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

Lu Yuan opened his eyes.

A sliver of pale morning light shone through the window, revealing the outline of the brass door frame. There were no footsteps in the corridor; the early shift staff at the branch office must have already left.

I finally got a good night's sleep. I glanced at the light outside the window and realized it was getting late.

At the edge of my field of vision, the gray and white text jumped up and down.

[Sanity: +12...110/140]

It'll be full soon, which is good news.

Lu Yuan didn't rush to get up; he lay down and activated his internal vision.

The key hovered behind the insect, its dim luster slightly brighter than last night, slowly recovering. That's good; at least it means this thing isn't disposable.

The worm of knowledge, curled up deep inside the left eye, has stretched out a bit since yesterday, no longer curled up in a ball, and its posture is much more relaxed.

The body size is still on the large side, but the swelling and pain in the eye sockets has subsided, and the color flow has recovered to about 70-80%, with the speed approaching normal.

However, what worried Lu Yuan was the increased number of bloodstains on the Knowledge Worm.

Originally, there was only a thin line of blood-red on the surface, but now there are several more, crawling along the surface of the insect's body. And quite a few new ones have grown.

But the insect seemed to be in good condition, responding to the symbiotic bond much more clearly than last night, it was just sleepy.

I'm very sleepy.

Lu Yuan gently activated the symbiotic connection and sent a very short thought.

The insect responded.

It's hard to describe, but a jumbled feeling washed over me, mostly drowsy, with a hint of "don't make a fuss" impatience, and underneath it all, a faint sense of peace.

Then it rolled over, burrowed deeper, the color shifted a little slower, and then retreated back.

Lu Yuan loosened his contact.

I can't figure out why there are more bloodstains.

Fortunately, the worm of knowledge showed no signs of discomfort or rejection; it paid no attention to the bloodstains.

There's no good solution, so I can only let it continue sleeping for now.

Lu Yuan got up and quickly washed up.

The food delivery window outside the door had been opened and then closed again.

A small tray sat on a metal rack inside the window, containing a small piece of white bread, a small pitcher of milk, and a dish of vegetables he couldn't name; the leaves were thick, a bitter green, and had softened after steaming.

The breakfast was a bit cold, and the edges of the bread were hard. According to the rules of the Night Watch, captains and above can choose their own meal delivery time.

Lu Yuan hadn't set any settings; the default was that the early shift would deliver the package.

Because Lu Yuan himself didn't know how late he could sleep.

I finished eating while sitting by the window.

The white bread had a slightly dry sweetness, the milk was slightly sour, and the bitterness of the vegetables lingered on the back of the tongue for a moment, very faintly resembling the taste of some kind of vegetable on Earth.

I chewed it a couple of times and didn't think about it anymore.

Returning to the table, I picked up the thin manual Klaus had given me from beside my pillow.

The cover was severely worn, the edges were frayed, the glue on the spine was cracked in several places, and the pages were rather thick, indicating that it had been read many times.

"Don't easily reveal what's inside the Night's Watch."

These were Klaus's exact words, but he didn't say "only you can see it."

Lu Yuan pondered the wording in his mind; it meant that he was allowed to share the content, but the physical item could not be given to others.

Turning the cover inside, there was no Night's Watch number stamp, so it was definitely Klaus's own.

This makes it even more significant.

Which path did he take?

With a touch of curiosity, Lu Yuan turned to the first page.

The handwritten line is slender yet powerful, with a crisp ending, indicating a person who is accustomed to writing quickly.

But this line is written slowly.

"May all travelers who embark on this journey find that legendary land and see what they seek. — Joe"

The ink has turned brown, the edges of the paper are slightly yellowed, but the writing is clear, indicating that someone has deliberately preserved it.

It seems that the person who wrote this line is very important to Klaus.

Lu Yuan paused for a moment when his gaze swept over the signature "Qiao".

The strokes of the signature were a little shaky, indicating that something had clearly gone wrong when the character was written.

Turn to the second page.

"The Amber Path is an extremely difficult and eerie route."

"It demands almost an unreasonable level of rationality, deterring many people. To solve this problem, I traveled to many places, dissected and studied many strange phenomena, and finally figured out a potentially feasible method, which I call the amber preservation method."

"When faced with the bizarre, no matter how humans confront it, their rationality will ultimately be affected, unless they abandon their human identity. But that would be contrary to the ultimate goal of the Amber Path."

"So, to help travelers on this specific route, here's my approach."

