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"Since you feed on knowledge, why don't you go with Old Morgan?"

Lu Yuan looked at Ink floating in the air and raised a very practical question.

"He's a senior member of the Nightwatchers and a Rank 3 transcendent of the Knowledge Pathway; with the knowledge accumulated in his head, it should be enough for you to eat, right?"

Hearing that name, an unconcealable look of disgust immediately appeared on Ink's tiny face.

That expression was as if someone had placed a piece of moldy, spoiled bread in front of it.

"That old man? Forget it."

Ink curled its lip, its paper wings even fluttering a few times in distaste.

"His thinking has completely solidified, and the structure of his brain is like a hard rock that simply cannot be pried open. Furthermore... the taste of his knowledge is too monotonous, filled with the stale smell of gunpowder and rigid dogmas."

Ink rolled its eyes.

"I don't like that old man; he doesn't taste good."

Lu Yuan gave a thoughtful hum and then pointed at the surrounding bookshelves.

"Then if you leave, what about the library? Won't the Nightwatchers hold you accountable?"

"Accountable? Ha!"

Knowing that it finally had hope of leaving this cage, Ink's tone carried a hint of irrepressible excitement.

"It doesn't matter!"

"Knowledge itself is a fortress."

"Every book and every word here is releasing power at all times. Regardless of what kind of strange thing dares to step in here, the knowledge can directly wash them into ashes."

Ink then raised its hand and pointed at the rows of lamps overhead.

"Furthermore, there is 'Light' here; as long as the lamps don't go out, this place is an absolute forbidden zone."

"The reason I stayed here was that I couldn't leave, and secondly, I needed to eat knowledge to maintain my existence; otherwise, I would have run away long ago."

"Who would want to spend their life guarding these scraps of paper?"

Lu Yuan looked at the library, and the last weight in his heart finally dropped.

So that was how it was.

The so-called "Library Manager" was purely a nominal position.

Ink had been forced to play the role of the manager because it was trapped here.

No wonder it looked so pitiful, unable to even afford a decent ink block.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan's mind began to calculate rapidly.

Taking Ink away was a deal with no downsides.

First, Mina's 【Echo of All Things】 could only be treated by Ink; this was a fundamental need.

Second, the deterrence Ink showed when he stepped onto the transcendent path might make it a half-decent bodyguard at critical moments.

Third, and most importantly—

No one knew how many books were hidden inside that fellow Ink's belly.

Wouldn't taking this guy away be the same as having a mobile library?

"Fine, I'll take you with me."

Lu Yuan stood up and straightened his collar. "However, to avoid trouble, I must first go and greet Old Morgan."

...

Supply Management Office.

Under the dim yellow light of a gas lamp, Old Morgan was wearing a monocle and holding a precision screwdriver, dismantling a steam-powered firearm with an extremely complex structure.

Various gears and springs were scattered across the tabletop.

"Creak—"

Lu Yuan pushed the door open and entered. Without beating around the bush, he got straight to the point.

"Ink wants to leave. Can I take it with me?"

Old Morgan's movements froze slightly. That cloudy eye scanned over, glancing at Lu Yuan.

He didn't agree immediately, nor did he refuse.

"You're quite lucky, kid. The book spirits of the Nightwatchers are notoriously picky; ordinary people can't take them away."

"Since that little thing is willing to go with you, I have no objection. However..."

Old Morgan put down the gun barrel, his tone becoming a bit more serious.

"No matter who it is, as long as they are possessed by a book spirit, they must be brought to the Nightwatchers for official registration. We must know who the 'container' is. That's the rule."

"That's not a problem."

Lu Yuan's expression was calm as he briefly described Mina's situation.

"The 'container' is a young girl who just awakened her talent, named Mina. She is Brent's younger sister. Ink took a liking to her talent, and I also need Ink to save her life."

"A little girl?"

Old Morgan nodded thoughtfully and picked up the firing pin on the table again.

But Old Morgan didn't care much. Since the little girl's talent was good, it shouldn't be wasted. Besides, as long as that fellow Ink was around, ordinary things wouldn't be able to harm her.

Furthermore, this kid Lu Yuan was full of schemes. How could Old Morgan not guess that he was eyeing the books in Ink's belly?

However, this was also a good thing.

Knowledge only has value when it flows.

