Next, he paused for a moment in front of a sinister-looking scalpel.
Although the blade was incredibly sharp, the description stated that it was "all offense and no defense, and the user will gradually become bloodthirsty."
As a physically frail doctor, Lu Yuan was more in need of life-saving methods.
Time passed second by second.
Lu Yuan walked through most of the warehouse but still hadn't found anything that truly caught his eye.
Until he reached a corner in the deepest part of the warehouse.
There was no magnificent seal there, only a dust-covered glass dome.
Through the murky glass, a black velvet cushion could be seen, and on that cushion lay a vintage, dark gold pocket watch.
The moment he saw it, Lu Yuan seemed to hear a very faint sound in his ears, yet it felt as if it echoed directly deep within his brain.
"Tick-tock."
A strange attraction made Lu Yuan stop in his tracks.
He lifted the glass dome and, as if possessed, reached out his hand.
The moment his fingertips touched the cold watch case, a chill rushed up his arm straight to the crown of his head, and the text in his vision flickered wildly.
【Contacting high-level Forbidden Lore... Analyzing...】
【Item Name: split fragment of a time-reversal insect (disguised form: pocket watch)】
【Type: parasitic type】
【Detail: This is the husk left behind by a high-level entity after its death, forcibly modified into a pocket watch by a grandmaster craftsman. It craves the consumption of sanity to briefly "come alive."】
【One: Acceleration. Effect: Consumes 1 point of Sanity per second, significantly enhancing physical attributes.】
【Two: Stasis. Effect: Base cost of 40 points of Sanity. Can block the vast majority of physical attacks and a certain intensity of Sanity shocks.】
【Three: Deprivation. Effect: Base cost of 80 points of Sanity. Launches a time deprivation attack on a target within the field of vision.】
【All consumption will be drawn directly from the holder's Sanity!】
"A very powerful item..."
Lu Yuan looked at the heavy pocket watch in his hand, his eyes flickering.
This thing was simple and brutal; for other transcendents, the cost of use might be too expensive.
But for him, it was a perfect fit, especially since his sanity could constantly break through its limits.
"Lu Yuan! Time's almost up!"
Old Morgan's shout came from the doorway.
Lu Yuan snapped out of it, grabbed the pocket watch, and turned to walk toward the door.
When he stepped out the gate and Old Morgan saw the item in his hand, a hint of surprise appeared in those murky old eyes.
But it quickly turned into an expression of profound realization.
"You actually chose that..."
Old Morgan looked at the dark gold pocket watch with a complex gaze. "We call it 'Timekeeper.'"
"Timekeeper?" Lu Yuan's finger traced the single-eye pattern on the watch cover.
"Yes, it's a relic from a legendary Nightwatcher of the previous generation."
Old Morgan spoke while pulling out the brass key. "That fellow was a genius just like you; his strength back then was already infinitely close to the Third Stage, a true monster even if placed in the inner city."
"But this thing... even someone as strong as him could only barely use it."
"According to protocol, this item should have been turned over to headquarters. But due to some special reasons, it has remained here."
Old Morgan turned his head and warned sternly, "You can consider yourself lucky to have picked up such a treasure."
"But I advise you, although its codename in the files is 'Timekeeper,' we privately prefer to call it the 'Death Watch.'"
"Several Nightwatchers have already been drained into corpses by it. I hope you don't follow in their footsteps."
"I won't."
Lu Yuan replied as he tucked the pocket watch into his pocket.
By the time he returned to the clinic, it was already late.
Lu Yuan sat at his desk and, by the light of the lamp, took out the pocket watch again.
There were no numbers on the dial, only distorted scales; the three hands were rotating counter-clockwise in an uncomfortable rhythm.
"Let's give it a try."
Lu Yuan took a deep breath and gently flicked the winding crown on the side of the watch.
Click.
In that instant, Lu Yuan felt as if something had been forcibly snatched away from his mind.
【Sanity is being deducted... -1... -1...】
An indescribable sense of weakness washed over him, but at the same time, the world before his eyes changed.
The dust floating in the air seemed frozen in mid-air, and the flickering flame of the gas lamp became extremely slow, to the point where he could see every detail of the curling edges of the fire.
Outside the window, a seagull flying past looked as if someone had pressed the slow-motion button; the trajectory of every wingbeat was clearly visible.
"Is this... Acceleration?"
Lu Yuan tried to reach out and grab a cup.
In his perception, his movement was as fast as a flash of lightning.
But just a moment later, a strong wave of dizziness hit him hard.
Lu Yuan hurriedly let go, letting the pocket watch stop operating.
"Whew... whew..."
Slumped in his chair, Lu Yuan calculated in his mind.
"From the start just now until the end was about twenty seconds, which means with my current sanity, I can use it for thirty seconds at most."
"Otherwise, I might fall into a coma, so I shouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary."
"However, after tonight, the upper limit of my sanity should be able to break through again... To prevent anything from going wrong in the Strange Dreams tonight, I'll stop the testing here."
Lu Yuan put away the pocket watch and, enduring the sharp pain in his brain, lay down on the bed.
...
Splash—
The familiar damp, salty, and fishy smell hit him in the face.
When Lu Yuan opened his eyes again, before him was still that hopeless black sea,
With that broken moon hanging overhead.
Preparing himself for the seawater to hit his face, Lu Yuan suddenly discovered that he had regained control over his body.
One must know that after he could move mysteriously last time, he had reverted to a state of standing still on the beach for a long time.
Without pondering why he could move again, he thought,
"Make the most of the time."
Lu Yuan didn't waste time on sentimentality and immediately walked deeper into the island.
He remembered finding some traces of human activity during his last exploration; this time, Lu Yuan intended to go a bit further.
As he went deeper, he passed by the weathered ancient formation and his footsteps suddenly halted.
"Hmm?"
Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly.
That formation, which was originally tattered and seemed like it would weather away at any moment, had been partially repaired at some point!
The originally broken lines had been reconnected, and a certain dark gold liquid flowed through the grooves, emitting a faint, eerie glow in the dim light, appearing both sacred and monstrous.
"Is there someone here?"
Lu Yuan hesitated for a moment but chose not to approach.
He didn't know when the next time he could move would be; he wanted to explore this island as clearly as possible while he could.
Lu Yuan's gaze landed on the black stone mountain nearby, which was the highest point on the island.
After some effort, Lu Yuan finally climbed to the summit.
When his vision passed over the jagged rocks and looked toward the coastline on the back of the island, his entire body instantly froze, a chill rushing straight to the crown of his head.
In the rolling black waves, atop those craggy reefs, a massive warship was actually docked!
The hull was as huge as a mountain, but it was now covered in thick red rust, with dense clusters of barnacles and snails crawling all over the deck and gunwales like parasites.
From a distance, it looked as if it had been stranded there for decades.
Lu Yuan's eyes widened, and his heart pounded violently.
Because he was all too familiar with that silhouette.
Though it was rotted and decayed, that iconic ram and bridge structure...
"The Iron Whale?!"
Before he could even take a step to confirm it, a familiar and grand sound of a heartbeat suddenly echoed between heaven and earth.
"Thump—!"
The entire world of the dream trembled violently with it.
A strong sense of rejection instantly washed over him.
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