Tower of Erudition Matters

The two left the branch together.

As he reached the entrance, Lu Yuan's gaze unconsciously swept towards the direction of the Tower of Erudition.

A layer of Inscription Array in the middle of the tower slowly rotates, its light much brighter than the Wall Runes.

Those are the Inscription on the sealed tower.

"I have something else to say." Lu Yuan stopped at the entrance of the branch office.

Glock glanced back at him.

"You go back first," Lu Yuan continued.

I'm going to the church.

Glock didn't ask what he was going to do, nodded, and turned to leave.

Lu Yuan turned towards the east side of the inner city.

As Agnes mentioned before, the church's temporary residence was located in a block east of the Old Council Square.

Lu Yuan had never been to that area.

After walking for about ten minutes, we could see the changes in the distance.

The buildings along the entire street are being renovated.

Several stone houses that were originally shops and residences have had their exterior walls painted with white mortar, and their doors and windows have been removed and replaced with pointed arches.

New wooden beams were being laid on the roof, and people were nailing things onto them, the sound of hammering Echo through the street.

The largest building has a Holy Light emblem embedded above its main entrance.

It was cast in bronze and polished to a high shine, reflecting dazzling spots of light in the afternoon sun.

Church.

Church under construction.

More than one.

Lu Yuan walked along the street for a while and estimated that at least three buildings were under construction at the same time.

There weren't many workers; most were church members dressed in greyish-white robes, carrying timber and mixing mortar, their movements slow but methodical.

There were also a few locals dressed in civilian clothes helping out; they were probably hired.

Several horse-drawn carts, piled high with stones and planks, were parked on both sides of the street.

Lu Yuan glanced at the origin markings on the stones.

It was brought in from outside.

Bronze City is being devoured by Ghoul, while the church is building Church.

Lu Yuan didn't think much about it.

Right now, he only cares about one person.

At the entrance of the largest Church, two nuns were carrying a box of candles.

Lu Yuan walked over.

Is Agnes there?

The older of the two men looked up and glanced at Lu Yuan.

His gaze lingered for a moment on the Night Watcher's Badge on his chest.

"Sister Agnes isn't here today." Her tone was flat. "She's been reassigned to a mission and might not be back until tomorrow."

"Could you please pass on a message to her?"

The nun didn't answer immediately, but sized up Lu Yuan for a few seconds.

"Who are you?"

"Lu Yuan of the North Spinning District Position."

The nun's expression relaxed slightly.

"What's up?"

"Tell her I need her help." Lu Yuan carefully chose his words. "We'll discuss the details when we meet. Ask her to come to the North Spinning District Alchemy Workshop when it's convenient for her."

The nun nodded.

I will pass on the message.

Lu Yuan did not linger.

As I turned to walk back, I glanced once more at the Church that was still under construction.

The white exterior walls gleamed in the sunlight.

It formed a stark contrast with the surrounding gray buildings riddled with bullet holes and bloodstains.

On the way back.

The sun began to set in the west.

Lu Yuan quickened his pace.

As we passed through an area on the outskirts of North Spinning District that was no longer covered by runes, the Gray-White Text at the edge of our vision suddenly flickered.

[Environmental Perception: A weak Source of Pollution has been detected...]

Lu Yuan stopped.

Looking around, there was only one two-story stone building nearby, with all the windows closed and the door ajar.

Push open the door.

The first floor was deserted, tables and chairs were overturned, and there were dried food scraps on the floor.

Lu Yuan glanced around and found that there was indeed a very faint black aura winding downwards.

It's the location of the basement.

He pulled out the Revolver and slowly walked down the stairs.

The stairs were narrow, made of wood, and creaked when you stepped on them.

The basement wasn't big.

Only a sliver of light peeked through the stairwell.

Something was curled up in the corner.

One person.

Or rather, I was once a person.

The spine bulges out of the skin, forming a row of bony spikes.

The mouth was split open, revealing the burgeoning gum tissue inside.

The joints of the limbs have begun to buckle backward, the fingers have become thin and long, and the nails have fallen off.

It is consistent with the initial form of the Face Hound catalyzed by the Great Ghoul in the Pipe Network.

But this is on the ground.

