Seeker

The two continued searching the room.

A few minutes later, it was basically confirmed that there were no other valuable clues.

Raymond walked to the door and looked at the butler waiting outside.

Were there any visitors at your residence on the night you disappeared?

The butler thought for a moment.

"Yes. That evening, a guest came to visit you, sir. He was a young nobleman who said he came from the south."

"Name?"

"André Morris," the butler said, "The master and he talked for a long time in the study, but I don't know the specifics."

Was the young lady still in the room when he left?

The butler nodded.

"It should be. I remember the lights went out in the mansion not long after that guest left."

Raymond and Lu Yuan exchanged a glance.

A nobleman from the south.

André Morris.

Lu Yuan memorized the name.

He had a gut feeling that this person was not simple.

Although there is no evidence, the identity of "a nobleman from the south" just doesn't feel quite right.

"I need to see the study," Raymond suddenly said, "The place where the guest and the Viscount spoke on the night of his disappearance."

The butler nodded.

The study is on the east side of the first floor.

Raymond turned to Lu Yuan.

"Go take a look in the collection room; noble families sometimes have... special items in their collections."

He lowered his voice.

"There was a case before where the missing person was identified because they had come into contact with one of the items in their family's collection."

Lu Yuan understood what he meant.

"Good."

Raymond looked at the butler.

"Have someone take him to the collection room."

The butler hesitated for a moment, then waved towards the end of the corridor.

The young maid who had just left walked over, her unease not yet completely gone.

"Mary, take this gentleman to the collection room."

The maid lowered her head and responded softly.

"Plz follow me."

Lu Yuan followed her down the stairs, through the front hall, and into the side wing on the first floor.

Throughout the journey, the maid kept her head down and walked with a hurried pace.

Lu Yuan noticed that her fingers were trembling slightly.

What are Miss Elina's usual habits?

Lu Yuan suddenly spoke.

The maid paused for a moment.

"... Miss likes to read." Her voice was soft. "I'm responsible for taking care of Miss's daily life, and the task I'm most often asked to do is buy her various books."

Did you notice anything unusual the night you went missing?

The maid remained silent for a few seconds.

"No."

Her tone was somewhat stiff.

Lu Yuan did not press further.

He simply kept this detail in mind.

We've arrived at the collection room.

The maid took out the Key and opened the heavy Oak Door.

"Please come in."

She stood at the door, showing no intention of going in.

Lu Yuan nodded and walked into the collection room alone.

The door slowly closed behind me.

A musty, old smell wafted over me.

The room wasn't large, but it was filled with all sorts of collectibles.

Ancient porcelain, yellowed scrolls, jewel-encrusted daggers, masks from exotic lands...

The accumulated wealth of several generations of aristocratic families, not particularly precious items, are all piled up in this room.

This can be considered as "capital" displayed for outsiders to see.

Lu Yuan's gaze slowly swept over the collection.

Most of them are ordinary antiques or trinkets with symbolic meanings.

Although expensive, it is essentially ordinary.

But suddenly Lu Yuan's gaze stopped.

In the corner, under a separate glass dome, lies a seashell.

A broken seashell.

Its edges have obvious cracks, and there are several missing parts on the surface, making it look like it has experienced some kind of violent impact.

But it was placed separately in a glass case, on a black velvet tray, with a small nameplate next to it.

The nameplate reads:

[Abyssal Relic - Found in the Abyss Rift of the North Sea, obtained by the third head of the Sofia Family during an expedition]

A broken seashell.

However, it was treated as a "hidden treasure" and enshrined.

Lu Yuan stared at the seashell, a hint of surprise rising in his heart.

To the average person, it's just a worn-out seashell; although it has an unusual origin, it's nothing special except for its commemorative value.

The Sofia Family has never had Transcendence members, so they don't know the true value of this thing.

But Lu Yuan saw something different.

Something is flowing inside the cracks of the seashell.

It's very faint, almost imperceptible.

It resembles some kind of liquid, and also some kind of light.

That's the ability that comes from Deep Study perspective.

[Detection Target: The Knowledge's Male (A Creation Containing Unknown Power)]

[Status: Dormant. Specific conditions are required for activation.]

[Warning: This item is related to the Sea of Knowledge.]

Lu Yuan's breath hitched slightly.

He sensed it.

A faint restlessness came from somewhere in my body.

It is the Forbidden Studies of the mind that is resonating with this seashell.

He didn't actively trigger anything.

I'm just watching.

But the mere act of "looking" stirred something within him.

At the edge of my field of vision, grayish-white text began to flicker:

[Forbidden Studies - Seeker: +0.1...49.8/50]

[Forbidden Studies - Seeker: +0.1...49.9/50]

Lu Yuan frowned deeply.

The flow within the cracks... is becoming increasingly apparent.

Wrong.

His perception was becoming clearer.

This seashell is no ordinary collectible.

It is a door.

A door leading somewhere.

And he was pushing the door open.

Lu Yuan wanted to look away, but found he couldn't.

His gaze was fixed on the seashell, as if glued to it.

The light from the crack grew brighter and brighter.

No.

It's not light.

It's a color.

Countless colors.

White, yellow, blue, purple, black...

The colors surged and intertwined within the cracks, like countless wriggling worms.

Lu Yuan felt his rationality being mobilized.

It wasn't that he used it voluntarily, but rather that it was passively and uncontrollably gushing out.

At the same time, an immense sense of oppression arose.

The power inherent in the Bronze City was unleashed at this moment.

The eerie atmosphere emanating from the collection room was contained around Lu Yuan.

