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

The two continued searching the room.

A few minutes later, it was basically confirmed that there were no other valuable clues.

Raymond walked to the door and looked at the butler waiting outside.

"Were there any visitors at your residence on the night you went missing?"

The butler thought for a moment.

"Yes. That night, a guest came to visit you, sir. He was a young nobleman who said he came from the south."

"name?"

"André Maurice," the butler said. "The master and he talked for a long time in the study, but I don't know the specifics."

Was the young lady still in the room when he left?

The butler nodded.

"They should be here. I remember the lights went out in the mansion not long after that guest left."

Raymond and Lu Yuan exchanged a glance.

A nobleman from the south.

André Maurice.

Lu Yuan kept the name in his heart.

He had a gut feeling that this person was not simple.

Although there is no evidence, the identity of "a nobleman from the south" just doesn't feel quite right.

"I need to see the study," Raymond suddenly said, "the place where the guest who disappeared that night spoke with the Viscount."

The butler nodded.

"The study is on the east side of the first floor."

Raymond turned to Lu Yuan.

"Go take a look in the collection room. Noble families sometimes have some...special items in their collections."

He lowered his voice.

"There was a case before where the missing person went missing because they came into contact with one of the items in their family's collection."

Lu Yuan understood what he meant.

"it is good."

Raymond looked at the butler.

"Have someone take him to the collection room."

The butler hesitated for a moment, then waved towards the end of the corridor.

The young maid who had just walked over still looked uneasy.

"Mary, take this gentleman to the collection room."

The maid lowered her head and responded softly.

"plz follow me."

Lu Yuan followed her down the stairs, through the front hall, and to the side wing on the first floor.

Throughout the journey, the maid kept her head down and walked with a somewhat hurried pace.

Lu Yuan noticed that her fingers were trembling slightly.

"What are Miss Elena's usual habits?"

Lu Yuan suddenly spoke.

The maid paused for a moment.

"...Miss likes to read." Her voice was very soft. "I am responsible for taking care of Miss's daily life, and the thing I am asked to do most often is to buy some miscellaneous books."

"Did you notice anything unusual the night you went missing?"

The maid remained silent for a few seconds.

"no."

Her tone was somewhat stiff.

Lu Yuan did not press further.

He simply kept this detail in mind.

We've arrived at the collection room.

The maid took out the key and opened the heavy oak door.

"Please come in."

She stood at the door, showing no intention of going in.

Lu Yuan nodded and walked into the collection room alone.

The door slowly closed behind me.

A musty smell wafted over me.

The room wasn't large, but it was filled with all sorts of collectibles.

Ancient porcelain, yellowed scrolls, jewel-encrusted daggers, masks from exotic lands...

The accumulated wealth of several generations of aristocratic families, not particularly precious items, are all piled up in this room.

This can be considered as "capital" displayed for outsiders to see.

Lu Yuan's gaze slowly swept over the collection.

Most of them are ordinary antiques or trinkets with symbolic meanings.

Although expensive, it is essentially ordinary.

But suddenly Lu Yuan's gaze stopped.

In the corner, under a separate glass dome, lies a seashell.

A broken seashell.

Its edges have obvious cracks, and there are several defects on the surface, making it look like it has experienced some kind of violent impact.

But it was placed separately in a glass case, on a black velvet tray, with a small nameplate next to it.

The nameplate reads:

【Treasures of the Abyss – Collected from the deepest rifts of the North Sea, obtained by the third head of the Sofia family during an expedition】

A broken seashell.

However, it was treated as a "relic" and enshrined.

Lu Yuan stared at the seashell, a hint of surprise rising in his heart.

To the average person, it's just a worn-out seashell. Although it has an unusual origin, it's nothing special except for its commemorative value.

The Sofia family has never had any extraordinary members, so they don't know the true value of this thing.

But Lu Yuan saw something different.

Something is flowing inside the cracks of the seashell.

It's very faint, almost imperceptible.

It's like some kind of liquid, and also like some kind of light.

That's the ability that comes from a focused research perspective.

[Target of Detection: The Ox of Knowledge (A Creation Containing Unknown Power)]

[Status: Dormant. Specific conditions are required for activation.]

[Warning: This item is connected to the Sea of ​​Knowledge.]

Lu Yuan's breath hitched slightly.

He sensed it.

A faint restlessness came from somewhere in my body.

It is the taboo of the mind that is resonating with this seashell.

He didn't actively trigger anything.

I'm just watching.

But the mere act of "looking" stirred something within him.

At the edge of my field of vision, gray and white text began to flicker:

[Taboo Studies - Seeker: +0.1...49.8/50]

[Taboo Studies - Seeker: +0.1...49.9/50]

Lu Yuan frowned deeply.

The flow within the cracks... is becoming increasingly apparent.

wrong.

His perception was becoming clearer.

This seashell is no ordinary collectible.

It is a door.

A door leading somewhere.

And he was pushing the door open.

Lu Yuan wanted to look away, but found he couldn't.

His gaze was fixed on the seashell, as if glued to it.

The light from the crack grew brighter and brighter.

No.

It is not light.

It's a color.

Countless colors.

White, yellow, blue, purple, black...

The colors surged and intertwined in the cracks, like countless wriggling worms.

Lu Yuan felt his rationality being mobilized.

It wasn't that he used it voluntarily, but rather that it was passively and uncontrollably gushing out.

At the same time, a tremendous sense of oppression arose.

The power inherent in the Bronze City was unleashed at this moment.

The eerie atmosphere emanating from the collection room was contained around Lu Yuan.

