I can see experience bars after being transported to another world.

Lu Yuan glanced at the figure that disappeared into the shadows, then turned to look at Herman.

"Are you sure you've checked everything in the warehouse?"

Herman paused for a moment, clearly not following Lu Yuan's train of thought.

"What do you mean?"

"The basement burned down, but the materials upstairs..." Lu Yuan lowered his voice, "sandworm oil, sandworm meat, and other things that have been sitting for who knows how long. The mayor was conducting experiments down there; who knows if he mixed in any contaminants."

Hermann's expression changed.

He certainly knew what that meant.

Sandworms are the lifeblood of the town; if they are contaminated, the consequences will be unimaginable.

"I'll have someone investigate immediately."

"Send reliable people," Lu Yuan added. "Don't alert too many people, lest it cause panic."

Herman nodded and strode towards the townspeople waiting outside.

Lu Yuan watched him leave, and only after confirming that no one else was paying attention to him did he turn around and walk in the direction where Morris had disappeared.

He walked through the narrow alley between two mud-brick houses, around a low wall that was about to collapse, and stopped behind an abandoned shed.

Morris leaned against the wall, arms crossed, as if he had expected him to follow.

"They acted quite quickly."

"Speak your mind." Lu Yuan stopped, his tone calm.

Morris's smile faded slightly, and his eyes became serious.

"Found it."

"What?"

"Source of pollution."

He straightened up from the wall and lowered his voice.

"To be precise, it's the people who create the pollution sources."

Lu Yuan frowned slightly.

"A traitor to the Ascension Society," Morris continued. "He defected from the capital three years ago, taking with him a batch of core data and experimental samples. The Ascension Society hunted him down for two years, but they couldn't find him."

He paused, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips.

"I never imagined he'd hide in such a remote and impoverished place; no wonder we couldn't find him."

Lu Yuan recalled the "him" mentioned in the town mayor's experimental records.

Sure enough, someone was behind it.

"What was that person's name?"

"Gregor."

Morris uttered the name with a hint of apprehension in his voice.

"Nicknamed 'Gear Master,' he was one of the initial members of the Ascension Society's mechanical modification faction. It is said that back in the capital, he single-handedly dismantled half of the garrison's mechanical armor, almost causing a riot."

"When he defected three years ago, he was at the second tier, and now..." Morris shook his head, "he's most likely at the third tier."

Third order.

Lu Yuan's expression became more serious.

The difference between second-order and third-order cannot be measured by numbers, especially considering the mechanical modifications made by the Ascension Society.

Lu Yuan inexplicably thought of Marcus, whose combat power was terrifying, at least fourth-tier even without considering any counters.

They are difficult to deal with.

"He's completely mechanized; his fighting style relies entirely on those parts," Morris continued. "If we were to fight him head-on, even the three of us together wouldn't come out on top."

"But we are prepared."

He took something out of his pocket and opened it in his palm.

It was a gear.

It's about the size of a palm, made of black material, and its surface is covered with densely packed runes, giving it a faint dark red sheen in the dim light.

At the edge of vision, gray and white text quietly emerged:

[Detection Target: Forbidden Weapon Gear (Disposable Item)]

【Feature: Once activated, it suppresses the operation of all machinery within a certain range for approximately ten minutes】

[Note: Extremely effective against mechanical modifiers]

Looking at the gear, Lu Yuan understood what was going on.

"This thing can cause his machinery to malfunction?"

"It's not just malfunctioning." Morris put the gear back into his pocket. "Once activated, all machinery within range will stop operating. Firearms will malfunction, and blunt weapons will also be weakened to some extent."

Morris gestured.

"A range of about twenty meters is enough to cover the mayor's yard."

"At that point, it will be pure hand-to-hand combat."

Lu Yuan remained silent for a moment.

"I haven't fully regained my senses yet."

Morris paused for a moment, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"Didn't you take your medicine?"

"I drank it," Lu Yuan said calmly. "I just drank it not long ago, and I'm still recovering."

Morris stared at him for a few seconds, as if to make sure he wasn't joking.

"You've got really bad luck, kid."

He sighed and took a small metal ring from the pocket at his waist.

The surface of the ring is engraved with intricate patterns, making it look like some kind of ritual implement.

"This is special equipment for us pathfinders," Morris said, handing over the ring. "It allows us to borrow the other person's sanity to a certain extent."

Lu Yuan took it; it felt slightly heavy in his hand, and intricate runes were engraved on it.

[Detection Target: Alchemy Tools... Analysis Failed Due to Insufficient Knowledge...]

"You're a knowledge pathway? But your rank isn't high, and your sanity hasn't recovered yet. Even if your sanity were high, it wouldn't be that high. You should be able to use it, albeit barely," Morris explained. "It was originally designed as a protective measure to deal with high-intensity pollution sources. In case someone's sanity is overwhelmed and collapses, others can provide temporary support and pull them back."

He paused, then added:

"Heller and Vincent also have some. With you included, the combined sanity of the four of us should be enough to handle any unexpected situation."

Lu Yuan carefully put the ring away and silently did some calculations in his mind.

