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

Calvin did not use the main entrance.

After passing through the iron fence, he went straight to the west side of the main building, with Lu Yuan following behind him.

The main building of the Bo Xue Tower stood silently in the night, with withered vines climbing the gray stone walls, and the windows were pitch black, without any lights.

Ten Night's Watchmen stood in two rows behind him, the sound of their boots hitting the gravel ground was rhythmic and restrained.

There is a narrow door on the west side.

It was half a head shorter than a normal door, and the copper ornaments on the door frame had been corroded to a dark green by the years, making it look more like the entrance to some kind of logistics passage.

Calvin took out a copper identification token and stuck it on, which slowly opened after a series of clicks.

Behind the narrow door is a downward stone staircase.

The air suddenly turned cold.

Once inside the passage, the gas lamps disappear, replaced by dark blue runes embedded in the copper walls. These stones, clinging to the walls, cast a deep-sea hue upon the stone steps.

Calvin walked at the front, his pace neither too fast nor too slow.

Selena brought up the rear.

Eleven Night's Watchmen stood in the middle, following silently.

"This fishing operation is divided into three areas."

Calvin's voice came from ahead; he didn't turn around, speaking as he walked.

"The first area, the outer perimeter security zone, is managed by church personnel. It is protected by a barrier of blessings and inscriptions of holy light to prevent the aura of the Sea of ​​Knowledge from leaking out. You will not have direct contact with church personnel."

"Second Zone, the Rationality Barrier Zone, this is your location. Construct a barrier powered by rationality around the outer edge of the diversion channel entrance. You are the last line of defense. If what's inside breaches the fishing zone's restrictions, you must stop it."

"The third area, the core fishing area, the people of the Tower of Learning."

He paused.

"You don't need to worry about the Tower of Learning."

When Calvin spoke about the third region, his pace noticeably quickened.

Clearly, they didn't want to dwell on this topic any longer.

Lu Yuan walked in the middle of the group, listening and sensing the changes in the atmosphere in the passage.

The further down you go, the stronger the dense scent in the air becomes.

He doesn't need to use the insect of knowledge.

Even a seeker of knowledge could perceive an extremely dense aura, akin to an ocean of knowledge, emanating from the depths of the passage. This aura made Lu Yuan feel a heavy weight on his body.

It was as if the whole person was being pushed into the water.

The symbiotic connection pulsated slightly.

Deep within the left eye, the worm of knowledge trembled slightly as it digested.

It sensed something, but it was clearly not hostile, otherwise the little guy wouldn't have been unable to wake up. The worm of knowledge just moved slightly and then shrank back.

"What if something goes wrong inside and the barrier can't hold it in?"

Lu Yuan then spoke up and asked.

Calvin did not turn around.

"Nothing can come out, including your people?"

Calvin paused for a moment.

It was so brief that almost no one noticed.

He did not answer.

But Selena spoke up from behind.

"include."

His voice was cold, and after speaking, he fell silent again and continued walking forward.

Lu Yuan did not press the matter further.

The passage continues downwards.

The material of the wall has changed; it is no longer made of stone bricks, but a whole piece of rock with a rough surface and marks of being chiseled.

A faint, colorful glow seeped from the cracks in the rock wall, clearly indicating that the aura of the sea of ​​knowledge had permeated the rock strata themselves.

The lower you go, the denser the faint light becomes.

In the end, the walls of the entire passageway were glowing.

The faint flow of color seeped from the cracks in the stone and meandered along the rock face.

It felt like walking through a giant blood vessel.

At the end of the passage was a bronze door.

There were no inscriptions on the door, only a dense array of rivets, hundreds of copper rivets arranged in concentric circles, stretching from the edge of the door all the way to the center.

The bronze door was open.

The brilliance emanating from the ocean of knowledge seeped out from under the door.

Lu Yuan stepped across the threshold.

A huge underground rotunda.

The dome is extremely high, at least thirty meters high.

The entire rotunda was carved out of a single block of rock from the ground, and chisel marks are still visible on the walls.

There is a circular opening in the very center of the dome, about five or six meters in diameter, with a brass strip around the edge.

Looking up from the opening, you can see a flowing expanse of color, like a giant eye gazing down at everything below.

That is the diversion of the sea of ​​knowledge.

The layout of the rotunda is exactly as Calvin described.

In the outermost circle, which is the first area, a dozen or so church members dressed in white and gold robes were already in place, standing quietly in their respective positions.

The blessing inscription formed a huge circle on the ground, with a soft, pale golden light flowing around it.

Lu Yuan glanced around the crowd but didn't see Agnes.

The middle circle—the second area—is where the Night's Watch is located.

The ground is marked with inscribed circles and eleven equidistant markers. Each marker is inlaid with a bronze instrument, a low platform with a palm print groove on the surface, and inscriptions are engraved all around it.

The marked points are connected by ground inscription arrays, forming a complete circular loop.

The innermost circle is the innermost ring.

It was separated by a semi-transparent barrier.

