“What do they want with him?”
“To ask for something. I don't know exactly what, but their attitude is quite forceful. And it's not just Klaus they're looking for; several nuns have been appearing frequently at the branch lately. They wander around, sometimes taking a lap through logistics, sometimes hanging around the main building.”
“They come to logistics too?” Lu Yuan glanced at her.
“They’ve been here twice. They’re polite when they speak, but those eyes of theirs scan everything.” Margaret placed an empty bottle back on the shelf, her tone cooling slightly. “I don’t like people snooping around my territory.”
“What about Glock?”
“He’s very unhappy. But Klaus hasn't taken a stance yet.”
Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes.
What did the nuns want?
Items seized from the pipe network operation? Seeds? Or something else?
The two of them spent about an hour and a half preparing forty portions of Sanity potion.
Lu Yuan sealed the last bottle and stacked it into the crate.
At the edge of his vision, the greyish-white text flickered slightly.
【Pharmacology: +0.2... 34.8/50】
Preparing forty portions of Sanity potion only yielded a 0.2 increase.
For his current level of Pharmacology, the experience return rate for batch-producing medicine was already very low.
To make significant progress, he would need to prepare more complex things.
Lu Yuan didn't mind.
His main goal today wasn't to grind experience.
He casually took three bottles of basic herbal extract from the herb shelf and tucked them into his pocket.
Margaret saw him.
She rolled her eyes.
“You think helping for an hour and a half entitles you to take things?”
“Call me next time there’s work.”
“Don’t give me that.”
Lu Yuan ignored her and walked straight out of the room.
Margaret watched Lu Yuan’s departing back.
“He helped make forty bottles of medicine and only took three bottles of herbal extract? Tsk, he didn't even take the expensive ones. How polite.”
Margaret smiled after saying this, then turned back to dive into the mountain of unresolved tasks before her.
Lu Yuan returned to the second floor of his residence. He had just sat down at the experimental table when the symbiotic link began to pulse.
The Knowledge Worm was hungry again.
It had been about a day since its last feeding.
Since nothing had gone wrong after the last time, he could certainly continue.
Lu Yuan retrieved the consciousness crystal from the bottom of his toolbox.
He unwrapped the cloth.
Greyish-green and dark gold light pulsed steadily through the walls of the sampling bottle.
The Knowledge Worm crawled out from deep within his left eye.
The translucent, rice-sized worm body hovered above the sampling bottle, its colors shifting rapidly.
It didn't split this time.
It didn't try any tricks.
It waited obediently.
Lu Yuan sent a command through the symbiotic link: just a small bite, don't eat too much.
Upon hearing this, the Knowledge Worm dove into the surface of the crystal.
A few seconds later, the Knowledge Worm detached and retreated back into his eye socket.
A sense of satisfaction traveled through the symbiotic link.
It felt about seventy percent full.
At the same time, a purified feedback of knowledge flooded his consciousness.
Greyish-white text flickered at the edge of his vision.
【Forbidden Lore: Knowledge Seeker: +0.8... 37.4/100】
【Inscription (Advanced · Eerie Inscription): +0.3... 2.8/50】
【Sanity: -2... 82/120】
The experience feedback was slightly higher than last time.
His Inscription skill had also increased.
This deepened Lu Yuan's interest in the crystal.
Currently, it seemed that whatever knowledge he possessed was also present in the crystal. Moreover, this didn't even include the knowledge he hadn't learned that the Knowledge Worm had swallowed.
Perhaps behind this crystal lay a connection to something similar to the Sea of Knowledge?
Lu Yuan thought for a moment and shook his head helplessly. Regardless, he wouldn't touch this thing for the time being—at least not until he understood it better.
He re-wrapped the sampling bottle and put it back in the toolbox.
Just then, the Knowledge Worm transmitted a strange fluctuation.
It was a rapid perception, like seeing something out of the corner of one's eye but finding nothing upon looking closer.
