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

Lu Yuan opened the door.

A night watchman stood outside the door.

It wasn't one of the faces I'd seen before. He wasn't old, just over twenty, but he looked tense and his lips were pale.

His coat was covered in dust, and there was a fresh abrasion on his forehead with beads of blood still clinging to it, but he didn't bother to wipe it off.

"Mr. Lu Yuan."

He speaks very fast, but he can pronounce every word clearly.

"Deputy Chief of Staff's order: Bronze City has been subjected to a large-scale, bizarre attack. All units with combat capabilities are hereby summoned for an emergency assembly."

He paused for a moment and took a breath.

"You have been temporarily appointed as the captain of the Ninth Team, leading eight Night Watchmen to the northern textile district of the outer city to defend against the strange phenomenon emerging from the breach in that area."

"The order takes effect immediately."

Lu Yuan's hand was still resting on the door frame.

He didn't ask why.

The moment Lauren knocked on the door, all the problems had already taken shape.

And at the edge of his field of vision, the gray-white notification that had been hanging there since earlier still hadn't disappeared.

[Environmental awareness: Numerous traces of pollutants... ongoing monitoring... we recommend staying away.]

Lu Yuan glanced at the line of text.

keep away?

Which way to get away?

"Where is the team?"

The watchman stepped aside.

Eight figures stood in two rows on the street outside the door.

His grey robe swayed slightly in the night breeze, and his hat was pulled low, revealing only the lower half of his face.

Each person had a standard-issue short sword and firearm hanging at their waist, and more could be vaguely seen beneath their robes.

They're all veterans.

Lu Yuan glanced at their positions; they were evenly spaced, had a stable center of gravity, and were breathing in unison.

This is a team that has been tested and refined through real combat.

The leader took half a step forward, revealing a angular face beneath a gray cap. He appeared to be around thirty years old, with an old scar on his left cheek that stretched from his jawbone down to his chin.

"Captain Lu, please give instructions."

His voice was calm and steady, without hesitation.

The seven people behind him looked up at the same time, their eyes falling on Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan noticed that there was no doubt in their eyes when they looked at him.

Either Klaus's orders carried enough weight, or the situation had become so urgent that nobody cared who the captain was.

Of course, there is another possibility: that they have a good reputation.

It's most likely the latter.

The young Night's Watchman who delivered the order had already turned and run in another direction.

The gray-robed figure flashed around the corner and disappeared into the light.

He has another stop to notify.

Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked at the street in front of him.

The entire Bronze City lit up.

It wasn't the eerie glow of the runes on the city wall.

Everything that could be lit was lit up at that moment.

Streetlights, electric lights, gas lamps.

A dim yellow light shone from the windows of distant houses; someone had lit a kerosene lamp in their home the moment the gunshot rang out.

Light upon light spread from the inner city to the outer city, like a giant net spread across the darkness.

In the distance, sporadic gunshots could still be heard.

It's not just one direction, it's from all directions.

Some are densely packed, while others are sparsely packed.

Some erupt suddenly for a while, then quickly fall silent again.

The faint glow of the bronze runes on the city wall was still there, but much dimmer than usual.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath.

The night wind filled my lungs, carrying a faint smell of burnt food and fish.

[Rationality: 45/120]

At this moment, rationality is unfortunately at its lowest.

"Walk."

Lu Yuan stepped down the steps and joined the queue.

The eight people adjusted their positions in tacit agreement, forming a mobile formation with Lu Yuan at the center. Two people went ahead to scout the way, four people protected the two flanks, and two people brought up the rear.

Lu Yuan does not need to give orders.

They started moving on their own.

I walked briskly north along the cobblestone road outside the city.

We passed through several alleys along the way, and at the entrances of these alleys, we could see other groups moving as well.

Some faced south, some faced east, their formations varied, and the number of people differed.

No one spoke.

Everyone is on their way.

After walking about three blocks, the suspicious-looking man in the lead slowed down and walked alongside Lu Yuan.

"Captain Lu, this is Bo'er."

He spoke in a very low voice, just enough for two people to hear.

"The ninth team temporarily formed by the branch, apart from me, consists of seven other people who were drawn back from the outposts, so there are no problems with their coordination."

"Are you the vice-captain?"

"Yes." Bor nodded. "He was previously part of Hogel's outer city surveillance group, so he's quite familiar with the terrain around the North Ward."

Lu Yuan remembered it.

"Tell me what happened."

Bohr didn't stop walking; he talked as he went.

"I don't know what happened tonight. About half an hour ago, the Bronze City's ability to suppress eerie phenomena suddenly went out, and at the same time, the ground collapsed in many places."

He speaks quickly, but his points are clear and logical.

"The inner city was the worst affected, with at least three large-scale collapses where the ground cracked open. The outer city was slightly less affected, but there were still several collapses on the north and southwest sides."

What was revealed at the point of collapse?

"Mainly carrion ghosts and ghouls." Bor's voice deepened. "There are quite a few, especially in the inner city. I heard that dozens of them poured out immediately."

Scavengers and ghouls.

Lu Yuan was familiar with both of these things.

I read the "Elementary Tales" in the Night's Watch library during my time in Grimport, and I remember it very clearly.

Carrion-eating ghosts are low-level monsters that are attracted to decaying matter. They have an extremely strong sense of smell and are afraid of light. Individually, they pose little threat, but when they gather in groups, they create a kind of resonance effect that causes the sanity of the living people around them to deteriorate rapidly.

Ghouls are a step above carrion ghouls; they possess a degree of intelligence, can ambush, and have venomous claws. Crucially, they eat.

They eat corpses, and they also eat living people.

There is one more thing.

Lu Yuan remembered it clearly because the gray-white prompt at the time provided additional information.

Copper has a strong restraining effect on the Carrion type.

Copper once harmed the source of the carrion demons' corruption, so the material itself poses a deterrent to them.

And the Bronze City...

Lu Yuan subconsciously glanced at the bronze runes on the distant city wall that were flickering faintly.

The walls, runes, and even parts of the building structure of the entire city contain a large amount of copper.

These things have become natural barriers tonight.

This also explains why, despite the large number of eerie gray-white text prompts, they did not spread immediately.

The smell of copper was suppressing them.

As long as there is sufficient light and the copper structure remains intact, it will be difficult for carrion monsters to spread widely within the city.

But the problem is...

The collapse point itself.

Those cracks were torn directly from the ground.

Moreover, despite the presence of copper, judging from Bor's words, quite a few carrion ghosts and ghouls still climbed up.

"Where is the gap we are responsible for?"

"North Textile District." Bor pointed to the left ahead, "It's a small collapse point on the north side of the outer city. Intelligence says that not many monsters are emerging from there. The main force is holding the line in the inner city, and we are on the flank."

"How small?"

"The exact figures are unclear," Bor said truthfully. "All I know is that it's much less than in the inner city."

Lu Yuan remained silent for two seconds.

At the edge of my field of vision, that line of gray text about environmental awareness still hangs there.

[Environmental awareness: Numerous traces of pollutants... ongoing monitoring... we recommend staying away.]

"Massive quantity".

It's not a 'small amount,' nor is it 'medium.'

It's massive.

Boer said that the number of products from Beifang was "not large".

There is a large gap between these two pieces of information.

Either the information was outdated.

Either... those things haven't all come out yet.