Kraus was still working.
The stack of documents on his desk was even higher than yesterday.
It was no wonder that those in high positions needed high transcendent ranks; an ordinary person truly wouldn't be able to handle a scene like this.
Lu Yuan didn't bother with pleasantries as he entered.
"The seed has sprouted."
Kraus's hand, holding a quill, came to a halt.
"What?"
"The seed in C-District has cracked; something inside is sprouting."
Kraus didn't ask further and stood up immediately.
"Let's go."
The two of them walked through the corridors of the logistics department.
There was no one else in C-District, and it was quiet all the way.
Kraus pulled another copper key from his inner pocket and opened the door to Room 7.
He walked to the copper box and opened it.
A warm orange light seeped from the crack, reflecting onto Kraus's face.
Those tentacles swayed slightly under the light, stretching out quietly.
Kraus rested his right hand on the edge of the copper box, a teal light flashing on and off on the back of his hand.
He withdrew his hand after a few seconds.
"There's no eerie aura," he said in a low voice. "It's not related to the Forbidden."
He turned to look at Lu Yuan.
"How did you find out?"
"My pathway has always allowed me to see certain traces; I demonstrated that during the inner city investigation," Lu Yuan said. "Its aura leaked out tonight, and I followed it here."
Lu Yuan paused slightly.
"This thing accepted a Wish?"
Kraus was silent for a long time.
"'Wish' has nothing to do with the eerie, nor does it have anything to do with despair—that much I can be certain of."
He leaned against the experimental table.
"The empire has researched 'Wish' for many years, but few can explain it clearly. All we know is that it's linked to human desire, and once it locks onto a direction, it can grow rapidly. The Church and the Ascension Society are obsessed with this thing because desires are everywhere, but things linked to 'Wish' are extremely rare."
He paused.
"There's an organization called 'Prayer' that specializes in asking people for their wishes. If you encounter them in the future, you can have a chat."
Kraus didn't say more on the subject.
He replaced the lid of the copper box without pressing it down tight.
He straightened up, his expression somewhat grim. It was clear he hadn't expected this sudden sprouting either.
"It's going to be a busy few days."
He looked at the inscriptions on the four copper walls.
"The shielding is still sufficient. But if it keeps growing, the aura will leak out sooner or later."
He turned around.
"The Church and the Ascension Society... will find out soon."
Kraus suddenly wrinkled his nose.
"When you have a moment, go to logistics and collect a few more bottles of purification medicine." He narrowed his eyes, looking Lu Yuan up and down. "Just how many brain cores have you engraved these past two days? You reek of ghouls."
Lu Yuan didn't argue. He had indeed engraved quite a few.
"Don't let that aura of yours contaminate this seed."
Lu Yuan understood.
Fine, this was his cue to leave.
He turned to walk out, stopping at the doorway.
"What about the seed? Just leave it like this?"
Kraus didn't look back.
"Since it has already sprouted, the people from the Church, the Ascension Society, and the Grey Covenant will sense it sooner or later; it's only a matter of time."
He tucked the copper key into his inner pocket.
"Furthermore, they won't dare to destroy it. Because if they do, even if we don't act, someone else will come for them."
Kraus added one more thing.
"Come to the branch office tomorrow morning. There's news from the Polymath Tower."
Lu Yuan nodded thoughtfully and then left.
Lu Yuan returned to his quarters.
As he passed the washbasin, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.
A haggard face. Dark circles under his eyes, and his lips were dry and cracked. His black hair was a bit messy.
Lu Yuan leaned in for a closer look.
Greyish-white powder clung to his collar and cuffs, emitting a faint, pungent scent.
It was residue from the ghoul brain cores.
'Kraus was right. I should wash up.'
He took a quick shower and changed into clean clothes.
Sitting at the experimental table, he looked at the table full of finished brain cores but didn't start working immediately.
The images from the storage room were still on his mind.
The one in the North Ward pipe network had turned into a hyphae core and nearly destroyed half the city.
What about this one?
Forget it, I'll sleep first.
It had been dark outside for a long time, and the aura of the river of light was still seeping through.
【Sanity: +12... 84/120】
Early the next morning.
Lu Yuan went out.
The air in the outer city was a notch colder than a few days ago.
He looked up at the sky. The river of light was brighter than last night. It shouldn't be visible during the day, but if one looked closely, that faint scar across the firmament was still there.
There were fewer people on the streets than before. Several shops along the road were closed, their doors tightly shut.
Two members of the patrol stood at a corner, leaning against a wall with their arms crossed; they gave Lu Yuan a slight nod when they saw him.
Lu Yuan went to the branch office.
On the first floor of the main building, at the end of the corridor, was Kraus's office.
The door was open.
Lu Yuan knocked twice on the doorframe.
"Come in."
Kraus sat behind his desk, still with a cup of tea, several documents spread out before him.
Lake was there as well, standing by the window, his height having noticeably recovered.
As Lu Yuan walked in, Kraus happened to pick up a letter from the desk, glanced at it, and set it down.
"Perfect timing."
Kraus gestured for Lu Yuan to sit.
Then he pushed the letter to the center of the desk.
"The Polymath Tower has officially sent an invitation for cooperation."
Lu Yuan picked it up and took a look.
The wording was very polite.
"The Sea of Knowledge diversion channel is operating stably; we hope to cooperate fully with the Nightwatchers for the subsequent knowledge harvesting plan." Standard official language—not a single sharp word to be found.
