Lake paused for a moment.
“He seemed to mention feeding some kind of ‘root’.”
“Root?” Glock frowned. “What root?”
Lake frowned and shook his head.
“I'm not sure, but judging by where they went, it should be in the pipe network layer. Their goal seems to be that wall.”
Lake glanced at Lu Yuan as he spoke; Lu Yuan clearly understood what Lake was implying.
The Grey Covenant calls that place the “root”.
Lu Yuan recalled the copper pillars he had seen in the pipe network layer and the inscriptions Bolen had rubbed.
If what lies behind the copper wall is truly the “root” of Bronze City, then is the Grey Covenant trying to release something, or...
But Lu Yuan quickly realized something was wrong. If it really was Him, how could Lake have seen the memory?
Unless these memories were allowed to be seen. A rank 3 pawn with only a single image and a single word left in their memory, clean as if they had been scrubbed in advance.
Lake continued.
“There's one more thing. The box they were carrying contains something taken from the Sea of Knowledge.”
Glock immediately asked, “What is it?”
Lake turned, took a copper box from the corner, and placed it on the table.
The box wasn't large, about the size of a palm, and its surface was covered in dense inscriptions that were faintly glowing.
Lu Yuan walked to the table and looked at the box.
“Can it be opened?”
Lake nodded and reached out to undo the inscription lock on the box.
The box opened to reveal a layer of grey-black rags, upon which lay a severed limb.
It wasn't large, roughly the length of an adult's forearm, and its color was a pale grey, like a riverbed that had been dry for a long time. Dense, fine cracks covered the entire surface.
At the same time, it carried an extremely faint aura that Lu Yuan found familiar.
Grey-white text jumped out at the edge of his vision.
【Target Detected: ? Severed Limb (Knowledge Residue)】
【A severed limb of unknown age; the laws contained within have failed. Perhaps a bit of knowledge residue can still be squeezed out?】
Seeing this, Lu Yuan reflexively took a small step back.
Glock noticed his movement and moved back as well.
“What's wrong? Is the contamination from this thing strong?”
“There's residue from the Sea of Knowledge on this thing. It's better to be careful.”
Lu Yuan's voice was very low.
Glock frowned, and Lake leaned in to glance at the severed limb. The worm on his arm squirmed, as if repelled by something.
Just then, Lu Yuan's left eye suddenly grew warm.
A stir came through the symbiotic link; the Knowledge Worm wanted to come out.
Lu Yuan hesitated briefly before choosing to agree. After all, this was no longer a secret.
Upon receiving Lu Yuan's consent, the Knowledge Worm flew out on its own.
The worm flew in a circle around the severed limb, the colors on its body constantly shifting.
Seeing this, Glock couldn't help but take another step back.
“Lu Yuan, what is that?”
Lu Yuan looked at Glock's expression and smiled.
“A little thing I'm raising.”
Lake didn't move, but the worm on his arm seemed to sense something, huddling together and ceasing its squirming.
The Knowledge Worm landed on the surface of the severed limb. Its antennae lightly tapped a certain spot, as if knocking on a door.
Inside a dry crack on the surface of the limb, something squirmed slightly.
Lu Yuan held his breath.
A tiny worm slowly crawled out of the crack.
It was smaller than half a grain of rice and completely translucent, making it almost invisible in the dim light of the detention room.
It looked exactly like the Knowledge Worm when Lu Yuan first saw it.
It was a new Knowledge Worm!!
The mini Knowledge Worm stopped at the edge of the crack, the light on its body trembling with obvious fear.
Lu Yuan's Knowledge Worm leaned in and touched the tiny worm with its antennae, its movements extremely gentle.
The tiny worm's trembling slowed down.
Lake saw this and approached the box.
“A new knowledge-derived insect?”
Lake glanced at the tiny worm and then at Lu Yuan's left eye. He had seen the one Lu Yuan released during the underground battle; in his understanding, Lu Yuan was also raising a knowledge-derived insect.
“It's a good thing I didn't step forward just now. It would be very troublesome to be bitten by that thing.”
Glock also frowned upon hearing it was a knowledge-derived insect; he had clearly heard of what these things were. However, since Lu Yuan's was multicolored, Glock hadn't recognized it immediately.
“How did it end up inside something like this?”
“It's not surprising for something from the Sea of Knowledge to carry one of these,” Lake said, looking at Lu Yuan.
“Can you handle it? If you can, take it with you.”
In his view, since Lu Yuan already had a knowledge-derived insect, he was the most suitable person to deal with one of its kind.
Lu Yuan recalled the Knowledge Worm to his left eye, and the tiny worm retreated back into the crack.
“Alright, I'll take this back to study.”
Lake turned to leave.
“There's still some follow-up work for the interrogation.”
Glock followed Lake out, leaving Lu Yuan alone in the detention room.
Lu Yuan stood in place, waiting for a few seconds to confirm there were no footsteps outside the door.