With 71 points on my own and three Tier 2 Pathfinders, each of them should have a sanity cap of at least 60 or 70, right?

All together, it's definitely enough.

"Where is the target now?"

"The mayor's house." Morris gestured in that direction. "Heller and Vincent are keeping an eye on things. That guy just ran away; he's probably waiting for something."

Lu Yuan recalled the experimental records in the underground laboratory, and the parasites that crawled out of the town mayor's chest.

"Symbiosis Experiment".

"What?"

"The mayor is conducting symbiotic experiments," Lu Yuan said briefly. "He's using mutated extracts to cultivate a kind of parasite, attempting to achieve human-insect symbiosis. Greg has been providing the mayor with materials and methods."

Morris's expression changed slightly.

"No wonder the sandworms mutated," he cursed. "This is more troublesome than I imagined."

"What's the plan?" Lu Yuan asked.

Morris regained his composure and his expression turned serious again.

"I'll make my move tonight, and then I'll contact you using the ring."

"When everyone in town is asleep, we'll make a small commotion. The three of us will go in from the front and force him to show himself. You stay outside and provide support. We'll see how things go after the gears are activated."

He glanced at Lu Yuan.

"If we can handle this, you won't need to get involved. But if something unexpected happens..."

"I see."

Morris nodded, seemingly pleased with his decisiveness.

"Then it's settled."

He turned to leave, but stopped after taking two steps.

"By the way, that old man knows too much. After this is over, we need to find a way to stop him from talking nonsense."

Lu Yuan did not respond.

Morris didn't expect an answer, and with a flick of his body, he disappeared into the shadows.

Lu Yuan stood still for a while, and after confirming that there was nothing unusual around him, he turned around and walked towards the warehouse.

When they returned to the warehouse, Hermann was directing several people to move things.

The barrels of sandworm oil, the dusty sandworm skins, and all sorts of miscellaneous materials were all moved outside and inspected one by one.

"How is it?" Lu Yuan walked over and asked.

"No problems found yet." Herman wiped the sweat from his brow. "But there's too much stuff; we probably won't be able to finish checking it tonight."

He glanced at Lu Yuan.

Where did you go just now?

"I looked around," Lu Yuan said calmly, "to make sure nothing was missed."

Hermann nodded without asking any further questions.

This old businessman was very clever; he knew what he should ask and what he shouldn't.

Just then, a small, thin figure peeked out from the warehouse door.

It's Karl.

But his condition was clearly not right.

Her face was deathly pale, and her eyes were red, as if she had been crying.

He huddled behind the door frame, staring blankly at a spot on the ground.

That's where the mayor fell.

Although the body had been burned, the charred marks on the ground remained, and the pungent smell lingered in the air.

Herman frowned.

"Karl! Who let you come here?"

Carl seemed startled, his whole body trembled, and tears streamed down his face.

"I...I had a nightmare..."

His voice was trembling, and his small body was trembling too.

"I dreamt of the town mayor... I dreamt that many worms crawled out of his chest..."

Herman sighed, walked over, and hugged his grandson.

"It's alright, it's alright... those things are all burned, there won't be any more."

Karl leaned on Herman's shoulder, sobbing silently.

Lu Yuan stood aside, watching this scene without saying a word.

"Let's go back first," Lu Yuan said, shaking his head slightly. "We'll talk about the warehouse tomorrow. Karl is so frightened; he needs to rest."

Hermann looked up at him, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded.

"it is good."

The group tidied up and headed into town.

As Lu Yuan passed by a row of adobe houses, he noticed that the door of one of them was ajar, with dim light shining through the crack.

"Whose house is that?" he asked casually.

"Reid." Herman glanced at him, frowning. "I haven't seen him come out all day. I wonder what he's up to."

Lu Yuan paused for a moment.

He remembered the young man, the purple bumps on his body, and his evasive eyes.

"Has no one gone to see it?"

"We sent someone to call him, but he said he wasn't feeling well and didn't want to see anyone." Herman shook his head. "Young man, he's probably scared by that mutated sandworm."

Lu Yuan didn't ask any more questions, nor did he want to say anything more. He had already reminded them, but it seemed that the people here hadn't learned their lesson.

By the time they returned to Hermann's house, it was completely dark.

The sandworm oil lamps in every household were lit, and their bright white light enveloped the town in a halo.

Martha brought out dinner: stewed sandworm meat and biscuits, along with a small bowl of soup.

Lu Yuan ate a few bites, but didn't have much of an appetite.

Carl sat in the corner, not touching a bite, just staring blankly at the bowl.

The little girl, unaware of what was happening, leaned over to talk to her brother, but Martha pulled her away.

The atmosphere was very oppressive.

After finishing his meal, Lu Yuan returned to his room. Instead of lying down, he sat on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes to rest.

The events of today kept replaying in my mind.

The mayor's death.

Underground laboratory.

Greg.

And that parasite that crawled out of the mayor's chest, I don't know where it went.

Only a few hatched insects remained at the scene.

And Red...

Just then, a commotion came from outside the window.

Someone is shouting.

"Help! Red... Red is out! Something's wrong with him!"