It's not the Pipe Network Layer!

Lu Yuan took a step closer.

Beneath the skin at the vertebral prominence, grayish-green filamentous lines are slowly spreading.

It's the Fungal Hyphae we saw before.

It has already seeped from the Pipe Network into the ground.

A new Host has been found on the ground.

The half- Mutation one's eyes suddenly turned to Lu Yuan.

His cloudy pupils held no consciousness, only pain and primal hunger.

Its half-open mouth uttered a muffled hiss.

Lu Yuan raised his gun.

Bang.

The Silver-Plated Bullet pierced the skull.

The half- Mutation being's body twitched and then went limp.

[Current Status of Bronze City: +1, 8/50]

Lu Yuan stood in the basement, looking at the corpse on the ground.

The grayish-green, thread-like lines were still slowly spreading beneath the skin.

The dead are still spreading.

He stepped back two paces, took out a small bag of Copper Powder he carried with him, and poured all the remaining Copper Powder onto the corpse.

Where exactly did the Fungal Hyphae originate from?

Lu Yuan looked around and, seeing nothing unusual, narrowed his eyes slightly.

"It seems this person picked it up unintentionally?"

There are no further clues at the moment, but it is certain that some Fungal Hyphae appears to be showing.

However, if it only Contamination people, it's still acceptable.

After all, those who have been Contamination are not strong fighters.

Thinking of this, Lu Yuan suddenly felt a little dazed.

I seem to have changed?

He turned and went upstairs, closing the basement door behind him.

As I stood on the street, the setting sun was already close to the rooftops.

The Fungal Hyphae in the Pipe Network is not only spreading towards the Abyss.

It is also penetrating upwards, and it's definitely not just limited to North Spinning District.

Lu Yuan quickened his pace.

I rushed back to North Spinning District before sunset.

Boer, who was near the cave entrance, saw him return and nodded.

"Nothing unusual during the day."

Where is the shaft?

"I checked an hour ago, and the area affected by the gray-green discoloration has expanded since this morning."

Boer paused.

"That accounts for about one-fifth of the entire Copper Powder Ring."

It doubled in size in half a day.

Faster than expected.

Lu Yuan entered the Alchemy Workshop.

Bolen is on the first floor.

A sketch was spread out on the table.

The old man looked up, glanced at Lu Yuan, and pushed the sketch over.

"Drawn this afternoon."

The sketch shows the possible diffusion paths of the gray-green living organisms in the Pipe Network.

Starting from the Water Collection Chamber, the water flows upward through the main Pipe Network to the bottom of the shaft, and then seeps out of the shaft to the ground.

The passage extends downwards from the right-hand entrance of the Water Collection Chamber, pointing towards the Abyss, but since there is no detailed map there, the downward direction is merely speculation.

"It's spreading in two directions simultaneously." Bolen tapped the sketch with his cane. "The upward one has already begun to affect the ground—you've noticed it too."

He looked at Lu Yuan's expression.

"I've found it," Lu Yuan said.

No further details provided.

"And downwards?" Bolen asked.

I don't know where I am.

Bolen picked up a piece of paper from the table. It had a row of numbers written on it.

"The flow of water has changed again today. Things down below seem to be getting more and more active."

The gray-green Fungal Hyphae network is expanding rapidly.

The Copper Powder Ring is etched upwards, and the shaft is breached within three to four days.

As you descend through the passage, you wonder how much further it will take before you reach the Ghoul horde in the Abyss.

"The window of opportunity for containment may be shorter than we thought," Lu Yuan said.

Bolen did not respond.

He looked down at the sketch and tapped the spot between the two arrows with his cane.

Water Collection Chamber.

If it can be cut off there, both the upper and lower directions will be blocked simultaneously.

But this is contingent on having enough weapons.

Outside the window, the last ray of sunlight fell on the runes on the city wall.

The runes lit up, but their color was visibly dim.

Like an oil lamp that's about to burn out.

Lu Yuan closed the window.

They returned to their positions and sat down.

The Revolver rests on my knee.

The area in front of the cave entrance was quiet and peaceful.

The direction of the shaft was also quiet.

But he knew that quiet did not equal safety.

Time is running out.