Old Morgan turned around and pulled out a black box from a shelf piled with clutter, handing it to Lu Yuan.

Inside was a thick notebook made of some unknown black leather.

"Take this. This is a specially made 'Spirituality Storage Record'. If Ink goes out with you, it will have to live inside this book. Don't lose it."

"Understood. I'll bring her to the Nightwatchers for registration later."

Lu Yuan tucked the notebook under his arm and then pushed the door to leave.

In the library, at the long table.

Lu Yuan spread the black notebook he had brought on the table.

"All right, Old Morgan has agreed to let you leave with me. Get in."

"Yahoo!"

Ink gave a cheer and couldn't wait. Its body instantly turned into a streak of pitch-black light and dove directly into the pages of the notebook.

As Ink's figure disappeared, an eye pattern composed of complex lines slowly emerged on the original black cover.

The eye opened, blinked, and then faded from view.

Lu Yuan reached out and picked up the notebook.

It was cold to the touch and had become exceptionally heavy.

【You have touched a notebook containing an anomalous creature.】

【Property: A book containing nearly infinite spirituality, though unfortunately, the spirituality cannot leave the book. Something strange seems to be hidden inside it.】

Lu Yuan looked at the prompt that appeared and laughed silently. Without delay, he stuffed the notebook into his coat and quickly left.

According to his calculations, the effects of the medicine on Mina were about to wear off.

He had just arrived at the clinic.

A burst of noise reached Lu Yuan's ears.

"Ah... go away! It's so noisy!"

Mina was curled up in a chair, clutching her head in pain. Her small face was pale, and her expression was twisted.

Her fingers were gripped tightly in her hair, and faint streaks of blood could be seen between them.

Brent was drenched in sweat, desperately pinning down his sister's flailing arms, his eyes red.

"Dr. Lu!"

Seeing Lu Yuan push the door open, Brent looked as if he had seen a savior.

Lu Yuan didn't waste any words. He directly took out the black notebook and opened it.

"Time to get to work."

As Lu Yuan's voice fell, a wisp of black smoke drifted out from the pages.

Ink emerged in a translucent spectral form, stretching in mid-air and then sniffing the surrounding air with an intoxicated look.

"That's it! That's it! This is the scent! So much knowledge! Haha!"

Then Ink traced an arc in the air and landed above Mina's head.

Brent, who was holding Mina's hands, widened his eyes. Looking at the approaching book spirit, he was too frightened to make a sound.

Mina, who had been struggling in pain, seemed to sense something.

She forced her eyes open and looked at the floating little girl above her. There was no fear in her eyes; instead, there was a bit more curiosity.

Ink hovered above Mina's head and extended its translucent little hand like an elegant conductor.

It did not crudely eliminate those sounds.

Instead, it began to construct "bookshelves" within Mina's consciousness.

The chaotic noises that had been washing over Mina's brain like a flood were rapidly dismantled and categorized under Ink's guidance.

Useful information was archived and arranged.

Useless junk noise was isolated and pulverized.

The remaining sounds that carried knowledge but could not be digested were grabbed by Ink into clusters of black light spheres and swallowed into its belly.

In just a few moments.

Mina's furrowed brows smoothed out.

The sharp ringing in her ears disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented clarity.

Her eyes changed from cloudy to clear, staring intently at Ink in the air.

"Big sister?"

Mina called out softly.

"Hmm? You're calling me big sister?"

Ink's tiny face paused, then it looked down at the girl below.

But it soon realized that because it had been connected to her heart while guiding Mina to construct her palace of knowledge, she perceived it as an older sister.

"You're fine now, little girl. And don't call me sister. By human age standards, I should be your grandmother."

Lu Yuan was somewhat speechless upon hearing this. He then stepped forward and performed a careful examination. After confirming that the spirituality had calmed down, he finally spoke.

"She really is fine now. Ink, how did you do it?"

In mid-air, Ink sat cross-legged with its legs dangling, clutching a "noise cluster" it had pulled from Mina's mind, eating it with great relish.

"You don't need to know, because even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. This is my innate ability."

Hearing this, Brent also showed a look of joy.

"Dr. Lu, are you saying Mina will be fine from now on?"

"As long as it is here, your sister should be fine," Lu Yuan said, pointing at Ink floating in the air.