Nautical Records
At 1:30 PM, Lu Yuan went out.
We walked along the stone-paved road in the inner city towards the branch office.
When they arrived at the branch office, there was only a young Night Watcher on duty at the front desk.
Most people went out.
"Mr. Lu Yuan," the young man recognized him, "Is there anything you need?"
"Two things," Lu Yuan said quickly, "the Hemlock Extract in the Herb Repository, and the Archive Room."
"I'll get the Herb Repository for you. The Archive Room..." The young man flipped through the register, "Mr. Raymond has already spoken; you can just go downstairs. It's on the basement level, go to the end."
Thanks.
The young man went to the Herb Repository to retrieve something, while Lu Yuan walked down the stairs at the end of the corridor.
The underground passage is short and dimly lit; at the end is the Archive Room.
A heavy bronze door, with a lion's head stone carving embedded in the wall beside it, its open mouth perfectly sized for a badge.
Lu Yuan took out the Night Watcher badge and put it into the lion's mouth.
With a series of clicks, the bronze gate slowly opened with a muffled hum.
Stepping inside, the space was larger than I had imagined.
Rows of filing cabinets reaching the ceiling are neatly arranged, categorized by letter and number. At the far end of the cabinets are several rows of bookshelves, crammed with bound reports, old handwritten copies, and various historical documents.
The air was filled with the smell of paper and ink, with a hint of dry, musty odor.
Lu Yuan did not search aimlessly.
He has clear goals.
<North Sea Nautical Records>.
Yesterday in the bookstore, Morris deliberately opened the book "North Sea Nautical Records" on his desk to page seventy-three: the sea area near the Abyss Rift.
It has the same place of origin as the seashell plaque in the Viscount's Residence.
This is not a coincidence, it's an indication.
Morris wanted him to see that page.
Then let's investigate.
Lu Yuan arrived at the bookshelf labeled "Historical Archives" and ran his fingers along the rows of yellowed spines.
He found it quickly.
<The North Sea Nautical Records: The Bronze City Volume>
A thick, hardcover book, about two fingers thick, with a faded cover and severely worn edges.
Lu Yuan pulled it out and opened it.
The preceding section mainly consists of records of maritime activities that Bronze City has participated in over the years.
Trade routes, fishing ground distribution, marine surveying... trivial and tedious.
He quickly flipped through them, his eyes scanning the year markings.
He stopped when he had flipped the page about two-thirds of the way across.
Imperial year 1107.
It has been exactly twenty years since then.
The title of that page is:
"North Sea Joint Expedition Team - Record of the Seventh Voyage".
Lu Yuan began to read carefully.
"In the spring of Imperial Year 1107, the Imperial Admiralty spearheaded the formation of the North Sea Joint Expedition Team."
"Personnel composition: 12 naval officers, 6 Night Watcher, 8 Scholar the Tower of Erudition, 4 Pathfinder, and several logistics and sailors. Total: 63 people."
Objective: To survey unmarked areas in the deep North Sea, locate the legendary "Evernight Archipelago," and assess resources and threats.
Turn to the next page.
The source of the records here is clearly marked:
The following content is compiled from the original expedition logbook recovered by the search and rescue team at the surface camp on the target island.
Lu Yuan noticed this line of small print.
The search and rescue team found the island and the logbook.
But they couldn't find him.
He continued reading.
"Departed on April 17th. The first three weeks of the voyage went smoothly."
"On May 9th, entered an unmarked sea area. A blank area on the nautical chart."
"On May 14th, an unnamed island was discovered. Traces of man-made structures were found on the island, but it was abandoned. The team landed on the island to explore and discovered an underground cave system."
Turning the page again, the handwriting became noticeably messy.
"On May 16th, an unusual mineral was discovered on the third level of the underground cave. Scholar the Tower of Erudition) determined it to be a high-purity alchemical substrate, extremely valuable, and began collecting samples."
"May 18th..."
The ink in this line has smudged a bit, as if the hand was trembling while writing.
"-Some personnel exhibited mental abnormalities, including insomnia, auditory hallucinations, and erratic behavior. Scholar from the Tower of Erudition recommended an immediate evacuation, but the Navy refused, citing 'unfinished mission'."
The subsequent records became shorter and shorter, and the handwriting became increasingly difficult to decipher.
On May 21, three sailors went missing. The search yielded no results.
"On May 23, during the retreat, we encountered unusual sea fog, and communications were lost."
"May 25th... last record."
The last line of text was almost etched onto the paper.
"The beacon is damaged. Something is moving in the sea fog. 63 people, 11 confirmed alive. The logbook is left at camp. We're heading north. If anyone finds this logbook, do not enter the cave."
After that, it's blank.
Lu Yuan stared at the blank space for a few seconds, then flipped to the appendix.
The appendix contains the search and rescue team's follow-up investigation records.
"The search and rescue team arrived at the target area in July 1107 and found the expedition's logbook and some personal belongings at the surface camp on the unnamed island, but no survivors were found. The entrance to the underground cave had collapsed and could not be entered."
In September 1107, the Imperial Admiralty listed all 63 members of the North Sea Joint Expedition Team as missing, and the case was archived and sealed.
Lu Yuan did not close the book.
He turned to the last page of the appendix.
There is a list there.
The names, positions, and affiliations of 63 people are densely arranged on the yellowed paper.
Lu Yuan's gaze swept across the rows of lines.
After scanning the middle section, the condition of the paper deteriorated rapidly.
The lower half was soaked in water, causing the ink to bleed into a blotch, and most of the writing was no longer legible.
Only the first thirty or so names were legible.
Naval officer, Night Watcher, logistics...
The names of the Scholar from the Tower of Erudition are not among them.
Based on the usual practice of listing organizations in a categorized order, the eight people from Tower of Erudition are most likely to be in the latter half of the list.
It happened to be in the area where the water stains were most severe.
Lu Yuan's gaze slowly moved over the spreading ink stain.
Most of it is completely burnt.
However, the remaining traces of two names were barely discernible at the edge of the water stain.
"... Hmm, the Materials College the Tower of Erudition, Alchemy..."
"... Special, Materials Tower of Erudition Materials College, Alchemy..."
Beyond that, it became completely invisible.
The student's major and detailed job description were all swallowed up by the water stains.
Lu Yuan slowly removed his finger from the list.
Alchemists in the Materials College. At least two.
The specific research areas are not discernible from this list.
However, the timeline matches the Imperial Calendar year 1107.
Laurina said, "Many years ago," she "went on a long journey and never came back."
Although there were still some doubts, it was enough for Lu Yuan to continue digging.
Lu Yuan closed the book and put it back on the bookshelf.
Then he stood still, without moving.
He was thinking of Morris.
The book in the bookstore, "The North Sea Nautical Records," was open to page seventy-three— the Abyss Rift.
He followed this clue and found the expedition team, and then the Materials College.
Everything is going smoothly.
Everything went so smoothly.
It's as if someone has paved a path in front of him, and he just needs to follow it.
But those who pave roads cannot be without a purpose.
Morris wanted him to know this.
The question is, why?
Why would an entity "beyond the level of cognition" feed information to someone who has just advanced to the Second Order?
Is this helping him?
Or are we leading him by the nose?
When a prey thinks it is tracking another prey, it is often walking on a path laid out by the hunter.