student's" neck.
The corpse fell to the ground, and insects crawled out of the body, struggling and writhing on the floor in an attempt to crawl back inside.
But with the host's death, those exposed insects couldn't hold on for long. They soon went limp and lay motionless on the floor.
The battle was over.
The Nightwatchers gasped for breath, warily scanning their surroundings.
The corridor was a mess, with bloodstains and insect remains scattered everywhere.
"Notify the other dorms! Do not open the doors!" Miller commanded in a heavy voice.
A Nightwatcher immediately ran to the nearest room and knocked on the door.
He warned the students inside not to open their doors.
Miller approached the corpse and knelt to inspect it.
His expression became grim.
"These are... students?" another Nightwatcher leaned over, looking at the clothes on the corpse.
"Wait, this uniform... this is the Alchemy Department uniform."
Miller flipped over the corpse's collar and saw the number embroidered on it.
His face darkened even further. "This person... I've seen him. He's the student who went missing most recently. I don't recognize the other one."
The Nightwatchers looked at each other, their expressions shocked.
No matter how they looked at it, this was contamination, but this was Bronze City!
How could contamination have snuck in here?
Lu Yuan knelt down to examine the corpse.
At the edge of his vision, grey-white text appeared:
【Target detected: Polymath Tower student (hive)】
【Status: A corpse gnawed clean by insects born of knowledge; he seems to have come into contact with something he should not have.】
【Weakness: Kill the host.】
Lu Yuan saw something carved onto the skull.
Complex patterns, though dimmed, still left visible traces.
He reached out and lightly touched those rune-like marks.
【New knowledge detected... Eerie Alchemy...】
【Forbidden Lore: Seeker: +0.1】
Lu Yuan's hand paused.
'The marks inside these skulls actually contain knowledge?'
Looking at the corpse before him, a bad premonition suddenly rose in Lu Yuan's heart.
These students seemed to have been gnawed into some kind of mobile books by the insects inside them.
And these two were the ones who had recently gone missing.
If more time had passed, what would they have become?
Lu Yuan suppressed the turmoil in his heart.
He looked into the shattered skull again; it was completely empty.
There was no brain, only the remains of insects. In other words, was this knowledge truly gnawed out by insects?
"How could something like this be in Bronze City?" Miller stood up, his voice low.
"Did all the missing students turn into these things?" another Nightwatcher said through gritted teeth.
Before his voice faded, footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.
Everyone turned their heads.
Three Nightwatchers wearing higher-level uniforms approached.
The emblems on their chests were entirely golden.
This indicated their transcendent rank was at least the third rank.
Leading them was a middle-aged man with a cold expression whose gaze swept over the corpses on the ground. He walked up to Miller and asked calmly,
"Are you all alright?" His tone was light, as if he were asking about something trivial.
"Grand Captain, we—" Miller immediately stood at attention, preparing to report.
The middle-aged man raised a hand to interrupt him. "I know."
He walked over to the corpses, knelt to inspect them for a few seconds, then stood up and turned to Miller and the others.
"These two were part of the plan."
His voice was soft, but it carried an unquestionable authority.
"Record it, and shut your mouths."
The other two high-level Nightwatchers had already begun processing the scene.
One pulled out a special potion and splashed it onto the corpses.
The bodies began to decompose rapidly, turning into black ash.
The other was setting something up in the corridor; runes lit up on the floor, emitting an eerie blue light.
"Tonight's patrol ends here," the middle-aged man said, looking at Miller and his team.
"Go back. Do not mention this matter to anyone."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces. "That includes your captain."
Miller hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.
"Yes, Grand Captain."
The middle-aged man gave a slight nod and turned back to continue processing the scene.
"Let's go," Miller turned and signaled for his team to follow.
The Nightwatchers left the corridor in silence.
No one looked back.
Behind them, the glow of the runes grew brighter and brighter, enveloping the entire corridor.
Lu Yuan followed at the back of the team, pondering everything that had just happened.
Those high-level Nightwatchers had arrived too quickly.
In other words, were they the ones hunting those two students in the first place?
But with their methods, it should have been easy to kill those students.
Why let them escape on purpose?
Did they also know something?
The team walked out of the dormitory building and returned to the plaza.
Hoguer was already waiting there, his expression grim.
Miller walked over and whispered a few words.
Hoguer's frown deepened, but he didn't ask further.
He looked at everyone and said in a heavy voice,
"Something happened in the east district too."
He paused before continuing.
"Go to your quarters and rest. Stay on standby for now."
The Nightwatchers departed one by one.
Lu Yuan was also assigned a room, not far from the student dormitories.
It was a very small room.
It contained only a bed, a desk, a chair, and a small cabinet.
Lu Yuan entered the room and closed the door. He sat on the edge of the bed and checked his revolver.
Two bullets remained.
He pulled out spare bullets from his coat and reloaded.
Six rounds, full.
He took a deep breath, leaned against the headboard, and closed his eyes.
Today's events were far more complicated than he had imagined.
The disappearance cases in the Polymath Tower involved things that ran much deeper than they appeared on the surface.
The attitude of those high-level Nightwatchers, those students parasitized by insects...
It was just a pity he hadn't had time to touch the second corpse; he didn't know if that corpse was an isolated case or something more.
Lu Yuan opened his eyes and looked out the window.
The silhouette of the Polymath Tower loomed in the night, the glow of its runes flickering faintly.
He watched for a while, then looked away and closed his eyes again, preparing to rest.
Tomorrow, the conscription order should be lifted.
He could leave this place then.
Time ticked by.
The night grew deeper and deeper.
Lu Yuan's breathing gradually became steady, and his consciousness began to blur.
Just as Lu Yuan was about to fall asleep, footsteps came from outside the door.
They were light, but clear.
The footsteps stopped at his door.
Then, someone knocked.
Knock, knock, knock. Three times, steady and unhurried.
Lu Yuan opened his eyes, his hand resting on the revolver at his waist.
He stood up and walked to the door.
"Who is it?"
A voice came from outside.
It was young and carried a hint of nervousness.
"It's me, Laurina."
Rate on N.U.
