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

He did not wait for a reply.

"We don't know. Because before this collapse, the Night's Watch division had never received any intelligence about the underground bronze pillars."

Klaus's tone remained unchanged, but Lu Yuan sensed a sharp edge in it.

"The architectural archives of the city hall and the governor's mansion contain absolutely no record of the deep underground structure of the Bronze City. Not a single word."

He paused.

"I have requested access to the complete city-building archives from headquarters. There has been no response yet."

Lu Yuan noticed that no one responded when Klaus said those words.

"Based on the above situation, our plan needs to be adjusted."

Klaus withdrew his hand and leaned back in his chair.

"First, conduct a full inspection of all areas of Bronze City. This includes the inner city's perimeter, all districts of the outer city, and all known access points to the pipeline network. We were short-handed before and couldn't cover everything."

He glanced at the representatives present.

"We have agreed that the Ascension Society will temporarily be stationed in Bronze City to assist with the inspection and research work. The Church has also sent people to provide support in purification and sanity restoration. Together with the Holy Armor Army and the Iron Guard Battalion, this is sufficient to support this scale."

Heinrich nodded slightly. The nun's expression remained unchanged.

"Secondly, further exploration of the deeper layers of the pipeline network. This is not just limited to Beifang. The distribution of copper pillars in the pipeline layers below the inner city collapse point and in other areas also needs to be confirmed."

Klaus paused here.

Then he looked at Lu Yuan.

"One last thing."

"The branch has reported Lu Yuan's contribution to this incident to headquarters."

His tone remained unchanged, as steady as when he spoke about anything else.

"Following the branch's evaluation and headquarters' confirmation, Lu Yuan has been promoted to the position of official captain of the Night Watch. Additionally, a certain number of action points are being processed and will be delivered later."

Lu Yuan didn't react much.

Bohr gently patted his shoulder from the side.

Glock's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.

Klaus didn't dwell on the matter.

"Now let's talk about the subsequent dive."

He flipped to the pipeline map and traced the red line with his finger.

"The cleaning of the pipeline layer is basically complete. However, we haven't entered the area below the copper pillars yet."

"The bronze pillar runes have been restored to about 70%. There is still a gap at the bottom, and about one-fifth of the runes are in a semi-activated state. It's not completely damaged, but it's far from fully restored."

Beren added, "The rune structure is self-repairing, but very slowly. At the current rate, full recovery could take six months to a year."

"Also," Klaus continued.

"During the cleaning of the pipeline network, I noticed something."

He looked around at everyone present.

"The pipe network layer used to be clean. The bronze structure of the Bronze City can suppress the eerie, and in the hundreds of years since the city was built, no ghouls have ever appeared in the pipe network layer."

"After the collapse, the ghouls entered the pipe network layer through the collapse opening. There weren't many of them, but the pipe network was intricate and difficult to clear."

"The remaining ghouls in the pipeline layer have been mostly cleared out. However, we haven't yet entered the area below the copper pillars."

What lies beneath the bronze pillar?

Lu Yuan remained silent and continued listening.

Klaus turned his gaze to Buren.

"Tell me about the copper pillar."

Buren lifted his fingers from the notebook.

"The bronze pillar is something entirely new that was discovered during this operation. The branch has no related files, and it's not mentioned in the founding records of Bronze City either."

He opened the notebook and pushed it onto the table.

"Vice Chief Klaus and I went down to inspect the site. Based on the structure of the inscriptions, the copper pillar is a core component of a large-scale sealing formation. The runes extend downwards, indicating they are used to suppress something underground."

"Something?"

Buren shook his head.

"I don't know. There are no records. We can only infer from the specifications of the inscription that the object being sealed was of a very high level."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

Klaus didn't dwell on the matter. He leaned forward and placed his palm on the map.

"The bronze pillar runes have recovered about 70%, but there's still a gap at the bottom. Whatever it's sealing, I need to know what's below."

He straightened up and glanced around at everyone.

"Restart in-depth exploration of the pipeline network. Depart early the day after tomorrow."

Then he started calling people.

"Lu Yuan, on the Night Watch side."

Lu Yuan nodded.

"Glock, coordinate. Draw two more men from the third squad."

Glock made a note of it.

"Iron Guard Battalion".

Klaus looked toward the corner.

Wolf nodded without saying anything.

"You take two people with you. The effectiveness of the furnace fire path in the pipeline network has already been verified last time."

Lu Yuan noticed that when Wolf nodded, his hand under the table clenched slightly.

"The Holy Armor Army".

Heinrich sat up straight: "Me and two knights."

"church."

Klaus glanced at the nun in the corner.

"An observer will accompany the team. It's a request from the church, and I have no reason to refuse."

The nun didn't speak, but simply bowed slightly.

"Inscription Consultant".

Before Klaus could finish speaking, Buren interrupted.

"I'll go."

Glock turned his head and frowned.

"Mr. Buren, this time it's below the bronze pillar. It's even deeper than last time..."

"The bronze pillar inscription needs to be analyzed on-site," Beren interrupted him, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. "I'm not going. I can't use the information you bring back, and besides, I'm the best inscriptionist in Bronze City, bar none."

Glock glanced at Klaus.