"What are the specific requirements?"
Kraus leaned back in his chair.
"Three points." He held up three fingers. "First, dispatch Nightwatchers to the auxiliary area of the Polymath Tower to help maintain order during the harvesting process."
"Second, when the knowledge fragments fall, they need people with sufficiently resilient spirits to 'receive' them. Anyone without enough willpower will have their mind pierced through by the information within the fragments."
"To put it bluntly, they're using our people as meat shields," Lake added softly from the window.
Kraus didn't refute him.
"Third, spirit barrier support. The willpower of the Nightwatchers can help the scholars of the Polymath Tower share the burden, reducing their mental damage during harvesting."
He lowered his hand.
"That's all."
Lu Yuan placed the letter back on the desk.
"What do you plan to do?"
The corner of Kraus's mouth twitched in a cold, hard arc.
"We go, of course."
"Only by participating can we see what they're actually doing."
He glanced at Lake.
"Arrange for several rank 2 or higher Nightwatchers to go in rotation. I've borrowed some good stuff from the pathfinders. By the way, Lu Yuan, you don't need to participate."
He looked at Lu Yuan.
"The dive will likely happen in the next few days. Spend this time making more brain cores; they might come in handy then."
He paused.
"As for the seed, since you can see its aura, keep an eye on it for now. Notify me immediately of any changes."
He leaned back into his chair.
"Also, if nothing goes wrong, someone will likely be coming to our door soon."
Lu Yuan nodded, saying nothing more.
Kraus glanced at Lake again.
Lake gave a slight nod.
His short brown hair shimmered in the light from the window.
Lu Yuan didn't pry further.
Having finished discussing the Polymath Tower, Kraus suddenly remembered something else.
"Right. Bolen is awake."
Lu Yuan was taken aback.
"And his luck is actually quite good." Kraus's tone carried a hint of something indefinable. "Go see him if you're free."
Lu Yuan nodded.
He had intended to ask about Bolen anyway. The old man hadn't woken up since Lu Yuan had knocked him unconscious back in the pipe network. Counting the days, he had been out for quite a while.
Furthermore, he wanted to show the ghoulified brain cores to Bolen.
Leaving Kraus's office, he walked down the corridor toward the logistics department.
The medical area was on the wing of the logistics department, separated from C-District by two corridors. It was usually very quiet; aside from the medical staff on duty, few people came here.
He turned a corner and walked to the very end.
A private ward. The door was halfway open.
Lu Yuan stood at the door and saw the situation inside.
A bed, a few small shelves, and the window was halfway open.
Bolen was sitting by the bed.
He wasn't lying down; he was sitting.
The old man's right hand was held out in front of him, palm up. Within his palm, a deep blue light was slowly flowing.
The light condensed into lines, the lines traced out symbols, and the symbols emerged one by one in the air, suspended above Bolen's palm.
Kail was crouching nearby, his small box resting by his feet, staring at the light in Bolen's hand with an expression of excitement.
Hearing footsteps, Bolen looked up.
He smiled when he saw it was Lu Yuan.
"Perfect timing."
The old man pushed himself up from the edge of the bed. His movements were much more agile than Lu Yuan remembered.
"My luck is pretty good, wouldn't you say? This time I actually turned a disaster into a blessing and narrowly reached rank 3."
As Bolen spoke, he raised his right hand.
The deep blue light spread from his fingertips, flowing along the back of his hand to his wrist. Obscure runes emerged out of thin air, condensing and rotating in the air before finally stacking into an extremely simple array.
It was about the size of a palm, suspended above Bolen's palm and rotating slowly.
Bolen jerked his chin toward the window.
Lu Yuan stepped closer to the window.
Bolen flipped his wrist and tossed the small array out.
The inscriptions blossomed with light in the air. The blue-white runes glowed brightly for a brief moment.
The moment it hit the ground, a small pit was blasted into the earth. Shards of stone and dirt splashed half a meter high.
Bolen raised an eyebrow at Lu Yuan.
"How was that?"
He held up a finger, unable to suppress the pride in his voice.
"Rank 3. Drawing inscriptions in thin air. No more paper."
Lu Yuan smiled along with him.
But to be honest, he couldn't quite grasp what it meant to be free of the medium of paper for a moment.
He followed the path of Eerie Inscription, engraving directly onto brain cores, which was entirely unrelated to Bolen's system of large-scale inscriptions.
Bolen saw Lu Yuan's expression and understood immediately.
He rolled his eyes.
"Forget it. I almost forgot you're different from me."
The old man waved his hand and turned to Kail.
"Kail, you head out first. I need to have a word with Captain Lu."
Kail didn't refuse; he picked up the small box at his feet and stood up.
He stopped for a moment at the door, turned around, and gave Lu Yuan a very serious bow.
"Thank you, Captain Lu. If it weren't for you, Mr. Bolen might have been in danger."
Lu Yuan waved it off. "Just doing my job. It's nothing."
Only then did Kail turn and leave, closing the door behind him.
The room fell silent.
Lu Yuan finally took a careful look at Bolen.
Perhaps because of his advancement, the old man looked quite a bit younger now.
The wrinkles on his face hadn't faded, but his complexion was much better.
His posture was no longer hunched; his back was straight, and standing there, he seemed like a different person.
Rate on N.U.