But there was a definite direction.
It was beneath his feet.
Below the ground.
The Knowledge Worm had sensed something.
Something containing a vast amount of knowledge, and it was underground? Was the 'Abyss' about to make a new move?
Lu Yuan frowned slightly at the thought. He estimated that an exploration team for the 'Abyss' would soon be formed. Of course, Lu Yuan didn't particularly want to participate in such an operation.
The dangers of the Abyss were obvious to everyone; god only knew what else was hidden down there.
Furthermore, over the past few days, his progress in 【Guard I: 8.5/10】 meant he was only five days away from reaching level two. At that point, his 【Sanity IV (Experience): 1/120】 might finally start moving again.
It had been a long time since he’d had a real breakthrough.
While Lu Yuan was lost in thought, a knock came from downstairs.
When the door opened, it was Glock. He looked at Lu Yuan with a serious expression.
“Klaus wants you to come with me.”
“What happened?” Lu Yuan asked, following behind Glock.
“Bolen discovered something. It seems to be a major threat to the Bronze City. We need to figure it out as quickly as possible.”
Glock led Lu Yuan all the way to the second floor of the branch building.
The meeting room door was closed.
Glock pushed it open and stepped aside to let Lu Yuan in first.
It was a small room.
One long table, four chairs.
The curtains were halfway drawn, and sunlight spilled through the gaps, illuminating the tabletop.
Klaus sat at the far end of the long table.
His coat was hanging on the back of his chair, and he wore only a dark grey shirt.
Beside his hand was a cup of cold tea that he hadn't touched much.
Bolen sat to the side, his cane leaning against the table leg.
Lu Yuan and Glock took their seats.
The door closed.
Four people in the meeting.
Bolen placed an object on the table.
A copper plate.
It was the one brought back from the Grey Covenant outpost. The patterns etched on its surface glinted with a dark gold hue under the indoor light.
Beside the copper plate lay a stack of rubbing paper and a pile of handwritten analytical notes.
The handwriting in the notes was extremely dense, filled with crossings-out and revisions, with layers of ink stacked on top of each other.
This represented Bolen's three days of work.
The old man cleared his throat.
“I’ll dictate the key conclusions. Check the notes for details.”
Klaus nodded.
Bolen reached out and tapped the etched patterns on the copper plate.
“First, the copper plate and the copper pillars use the same inscription system. This has been confirmed through the verification of the pattern extensions.”
He paused.
“But there is a question that puzzles me: why does a separate copper plate exist?”
No one answered.
Bolen continued on his own.
“The copper pillars are fixed sealing facilities, massive in scale and embedded within the pipe network structure. But the copper plate is different. It is portable. The fact that it was cut into two halves suggests that the complete copper plate was an independent object.”
He pushed the rubbing paper to the center of the table.
The paper contained rubbings of all the etched patterns on the copper plate, with step-by-step analysis marked in blue ink beside them.
“My hypothesis is that once the two halves of the complete copper plate are joined, it likely serves as a credential. An access token of sorts. The holder can move freely within the coverage area of the copper pillar sealing system, unaffected by the suppression and rejection of the inscriptions.”
“Furthermore, I suspect that the Bronze City can be actively controlled. Otherwise, I really can't imagine what use this thing would have.”
“Of course, there might be other effects.” Bolen’s tone was restrained. “But the copper plate is too severely damaged; only the left half remains. Much of the information cannot be recovered. I can only offer hypotheses, not conclusions.”
Klaus didn't speak, his gaze falling on the blue annotations on the rubbing paper.
Bolen continued.
“Second.”
His finger slid from the etched patterns on the copper plate to a specific location.
A point that had been specially marked.
“The etchings on the copper plate are not an ordinary map. That specially marked location, at the bottom of City Hall, is the core of the seal.”
Bolen paused for two seconds.
“You likely understand. Whatever is being suppressed beneath the Bronze City is at that marked location.”