Klaus did not veto it.

"Bring the tools you need."

Buren nodded and closed the notebook.

Kai'er spoke softly from the side, "Teacher, I..."

Buren glanced at him.

"You stay up there."

Kai lowered his head and said nothing more.

Lu Yuan noticed that he clenched his fists. His knuckles were white.

Lu Yuan didn't say anything. But his gaze shifted from Kale to Beren.

The veins on the old man's hand, where he leaned on his cane, were bulging prominently. He had lost weight since the last time I saw him. That trip to the pipeline had been mentally exhausting; although he seemed to have recovered considerably these past few days, the next pipeline trip...

Can his body withstand it?

Klaus went on to explain the equipment list and the assembly time: 6:00 AM the day after tomorrow, at the entrance to the branch's underground passage.

During a break in the discussion about equipment, Lu Yuan took a moment to look around at everyone present.

Three seconds. My left eye feels slightly sore.

Beren. His aura of knowledge, a grayish-white tinged with dark gold, was deep but somewhat diffuse. His spirit had not yet fully recovered, and there were a few areas at the edges of his aura that lacked solidity.

Heinrich. A pale golden aura of holy light, very pure and evenly distributed.

A nun from the church. Also pale gold but thinner, her rank was considerably lower than Heinrich's. But Lu Yuan glanced at her again.

Beneath the pale gold base, there was a very faint anomaly.

It's not pollution. It's more like some kind of marker.

It was as if someone was watching something remotely through her.

Three seconds is too short. There's no time to think it through.

Lu Yuan's gaze shifted to the corner.

Wolf.

A dark red, furnace-fire-like aura flowed across his body. Wolf's aura was darker and deeper than that of the two Iron Guard members beside him; the difference in concentration was quite obvious.

But beneath the dark red glow, Lu Yuan saw something that didn't belong to the furnace fire.

Grayish-green.

It's very faint. Like a stain that has seeped into the fabric. You can hardly notice it unless you look closely.

It wasn't covered over the fire, but rather mixed in with it.

The insect of knowledge felt weary. Its senses receded.

[Sanity: -3...114/120]

Lu Yuan's expression remained unchanged.

Grayish-green.

The color of the mycelium in the pipe network.

On the day the pipeline operation ended, the gray and white text indicated "micro-infection".

He saw it with his own eyes.

That patch of grayish-green didn't look newly grown. Its edges were blurred, and there was no clear boundary between it and the dark red. It had been there for some time.

Does Wolff himself know this?

His behavior and demeanor appeared normal, and he seemed mentally alert.

Although the aroma of the furnace fire had been intruded upon, it was still functioning.

If he says it now, Wolf will be excluded from the exploration team.

The Iron Guard Battalion's furnace fire route is an important combat force in the pipeline network.

Last time, Wolf's carbonization ability cleared an entire passage blocked by mycelium.

Moreover, revealing that someone is infected in front of everyone is tantamount to cornering them.

We need to find the right time to do this.

A suitable approach.

Not now.

Lu Yuan turned his gaze back to the red markers on the map.

This matter cannot be discussed here.

But I must say.

The meeting ended a dozen minutes later.

People gradually got up. The sound of chairs being moved echoed in the room for a while.

Beren walked over and patted Lu Yuan on the shoulder.

"Have you thought about the stone slab yet?"

"not yet."

Buren didn't press the matter.

"When you go down, take it with you. The things in the pipeline might help you make a decision."

Lu Yuan nodded.

Buren picked up his cane and led Kel outside.

When Kai'er passed by Lu Yuan, her gaze was lowered and she didn't say a word.

Lu Yuan did not follow.

He stayed in the meeting room after everyone else had left.

Klaus is collecting documents.

"Is there anything else?"

Lu Yuan closed the door.

"Wolf has a problem."

Klaus paused for a moment.

"I can sense some kind of aura. Wolf's aura is off; there's something mixed in with it that looks a lot like the mycelium I've seen in the pipe network."

"It's been a while now."

Klaus remained silent for a few seconds.

"Does he know it himself?"

"uncertain."

"Your judgment."

"Behavior is normal, mental state is clear, and the furnace is still running. However, the bacterial concentration is higher deep within the pipe network; if the infection accelerates..."

Lu Yuan didn't finish speaking.

Klaus put the file down and leaned back in his chair.

"I see."

He neither said he would replace him nor that he would not.

"I will make arrangements before I leave the day after tomorrow."

Lu Yuan nodded and went out the door.

The sun was shining brightly as I walked out of the branch office.

Wolf hasn't gone far.

The dark red uniforms of the Iron Guard Battalion stood out vividly in the sunlight. Their steps were steady.

Lu Yuan quickened his pace and walked alongside him.

Wolf.

Wolf glanced at him sideways.

"Um."

How have you been feeling lately?

Wolf paused briefly, almost imperceptibly.

"It's alright, why are you asking that?"

"You look the worst in the meeting room. Didn't you get enough rest?"

"I might have been in the furnace for too long; I'll write more later."

Lu Yuan looked at his profile.

Wolf didn't say anything more and continued walking.

Lu Yuan stood there, watching the dark red figure disappear into the distance...