Solution

Lu Yuan couldn't understand it.

But he remembered that unease.

Anxiety itself is the best reminder.

[Current Status of Bronze City: +1...3/50]

Lu Yuan frowned slightly as he looked at the notification that appeared. His brow had furrowed again as he viewed this information.

This incident indicates that it involves something from a long time ago... Lu Yuan strongly resisted this feeling of "going with the flow".

He left the Archive Room and went back down the stairs to the first floor.

The young man at the front desk had already prepared the Hemlock Extract.

Two small glass bottles, the liquid was a deep amber color, and the bottles were labeled with the branch's name.

Please sign for it.

Lu Yuan signed the bottle and put it in his pocket.

Just as he was about to leave, the door to the front desk was pushed open.

It's Karl.

The scarred man was covered in sweat, and his coat was dusty; he looked like he had just run back from outside.

He was taken aback when he saw Lu Yuan.

"You didn't go with the captain?"

"Yes, it's a last-minute notice," Lu Yuan said, looking at Karl. "How's it going on your end?"

Karl picked up a glass of cold water from the counter and gulped down half of it.

"I've searched three places." He wiped his mouth, his tone somewhat somber. "At the Viscount's Residence, the Viscount's attitude changed drastically. He was very polite, but he wouldn't let me search thoroughly."

"The Baron is still the same as always, locking himself in his study. The Merchants' Guild representatives are cooperating, but after searching for a long time, they haven't found anything new."

He shook his head, looking somewhat helpless.

"We found everything we could last time, this time it's just a formality."

Almost exactly as Lu Yuan had predicted.

Where is Helen?

"Still outside, he went with the captain to meet up with Hogger's men." Karl put down his cup. "There seems to be some new activity in the Outer City, but we don't know the specifics yet."

Outer City.

The direction where the Ascension Society stationed.

Lu Yuan nodded without asking any further questions.

We'll get back to you when we have more information.

"Okay." Karl waved at him. "I'll go write my report now; the captain's pressuring me."

Lu Yuan walked out of the branch office and headed back along the stone path.

He carried Hemlock Extract and a bronze badge in his pocket.

The words from the "North Sea Nautical Records" were in my mind.

Of the 63 people involved, 11 have been confirmed to be alive.

We left the logbook at the campsite and headed north.

They headed north.

What happens next?

Twenty years have passed, and the search and rescue team has failed to find the person. The Empire has shelved the case.

But what happened to those 11 people, assuming any of them survived and returned to the mainland? What did they bring back?

And the badge in Grego's hand.

He's a core member of the Ascension Society. How did this object, made of metallic Memory Material, end up in his hands?

Was it circulated within the Ascension Society, or did it come from other channels?

These questions currently have no answers.

But at least one path is open.

Tonight, after Laurina receives the Hemlock Extract, she can begin preparing the Trigger Solution.

Whether it will be able to open then is still uncertain.

But you'll never know if you don't try.

The twilight light slanted through the gaps in the buildings, bathing the stone path in a warm golden hue.

Lu Yuan quickened his pace.

When they returned to the Alchemy Workshop, it was just before dusk.

Laurina stood at her workbench, with a row of test tubes and several petri dishes in front of her.

When Lu Yuan entered, her gaze first fell on what he was holding.

"You got it?"

Lu Yuan placed the Hemlock Extract in front of her.

Laurina picked up the bottle and examined the liquid's color and transparency against the light.

"The quality is alright."

She put the bottle down and pointed to several items already prepared on the workbench: ground Silverleaf Powder, a small bottle of diluted Mineralized Salt solution, and an empty glass beaker.

"I prepared the base this afternoon. Now add the Hemlock Extract, and let it stand for one to two hours after mixing to allow the ingredients to fully react."

She glanced at Lu Yuan.

Whether it will work or not, we'll only know after we try.

Lu Yuan nodded.

Laurina didn't say anything more and began operating the system.

Her movements were precise, each step carrying a composure that Lu Yuan could not imitate.

When measuring Hemlock Extract, gently rotate your wrist to the mark.

The angle and speed at which the liquid was poured into the beaker were controlled with extreme precision.

After the mixture was prepared, it presented a strange color that was somewhere between amber and emerald green.

Laurina placed the beaker in a cool, shady corner of the workbench and covered it with a glass lid.

Two hours.

Lu Yuan helped wash a few dishes, then returned to the window.

He wasn't idle.

Take out the Notebook and turn to a blank page.

I wrote two questions:

What's hidden inside the badge?

What does Morris want me to find?

Close the Notebook.

While waiting for the solution to react, Lu Yuan also disassembled the other three wooden boxes.

The largest one was waist-high, and inside were neatly stacked more than a dozen dried Sandworm skins.

It is grayish-brown in color and has a fine, dense scale pattern on the surface. Each scale is cleaned, rolled into a tube, and tied with hemp rope.

The second box contained meat.

The dried Sandworm meat was in large chunks, much thicker than the kind Herman sent this morning.

It has a darker color, coarser texture, and the direction of muscle fibers can be seen on the cut surface; it is as solid as wood.

At the bottom were two sealed earthenware jars. When one was unscrewed, a strong, fishy smell rushed out.

Sandworm blood. A dark red, thick liquid that has undergone preliminary processing and has not coagulated.

The other jar was a darker color, almost black.

The third box was a bit mixed up.

Several rolls of Sandworm tendons, dried and hard as stone.

A small bag of powdered Sandworm bones, grayish-white in color.

There was also a package wrapped in three layers of oil paper. Inside was a palm-sized piece of dried Sandworm gallbladder, wrinkled and dark green in color.

Laurina glanced at the Sandworm blood and dried gallbladder a few more times.

"Sandworm blood, if processed properly, can be used as an adhesive, and it can also be incorporated into certain high-end formulas." She picked up the gallbladder and examined it thoroughly. "This stuff is even rarer. Sandworm bile has the property of neutralizing residual Contamination; it's a natural Purification agent."

She placed the two earthenware jars and the dried gallbladder at the bottom of the medicine cabinet, next to the Refined Sandworm Oil.

"Your desert town actually controls so many things?"

"Many of these are controlled items..."

Lu Yuan didn't reply.

Herman is always practical in his work.

The friendship forged in Sandworm Town has brought us these tangible benefits.

That should last for a while.

The sky outside the window had completely darkened.

The bronze runes on the city wall lit up, outlining a dark golden arc on the distant horizon.

Lu Yuan closed his eyes and began his defensive training for the night.

Let's wait two hours and see what secret that badge holds.

Nine o'clock in the evening.

On the second floor of the Alchemy Workshop, the light from the oil lamp cast flickering shadows on the walls.

After preparing the Trigger Solution, Laurina said, "Two hours." Now an hour and a half has passed.

Lu Yuan sat by the window, with the <Knowledge Path Guide> spread out on his lap.

He had already read through the theoretical part of the Second Order of defense several times.

I can roughly understand what the book means by "widening the river channel," but in reality, it seems that we can only make a little progress every day.

At this rate, the stat can only be increased by 0.3 per day. At this rate, it will take at least another month to upgrade.

Lu Yuan was very troubled. It had taken too long, and he wondered if he could find a way to speed things up.