As a result, the outside world had no idea what was happening here.

[Sanity: -5...115/120]

[Sanity: -3...112/120]

As reason faded, the seashell opened.

The broken shell slowly opened, like an eye that had been asleep for a thousand years.

What was revealed inside caused Lu Yuan's pupils to contract sharply.

It was a flowing liquid.

No.

It is not a liquid.

It is the ocean.

An infinitely vast ocean compressed inside a seashell.

The liquid's color constantly changes, presenting a new hue every second, as if all the colors of the world are condensed into this small space.

Blurry text appeared on the surface of the liquid.

Lu Yuan couldn't understand those words.

They were not the Imperial Language, nor any language he knew.

But he could feel the weight contained in those words.

Each character carries an unimaginable amount of information.

It's as if an entire Library has been compressed into a single symbol.

[Forbidden Studies - Seeker: +0.1...50/50]

[Experience maxed out, currently advancing...]

In the next instant, Lu Yuan's consciousness was abruptly pulled into that liquid.

He fell into the ocean.

It's not the real ocean.

It is an ocean of knowledge.

Surrounded by endless colors and containing countless pieces of knowledge, Lu Yuan fell into this vast sea.

But strangely, all the knowledge seemed to be deliberately avoiding Lu Yuan.

The magnificent ocean of words has thus revealed an endless the Abyss.

Lu Yuan continued to fall.

Almost all knowledge is here.

All the secrets that have been written down, pondered, and forgotten slumber in the depths of this ocean.

This is the Sea of Knowledge.

Lu Yuan forced himself to close his eyes tightly, trying not to look at the magnificent sea, but it was no use.

Countless pieces of knowledge flowed in and out, bringing no memory but taking away a vast amount of reason.

[Sanity: -15...97/120]

[Sanity: -12...85/120]

[Sanity: -18...67/120]

But Lu Yuan's rationality was still rapidly declining.

Lu Yuan couldn't stop.

For a fleeting moment, he seemed to see something.

A city submerged at the bottom of the sea.

A perpetually open Sky-Piercing Gate, exuding an eerie atmosphere.

One who was watching him...

No.

Cannot be viewed.

I can't watch anymore.

Just as he was about to be swallowed by the ocean, a hand grabbed him.

It's not a real hand.

It is a kind of will.

A gentle yet firm force pulled him out of that the Abyss, like lifting a drowning cat.

Then he heard a voice.

The sound Echo the sea, carrying a hint of disdain and a touch of helplessness.

"... Not enough."

You're not qualified to look at those things.

"Let's go back."

Lu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.

He was still standing in the collection room.

There was that seashell in front of me.

The seashell had closed up, returning to its broken state, lying quietly under the glass cover.

It was as if nothing had happened.

But Lu Yuan knew what had happened.

His breathing was rapid, and his back was soaked with cold sweat. Beads of sweat slid down his forehead and dripped onto the floor.

He looked down at his hands.

She was trembling slightly.

At the edge of vision, grayish-white text slowly emerged:

[Rationality: 67/120]

[Forbidden Studies - The Seeker has reached the limit and is advancing...]

[Advanced level complete.]

[As a human, you stepped onto the edge of the Sea of Knowledge, glimpsing a corner you shouldn't have glimpsed.]

[Unlock new rank: Forbidden Studies - Seeker: 0/100]

[You have provided entirely new knowledge, adding a drop of solidified text to the Sea of Knowledge. You have obtained the Key this Sea of Knowledge, enabling you to capture fragments of any known knowledge from the past. Each use consumes sanity. The more you see, the more you lose.]

[Remember: Knowledge has weight. And you have begun to bear that weight. (Strange, why are you going against the tide?)]

Lu Yuan stared at the words, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

He took a few seconds to catch his breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

Then his gaze returned to the seashell.

This thing... can't be left here.

Although it's unclear why it hasn't been discovered until now.

More importantly

Lu Yuan needs it.

Without any hesitation, Lu Yuan removed the glass cover and put the broken seashell into his pocket.

Its surface is cool, with a strange tactile sensation.

But it didn't open again.

Perhaps it's because it just used up too much energy.

Perhaps it's because... Lu Yuan's current "qualifications" are only enough to open it once.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts, composed himself, and made sure he appeared normal.

Then push open the door to the collection room.

The maid was still standing outside, her head bowed.

She looked up at Lu Yuan, her gaze lingering on his pale face for a moment, but said nothing.

"Take me to Raymond."

Lu Yuan's voice was steady.

The maid nodded and turned to lead the way.

At the door of the study, Raymond was talking to the butler.

Seeing Lu Yuan approach, he stopped talking and glanced at Lu Yuan's face.

"What did you find?"

"I've found something." Lu Yuan took out a seashell from his pocket. "This needs to be taken back for testing."

Raymond glanced at the broken seashell but didn't ask for details.

He simply nodded, then took a beautifully carved little box from the shelf next to him.

He turned to the butler.

"These two items are suspected of being linked to the missing persons case and need to be taken back to the branch for examination."

"Returned after the investigation, depending on the circumstances."

The butler opened his mouth, his face looking rather unpleasant.

But in the end, he said nothing.

He simply nodded silently.

"After all, everything displayed outside has been carefully selected, and this time it involves the Viscount's daughter."

Hopefully they will investigate this seriously.

I hope the young lady is well.

Lu Yuan carefully put the seashell away and followed Raymond toward the door.

Sunlight streamed through the windows in the corridor, casting dappled patterns of light on the floor.

Everything seems normal.

But Lu Yuan knew that from today onwards, the world he saw would be different.