Lu Yuan was stung awake by the aura of the light river.
The curtains weren't closed tightly, and the light leaking through the gap came in two colors.
One was the greyish-white of early morning, and the other was the faint purple residue of the light river.
The two lights intertwined on the floor, looking somewhat surreal.
Lu Yuan lay in bed for a few seconds.
His physical state was alright. His mind was clearer than yesterday, and the dull pain brought by several days of high-intensity engraving had mostly receded.
At the edge of his vision, greyish-white text flickered.
【Sanity: +12... 67/120】
Not high.
But enough.
Lu Yuan sat up, not in a hurry to get out of bed.
He leaned against the headboard, closed his eyes, and adjusted his breathing.
Guard.
Ever since Ink gave him that 《Knowledge Pathway Guide》, his cultivation of Guard had never ceased.
He gained +0.3 every day. Though he occasionally missed a day or two, he basically never fell behind.
Yesterday's value had already reached 9.9.
Today, it should arrive.
His consciousness sank into the depths of his mind.
The outline of that river was clearer than ever before.
It was no longer a vague sensation; it was right there, winding and flowing, surging from some invisible source and pushing forward along a narrow riverbed.
Lu Yuan followed the flow of the river with his perception.
At the end of the riverbed, something was blocking it.
Like a thin membrane.
Every time he had cultivated before, he could feel that membrane getting thinner.
Today, it was so thin it was almost transparent.
Lu Yuan did not hesitate.
He concentrated his consciousness on that river—not forcing it, but following the flow, letting the power of Sanity itself strike that membrane.
Like water overflowing when the vessel is full.
A very faint sound echoed in the depths of his mind...
"Snap."
The membrane shattered.
The river surged through the gap, and the riverbed ahead was instantly widened by a large margin.
The originally narrow passage suddenly became open. The waters of Sanity rushed forward, washing against the walls of the new riverbed and kicking up countless tiny waves.
A refreshing coolness spread from the depths of his mind.
It traveled down his spine, through his chest and limbs, all the way to his fingertips.
He felt as if his entire being was soaked in a pool of icy spring water.
At the edge of his vision, greyish-white text flickered in succession.
【Guard II: 0/50】
【Sanity limit permanently +20 (120→140)】
【Active Skill: Temporarily consume Sanity limit in exchange for a large amount of current Sanity restoration】
【You have successfully mastered a method of overdrawing your Sanity, and your Sanity seems to have touched the limits of humanity?】
【Sanity IV: +10... 11/140】
Lu Yuan stared at the string of greyish-white text, his heart skipping a beat.
His Sanity limit had increased from 120 to 140.
The experience for Sanity IV jumped straight from 1 to 11.
There was also an active skill: consuming Sanity limit to exchange for current Sanity restoration.
This meant that in extreme circumstances, he could overdraw his "container" to gain immediate combat effectiveness.
The price, of course, was a reduction in his limit, which was essentially eating into his reserves.
But having this option was entirely different from not having it.
Immediately following that.
Lu Yuan discovered something even more bizarre.
He could "see" his own body.
Not with his eyes. It was a form of Inner Vision.
With his eyes closed, he could clearly perceive his entire state.
It was hazy.
Like a pencil sketch, with rough lines and many areas blurred.
But the outline was complete.
In the depths of his head, the newly widened river of Sanity was flowing slowly.
The new riverbed was nearly twice as wide as before, the water was more abundant, and the flow was more even.
Looking deeper...
It was a grey haze.
He couldn't see anything clearly.
It was as if it were obscured by some kind of mist.
Guard II had only opened a door.
He wasn't yet qualified to peer at what lay behind that door.
Lu Yuan did not obsess over it.
He turned his Inner Vision toward his left eye.
Sure enough.
The Knowledge Worm was perched deep in his eye socket.
Under Inner Vision, it was no longer that vague sensation from their symbiotic connection, but a clearly visible existence—like a droplet of water constantly shifting colors, curled up behind his left eyeball, slowly wriggling and absorbing something.
The flow of its colors was slower than usual.
As if it were digesting.
Behind the Knowledge Worm, there was something else.
A drop of water.
Extremely small.
It suspended there, motionless.
Unintelligible text faintly floated on the surface of the droplet, looking like ancient inscriptions swimming in the liquid.
The Key to the Sea of Knowledge.
The entry credential Lu Yuan had obtained in the Sea of Knowledge was currently embedded deep in his left eye, sitting quietly one after the other with the Knowledge Worm.
He continued to look.
The other parts of his body were normal, at least as far as he could tell under the grey tones of Inner Vision.
But when his perception moved to his feet...
To the position of his shadow.
Lu Yuan's entire body stiffened.
In his shadow, there was a face.
A pale one.
Or rather, one that was half-human, half-something else.
That face floated on the top layer of the shadow, like a head submerged in a pool of muddy water, with only the front showing.
The eyes were two black holes.
They were empty. It was as if the eyeballs had been gouged out by something, leaving only two pitch-black sockets.
The mouth was slightly open, the curve of the corners asymmetrical, as if it were saying something or lamenting.
There was no nose.
In the place of the nose was a patch of smooth skin, as if it had never grown such an organ to begin with.