The scene behind the barrier was blurry; only indistinct figures could be seen moving about, along with the outlines of some instruments and equipment.

But Lu Yuan noticed a detail.

On the inner circle of the ground, metal brackets are arranged in a regular pattern.

There was something tied to it, but I couldn't see clearly.

Calvin has reached the center circle.

He stood beside one of the bronze instruments, turned around, and faced the eleven Night's Watchmen.

The monocle shimmered in the colorful light of the rotunda.

"Stand at the marked positions and place your hands on the instrument platform."

He pointed to the groove in the palm print.

"Once the formation is activated, it will mobilize your rationality and construct a mental barrier."

"During this time, your consciousness will arrive at the front of a branch of the Sea of ​​Knowledge."

Calvin's tone became more forceful at this point.

"Remember, under no circumstances should you go inside."

"You only need to use your reason to solidify the barrier."

"Once the fishing begins, do not look inside."

Calvin glanced at Lu Yuan with something indescribable in his eyes.

"This is advice."

Lu Yuan met his gaze for a moment, but Calvin did not look away.

The last sentence.

"Participating in this operation could result in permanent damage if your rationality is not strong enough."

After saying that, he didn't linger.

He turned and walked towards the inner circle.

Selena followed behind him, passing Lu Yuan without looking at him, her steps steady and her eyes fixed straight ahead.

Lu Yuan watched as the two figures passed through the semi-transparent barrier and disappeared into the blurry light and shadow.

Then he turned around.

The ten Night's Watchmen stood still, awaiting his orders.

"On your marks."

Lu Yuan's voice was very low, just enough to reach everyone's ears in the round hall.

"Don't touch the table until you place both hands on it. Wait for my gesture."

He glanced at everyone.

"Don't look around."

The ten people dispersed and headed towards their respective markers.

Each person stood in front of the instrument, the palm print grooves on the table surface gleaming with a cold light.

Lu Yuan walked to the twelve o'clock position, which was directly opposite the entrance to the diversion channel.

No one speaks.

Waiting for the inner circle to complete its preparations.

The waiting process was quiet.

The surface of the inner barrier was constantly changing, sometimes cloudy, sometimes clear, making it almost possible to see everything inside.

Over and over again.

It's like someone is adjusting the amount of light passing through a window.

Lu Yuan stood at his marked point, his gaze fixed on the barrier.

Just as the barrier became almost completely transparent once again—

Lu Yuan then noticed.

People are strapped to the inner ring of the frame.

More than twenty.

The students of the Bo Xue Tower wore uniform blue-gray robes with silver serial numbers on the cuffs.

Sitting on a metal frame, with his head held in place by a ring-shaped device, his eyes closed.

Lean forward slightly.

It looks like it's asleep.

But they were clearly not asleep, because each of them was permeated with an indescribable aura.

Lu Yuan activated the Seeker of Knowledge's perception, and the next moment his vision changed.

Beneath the students' grayish-blue robes, there were no normal human bodies.

Their skin is intact, but that's all that's left—the skin is still there.

All the bones and flesh inside their bodies had been replaced.

Instead, insects took their place.

Hundreds of tiny insects intertwine, replacing bones and muscles, barely maintaining the outline of the human body.

In the somewhat hazy vision, only one thing about those students was real.

It's a head.

It's their brains.

The worms did not invade the brain; instead, they bypassed the inside of the skull and used a mesh woven from their bodies to support the brain in the center.

Carefully holding it.

It is obvious that the brain is a container.

These students are already dead.

Only the brain remained alive.

A living container.

The gray and white text quietly emerged.

[Detection Target: Students of the Bo Xue Tower (Hive)]

[A group of pitiful humans who used special methods to explore the secrets of knowledge can no longer be called human, except for their consciousness.]

Lu Yuan stared at the last line of gray text for two seconds.

'Is this the plan for the Tower of Knowledge?'

At the very instant that thought flashed through my mind—

A familiar sense of oppression pressed down from above.

It did not originate from the student's carrier.

It comes from above.

A place much higher than this rotunda.

The being inside the main tower of the Tower of Learned Scholars.

Last time I came here, I was stared at twice, with that cold gaze that didn't belong to any human being.

Here we go again.

Clearly, "He" had noticed him again, before Lu Yuan could figure it out.

The gray and white text had already appeared.

[You have received His attention. Rational judgment in progress... Judgment successful. You are unaffected.]

The sense of oppression has not subsided.

It actually got heavier.

[Your existence has offended Him again. Reason assessment in progress... Assessment successful. You are unaffected.]

Clearly, with Lu Yuan's sanity cap reaching 140, he was fully able to withstand it.

[Rationality: 63/140]

Despite this, cold sweat still seeped out on Lu Yuan's back.

Lu Yuan suddenly realized that this thing seemed to have been paying attention to the Tower of Knowledge all along. Did that mean that the entire Tower of Knowledge had actually been judged by "It"?

If you have a gray text notification, what about others?