Bolen looked at Lu Yuan.
“I don’t know the exact direction of your Knowledge Pathway, but your aura tells me you’ve dealt with the eerie quite often. In Eerie Inscription, that kind of experience and constitution is actually an advantage.”
“Furthermore...”
Bolen held up a finger.
“Eerie Inscription doesn’t require you to spend vast amounts of time researching relics, nor does it require you to be tied down to one place. What it needs is the accumulation of materials and actual combat.”
“You are a Nightwatcher.”
The old man’s tone carried a hint of obvious meaning.
“What you lack least of all is the opportunity to deal with the eerie.”
Lu Yuan fell silent.
Four directions.
Weapon Inscription—discarded. Better to pay someone than do it himself.
Large-scale Inscription—delving deep triggers the knowledge curse, locking away Forbidden Lore. Excluded.
Ancient Inscription—there is existing research, and it can reach rank 3.
It allows engraving on carriers with high knowledge density, but it binds one to Bronze City; he wouldn't be able to leave.
Eerie Inscription—a branch of a branch, disdained by the mainstream.
But his own aura had an affinity for it, and there was no shortage of materials or actual combat.
Bolen leaned back in his chair.
“Of course, this is just my opinion. You’ll have to weigh it yourself.”
Lu Yuan put the stone tablet back into his pocket and stood up.
“Thanks, Bolen.”
“Don’t be in such a hurry.”
Bolen called out to stop him.
“Regardless of which one you choose, you’d best think one thing through before making the choice.”
Lu Yuan stopped.
“Your Inscription is just a side study. Your main pathway is Knowledge. When choosing a direction, don’t pick one that conflicts with your main pathway, and don’t pick one that will tie you down until you die.”
He paused.
“Choose one that can go with you.”
Lu Yuan glanced at him.
He nodded and pushed the door open to leave.
In the hallway, Kail was leaning against the wall waiting. Seeing Lu Yuan come out, he looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Lu Yuan patted him on the shoulder without speaking and went straight upstairs.
Returning to his room on the second floor, he closed the door.
Lu Yuan sat at the desk, took the stone tablet from his pocket, and placed it before him.
The four symbols floated quietly in the morning light, no longer glowing.
His finger moved back and forth twice between the symbols for “Ancient Inscription” and “Eerie Inscription.”
Unable to leave Bronze City...
The copper pillars in the pipe network were indeed ready-made research subjects.
But what if something happened to Bronze City? What if he needed to leave?
Being tied to one place was not his style.
Lu Yuan’s finger finally stopped above “Eerie Inscription.”
He paused for two seconds.
Then he moved it back to “Ancient Inscription.”
Bolen said Ancient Inscription could engrave on mental cores.
That ability... could be used on the consciousness crystal.
But he wouldn’t be able to leave.
Lu Yuan flipped the stone tablet over and laid it face down on the table.
Two paths. Each had its own benefits.
There was no rush.
The stone tablet was still here; he could choose the direction at any time.
At the other end of the symbiotic link, the Knowledge Worm rolled over in his eye and continued to sleep.
Lu Yuan leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling outside the window.
Bronze City was very quiet in the morning light.
Three days passed.
Lu Yuan sat at the desk on the second floor of the Alchemy Workshop, flipping through his notebook.
The morning light outside the window was pleasant, shining on the open pages and making the handwriting clear.
Recipes for Sanity potions, insights from practicing Guard, several key points from the pipe network operation, and a few scattered notes comparing Inscription directions.
His gaze swept across the desk and paused on the drawer.
The stone tablet was inside. Lu Yuan still hadn't decided which direction to choose, but since he wasn't currently advancing his Inscription pathway, there was no hurry.
Nothing major had happened over the three days. His Sanity was back to full, which was the most practical good news.
For the first two days, he recovered twelve points naturally each day. Combined with the specially blended Sanity-stabilizing potions, he was fully topped off by the second night.
After maintaining a full Sanity state for over a day, one layer of his Sanity Barrier had been repaired. Going from zero to one—though it was only one layer—was better than being completely exposed.
The Knowledge Worm had also woken up.
The symbiotic link had stabilized again, and the faint perception in his left eye had returned. The Seeker ability was much clearer than before, but it still couldn't be sustained for long if he deliberately activated it; four or five seconds was the limit.
The sensation sent by the Knowledge Worm was very clear: You can use it, but don't push too hard.
His practice of Guard, however, had never ceased. He had flipped through the Knowledge Pathway Guide given by Ink no less than thirty times. In three days, it had increased by less than a point, but combined with his previous accumulation, he was about to hit the limit.
【Guard I: 7.5/10】
What would happen after hitting the limit? The book described the direction for the second stage, but those conditions were currently out of his reach.
But that was a matter for the future.
Closing the notebook, Lu Yuan stood up and stretched his wrists.
There was a sound from the first floor. Someone was coming upstairs.
The footsteps were very familiar.
Glock pushed the door open and glanced around the room without any pleasantries.
“Meeting at the branch at two this afternoon. Kraus is presiding.”
Lu Yuan looked at him.
“What is it about?”
Glock’s hand rested on the doorframe, and he hesitated for a moment.
“The copper pillars. Kraus went down to see them personally.”
Lu Yuan noticed his expression.
“Who else will be there?”
“Bolen is coming. People from the Imperial Iron Guard, the Holy Armored Army, the Ascension Society, and the Church will also be there.”
It wasn't a team briefing.
It was a formal meeting involving multiple parties.
Glock said no more, turning to head downstairs.
Lu Yuan stood by the window, his gaze falling on the horizon toward the inner city.
During these three days, he had stood by the window once every day to focus his gaze.
On one hand, it was to observe the changes in that mass above the inner city; on the other, it was to test the Knowledge Worm's endurance.