He looked back at the box on the table.
The Knowledge Worm immediately flew out again. This time, with no one else around, its movements were more urgent. Its antennae pointed toward the tiny worm in the crack and then toward Lu Yuan's left eye.
Lu Yuan sensed its meaning through the symbiotic link.
This was a companion. It was very small and weak, and it had been inside the severed limb for an unknown amount of time. If it weren't for the faint knowledge contained within the limb, it probably would have died by now.
Currently, it needed knowledge to survive.
Lu Yuan barely hesitated. This was exactly what he wanted. If it weren't for the fact that Knowledge Worms were hard to fish for with that previous shell, Lu Yuan would have even considered using the opening in the Polymath Tower to fish for a few more.
“Alright.”
He extended his index finger and, through the symbiotic link, transmitted his intent to form a contract.
The tiny worm crawled out of the crack, hesitated for a moment, touched Lu Yuan's fingertip with its antennae, and then crawled onto him.
The grey-white text flickered.
【You have gained the Trust of the Knowledge Worm; you have contracted a new Knowledge Worm.】
【Your connection to the Sea of Knowledge seems to have deepened...】
The tiny worm burrowed into Lu Yuan's skin, moving along his arm toward his left eye. Soon, an extremely faint presence appeared deep within his left eye, like a newly lit wick.
Lu Yuan closed the box. There was no visible change on the surface, but a question was on his mind.
This severed limb had knowledge aura residue and contained a Knowledge Worm. It was brought out from the Sea of Knowledge and was very likely a part of that corpse.
He recalled the thick blood and endless rotten flesh the students were treading on beneath the Polymath Tower; that was the interior of the five-headed Him's corpse.
The Grey Covenant wanted to send it near the copper wall. Bolen had said the existence behind the copper wall was the source of Bronze City's power. The Grey Covenant called it the “root”.
Was the Grey Covenant planning to use something from the Sea of Knowledge to make contact with the “root”?
Lu Yuan's heart sank. After all, there was an abyss beneath Bronze City; if something really went wrong...
Lu Yuan planned to find Kraus first. Regardless, he had to figure out what was going on in the pipe network layer.
Lu Yuan glanced at the two Grey Covenant members in the cages. They were currently unconscious. Lake's Swarming Worms had forcibly extracted their memories, which had clearly caused almost irreversible damage to them.
Lu Yuan turned to leave and bumped into Glock.
“Go report the situation to Kraus. I'll put the box away.”
Lu Yuan nodded.
Walking to the door of the medical room, he pushed it open.
Kraus was lying on the bed. His face was still pale, but his breathing was much steadier. Hearing the door open, he opened his eyes.
“How is it?”
Lu Yuan walked to the bedside and briefly explained the situation in the detention room.
In particular, the memories Lake had read were simply too... coincidental. Aside from that giant head, nothing else was seen.
“The Grey Covenant seems to have gotten their hands on something that flowed out from the Sea of Knowledge.”
Lu Yuan looked at Kraus and continued.
“They want to use it to make contact with that wall Bolen discovered.”
Kraus's expression gradually grew solemn as he heard this.
“Are you suggesting someone in the Polymath Tower is helping the Grey Covenant?”
“Yes.” Lu Yuan nodded.
After all, it was hard to imagine how a leaked object that even a powerful rank 4 like Kraus couldn't stop would be obtained by members of the Grey Covenant.
Unless the Grey Covenant was on the scene, or it was intercepted by someone else there and kept privately before being handed over to the Grey Covenant members.
But the most crucial part was: why didn't they send a rank 4?
The rank 3 members of the Grey Covenant not only failed the mission but also lost the item.
Lu Yuan felt a headache coming on. Things in Bronze City were becoming increasingly chaotic.
After a brief silence, Kraus finally spoke.
“Are you planning to head to the pipe network layer?”
“Yes. I want Lake, and ideally another rank 4.”
Lu Yuan was not being polite, asking for two rank 4s right away.
“That's fine, but you must be careful. Another person will follow behind you; you can go with Lake first.”
Kraus picked up a pen and paper and wrote something.
Just then, a set of footsteps came from outside the door. It was Lake, carrying the potion sent by the Count.
“The potion sent by the Count.”
Lake handed the item over.
“I've checked it; there's no problem.”
Kraus nodded and set the potion aside.
“Lake, go to the pipe network again with Lu Yuan. The Nightwatchers assigned there should have explored most of it by now.”
Kraus continued, “Take this with you.”
Kraus reached out and condensed a small piece of green crystal. But unlike what was seen in battle, something seemed to be encased within this crystal.
“This is?”
Lake took it and looked at it, but didn't sense anything special.
“I left something in the bodies of the Grey Covenant members.”
A cold glint flashed in Kraus's eyes.
“The cost of three afterimages was not small, but to be able to plant this thing on those rats makes it worth it.”
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