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

Lu Yuan opened his eyes at dawn.

At the edge of my field of vision, grayish-white text appeared:

[Sanity: +12...103/120]

Last night, Laura didn't let him drink the medicine, saying that continuous use would cause resistance.

When I went downstairs, Laurene was already at the worktable.

Two crucibles, one large and one small, the larger one was being heated, while the smaller one had been removed from the heat. The pungent smell of sandworm blood permeated the entire first floor.

Lu Yuan didn't disturb him. He washed up, tore off a piece of dried meat, and ate half a hard bread.

Without looking up, Laurina said, "You haven't peeled the sandworm skin yet."

"We'll deal with it when we get back."

Lu Yuan picked up his notebook and coat and went out.

Branch office. 9:00 AM.

There was no one else in the archives.

Lu Yuan went straight to the bookshelf area to compare the coordinates on the foil.

Maps of the entire empire, nautical documents, geographical records, and meteorological records.

He looked through everything that might involve the coordinates of Beihai.

The result was the same.

Bronze City is an inland city, and the accuracy of the marine data is limited; the area above the sixtieth mark on the vertical axis is almost entirely blank.

The approximate location of the coordinates is in the blank area at the northernmost end of the map, which is in the same direction as the location where the expedition went missing in 1107, but further away and further north.

To pinpoint the location accurately, at least a high-precision nautical chart from the Imperial Navy is required.

I can't get it myself.

Lu Yuan wrote the information down in his notebook and began collecting the maps.

When I got to the very end, my fingers paused for a moment.

At the very bottom of the index bar are two file numbers associated with the 1107 expedition.

Instead of the "Available for review" label after the serial number, there is a small dark red square stamp.

"Headquarters sealed off."

The ink on the seal is very fresh. It wasn't stamped more than ten years ago.

Lu Yuan's gaze lingered on it for a moment before he rolled up the map and put it back on the bookshelf.

They didn't investigate further. The headquarters had sealed it away; the branch office didn't have the necessary permissions. Asking further questions would only reveal the direction of their investigation.

Leaving the archives, Lu Yuan walked down the main street to buy some bread.

The road is lined with rows of brick and stone buildings, three or four stories high, with window frames inlaid with cast iron patterns, and the ground floor is mostly shops.

The sun rose, casting faint shadows from the gas lamp posts.

Several open horse-drawn carriages carrying goods passed by, their iron wheels clanging against the stone slabs.

The cart was piled with wooden crates and sacks, and the driver was a worker wearing a coarse cloth shirt.

The meeting doesn't start until 2 PM, no rush.

There was a bakery on the street corner. The wooden signboard was blackened by smoke. Lu Yuan went in and bought two white breads, wrapped them in oil paper, and brought one for Laurina as well.

When they returned to the Alchemy Workshop, Laurina had already finished packaging the first batch of sandworm blood.

The sealed bottles were arranged in order of depth and placed at the bottom of the medicine cabinet. The labels were handwritten by her, and the handwriting was neat.

"Here you go." Lu Yuan placed the bread on the side of the worktable.

Laurina glanced at it, didn't say thank you, picked it up and took a bite.

"good."

Lu Yuan wasn't idle either. After discovering that the Guardian could only cultivate once a day...

Now I'm starting to figure out how to increase the number of attempts.

Lu Yuan, having gained nothing by the afternoon, arrived at the conference room ten minutes early.

Unlike the one two days ago, this time there was no somber opening.

Klaus sat in the main seat, with only a cup of tea in front of him; he hadn't even picked up any documents.

The coat was draped over the back of the chair, revealing the faded gray-white shirt underneath.

There was no pressure or relaxation on my face, just a very bland kind of tiredness.

The people present were the same as last time: Raymond, Karl, Helen, Hogel, and a few Night's Watch members I didn't recognize.

Lu Yuan sat near the door.

Raymond reported first.

The voice was flat, with a hint of weakness.

"All three missing locations have been re-examined. The Viscount's mansion has changed its attitude drastically; it's polite but uncooperative. There are no new developments from the Baron's mansion. The Chamber of Commerce representative provided some supplementary materials, which highly overlap with the existing leads."

He closed the folder.

"The site in the abandoned house direction has been burned, making it impossible to collect new evidence. There are currently no traces in the Morris direction."

In short: Three days have passed, and there has been no breakthrough.

Klaus picked up his teacup, took a sip, and showed no surprise.

He knew this would be the outcome.

Holger then said a couple more things.