The conclusion was clear: if he deliberately activated the Seeker perception, the Knowledge Worm needed several hours to recover after each use. If the interval was too short, the worm would simply refuse to respond.
Today was the third day.
His left eye felt slightly sore. He held it for four seconds.
That mass was still there.
Several strands of indescribable colors were tangled together, writhing slowly.
When he first saw it three days ago, its range was roughly above the center of the inner city.
When he looked yesterday, the edges had expanded outward by a ring.
Today, it had expanded again.
The Knowledge Worm sent a sense of weariness.
【Sanity: -3... 117/120】
Lu Yuan rubbed his left eye and noted this change in his mind.
Three times in three days, and each time it was larger than the last.
He wondered if those people at the Polymath Tower actually knew what they were researching.
At 1:40 PM.
When Lu Yuan arrived at the branch, the door to the second-floor conference room was open.
The branch’s conference room wasn't large. A long table occupied most of the room, with four chairs on each side. A general defense map of Bronze City was pinned to the wall, its corners already curling.
One of the windows was half-open, looking out over the branch's inner courtyard; he could hear people moving things below.
Quite a few people were already seated inside.
The scale was much larger than the briefing for the inner city disappearance case.
Kraus was the same as ever, his dark shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Before him lay a file and an unfolded map of the pipe network, with several points marked in red ink.
Glock was to his right, twirling a pencil in his hand.
Hoguer leaned against the wall by the door, arms crossed. He didn't look like a primary participant but more like he was there to listen in.
Bo Er sat in the middle of the long table, quiet, with his hands on his knees.
Seeing Lu Yuan enter, he gave a slight nod.
Lu Yuan sat down next to him.
Opposite them was Bolen.
The old man leaned on his cane, with Kail standing beside him.
The cane leaned against a table leg, and his notebook was open, a finger pressed onto a certain page.
Wolf sat in the corner.
The dark red uniform of the Imperial Iron Guard was very conspicuous among the group of deep greys and blacks.
His hands were crossed, and he was silent, not speaking to anyone.
Next to Wolf was Heinrich. The Holy Armored Army captain sat perfectly upright, contrasting with Wolf’s relaxed posture.
Finally, there was a church nun.
She looked very young and sat at the very edge. Her greyish-white robes were out of place among the others. She didn't introduce herself, and no one introduced her.
Lu Yuan focused his gaze on Wolf for a moment.
He was the same as ever—silent, sitting in the corner with a calm expression.
But his complexion was a bit worse than when they last met.
His eye sockets were a bit deeper, and his skin tone was a bit darker; one wouldn't notice without looking closely.
Everyone was present.
Kraus offered no pleasantries.
He spoke directly.
“A lot has happened recently. Since everyone is here today, I’ll give a unified report on the situation.”
He opened the file before him.
“First, the overall situation.”
Kraus didn't speak fast, but he was very organized.
“Over half a month ago, ground subsidence occurred in multiple locations across Bronze City. It was most severe in the inner city, with three large-scale sinkholes. There were also several smaller ones in the North Ward and the southwest of the outer city.”
“After the subsidence occurred, a large number of ghouls swarmed out from underground. The Nightwatchers suffered over ten casualties, with several teams severely depleted. The Guardian intervened to stabilize the situation.”
He paused.
“The sinkholes in the outer city are currently under control, and repair work is underway. However, the three sinkholes in the inner city are irreversible. Large-scale voids exist underground, and as of now, we still do not know when these voids formed or for what reason.”
“Bronze City has stood for hundreds of years, and there has never been a subsidence event. This is the first.”
He paused.
“In the process of investigating the sinkholes, we discovered something even more important.”
Kraus looked up from the file, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
“The copper pillars.”
“Deep beneath Bronze City, there exist large-scale copper columnar structures with complete runic arrays engraved on their surfaces. This is something that has never been recorded in detail in any previous archives.”
The conference room was silent for a few seconds.
Bolen’s finger tapped lightly on his notebook, but he did not speak.
Kraus continued.
“Near the inner city sinkholes, the existence of these copper pillars has been preliminarily confirmed. The exact number and distribution are still under investigation.”
He turned a page.
“Now, regarding the North Ward. Among the outer city sinkhole sites, the situation in the North Ward was the most unique.”
“During the initial investigation, we discovered a large-scale contamination of hyphae in the pipe network layer beneath the North Ward sinkhole. The hyphae penetrated surface facilities through the vertical shafts; two shafts were breached, and the surface contamination covered three blocks at its peak.”
His gaze fell on Lu Yuan.
“The situation in the deep layers of the pipe network was discovered through a joint exploration by the Nightwatchers, the Imperial Iron Guard, and the Holy Armored Army.”
Kraus gave a brief summary.
After the joint action pushed to the entrance of the vault, Lu Yuan went deep into the innermost part alone, discovered the hyphae core, and destroyed it. At the same time, copper pillars were also discovered at the deepest part of the pipe network, their runes severely eroded by the hyphae roots.
He didn't provide too many details. But everyone present understood the weight of it.
“I personally went down into the pipe network three days ago and confirmed Lu Yuan’s report.”
Kraus’s voice was steady.
“The core was indeed destroyed. The hyphae network has completely died off, and the cleanup of the pipe network layer is almost finished.”
“However, the pipe network layer cannot be considered safe yet. Large amounts of pollution remain in the deep layers and are currently being cleared.”
“During the cleanup, several smaller copper pillars were discovered. According to Bolen’s preliminary assessment, they belong to the same inscription system as the main copper pillars.”
Bolen nodded without adding anything.
Kraus’s gaze swept around the room.
“There are copper pillars in the pipe network of the North Ward. What about the pipe networks in other districts? What about beneath the inner city sinkholes?”
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