Infection

At the same time, he could verify whether Lausen had truly contracted Strange Dream.

Lausen immediately grew interested. Leaning on his cane, he stepped forward and caught the silver medicine sealed inside a finger-thick glass bottle.

The color of the medicine was dreamlike. Under the lamplight, the liquid in the glass bottle continuously shifted through different shades of silver as the angle changed.

"Silverlight Grass?"

Lausen recognized the main ingredient in the glass bottle at a glance.

"Mm, Doctor Laisen left it behind." Lu Yuan nodded.

"How much do you have? I'll take all of it!" Lausen clearly knew something and decisively wanted to buy everything.

But Lu Yuan would not agree to that.

"I'm sorry, but Silverlight Grass is scarce. I need to keep some for myself. I can give you two bottles at most."

"Three bottles. One Gold Shield."

Lausen directly pulled a glittering coin from his pocket.

Lu Yuan did not immediately take the gleaming Imperial Gold Shield on the table.

He pushed three bottles of potion over, but held down two of them. "This Gold Shield buys the medicine, but I need you to do something for me as well."

Lausen impatiently grabbed one bottle and examined it. "What is it? As long as it lets me sleep peacefully for a night."

"This medicine was left behind by Laisen. Once it's used up, it's gone. If you want more later, you'll have to help me obtain the raw materials."

Lu Yuan took out a prepared list. (Mercury, Silverlight Grass...)

"No matter how you do it, I want to see these things at your next appointment."

At that, Lausen finally moved his gaze away from the silver-glowing bottle. His somewhat clouded eyes stared at Lu Yuan in the darkness for a long while.

"You've got far more nerve than Laisen. Interesting. Deal."

"Deal."

A smile appeared at the corner of Lu Yuan's mouth as he pushed over the remaining Silverlight Grass Mixture.

This deal guaranteed a profit.

Because Laisen's purchase records were clearly written in the notebook.

A single stalk of Silverlight Grass cost around ten Silver Shields. None of the other herbs recorded alongside it cost more than Silverlight Grass.

So no matter what, one Gold Shield was far more than this potion itself was worth.

Of course, Lu Yuan needed money too, because he needed to raise his skill levels as quickly as possible.

And that required money. A lot of money.

Lausen left with the potion.

Lu Yuan closed the door, put away the Gold Shield, and reassessed Lausen's condition.

Based on the current situation, it was highly likely to be Strange Dream.

Strange Dream was contagious.

That had basically been confirmed.

But what Lu Yuan did not understand was why Lausen had been infected at almost the same time as Doctor Laisen.

And why were Lausen's symptoms still stuck in the earliest stage?

Also, what exactly was the route through which Strange Dream spread?

Could he have been infected as well...

Lu Yuan could not figure it out. After all, he was only an ordinary person. If even a professional Doctor could not solve it, could he really handle it so easily?

He shook his head helplessly and simply stopped thinking about it.

Instead, he picked up Basic Herbology and began flipping through it.

"Let's grind levels first."

Thinking that, Lu Yuan sat on the Sofa and kept reading. He added some firewood to the fireplace, and warmth gradually spread through the room, but fatigue quietly crept over him as well.

Splash—

The sound of icy waves exploded beside his ears.

Lu Yuan abruptly opened his eyes.

He looked around. There was no Clinic, no fireplace, no warm blanket.

When he looked up, an endless Black Sea appeared before him.

A ghastly pale moon hung in the gloomy sky, casting an Eerie white sheen across the sea.

Lu Yuan tried to control his body, only to find that his feet seemed to have taken Root, nailed firmly to the beach.

The tide was rising.

Freezing seawater washed over the tops of his feet. The bone-chilling cold burrowed from his skin into his bones, carrying a nauseatingly salty, fishy stench.

"This is... Strange Dream?"

Lu Yuan realized it too and struggled desperately, but his body gave him no response whatsoever.

At that moment, all Lu Yuan could do was stare helplessly at the sea before him.

He watched the surface gradually churn with waves.

The freezing seawater struck Lu Yuan again and again, and the biting cold made him shiver uncontrollably.

Until, at some unknown point, the distant sea had turned pitch-black.

"No."

There was something beneath the water.

Boom!

A massive wave crashed down on him head-on, and suffocation instantly swallowed Lu Yuan.

"Hah—!" Lu Yuan sprang up from the Sofa, gasping for breath. His clothes were soaked through with cold sweat, as if he had just been hauled out of the sea.

At some point, the fire in the fireplace had gone out, and cold drafts occasionally swept through the room.

The Clinic was still silent. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was just past midnight.

Lu Yuan looked around and, only after confirming that he had awakened, sat back down on the Sofa with lingering fear.

In that dream just now, the suffocating sensation of seawater pouring into his nostrils had been terrifyingly real.

But before Lu Yuan could even let out a breath of relief—

A gray experience bar appeared in his vision.

[You gazed directly upon the Deep Sea Nightmare. Sanity assessment in progress... Sanity II: +5.6/49 (Experience)]

His Sanity experience had increased by so much? But... no, something was wrong... Lu Yuan stared at the experience bar before him and suddenly noticed something.

"The total experience needed for Sanity to level up has decreased?"

Lu Yuan remembered clearly that it had previously required 50 experience to level up, but now it had decreased by 1 point.

What did that mean?

Lu Yuan fell silent because he did not know.

But it definitely was not good news. One thing could be confirmed: he had been infected.

The experience bar was proof. The last trace of hope he had been clinging to completely vanished.

Although he had known from reading the diary that this day might come, he had not expected it to arrive so soon.

With a sigh, he knew that the most urgent matter was to prepare in advance.

Lu Yuan thought for a moment, then took out his notebook and recorded his plans.

1. Observe the changes in the dream, use it to raise his Sanity level, and determine why the total Sanity amount was decreasing and what effects it had.

2. Keep in contact with Lausen and find a way to determine why Lausen's condition was progressing so slowly.

3. Go to the church to gather information and purchase some Holy Water.

Lu Yuan stopped writing there. If none of the above worked, there was one final option: proactively contact the Night Watcher.

Although it seemed that everyone knew about the Night Watcher, neither the newspapers nor daily life showed any trace of them.

Most importantly, Lu Yuan did not know how the Night Watcher treated Eerie phenomena.

Of course, the worst that could happen was simply being eliminated.

If Lu Yuan's later symptoms truly turned him into a dead fish like Doctor Laisen, he would rather pay the Night Watcher a visit.

Tonight was destined to be sleepless.

Lu Yuan took out his book and began studying hard, hoping only that he could raise his experience as soon as possible.

The next day.

[Basic Herbology: 11.5/20]

Lu Yuan rubbed his sore, swollen eyes, glanced at the experience bar's progress, and revealed a satisfied expression.

As his studies deepened, Lu Yuan discovered that both his learning progress and efficiency were accelerating in tandem.

Moreover, knowledge related to skills he had already mastered could be picked up quickly and then mastered in subsequent study.

That counted as good news, at least.

After washing up briefly in the washroom, Lu Yuan got dressed and prepared to head out to the church.

His main reason for going to the church was to find a way to get some Holy Water. Second, he wanted to see whether he could buy some medicinal herbs.