The room fell silent for a moment.
“I have reason to suspect that the complete copper plate can also open this seal.”
“Of course, in theory, the Imperial craftsmen wouldn't create a back door for the enemy, but the possibility does exist.”
Bolen’s gaze swept over everyone present.
“Moreover, the Grey Covenant has plenty of reasons to seek revenge against the Empire, so we must be on guard.”
Glock’s brow furrowed.
Klaus remained silent, his finger tapping lightly on the table.
Bolen turned a page in his notes.
His tone shifted, taking a different turn.
“Third. One thing must be made clear.”
He stared at the table.
“The seeds have absolutely no connection to the sealing system.”
Lu Yuan stirred slightly.
“The knowledge density structure of the seeds and the copper pillar inscription system are two completely different sets of things.” Bolen spoke slowly, weighing every word. “Combining this with my previous deduction, I have reason to suspect that the seeds were an accidental discovery made by the Grey Covenant after they infiltrated.”
He flipped his notes to another page, which showed two comparison diagrams.
“They were originally after the seal—the copper plate is proof of that—but after discovering the seeds, they may have realized that the value of those things exceeded their original goal.”
Bolen put down his notes and sat up straight.
“My recommendation is to put the research of the seeds on the schedule. Either apply for professional scholars from the imperial headquarters or simply escort the seeds out of the Bronze City to a safer location.”
He paused.
“Of course, we must also watch out for that leader of the Grey Covenant who escaped. We can't let him intercept them halfway.”
Klaus finally spoke.
“I will handle the arrangements for the seeds. Continue.”
Bolen nodded.
“One last thing, an additional discovery.”
He pulled a single sheet of white paper from his notes.
On it was a magnified diagram of an extremely minute structure.
“While analyzing the molted shell materials from the Grey Covenant, I found an anomaly.”
Bolen’s finger pointed at the diagram.
“The composition of the shell contains trace amounts of plant-like fibers.”
Lu Yuan noticed that when Klaus heard the words “plant-like fibers,” his eyelids twitched momentarily, though he masked it well.
If one hadn't been watching closely, it would have been impossible to notice.
Bolen didn't catch the detail. He continued.
“This has absolutely nothing to do with the Grey Covenant, at least in my opinion.”
The old man pushed the white paper onto the table.
“Furthermore, with my abilities, I can only tell that the stuff fell off some kind of plant. I don't know the specific structure. I suggest having a specialist from logistics check it. This might be helpful in tracking down the Grey Covenant.”
The room was quiet for a few seconds.
Klaus leaned back in his chair, remaining silent for a long time before giving out orders one by one.
“First. All analytical materials and molted shell samples are to be sealed. Only duplicates are to be kept; the originals are to be sent to my office.”
“Second.”
Klaus’s tone turned a degree colder.
“The Grey Covenant leader has still not been found.”
He paused.
“But more importantly, the runes I personally set up in the Bronze City have never been triggered.”
Glock’s expression changed.
“This means he either escaped long ago, or...” Klaus’s gaze swept over everyone in the room, “he is still hiding in the city. And someone is helping him evade detection.”
Lu Yuan thought of something.
The liquefaction and invisibility abilities granted by the Glazed Water.
The wall detection runes relied on sensing aura.
If someone had helped him scrub his residual aura beforehand, or had tampered with the detection runes...
“Clearly, there is someone in the city assisting the Grey Covenant. During this period, if any tasks are suddenly issued from the inner city, remember to ask me first,” Klaus continued.
“Third, I have already arranged for Hoguer to begin an investigation starting from the leads in the inner city, beginning with the line connected to Baron von Klein.”
Klaus stood up.
He picked up the teacup from the table, glanced at the cold tea inside, and set it back down.
“This meeting was organized on short notice. There aren't many people left in the Nightwatchers who can be fully trusted.”
“Meeting adjourned.”
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