Greyish-white text surfaced.
【The Suspended Drowner (Dormant) (?)】
【The thirst for knowledge led someone to step into that infinite Sea of Knowledge with their physical body, but unfortunately, they ultimately drowned in that endless knowledge. When you fled that sea, his resentment fell into your shadow.】
【But why is it only in the shadow?】
Lu Yuan's expression darkened.
He remembered what had happened before.
The reflection on the window glass, the edge of the shadow being a bit "thicker" than usual.
Then it grew thicker again.
At the time, he thought it was a hallucination caused by low Sanity.
Now it all made sense.
When he escaped from the Sea of Knowledge, he had brought something out with him.
A human remnant who had drowned in the Sea of Knowledge. It wasn't a complete soul, but a mass of "resentment" clinging to his shadow like seaweed.
The greyish-white text said it was "Dormant."
There was also a question mark following it.
This meant the thing already exceeded his current understanding.
Lu Yuan composed himself.
At least one thing was certain: if it weren't for the Inner Vision ability brought by the breakthrough in Guard, he wouldn't have even discovered this thing's existence.
How long had it been in his shadow? From the moment he reached the Sea of Knowledge until now... dozens of days.
It had been there all along.
It was unrealistic to try and deal with it forcibly right now.
The greyish-white text labeled it as "Dormant" and gave no "Danger" prompt.
He would leave it for now.
But he had to keep a constant watch on it.
Lu Yuan withdrew his Inner Vision.
The moment he relaxed his consciousness.
The symbiotic connection throbbed violently.
Deep in his left eye, the Knowledge Worm suddenly became restless.
The flow of the little thing's colors accelerated sharply, and its entire body trembled slightly in his eye socket.
It wasn't fear. It was excitement.
Then it stretched out.
Its entire body elongated in his left eye, twisting and turning like a cat rolling over and stretching comfortably.
The emotion coming through the symbiotic connection was clear: comfortable.
Very comfortable.
Lu Yuan was stunned for a moment.
Guard had widened the riverbed of his Sanity, which was equivalent to expanding the "house" it lived in.
To the Knowledge Worm, this was like moving from a cramped little shack into a spacious new residence.
【Forbidden Lore: Knowledge Seeker: +1... 42.2/100】
【Sanity IV: +5... 16/140】
Two experience bars jumped simultaneously.
Lu Yuan felt the Knowledge Worm's emotions and fell silent for a moment.
It showed great interest in the improvement of Guard.
Lu Yuan tried to transmit an intention through the symbiotic connection: did it want to "taste" the feeling of the new Guard?
The flow of the Knowledge Worm's colors slowed down.
It refused.
It wasn't rejection.
It was full.
During the consecutive days of engraving brain cores, it had been devouring the eerie knowledge aura that dissipated during the inscription work.
It had eaten too much and was still digesting.
Lu Yuan did not force it.
Although the little thing refused the taste, its stretching and twisting reaction already said everything; the improvement of Guard was directly beneficial to it.
The wider the host's riverbed, the more comfortable it was.
It was a virtuous cycle.
Lu Yuan opened his eyes.
The light through the curtain gap had changed from greyish-white to warm yellow.
He sat on the bed and stared blankly for a while.
Then he got up, dressed, and went downstairs to wash up.
He had just returned from the washstand.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knocking at the door.
Lu Yuan walked over and opened it.
Standing outside was an unfamiliar young Nightwatcher, with two others behind him.
"Captain Lu, Vice Director Kraus has called an emergency assembly. Please head to the branch meeting room immediately."
The young man was panting, his tone urgent.
"Everyone at captain rank and above must be present."
Lu Yuan glanced at the two people behind him. They were also Nightwatchers with unfamiliar faces, likely transferred from other squads.
"Understood."
Lu Yuan grabbed his coat from the rack, checked the revolver at his waist, and stepped out the door.
Main branch building. Second floor.
The meeting room door was already open.
When Lu Yuan walked in, five people were already seated.
Kraus sat at the head of the long table.
He was still in his dark grey shirt, with several documents and an opened letter spread out before him.
Bo Er sat on the left near the door. Seeing Lu Yuan enter, he gave a slight nod.
Hoguer leaned back against his chair with his arms crossed, his expression somber.
Glock sat to Kraus's right, clutching a pen, with his notebook already open.
Lake stood by the window.
Brown short hair, a thin face, quiet as always.
Lu Yuan scanned the room and saw two more unfamiliar faces.
One sat at the end of the long table, in his early forties, with a rough face, high cheekbones, and a rigid posture.
The badge on his chest had a silver stripe, indicating the rank of team captain.
The other was slightly younger, around thirty, thin, with hair cut very short and deep-set eyes.
He wore the same silver-striped badge.
Lu Yuan didn't know them.
They were likely transferred from other divisions.
Glock noticed Lu Yuan's gaze and added in a low voice.
"Franz and Conrad. Transferred from the southern division, both are team captains."
Franz looked up at those words, glanced at Lu Yuan, and nodded.
The movement was tiny, as if even nodding was considered redundant.
Conrad, on the other hand, leaned forward slightly. "Captain Lu."
Lu Yuan returned the nod and found a seat.
Rate on N.U.