There were no major movements at the three Ascension Guild strongholds in the outer city. The number of people coming and going was fixed, and there were no signs of expansion, but there was also no intention to withdraw.

"It's nailed there," Holger said in a very straightforward way.

Klaus looked at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan only said one sentence.

There are no new developments in the Morris direction.

Klaus didn't press the matter.

He looked at everyone.

"The three-day deadline has passed."

His voice did not rise, nor did his tone change.

"The result was not ideal, but it was within expectations. The necessary procedures were followed, and the necessary investigations were conducted."

He put down his teacup.

"The investigation continues, with no further deadline. Raymond, your team will remain as it is, but don't let your guard down."

"Lu Yuan will be on a separate team. You keep an eye on Morris. Hogel, keep an eye on the outer city area, but don't make any contact with him."

The three people nodded.

Klaus paused for a moment.

His gaze wasn't fixed on anyone, but rather on the bronze city map on the wall.

"The orders from Night's Watch headquarters have come down; we Night's Watch members just need to maintain our duties."

Klaus spoke with a hint of seriousness.

"But blatant disregard for imperial regulations is not permitted."

"So just do your job and don't leave any room for maneuver, unless we have evidence."

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Meeting adjourned.

The sound of a chair being moved.

One by one, everyone got up and walked towards the door.

Raymond slowed his pace slightly as he passed Lu Yuan.

"Come to me anytime if you need anything."

Lu Yuan nodded.

Raymond didn't linger and followed Carl and Helen out the door.

Holger was the last to leave. Before going out, he looked back at Lu Yuan, said nothing, and left as well.

The footsteps in the corridor gradually faded away.

There were only two people left in the meeting room.

Klaus was about to get up when he saw that Lu Yuan hadn't moved, and his hand paused.

"Is there anything else?"

There's something I need to tell you privately.

Klaus's gaze lingered on him for a moment before he sat back down.

Lu Yuan tore a page from his notebook, placed it on the table, and pushed it over.

The paper contained the set of coordinates he had copied by hand.

Six sets of numbers, arranged in two rows, accurate to two decimal places.

Only coordinates.

Klaus glanced down.

"What?"

"Found among the items obtained during the previous investigation." Lu Yuan's wording was brief. "It's not directly related to the current case of the missing persons in the inner city, but the coordinates point towards the North Sea, roughly coinciding with the route of the North Sea Joint Expedition in 1107 of the Imperial Calendar."

He paused.

"Further away, further north."

Klaus did not speak.

His fingers remained on the paper, not lifting it. His gaze lingered on the numbers.

The meeting room was quiet. The sound of a horse-drawn carriage passing by could be heard outside the window; the wheels rolled over the stone path, the sound carried far into the distance before fading away again.

A few seconds later, Klaus looked up.

He looked at Lu Yuan.

Just looking at him, there was something in his eyes that Lu Yuan was very familiar with, the kind of look that old Night Watchmen had when they were judging a person.

Klaus is making a judgment.

The silence lasted for a few seconds.

Then Klaus picked up the paper, folded it twice, and put it in his shirt pocket.

It's not the folder on the table, and it's not the drawer.

It's a pocket that's close to the body.

"understood."

Three words.

"Also," Lu Yuan added, "the two serial numbers in the archives associated with the 1107 expedition have been sealed by headquarters. The seal is newly stamped."

Klaus's eyes narrowed slightly.

It was very short-lived.

"Um."

There was only that one sound. But his thumb pressed against the spot on the paper outside his pocket.

Lu Yuan handed over these coordinates not because he trusted him.

If this thing really points to something, he, being only at the second tier, can't withstand it anyway.

Morris paved the way ahead, allowing him to follow it step by step.

Although he didn't know whether Gregor's Badge was known to him or not.

But handing information over to a third party breaks with established norms.

As for how Klaus will handle it, that's his business.

Lu Yuan stood up and walked towards the door.

My hand just touched the doorknob.

Hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

Bang bang bang.

The knocking was almost slammed on the door.

Lu Yuan opened the door.

A young night watchman stood outside the door, his forehead covered in sweat and his breathing rapid, as if he had run all the way there.

His gaze passed over Lu Yuan and landed on Klaus.

"Deputy Chief of Staff!"

His voice trembled slightly.

"A body was found in the outer city area this morning."

"Who?"

The young man swallowed hard.

"Preliminary confirmation is... Alan Victor."

His voice was very low.

"The son of the chamber of commerce representative."

There was a moment of silence in the conference room.

Klaus stood up.

The chair leg scraped against the floor with a short, sharp sound.

He looked at Lu Yuan.

"Come with me."