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

Lu Yuan did not sleep well on his first night in the Night Watchman's safe house.

Even though I've already stepped into the realm of taboo studies, that weariness that comes from the depths of my soul still lingers.

The moment I closed my eyes, the damp sea breeze, carrying a fishy smell, rushed towards me.

wow-

The cold waves lapped against my ankles.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes.

It was still that familiar, despairing black sea, and the same pale moon hanging high in the sky.

However, Lu Yuan suddenly realized that this time it seemed a little different, because the feeling of being bound by his feet to the beach had disappeared.

Instead, there is a weak but real sense of control.

"It can actually move?"

Lu Yuan tried to lift his foot and take a step back.

The sensation of sand rubbing against the soles of your feet is incredibly realistic.

The waves missed their target, leaving only a puddle of white foam where he had been standing.

Lu Yuan didn't dwell on why he could suddenly move, but immediately turned around and headed towards the depths of the island.

Lu Yuan didn't want to miss this opportunity; all he wanted to do now was figure out where he was.

As Lu Yuan ventured deeper, he discovered that it was a desolate, isolated island.

By the moonlight, one could see a raised plateau in the distance.

There were obvious signs of human excavation there, with several broken stone pillars standing in the weeds, and some kind of complex formation seemed to be engraved in the middle.

The direction of those lines...

Lu Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

The twisted, vein-like patterns instantly reminded him of the roll of parchment locked deep inside the drawer.

"Something very similar?"

I didn't dare get too close.

Intuition told me that with my current level of rationality, insisting on reading that formation would likely lead to unpredictable consequences.

Looking away, Lu Yuan noticed that countless figures stood indistinctly along the long coastline.

They stood like forgotten sculptures, facing the sea, straight and still, letting the cold waves crash against their bodies and even engulf their heads.

"Are these... other 'Dream' infected individuals?"

Lu Yuan counted them; there were at least several dozen within his field of vision.

This number made Lu Yuan frown, because it was far too few! Although he didn't know the current status of the Iron Whale.

But at least one thing is certain: at least all the crew members on the Iron Whale were infected, and that's a very large number.

Not to mention ordinary people like Lawson who were infected unintentionally.

So what exactly are the conditions for infection with "Different Dreams"?

What Lu Yuan didn't understand was why he could move again.

Is it because my rationality isn't high enough? Or is it because I haven't reached the extraordinary level?

Lu Yuan had no intention of touching those figures.

In this eerie dream, any unnecessary movement could attract unwanted attention.

Following a path that appeared to be worn by people, Lu Yuan explored the inner side of the island.

Here, a few small wooden houses built against the mountainside are scattered along the roadside.

The door was tightly shut, and the windows were pitch black. Lu Yuan tried to push them open, but they wouldn't budge.

It seemed as if some force was constantly restricting Lu Yuan's actions.

With no other option, Lu Yuan decisively abandoned the idea of ​​exploring the room; what he needed to do now was to gather as much information as possible.

After all, whether they can move again when they come to this dream next time is another matter.

At the end of the cabin, a bottomless mine shaft suddenly appeared on the mountain wall.

A chill was constantly seeping out of the deep cave entrance.

Faintly, Lu Yuan seemed to hear a low roar coming from the depths of the cave, and...

"Thump, thump, thump."

It sounded like the beating of a giant heart.

As the sound rang out, the entire island began to tremble violently.

The sea surface instantly boiled, and that sense of being locked on returned.

"Damn it, run!"

Lu Yuan turned and ran without hesitation.

...

"call--!"

Lu Yuan sprang up from the bed, panting heavily.

The small bedroom was deathly silent, except for the ticking of the wall clock.

You observed something strange.

[Rationality II: +5, 25/47 (Experience)]

It's gone a little less.

Lu Yuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. The sound of his heart pounding seemed to still linger in his ears, making his head throb.

"47..."

He glanced at the time; it was 5 a.m.

Now that I'm awake, it's impossible for me to fall asleep again.

Lu Yuan rolled out of bed, feeling parched. He picked up a water glass from the table, went to the bathroom, and turned on the tap.

"puff--"

A stream of dark red liquid gushed out.

Immediately afterwards, an indescribable stench exploded in the small space.

That wasn't the smell of a sewer, but... the smell of thousands of dead fish fermenting in a confined space.

"What the hell is that?"

Lu Yuan quickly turned off the tap and took a step back.

He looked at the murky liquid in the sink, and in the dark red water, there were even a few broken, translucent scales floating on top of it.

Severely polluted water sources

[Analysis: Contains high concentrations of deep-sea organism fluids and putrefied tissue. Ingestion will lead to acute catastrophic changes.]

Shed keratin scales

Analysis: Worthless metabolites.

The grayish-white handwriting danced on my retina, coldly proclaiming reality.

Lu Yuan's face darkened.

Yesterday it was just a little cloudy, but today it's turned into corpse water?

This indicates that the pollution source erupted overnight, and on an astonishing scale.

The entire water supply system in Grimport was paralyzed overnight.

"This is terrible."

Lu Yuan stared at the faucet, his eyes gloomy.

As a doctor, he knew better than anyone what water pollution meant.

Plague, alienation, panic... this port will become incredibly vulnerable in an instant.

Just as he was considering whether to purify some water with holy water for an emergency, he heard hurried footsteps coming from the corridor outside.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Dr. Lu! Are you awake?"

It was Mary's voice.

Lu Yuan frowned, walked over and opened the door.

Mary stood at the doorway, and even her thick trench coat couldn't hide the chill emanating from her.

Her face was grim, and she was clutching a document stamped with sealing wax in her hand.

Something's happened.

Mary didn't waste any words and said as soon as she entered, "The city hall was in an uproar last night. The water in the whole city has been polluted, and the gentlemen in the noble district are putting tremendous pressure on the Viscount."

"So?" Lu Yuan leaned against the doorframe. "This should be a matter for the city hall, right?"

"Everyone at the city hall is dead."

Mary sneered, "None of the teams they sent to investigate the water source have returned. They've lost contact with them now."

"Based on the assessment, this is most likely a bizarre or large-scale mutation event. Conventional forces cannot handle it; the Night Watch must take over."

She slammed the official document in her hand onto the table.

"This is an emergency conscription order issued by the Viscount. Lu Yuan, your name is on it too."