It was dark outside when Lu Yuan regained consciousness.
【Sanity: 61/90】
A dull, throbbing ache pulsed in his head, that heavy sensation that comes from sleeping far too long, extending from the back of his skull to behind his eyes. He propped himself up with his hands, the world before him swaying for a few seconds before finally stabilizing.
A figure immediately approached him.
“Captain Lu, you're awake?”
Lu Yuan steadied himself and scanned his surroundings, only to realize he was lying in his own bed in his room. The figure was Bol.
Bol’s voice carried a hint of concern.
He had already walked to the bedside carrying a pitcher of water, using his other hand to support Lu Yuan’s back and help him lean steadily against the headboard.
Lu Yuan took the pitcher and drank several gulps. The water was lukewarm, leaving a slight, refreshing aftertaste unique to holy water as it went down his throat.
“Captain, you’ve been asleep for two days.”
Two days?
Lu Yuan was slightly stunned.
Bol set the pitcher down and fished a small stone from his pocket. It was only the size of a thumb, greyish-white, with several fine inscriptions carved into its surface. He held it up to Lu Yuan, shining it over him while staring intently at the stone’s surface for a few seconds.
The stone did not change color.
Bol let out a sigh of relief and put the stone back in his pocket, his shoulders visibly relaxing.
“I slept for that long? What happened afterward?” Lu Yuan asked, bracing himself as he sat up further to look at Bol.
Bol didn't answer immediately. He paused to think, then offered Lu Yuan a smile—the kind of relaxed smile that comes after confirming something important.
“Your condition wasn't great when you were brought back,” Bol said, pulling up a chair and sitting down, his tone very gentle. “Moreover, your Sanity was compromised. You were on the verge of a total collapse. Vice Director Kraus personally fed you quite a lot of medicine. There were concerns that your pathway might have undergone a mutation, so he specifically arranged for me to keep an eye on you.”
Bol spoke casually, but Lu Yuan understood the weight of those words.
Sanity instability.
For any transcendent, those words meant being only a single step away from losing control.
If his Sanity had truly broken, his only end would have been death.
“But it looks like you’re fine now.” Bol reached behind the back of the chair and produced a bottle of potion, handing it over. The glass bottle bore a Nightwatchers label. “You recovered faster than we expected. Drink this one too.”
Lu Yuan didn't stand on ceremony, taking it and draining it in one go.
【Sanity: +9... 70/90】
An icy sensation spread from his chest, eventually permeating his entire body.
Lu Yuan felt significantly more alert.
However, a lingering sense of weakness remained beneath the surface, as if a section of his being had been hollowed out. Lu Yuan knew the reason: his Sanity limit had been temporarily slashed by 50 points, dropping from 140 to 90.
Naturally, his body would experience some minor side effects.
He just didn't know how long it would take for this "temporary deduction" to recover.
If it took a long time, then future matters would become very troublesome.
While Lu Yuan was drinking the Sanity potion, Bol stood up and stepped out for a moment.
Lu Yuan took the opportunity to check the greyish-white text.
Several new records were lined up at the edge of his vision, evidently accumulated during his two-day slumber.
【Sanity IV: +10... 31/140】
【Forbidden Lore: Knowledge Seeker: +6... 72.8/100】
【Bronze City Status: +3... 18/50】
The Knowledge Worm had been providing feedback continuously.
The things it had eaten from within ‘9’ had been digesting over the past two days, with the resulting essence being fed back into him. Sanity IV had jumped by 10 points in one go, and his Forbidden Lore had also progressed significantly.
72.8. He was getting closer and closer to becoming a Polymath. Once he reached that stage, he would finally gain true combat techniques; at the very least, he would have a fighting chance when facing rank 4 transcendents.
Lu Yuan pushed those thoughts aside. Realizing he felt a bit grimy, he performed a quick wash to tidy himself up.
Deep within his left eye, the Knowledge Worm was currently drifting about.
It looked sluggish, as if it had overeaten, slowly circling within the space of his eyeball and occasionally stopping to curl up before drifting again. Upon sensing that Lu Yuan was awake, a faint vibration traveled through their symbiotic link.
It conveyed a sense of pleasure.
It was as if it were saying, “You’re finally awake.”
Lu Yuan watched it and remembered something.
He sent a question through the symbiotic link, pushing forward a mixture of blurred images and inquisitive emotions.
The gist was: When you entered ‘9’s body, why didn't you enter the Sea of Knowledge within him? Why did you crawl into the flesh to gnaw on him instead?
The Knowledge Worm responded with a long string of chirps and gurgles.
The symbiotic link conveyed emotional fragments and vague imagery. In the images Lu Yuan received, there was an extremely thick wall; he felt the sensation of the Knowledge Worm slamming into it and bouncing off, accompanied by a sense of irritation that said, “Too hard, can’t bite through.”
He understood the core meaning.
The target was too strong; it couldn't get in.
‘9’ was a rank 4 mutation transcendent. To the Knowledge Worm, his body was an impregnable fortress. Being able to burrow into the flesh was already its limit.
As for the deeper ‘knowledge’ within his body, it couldn't even touch it.
Lu Yuan nodded.
