Releasing a Clue
Lu Yuan opened his eyes at dawn.
At the edge of vision, grayish-white text appeared:
[Sanity: +12...103/120]
Last night, Laurina didn't let him drink the medicine, saying that continuous use would cause resistance.
When I went downstairs, Laurina was already at the workbench.
Two crucibles, one large and one small, the larger one still being heated, the smaller one already removed from the heat, the pungent smell of Sandworm blood permeating the entire first floor.
Lu Yuan didn't disturb him. He washed up, tore off a piece of dried meat, and ate half a piece of hard bread.
Without looking up, Laurina said, "You haven't peeled the Sandworm skin yet."
"We'll deal with it when we get back."
Lu Yuan picked up his Notebook and coat and went out.
Branch office. 9:00 AM.
There was no one else in the Archive Room.
Lu Yuan went straight to the bookshelf section to compare the coordinates on the foil.
Maps of the entire empire, nautical documents, geographical records, and meteorological records.
He looked through everything that might involve the coordinates of the North Sea.
The result was the same.
Bronze City is an inland city, and the accuracy of the marine data is limited; the area above the 60th mark on the vertical axis is almost entirely blank.
The approximate coordinates fall in the blank area at the northernmost end of the map, in the same direction as the location where the expedition went missing in 1107, but further away and further north.
Precise positioning requires at least high-precision nautical charts from the Imperial Admiralty.
I can't get it myself.
Lu Yuan wrote the information down in his Notebook and began collecting the maps.
When I got to the very end, my fingers paused for a moment.
At the very bottom of the index bar are two file numbers associated with the 1107 expedition.
Instead of the "Available for review" label after the serial number, there is a small dark red square stamp.
"Headquarters sealed off."
The ink on the seal is very fresh; it wasn't stamped more than a decade ago.
Lu Yuan's gaze lingered on it for a moment before he rolled up the map and put it back on the bookshelf.
There was no need to delve deeper. The Headquarters had sealed it away, and the branch office didn't have the necessary permissions; further questioning would only reveal the direction of their investigation.
Leaving the Archive Room, Lu Yuan walked down the main street, intending to buy some bread.
The road is lined with rows of brick and stone buildings, three or four stories high, with window frames inlaid with cast iron patterns, and the ground floor is mostly shops.
The sun rose, casting faint shadows from the Gas Lamp.
Several open horse-drawn carriages carrying goods passed by, their iron wheels clattering on the stone slabs.
The cart was piled with wooden crates and sacks, and the driver was a worker dressed in coarse cloth shirts.
The meeting doesn't start until 2 PM, no rush.
There was a bakery on the street corner, its wooden sign blackened by smoke. Lu Yuan went in and bought two white loaves of bread, wrapped them in oil paper, and also bought one for Laurina.
When she returned to the Alchemy Workshop, Laurina had already finished packaging the first batch of Sandworm blood.
The sealed bottles were arranged by depth at the bottom of the medicine cabinet, and the labels were handwritten by her, with neat handwriting.
"Here you go." Lu Yuan placed the bread on the workbench.
Laurina glanced at it, didn't say thank you, picked it up and took a bite.
"Good."
Lu Yuan wasn't idle either; after discovering that the Guardian could only cultivate once a day...
Now I'm starting to figure out how to increase the number of attempts.
Lu Yuan, having gained nothing by the afternoon, arrived at the conference room ten minutes early.
Unlike the one two days ago, this time there was no somber opening.
Klaus sat in the main seat, with only a cup of tea in front of him; he hadn't even picked up any documents.
His coat was draped over the back of the chair, revealing a faded gray-white shirt underneath.
There was no pressure or relaxation on my face, just a very bland kind of tiredness.
The people present were the same as last time: Raymond, Karl, Helen, Hogger, and a few Night Watcher I didn't recognize.
Lu Yuan sat near the door.
Raymond reported first.
The voice was flat, with a hint of weakness.
"All three missing persons locations have been re-investigated. The Viscount's Residence's attitude has changed drastically; they are polite but uncooperative. There are no new developments from the Baron's Residence. The Merchants' Guild representative provided some supplementary materials, which highly overlap with existing leads."
He closed the folder.
"The Ruined House was destroyed by fire, making it impossible to collect new evidence. There is currently no trace of Morris."
In short: Three days have passed, and there has been no breakthrough.
Klaus picked up his teacup, took a sip, and showed no surprise.
He knew this would be the outcome.
Hogger then said a couple more things.
There were no major developments at the three Ascension Society strongholds in the Outer City. The number of people coming and going was fixed, and there were no signs of expansion, but there was also no intention to withdraw.
