Extraordinary Weapon

Afterward, he paused for a moment before a grotesquely shaped scalpel.

Though the blade was incomparably sharp, its description read: "Offense without defense, and the user will gradually become bloodthirsty."

As a Doctor with a fragile body, Lu Yuan needed means of survival more than anything.

Time passed second by second.

Lu Yuan crossed more than half the warehouse, yet never found anything he particularly liked.

Not until he reached a corner at the very back of the warehouse.

There was no elaborate seal there, only a dust-covered glass case.

Through the grimy glass, he could see a pitch-black velvet cushion beneath it, upon which lay a vintage dark-gold Pocket Watch.

The instant he saw it, Lu Yuan seemed to hear an exceedingly faint sound by his ear, yet it also seemed to ring directly within the depths of his brain.

"Ticktock."

An inexplicable attraction stopped Lu Yuan in his tracks.

He lifted the glass case and reached out as if possessed.

The moment his fingertips touched the icy watch casing, a chill shot up his arm and straight to the crown of his head. The words in his vision began flashing wildly.

[Contact with high-level Taboo item... Analyzing...]

[Item Name: Severed Time-Reversal Worm Fragment (Disguised Form: Pocket Watch)]

[Type: Parasitic]

[Details: This is the shell left behind after a high-ranking lifeform died. It was forcibly transformed into a Pocket Watch by the Grand Artisan. It longs to devour sanity in order to briefly "live" again.]

[One: Speed. Effect: Consumes 1 point of sanity per second, greatly enhancing physical capabilities.]

[Two: Stasis. Effect: Base cost: 40 points of sanity. Can withstand the vast majority of physical attacks and sanity impacts of a certain intensity.]

[Three: Deprivation. Effect: Base cost: 80 points of sanity. Launches a single time deprivation against a target within the user's field of vision.]

[All costs will be drawn directly from the holder's sanity!]

"A very powerful item..."

Lu Yuan looked at the heavy Pocket Watch in his hand, his eyes flickering.

This thing was simple and brutal. For other supernatural beings, the cost of using it might be far too steep.

But for him, it was a perfect fit, especially since his sanity could continue breaking through its limits.

"Lu Yuan! Time's almost up!"

Old Morgan's shout came from the doorway.

Lu Yuan snapped back to his senses, grabbed the Pocket Watch, and headed for the door.

When he stepped outside, Old Morgan's cloudy old eyes revealed a trace of surprise upon seeing what he held.

But it was quickly replaced by an expression of complete understanding.

"You actually chose it..."

Old Morgan stared at the dark-gold Pocket Watch, his gaze complicated. "We call it Time Bestower."

"Time Bestower?" Lu Yuan's fingers rubbed the one-eyed pattern on the watch cover.

"Mm. It was the relic of a legendary Night Watcher from the previous generation."

As Old Morgan pulled out a brass Key, he said, "That guy was a genius like you. Back then, his strength had come infinitely close to the Third Order. Even in the inner city, he would have been a true monster."

"But this thing... even someone as strong as him could only use it with difficulty."

"Originally, by procedure, it should have been handed back to Headquarters. But for certain special reasons, it remained here."

Old Morgan turned, warning him sternly, "You've been pretty lucky, picking up such a bargain."

"But I'll give you a word of advice. Its code name in the files may be 'Time Bestower,' but privately, we prefer to call it the Death Clock."

"Several Night Watchers have already been drained into corpses by it. I hope you won't follow in their footsteps."

"I won't."

Lu Yuan answered as he slipped the Pocket Watch into his pocket.

By the time he returned to the clinic, it was already late.

Lu Yuan sat before his desk and took out the Pocket Watch again beneath the light.

There were no numbers on the dial, only twisted markings. Its three hands were turning counterclockwise in an unsettling rhythm.

"Let's try it."

Lu Yuan took a deep breath and lightly wound the crown on the side of the watch.

Click.

At that instant, Lu Yuan felt as if something had been forcibly torn from his mind.

[Sanity being deducted... -1... -1...]

An indescribable weakness washed over him, but at the same time, the world before him changed.

The Dust floating in the air seemed frozen midair. The dancing flame of the Gas Lamp became incredibly slow, and he could even see every detail of the Flame Edge curling.

Outside the window, a passing seagull seemed to have been put in slow motion. The path of every flap of its wings was crystal clear.

"So this is... Speed?"

Lu Yuan tried reaching for the cup.

In his perception, his movement was as fast as lightning.

But in the very next instant, an intense wave of dizziness struck him.

Lu Yuan hurriedly released his hand and stopped the Pocket Watch.

"Whew... whew..."

Slumped in his chair, Lu Yuan calculated inwardly.

"From start to finish, I used it for around twenty seconds. That means with my current sanity, I can use it for thirty seconds at most."

"Otherwise, I might fall unconscious, so I can't use it unless necessary."

"But after tonight, my sanity limit should break through again... To prevent anything from going wrong with the Strange Dream tonight, I'll stop testing here."

Lu Yuan put away the Pocket Watch, endured the stabbing pain in his brain, and lay down on the bed.

Splash—

The familiar damp, salty stench rushed toward him.

When Lu Yuan opened his eyes again, the despairing Black Sea still stretched before him,

With the Crescent Moon hanging overhead.

Prepared for seawater to slap him in the face, Lu Yuan suddenly discovered that he had regained control of his body.

After all, the last time he had inexplicably been able to move, he had soon returned to his state of standing before the beach for a long period afterward.

He did not bother wondering why he could move again.

"Make the most of the time."

Rather than waste time marveling at it, Lu Yuan immediately headed deeper into the island.

He remembered discovering traces of human activity during his last exploration. This time, Lu Yuan intended to go farther.

As he continued inward, he first passed the weathered Ancient Formation nearby, then suddenly stopped.

"Hm?"

Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

The formation, once so badly damaged that it seemed ready to weather away at any moment, had somehow been partly repaired!

The broken patterns had been reconnected, and some kind of dark-gold liquid flowed through the grooves, emitting a faint ghostly glow in the dim light. It appeared both sacred and sinister.

"Is someone here?"

Lu Yuan hesitated, but ultimately chose not to approach.

He had no idea when he would be able to move again. While he could, he needed to explore this island as thoroughly as possible.

Lu Yuan's gaze fell on the Black Stone Mountain in the distance, the island's highest point.

After some effort, Lu Yuan finally climbed to the mountaintop.

When his gaze crossed the jagged rocks and landed on the coastline at the back of the island, his entire body froze. A chill shot straight to the crown of his head.

Amid the rolling black waves, atop those jagged reefs, a massive warship was anchored!

Its hull was as enormous as a mountain, yet it was covered in thick red rust. Dense clusters of barnacles and sea snails crawled over the deck and hull like parasites.

From afar, it looked as though it had been stranded here for decades.

Lu Yuan's eyes widened, and his heart began pounding violently.

Because that silhouette was far too familiar.

Though it was badly decayed, that distinctive ram and bridge structure...

"The Iron Whale?!"

Before he could take a step forward to confirm it, a familiar, majestic heartbeat suddenly rang out between heaven and earth.

"Thump—!"

The entire dream world shook violently.

An overwhelming sense of rejection swept over him in an instant.