That made sense.
‘9’ was, after all, a genuine rank 4. Being able to gnaw off those knowledge fragments from him was already a gain.
Then he noticed something else.
Ever since the Knowledge Worm established the symbiotic link, his translation ability seemed to have failed when dealing with it.
Previously, whenever he encountered text he couldn't read or a language he couldn't understand, the greyish-white text would automatically provide a translation. But the greyish-white text hadn't translated a single word of the Knowledge Worm’s indistinct vibrations and imagery.
He didn't know why.
However, Lu Yuan didn't dwell on it too much. He had mastered the Imperial Language quite thoroughly and rarely needed the translation ability in his daily life, except when facing ancient inscriptions or peculiar scripts.
He didn't think more of it.
Footsteps echoed outside the door.
Bol walked in carrying a bowl of milky-white meat soup and a piece of steaming white bread, placing them on the small table by the bed.
A few droplets of oil clung to the rim of the soup bowl, and a tear had been made in the white bread, with steam rising from the exposed cross-section.
“Here, Captain, eat first. We can talk slowly after you’ve finished.”
Bol sat down opposite him, fished out his small flask from his coat, unscrewed the cap, and took a small sip.
Lu Yuan didn't hesitate and took a sip of the meat soup first.
The soup was made from mutton bones and was very thick. It had a heavy, gamy smell upon entry, but the flavor felt comforting once it settled in his empty stomach, sending warmth spreading from his gut to his limbs.
He tore the bread into several pieces, soaked them in the soup, and ate them one by one.
He felt much warmer.
Bol began to speak.
“You and Bolen were brought out by Lake.”
Bol talked as he drank, his pace slow, occasionally pausing to think of the right words.
“The exit was on the other side of the cargo station, leading to a side alley. Lake’s appearance at the time... was indeed difficult to describe. Anyway, two recruits from the patrol almost drew their guns on him.”
Bol chuckled at that point.
“Later, they recognized the uniforms and sent an emergency contact to the branch. Once Vice Director Kraus received the news, he immediately notified the Count. The Count brought his guards and rushed over right away.”
Bol took another sip of wine.
“You and Bolen were sent back to the branch first, where Margaret gave you emergency treatment.” He glanced at Lu Yuan. “That old man Bolen is fine. He suffered from severe exhaustion, but his Sanity and body are perfectly normal; he wasn't even polluted. He’s much better at self-protection than you are, Captain.”
“But you weren't doing so well.” Bol’s tone turned slightly more serious. “Your Sanity was on the verge of collapse, and you had extensive muscle strains. Most importantly, your body was lingering with the aura of the Grey Covenant.”
Hearing this, Lu Yuan understood.
That aura was most likely picked up by the Knowledge Worm when it crawled back from within ‘9’.
Bol continued, “At the time, there was a brief suspicion that you had been polluted by the Grey Covenant. Later, we invited people from the Church to check. They found that the aura on you was only superficial and dissipated quickly. After that, it was just a matter of feeding you holy water at regular intervals and monitoring your Sanity recovery...”
He patted his pocket.
“While using a holy stone to confirm you hadn't suffered deeper pollution.”
Lu Yuan fell silent for a moment.
He could imagine the level of tension at the branch over those two days. The combination of near-collapsed Sanity and residual Grey Covenant aura would make any normal Nightwatcher’s first reaction be: “This person might be finished.”
“What happened with the inner city afterward?”
Bol shook his head. “I’m not sure about that. But when Kraus came back, his expression was indeed quite grim.”
A grim expression.
Lu Yuan’s brow furrowed slightly. This suggested that they likely hadn't caught anyone underground, and the Grey Covenant had escaped with those wooden men.
Four kneeling wooden constructs, plus the one lost previously—that made at least five. They played a key role in some ritual or array, but he still had no idea what that role was.
“How is Lake?”
Lu Yuan asked his second concern.
He remembered clearly that Lake wasn't among the strongest of rank 4s; to maintain his human form and preserve his human identity, his power was always being suppressed.
But in that battle underground, Lake had released all of his Swarming Worms. The scale and aggression of the bug tide were more than double what they had been in the pipe network.
Release always came with a price.
Bol’s expression, however, relaxed.
“Don't worry about Lake. I heard that for him, this time it was a blessing in disguise.”
“I don't know the specifics, but you can ask Vice Director Kraus yourself.” Bol tucked away his flask and stood up. “He’s waiting for you.”
“You’re not coming along?”
“I won't follow you.” Bol picked up the tray and walked toward the door. “It’s been a rare few days of leisure; my bones are getting soft. I have a mission waiting for me tomorrow morning.”
He paused at the door and looked back. “New clothes are in the wardrobe.”
Then he smiled and left.
Lu Yuan rolled out of bed.
He first glanced at the nightstand.
Flame was sitting on the surface, its barrel wiped clean, the copper surface gleaming with a cold light. A bandolier was laid beside it.
There were still a few spare rounds in the bandolier, but not many. He would have to go to Margaret later to restock.
It was a pity the Sealing Disc was gone. Lu Yuan had planned to dismantle it after use to see if he could gain any knowledge from it.
Rate on N.U.