"It's nailed there," Hogger stated bluntly.
Klaus looked at Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan only said one sentence.
There are no new developments regarding Morris.
Klaus didn't press the matter.
He looked at everyone.
"The three-day deadline has passed."
His voice didn't rise, and his tone remained unchanged.
"The result was not ideal, but it was expected. The necessary procedures were followed, and the necessary investigations were conducted."
He put down his teacup.
"The investigation continues, with no further deadline. Raymond, your team will remain at its current size, but don't let your guard down."
"Lu Yuan will be on a separate team. You keep an eye on Morris. Hogger, maintain observation of the Outer City area, but don't initiate contact."
The three people nodded.
Klaus paused for a moment.
His gaze wasn't on anyone, but rather fixed on the Bronze City map on the wall.
"The orders from Night Watcher Headquarters have come down; we Night Watcher simply need to maintain our duties."
Klaus spoke with a hint of seriousness.
"But blatant disregard for imperial regulations is not permitted."
"So just do your job well and don't leave any room for maneuver, unless we have evidence."
The room was silent for a few seconds.
Meeting adjourned.
The sound of a chair being moved.
The group got up and headed towards the door.
Raymond slowed his pace slightly as he passed Lu Yuan.
Come to me anytime if you need anything.
Lu Yuan nodded.
Raymond didn't linger and followed Karl and Helen out the door.
Hogger was the last to leave. Before going out, he glanced back at Lu Yuan, said nothing, and then left.
The footsteps in the corridor gradually faded away.
Only two people remained in the meeting room.
Klaus was about to get up when he saw that Lu Yuan hadn't moved, and his hand paused.
Is there anything else?
There's something I need to tell you privately.
Klaus's gaze lingered on him for a moment before he sat back down.
Lu Yuan tore a page from his Notebook, placed it on the table, and pushed it over.
The paper contained the set of coordinates he had copied by hand.
Six sets of numbers, arranged in two rows, accurate to two decimal places.
Only coordinates.
Klaus glanced down.
"What?"
"Found among the items obtained during the previous investigation," Lu Yuan stated succinctly. "It's not directly related to the current inner city disappearance case, but the coordinates point towards the North Sea, roughly coinciding with the route of the North Sea Joint Expedition Team in 1107 of the Imperial Calendar."
He paused.
Further away, further north.
Klaus remained silent.
His fingers remained on the paper, not picking it up. His gaze lingered on the numbers.
The meeting room was quiet. Outside the window, the sound of a horse-drawn carriage passing by could be heard; the wheels rolled over the stone path, the sound coming in from afar and then fading away.
A few seconds later, Klaus looked up.
He looked at Lu Yuan.
He just looked at him, and there was something in his eyes that Lu Yuan was very familiar with—the kind of look that old Night Watcher had when they were judging a person.
Klaus is making a judgment.
The silence lasted for a few seconds.
Then Klaus picked up the paper, folded it twice, and put it in his shirt pocket.
It's not the folder on the table, and it's not the drawer.
It's a pocket that's close to the body.
"Knew."
Three words.
"Also," Lu Yuan added, "The two serial numbers in the Archive Room associated with the 1107 expedition have been sealed by Headquarters. The seal is newly stamped."
Klaus's eyes narrowed slightly.
It was very short-lived.
"Um."
There was only that one sound. But his thumb pressed against the spot on the paper outside his pocket.
Lu Yuan handed over these coordinates not because he trusted him.
If this thing really points to something, he, being only at the Second Order, can't withstand it anyway.
Morris paved the way ahead, allowing him to follow it step by step.
Although he didn't know, he was unaware that he possessed the Grego's Badge, and whether the other man even knew it.
But handing information over to a third party breaks with established norms.
As for how Klaus will handle it, that's his business.
Lu Yuan stood up and walked towards the door.
My hand had just touched the doorknob.
Hurried footsteps came from outside the door.
Bang bang bang.
The knocking was almost slammed on the door.
Lu Yuan opened the door.
A young Night Watcher stood outside the door, his forehead covered in sweat and his breathing rapid, as if he had run all the way there.
His gaze passed over Lu Yuan and landed on Klaus.
"Deputy Chief!"
His voice trembled slightly.
"A body was found in the Outer City this morning."
"Who?"
The young man swallowed hard.
"Preliminary confirmation is... Allen Victor."
His voice was very low.
"The son of the Merchants' Guild representative."
There was a moment of silence in the conference room.
Klaus stood up.
The chair leg scraped against the floor with a short, sharp sound.
He looked at Lu Yuan.
"Come with me."