The night wind blew up from the direction of the cave entrance.

It carried that familiar rotten smell from the Pipe Network.

But tonight, there was a subtle hint of sweetness mixed in with the rotten smell.

Like the scent of a fruit before it ripens.

Lu Yuan closed his eyes and began cultivating his defensive abilities as usual.

Take some time to rest and allow your mental state to recover as much as possible.

Nothing happened that night.

Day 9.

Daylight.

[Sanity: +12...113/120]

[Defense I:+0.3...5.2/10]

Last night's attempts to stabilize the market didn't have a significant effect, but prices are still rising.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes, but before he could even get up, Bolen brought him bad news.

"The second segment of the Conduction Network is corroding twice as fast as yesterday." The old man squatted in a corner on the first floor, clutching a small piece of debris scraped off the pipe wall.

"The thinnest part of the pipe wall is less than half its original size. At this rate, it will be eroded through within one to two days."

Lu Yuan stared at the piece of debris.

The surface is covered with a dark brown corrosion layer, while the inside is faintly grayish-green.

Can it be repaired?

Bolen shook his head, his face grim.

"It's pointless to repair it; the stuff flowing in is already corroding the pipe walls. Repairing one layer will only make another layer rot."

Lu Yuan didn't ask any more questions.

He went out to inspect the shaft.

The color change range of the Copper Powder Ring is already close to half.

There were more grayish-green filaments growing from the gaps in the cover plate than last night, and some of them had already begun to wrap around the gravel pressing against the edge of the cover plate.

Lu Yuan used the tip of his bronze sword to sever the few Fungal Hyphae.

A trace of grayish-green liquid seeped from the break, hissed and smoked briefly on the copper blade, and then disappeared.

Lu Yuan then walked around the position again, and there was more than one vertical shaft connecting the Pipe Network Layer.

The condition of two nearby drainage manhole covers is also deteriorating.

One of them had discolored Copper Powder covering a quarter of its surface, and a distinct sour, rotten smell could be detected from the gaps in the cover plate.

The other one is slightly better, but the discoloration has also increased a bit since it just started yesterday.

Lu Yuan instructed the Night Watcher to thicken the Copper Powder Ring around all three manhole covers; that was all they could do.

As Lu Yuan passed behind the Alchemy Workshop, he glanced at the still-imprisoned, Living Great Ghoul.

It's quieter than yesterday.

It hardly moves anymore.

The shattered jaw no longer opens or closes.

However, the grayish-green filamentous patterns on the grayish-red flesh membrane had spread to the entire surface of the torso, becoming more than twice as dense as when it was first captured two days ago.

Clearly, it is gradually growing in an unknown direction.

Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze and walked into the Alchemy Workshop.

It was almost noon when we returned to the Alchemy Workshop.

Agnes was already waiting on the first floor.

He came alone, dressed in a white robe, holding a golden Scripture.

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and then briefly explained the situation.

I need to enter the Tower of Erudition to retrieve something, and I'm asking Agnes if she has any ideas on how.

Agnes did not answer immediately upon hearing this.

Her gaze fell on the two wax-sealed glasswares on the table, and she paused for a moment.

Can I take a look?

"Um."

Lu Yuan handed it over.

Agnes's palm hovered above, emanating a faint golden light.

The grayish-green filaments in the vessel twitched briefly before returning to their original state.

"That's right..." she withdrew her hand. "A certain degree of immunity to Holy Light..."

Agnes looked at the Fungal Hyphae before her and fell silent for a moment.

"I'll arrange the Tower of Erudition. The church has a routine Holy Light maintenance every few days. I'll confirm the next schedule; adding someone to the list won't be difficult."

"When is the earliest?"

"Confirm tomorrow night, go in the day after tomorrow."

The day after tomorrow.

Day 11.

"Can."

Agnes left with these words:

"Wear your church robes, keep your head down and follow along without saying a word. I'll have someone bring you your size."

After Agnes finished speaking, she put down the vessel and turned to leave.

They didn't tell Lu Yuan what he would have to give in return for completing the task.

The door closed.

Silence fell over the room once again.

Lu Yuan put the somewhat wilted Fungal Hyphae back and turned to start setting it up.