As a result, the outside world had no idea what was happening here.

[Sanity: -5...115/120]

[Sanity: -3...112/120]

As reason faded, the seashell opened.

The broken shell slowly opened, like an eye that had been asleep for a thousand years.

What was revealed inside caused Lu Yuan's pupils to contract sharply.

It was a flowing liquid.

No.

It is not a liquid.

It is the ocean.

An infinitely vast ocean compressed inside a seashell.

The liquid's color constantly changes, presenting a new hue every second, as if all the colors of the world are condensed into this small space.

Blurry text appeared on the surface of the liquid.

Lu Yuan couldn't understand those words.

They were not the language of the Empire, nor any language he knew.

But he could feel the weight contained in those words.

Each character carries an unimaginable amount of information.

It's as if an entire library has been compressed into a single symbol.

[Taboo Studies - Seeker: +0.1...50/50]

[Experience maxed out, currently advancing...]

The next instant, Lu Yuan's consciousness was suddenly pulled into that liquid.

He fell into the ocean.

It's not the real ocean.

It is an ocean of knowledge.

Surrounded by endless colors and containing countless knowledge, Lu Yuan fell into this sea.

But strangely, all the knowledge seemed to be deliberately avoiding Lu Yuan.

The magnificent ocean of words has revealed an endless abyss.

Lu Yuan continued to fall.

Almost all knowledge is here.

All the secrets that have been written down, pondered, and forgotten lie dormant in the depths of this ocean.

This is the ocean of knowledge.

Lu Yuan forced himself to close his eyes tightly, trying not to look at the magnificent sea, but it was no use.

Countless pieces of knowledge flowed in and out, bringing no memory but taking away a vast amount of reason.

[Sanity: -15...97/120]

[Sanity: -12...85/120]

[Sanity: -18...67/120]

But Lu Yuan's rationality was still rapidly declining.

Lu Yuan couldn't stop.

For a fleeting moment, he seemed to see something.

A city that has sunk to the bottom of the sea.

A perpetually open gate to heaven, exuding an eerie atmosphere.

One who was watching him...

No.

Can not watch.

I can't watch anymore.

Just as he was about to be swallowed by the ocean, a hand grabbed him.

It's not a real hand.

It is a kind of will.

A gentle yet firm force pulled him out of that abyss, like lifting a drowning cat.

Then he heard a voice.

The sound echoed across the sea, carrying a hint of disdain and a touch of helplessness.

"...Not enough."

"You're not qualified to look at those things."

"Let's go back."

Lu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.

He was still standing in the collection room.

There was that seashell in front of me.

The seashell had closed up, returning to its broken state, lying quietly under the glass cover.

It was as if nothing had happened.

But Lu Yuan knew what had happened.

His breathing was rapid, and his back was soaked with cold sweat. Beads of sweat slid down his forehead and dripped onto the floor.

He looked down at his hands.

She was trembling slightly.

At the edge of vision, grayish-white text slowly emerged:

[Rationality: 67/120]

[Forbidden Studies - The Seeker has reached the limit and is advancing...]

[Advanced level complete.]

As a human, you stepped onto the edge of the ocean of knowledge, glimpsing a corner you shouldn't have seen.

[Unlock New Tier: Forbidden Studies - Seeker of Knowledge: 0/100]

You have provided entirely new knowledge, adding a drop of solidified text to the sea of ​​knowledge. You have obtained the key to this sea of ​​knowledge; you can capture fragments of any known knowledge from the past. Each use consumes sanity. The more you see, the more you lose.

Remember: Knowledge has weight. And you have begun to bear that weight. (Strange, why are you going against the tide?)

Lu Yuan stared at the words, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

He took a few seconds to catch his breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

Then his gaze fell back on the seashell.

This thing... can't be left here.

Although it is unknown why it has not been discovered until now.

more importantly

Lu Yuan needs it.

Without any hesitation, Lu Yuan removed the glass cover and put the broken seashell into his pocket.

Its surface is cool, with a strange tactile sensation.

But it didn't open again.

Perhaps it's because it just used up too much energy.

Perhaps it's because... Lu Yuan's current "qualifications" are only enough to open it once.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts, composed himself, and made sure he looked normal.

Then push open the door to the collection room.

The maid was still standing outside, her head bowed.

She looked up at Lu Yuan, her gaze lingering on his pale face for a moment, but said nothing.

"Take me to Raymond."

Lu Yuan's voice was steady.

The maid nodded and turned to lead the way.

At the door of the study, Raymond was talking to the butler.

Seeing Lu Yuan approach, he stopped talking and glanced at Lu Yuan's face.

"What did you find?"

"I've made some progress." Lu Yuan took out a seashell from his pocket. "I need to take this back for testing."

Raymond glanced at the broken seashell but didn't ask for details.

He simply nodded and then took a beautifully carved little box from the shelf next to him.

He turned to the butler.

"These two items are suspected of being related to the missing persons case and need to be taken back to the branch for examination."

"The property will be returned depending on the circumstances after the investigation."

The butler opened his mouth, his face looking rather unpleasant.

But in the end, he said nothing.

He simply nodded silently.

"After all, everything displayed outside has been carefully selected, and this time it involves the Viscount's daughter."

Hopefully they will investigate this thoroughly.

I hope Miss is well.

Lu Yuan carefully put the seashell away and followed Raymond toward the gate.

In the corridor, sunlight streamed through the windows, casting patches of light on the floor.

Everything seems normal.

But Lu Yuan knew that from today onwards, the world he saw would be different.