Forbidden Studies

He looked at Thomas, a hint of scrutiny in his eyes.

"What did you see in the water?"

Thomas's gaze was somewhat vacant, as though he had yet to recover from his terror.

"Eyes..." he muttered. "Nothing but eyes... When I fell into the sea, the waters below were covered in eyes..."

Thomas could not die, but neither could he move. After scraping together ten Silver Shields for Lu Yuan, the two endlessly grateful coworkers finally carried Thomas away.

It looked like they had a pretty good relationship.

The clinic returned to silence.

Lu Yuan sat behind the counter, his fingers lightly stroking the cold barrel of the Silver-Plated Pistol.

Thomas's experience confirmed his suspicions—where light could not reach in Grim Port, an approaching tempest was brewing.

Those things from the Deep Sea were no longer content to linger in the depths. They had begun probing the shallows, even the land.

"Nothing but eyes..."

As Lu Yuan recalled Thomas's description, the scene he had witnessed while disposing of the body that night surfaced in his mind unbidden.

Those ghostly green specks of light that had lit up in the darkness were eyes as well.

[Grim Port's Current State: +5, 30/50]

The system prompt appeared soundlessly.

Lu Yuan glanced at the experience bar, and a plan formed in his mind.

This information was highly valuable.

Not only could it be used to farm [Intelligence] experience, it might even be exchanged for something from the Night Watchers.

After all, providing reports of such abnormalities was part of his duty as a "consultant."

Just then, a newspaper was slipped through the crack in the door.

Lu Yuan went over and picked it up, discovering that it had been delivered by an unfamiliar face.

When the deliveryman saw Lu Yuan, he called out, "Brent asked me to tell you that he's still getting things settled at home. He'll come thank you in person in a couple of days."

Lu Yuan gave a response.

It seemed that kid truly valued loyalty. Even at a time like this, he had not forgotten his "boss."

That night, Lu Yuan did not force himself to stay up making medicine again.

He turned off the lights early, lay down on his bed, and tried to keep himself in a state of light sleep.

The sea began howling again...

Early the next morning, the fog was still thick.

[Sanity II: 20/48 (Experience)] (If there are any numerical errors later, just treat me as a ninth-grade dropout, because I really can't fix them—too many values are fixed. If it really bothers you, feel free to curse me a couple of times, hehe.)

His sanity had dropped a little further, but at the same time, he was one step closer to Level Three.

Lu Yuan looked somewhat worn out. Even though he had tried to sleep as lightly as possible, the "Strange Dream" still tormented him.

For a long while to come, he might not be able to sleep well.

He put the bottle of freshly made inferior Silverlight Grass mixture into his bag, locked the door, and changed the notice outside to:

[Clinic hours will be changed to after noon for the near future. In case of emergency, seek me at Old John's Tavern.]

Then Lu Yuan headed straight for Old John's Tavern.

This time, he made his way through the hidden door with practiced ease and arrived at the underground base.

Mary was sitting in the mission hall, which resembled a factory workshop, holding a steaming cup of coffee while reading through a document.

When she saw Lu Yuan enter, she raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"So early? Want a cup of coffee?"

"No."

Lu Yuan pulled out a chair and sat across from her. "I have new intelligence."

He recounted Thomas's attack from beginning to end.

This included the torn nature of the wounds, the type of toxin, and Thomas's description of "nothing but eyes."

He did not embellish anything. He merely described the injuries and his deductions objectively, from a doctor's perspective.

As Mary listened, the laziness on her face gradually vanished.

She set down her coffee cup, her expression turning solemn.

"An active attack in the shallow waters..." Mary lightly tapped the tabletop with her fingers. "And in broad daylight, at that."

"What does that mean?" Lu Yuan asked.

"It means something is about to emerge." Mary said in a low voice. "No, I have to notify them quickly..."

She rose to her feet and paced around the room twice.

"This intelligence is very useful. Our people will verify it, and if it proves true..."

There was a sense of urgency in Mary's expression.

"We're desperately short on manpower..."

Mary turned to look at Lu Yuan. "As a consultant, you've done very well. Once it's verified, it will count as one contribution for you."

She took a stamped voucher from a drawer and handed it to Lu Yuan.

"With this, you can collect two boxes of bullets from the Supply Office—the silver-plated kind. Of course, this is an advance, so don't make a fuss about it."

Lu Yuan accepted the voucher, a satisfied curve appearing at the corner of his lips.

Two boxes of bullets—at a critical moment, those would be far more useful than Gold Shields.

"Is there anything else?" Mary asked.

"No." Lu Yuan stood. "I'm going to the Library."

Watching Lu Yuan's departing back, Mary thoughtfully nodded to herself.

"This guy adapted really fast..."

Upon arriving at the Library again, that familiar chilly aura rushed over him.

The Book Spirit, "Mo Shui," was dozing on the lamp stand. After seeing Lu Yuan enter and giving him a careful sniff, he merely lifted his eyelids, too lazy even to greet him.

"Another swindler."

Knowing that he was still buying on credit, Lu Yuan said nothing and headed straight for the bookshelf from yesterday.

His goal was now clear: fill up [Forbidden Studies—Peeper's experience], then unlock that so-called "Transcendence Path."

He picked up a copy of <Deep Sea Creature Illustrated Guide (Incomplete Volume)> and began flipping through it quickly.

Though the contents of these books were still quite superficial, with the help of the translation, Lu Yuan could always decipher information that ordinary people could never notice from the directions of the illustrations' lines and the order in which the words were arranged.

This translation really is absurdly powerful.

Lu Yuan marveled inwardly.

[Forbidden Studies—Peeper: +0.2...]

[Forbidden Studies—Peeper: +0.3...]

Time flew by.

When Lu Yuan closed the last book, the experience bar at the edge of his vision finally jumped to its critical point.

[Forbidden Studies—Peeper: 9.9/10]

Only the final sliver remained.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath and turned his gaze toward a thin, unremarkable booklet with a black cover at the deepest end of the bookshelf.

He had not had time to read it yesterday.

Its title was Edge of Whispers and Sanity.

The instant he reached out and his fingertips touched its spine, a faint current surged through his entire body.

This is it.

Lu Yuan opened the book.

This time, the words were no longer still. As though they had come alive, they wriggled and rearranged themselves wildly across his retina before finally turning into a torrent that surged into his mind.

[Forbidden Studies—Peeper: +0.1]

[Requirements met. Level increased!]

[Congratulations. You have stepped across the threshold of "Taboo."]

[Forbidden Studies—Seeker: 0/50]

[Forbidden Studies: Seek the truth of the world, search for every truth. This is not something humans should do. Pitiful intruder, good luck.]

[Your sanity resilience has greatly increased. Your eyes will now be able to see some of Its "traces."]