Beneath Old John's Tavern, another unknown world was hidden.
Mary led Lu Yuan through a secret door disguised as a giant oak ale barrel, and they descended a rusting spiral iron staircase for a long time.
In the air, the original mixture of ale and tobacco smoke gradually vanished, replaced by the musty scent of old paper.
The underground space of the base was far larger than Lu Yuan had imagined.
Looking up, the ceiling was covered in black rock. Thick metal pipes ran alongside the stone, sprawling across the walls like blood vessels, occasionally emitting a low, rhythmic thrum.
Every few meters, explosion-proof lamps encased in wire mesh cast a pale light, illuminating the long corridor with a sickly white glow.
"Don't let your eyes wander, and keep your hands to yourself,"
Mary said as she walked ahead. Her high heels clicked sharply against the open-work iron grating of the floor.
"Any one of the things locked down here could kill you if it got out. If you don't want to become part of those warning signs on the walls, you'd better keep your curiosity in check."
Following behind her, Lu Yuan discreetly withdrew his gaze, using only his peripheral vision to scan the heavy, tightly closed iron doors on either side of the corridor.
The doors were hung with signs of various colors, some depicting twisted skulls and others marked with obscure symbols.
【Environmental Perception: Extremely high concentration of abnormal biological traces】
【Warning: Sanity check in progress... Check successful, state stable.】
Lu Yuan quickly pulled his gaze away.
This was clearly the core area where the Nightwatchers imprisoned or studied those "abnormalities."
"The hall is just ahead."
Mary pushed open a double iron door at the end of the corridor, the metal hinges letting out a tooth-grinding screech.
This was an expansive space with a very high domed ceiling.
On the wall directly facing the doors hung a massive blackboard, plastered with a dense array of commission slips.
Lu Yuan took a quick glance; most were mundane tasks like "Sewer Clearing" or "Investigation of Abnormal Noise in Sector X," and the rewards were not particularly high.
A few Nightwatchers in black trench coats and weary expressions were huddled in front of the board, talking in low voices.
Seeing Mary bring in a fresh face, they merely spared a cold glance, their eyes filled with the numbness of those accustomed to life and death, before turning back to their business.
"You're logistics personnel; that kind of work where you put your head on the line isn't for you."
Mary pointed to a room in the corner of the hall with a sign that read "Resource Management."
"In the future, you'll pick up all your assignments there. You can call the man inside 'Old Morgan'."
Mary stopped and turned to look seriously at Lu Yuan.
"Remember: speak little and do more. Old Morgan is the only transcendent in this base who has stepped onto the Knowledge Pathway, and he's also the administrator here. Anyone who walks that path is... a bit off in the head."
Lu Yuan nodded.
In this world, knowledge often came with pollution. The more learned a person was, the closer they likely were to madness.
He straightened his collar and pushed the door open.
The room was exceptionally quiet.
The four walls were lined from floor to ceiling with filing cabinets, packed with yellowing document folders.
A white-haired old man wearing thick-lensed glasses sat behind an office desk piled with clutter.
He held a magnifying glass, his face almost pressed against a black stone, seemingly studying its texture.
Hearing the door open, Old Morgan didn't even look up, his voice raspy.
"The new doctor? The kid who took a scalpel to fight a mutation?"
"I am Lu Yuan."
Lu Yuan stepped forward, stopping at a polite and safe distance.
Old Morgan finally set down the magnifying glass and slowly looked up.
Those were eyes so clouded they seemed sightless, his pupils slightly unfocused as if staring at a nonexistent point for too long.
Under that stare, Lu Yuan felt the illusion of being scrutinized on a dissection table.
"Since Mary brought you here, it means you've chosen the hardest road—the Knowledge Pathway."
Old Morgan pulled a crumpled form from a drawer and pushed it toward Lu Yuan.
"Fill this out, then pick a specialization. It's best to choose one that suits you, or your only end will be death."
Lu Yuan picked up the pen, his eyes scanning the form. It listed several branches:
【Pharmacology】: Focused on drug formulation, toxin analysis, and neutralization.
【Mechanics】: Focused on precision machinery, and the creation and repair of alchemical items.
【Anatomy】: Focused on the analysis of biological structures, insight into weaknesses, and corpse disposal.
【Eerie Lore】: Focused on the study of alien biological habits, tracing origins, and interpreting forbidden knowledge.
"Young man, a word of advice,"
Old Morgan said suddenly, his tone flat. "Knowledge is the most sacred thing, but it also contains the deepest darkness."
"Before you find your own 'path', do not try to understand things you shouldn't."
He pointed to his own clouded eyes.
"I am a tinkerer, which means I chose Mechanics."
"That is why I can understand complex mechanical blueprints and repair damaged alchemical weapons."
"But I cannot understand corpses, and I cannot hear the whispers of madmen. So don't think you can learn everything. Once you cross the line, your mind becomes 'food' for that knowledge."
"Believe me, that kind of death is far more wretched than being chewed to pieces by the monsters outside."
Lu Yuan looked at the options on the form and did not hesitate for long.
His gaze finally settled on the last option—【Eerie Lore】.
This was the direction the Nightwatchers called the "most difficult with the highest mortality rate."
It required reading a massive amount of raw records regarding the eerie, facing indescribable descriptions, and testing the limits of one's Sanity with every study session.
But for Lu Yuan, this was exactly what he needed most.
His 【Forbidden Lore - Gazer: 6.2/10】 was only a step away from leveling up.
Furthermore, the "translation" ability that had accompanied his soul's arrival allowed him to see information others could not—this was a massive advantage in itself.
If he didn't choose this, it would be a complete waste of his talent.
"I choose this one." Lu Yuan picked up the pen and circled 【Eerie Lore】.
Old Morgan paused, a flicker of surprise passing through his clouded eyes.
"Eerie Lore? Are young people these days in such a hurry to find death?"
He shook his head, seemingly mocking Lu Yuan's ignorance, but he did not stop him.
He turned and rummaged through the cabinet behind him for a moment before pulling out a small box wrapped in layers of black cloth and tossing it casually to Lu Yuan.
"Since you're looking for death, I'll grant your wish. This is your entry test."
Lu Yuan caught the box; it was ice-cold to the touch, carrying a bone-chilling frost.
"One month," Old Morgan said as he picked up his magnifying glass again, no longer looking at him.
"Go to the library on the floor below and find out what kind of creature this meat belongs to and what its characteristics are."
"If you can't figure it out, go back to being an ordinary doctor and stop wasting time here."
Lu Yuan didn't speak, merely lifting a corner of the black cloth.
Inside lay a piece of dark red tissue that looked like dried jerky.
However, the surface was covered in a thin layer of white frost that was currently emitting a cold mist.
The moment his eyes made contact, the familiar grey-white text jumped into Lu Yuan's vision:
【Witnessed muscle tissue of an ice tundra ghoul (juvenile)】
【Forbidden Lore - Gazer: +0.1】
That... was it?
Lu Yuan struggled to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching.
In the face of his cheat, this was far too simple. He didn't even need to flip through a single book.
But he couldn't let it show, or he would never be able to explain how he knew.
"One month?" Lu Yuan covered the cloth, a solemn expression on his face. "I will do my best."
Old Morgan waved his hand, as if shooing away a fly that didn't know the height of the heavens.
"The library is on the next level down."
"Remember, you can only stay there for four hours a day."
"One minute more, and you might get lost in those words, turning into a drooling idiot."
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