Madman's Knowledge

"Wa Island, Night Country, Ruined Capital… none of these are places in this world, are they?"

"So, they're other realms?"

Lu Ban found it perfectly reasonable.

Just like his suona, if it had existed in this world originally, it would have definitely caused a commotion and left behind records.

But in reality, there were no such descriptions.

Through his research on the goods in the [Silence Department Store], Lu Ban could roughly summarize that there were several such other realms.

One was Wa Island, seemingly composed of islands, with the sea being the main area. Pirates were rampant, and monsters lurked within the sea fog.

Another was Night Country, largely situated in the Black Forest, with two organizations, the Gray Tower and the Black Tower, holding power, and possessing supernatural abilities like magic.

Then there was Ruined Capital, which appeared to be close to modern civilization levels, with cars, trains, and gangsters, and of course, monsters and gods.

There was also the Wasteland. The descriptions of the Wasteland were a bit complex, featuring both idols and modern tools, faith and science. Since it wasn't one of Lu Ban's three missions this time, he hadn't studied it in detail.

There was also a portion with unclear descriptions, and he didn't know which region it came from.

"Regardless, let's start with a daily single draw. I'll make a judgment based on the knowledge I gain."

Lu Ban spent fifty Silence Points to acquire [Madman's Knowledge].

A strangely shaped skull suddenly appeared in his hand.

It resembled a human skull, but the shape of the teeth and eye sockets were clearly different. The entire head leaned more towards that of some kind of rodent, sharp and elongated.

Within the skull, a pale flame burned. This flame wasn't hot; instead, it was chilling. Touching it felt like running a finger through extremely cold water, making one's teeth chatter.

"How do I use this?"

Lu Ban held the skull, not feeling creeped out, but rather extremely perplexed.

"Grind it into powder and eat it? Steep it with goji berries? I can't microwave it for three minutes and eat it straight from the bag, can I?"

He looked at the skull.

On the back of the bone, at the back of the head, there was a line of small, gold-embossed text.

[Crush to use].

"Crush it?"

Lu Ban applied some force.

Crack—

The skull, resembling a rat and yet human, turned to dust with Lu Ban's slight effort. The pale flame within transformed into gray mist, flowing into Lu Ban's brain through his nose, mouth, ears, and eyes.

Lu Ban leaned back against his chair.

Certain knowledge was forcefully shoved into Lu Ban's skull like a drill breaking through the earth's surface, spreading through the grooves of his cerebral cortex and stirring the neurons in his hippocampus.

Countless whispers echoed in Lu Ban's ears.

These whispers came from different languages, spoken by people of different ages, genders, and identities. The vast majority were in languages Lu Ban couldn't identify the origin of.

He only caught fragments.

".they dug downwards and finally unearthed treasure, and an ancient evil…"

".it's all fake, all illusions, hahahaha, I got it! Hahahaha…"

".gangsters are to Ruined Capital what white blood cells are to humans, you understand what I mean?"

".those flowers, they are within my body, in every single one of my blood vessels, every muscle, wandering, growing, draining my life, and then, giving birth…"

".hey, buddy, when you see a fish in the desert, you know what I'm talking about, and you should run!"

Accompanying these whispers, Lu Ban also saw a tall, dark, densely packed city, a breathtakingly beautiful field of flowers, gangsters in suits and sunglasses brawling in damp, cold alleys, whales singing loudly in the desert, beggars struggling in their last moments, the decadent upper class, and the eyes looking down from above.

Eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes…

Countless eyes, more densely packed than the starry sky, hung above Lu Ban's head.

Lu Ban's body trembled slightly. Tiny amounts of blood flowed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. His joints contorted at angles impossible for a human, and his entire body twitched grotesquely and strangely for a full five minutes.

Suddenly, everything stopped.

The entire room was silent, as if no living being was present; even the sound of breathing couldn't be heard.

The closet door moved slowly, but did not open.

The curtains fluttered, as if someone was standing behind the plain fabric.

Scratching sounds emerged from under the bed for a moment, then fell silent again.

Lu Ban's body suddenly twitched.

"Hoo—"

He took a deep breath, and only then sat up.

Without bothering to wipe the now-viscous blood from his face, Lu Ban first looked at the familiar ceiling.

There was nothing on that simple ceiling.

No.

Just as Lu Ban gazed intently, an eye suddenly opened on the wall.

One, two, three. In an instant, countless eyes opened from the ceiling to the walls, even on the computer, desk, cabinet, curtains, and even on Lu Ban's own hands, looking around in different directions.

Finally, all these eyes turned towards Lu Ban's position.

Lu Ban's nosebleed surged again, dripping onto his shirt and pants, soaking a large area.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, everything had returned to normal.

"My newly changed clothes…"

He looked at his blood-stained shirt and jeans, silently got up, and opened the wardrobe.

In a corner of the wardrobe, some darkness seemed to gather. Lu Ban ignored it, took out his change of clothes, and immediately took off his shirt and pants, revealing his well-exercised six-pack abs as he changed.

He threw the blood-stained clothes into the washing machine, washed the blood from his face, and returned to the computer.

His vision was still a little blurry, but it would recover soon.

No big deal.

"This is knowledge from the Ruined Capital."

Lu Ban opened a document, briefly summarizing his gains from the experience.

"The Ruined Capital's cultural level is roughly equivalent to the 1920s and 1930s, with a mix of Eastern and Western influences. Outside the densely populated megacities are deserts and wastelands."

"The wealth gap in the city is huge, with the poor crammed into the narrow old districts, while the central urban areas are exclusive to the rich."

"Gangs hold significant status in the Ruined Capital, even acting as judicial representatives in certain areas."

"The deserts outside the city hide numerous monsters, including wriggling, contagious flowers and flying whales."

"There is still wealth to be found in the desert, attracting people to explore."

"And… the ruler of the entire city, the owner of those eyes, is perhaps a deity on par with the existence on Aldebaran."

"Since I've acquired the knowledge of the Ruined Capital, this place doesn't seem so dangerous anymore."

Lu Ban seemed to have made up his mind.

*

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