"Extract the last bit of 'god' you possess as a human being, seal it away, and keep it as your absolute core. As long as this bit of 'god' remains uncorrupted, you can continue to climb upwards as a human."

— Joe

Lu Yuan flipped through the pages one by one, and after reading the brief explanation, he roughly understood what path Klaus was taking.

'A strange path... towards the amber?'

Lu Yuan frowned.

Is amber considered eerie? The word itself is not offensive; it's gentle and harmless.

On the contrary, the crawling and decaying are more like the eerie and otherworldly tone.

Lu Yuan went through all the examples he had seen in his mind, but none of them matched up.

However, Klaus never displayed any of the strange attributes he should have during the battle, except for the fact that he could glow.

What Joe used to describe it as "amber" might not be its bizarre shape, but rather the most crucial movement on this path.

Seal away?

Lu Yuan's finger stopped on the line "Extract your last 'god' as a human being," his fingertip pressing down on the page, causing the paper to dent slightly.

'Digging God?'

It sounds like cutting off a piece of yourself and sealing it up. If that's not the case, then it's about digging into what you already have.

Lu Yuan leans towards the latter.

The former sounds too eerie, while the latter sounds like a solution devised by a man named Joe after traveling to many places.

The handwriting on the second half of the booklet has been changed.

The strokes are more square and compact, which is Klaus's.

Written at different times, the ink varies in shade, and some parts are repeatedly circled and marked, leaving marks on the paper from the pressure of the pen tip.

The earliest page has grayish ink, while the latest page has very dark ink.

This booklet has been used for many years.

The core of the Klaus Chronicle is one thing: constantly excavating the "god" within oneself, extracting it little by little, and sealing it away little by little. The process is tedious and the methods are obscure.

The knowledge contained in this book is probably not much different from the one that Mo Shui gave him.

Unfortunately, Lu Yuan quickly realized that the method Klaus used was not suitable for him, because all the cultivation methods were based on one thing: 'amber'.

Lu Yuan doesn't have that kind of thing.

However, there is good news as well. Some of the suggestions are somewhat similar to those in the book, and if one can thoroughly understand the book, it seems that it can provide valuable insights.

As Lu Yuan pondered this, filled with curiosity, he flipped to the last page of the book to see just how far Klaus had come down this path.

On the last page, there were three sentences written, the last one being...

"I wonder if there's still time."

Seeing this, Lu Yuan realized that Klaus seemed to be about to reach the fifth rank as well.

I wonder what will become of Klaus in the end.

Lu Yuan cleared his mind of the jumbled thoughts and recalled his feelings when he was cultivating his defensive abilities.

He was also digging into that long river of reason, exploring inwards, delving deeper, making progress a little bit every day.

Same tune with the same effect.

After finishing reading, close the book.

Two judgments.

First, this method can only be fully followed by those who have mastered the mysterious path of amber. Only those who embark on that path can witness the fall of their own drop of amber. It cannot be replicated.

Secondly, the act of "exploring one's own 'god'" is itself worth learning from, as it at least confirms one thing: there is a "god" deep within a person. He can now introspect, which will be somewhat helpful for his future exploration.

Lu Yuan flipped back to the first page, glanced at Qiao's handwriting, closed the booklet, and placed it on the corner of the table.

Close your eyes and activate your inner vision.

My consciousness had just sunk an inch inwards

Then there was a knock on the door.

Who would contact them at this hour?

Lu Yuan opened his eyes, got up, walked to the door, and opened it.

It was Buren, leaning on his cane, with Kel following behind, carrying a small toolbox that had been used for a long time, the corners of which were wrapped with old strips of cloth to prevent bumps.

When Buren first looked at him, his gaze lingered on his left eye for a moment before moving away.

"Excuse me, Captain Lu."

Lu Yuan stepped aside to make way.

Beren entered the room without waiting to be greeted, found a chair and sat down, leaning his cane against the armrest without any politeness.

Kel placed the toolbox at his feet and stood quietly next to the Buren chair.

Boren looked up at Lu Yuan.

"Captain Lu, are you alright? How did the trip go?"

"I'm back, I'm fine."

Buren looked at him for two seconds, his gaze sweeping from his face to his left eye, and then to the scabbed wound on his palm.

The old man swallowed back the words he was about to say and changed direction.

"Is the Tower of Learning finished yet?"

"The ceremony is over, and all the night watchmen who went are safe and sound; they've all been brought back, but they all need to rest."

"So everything went smoothly? Aren't the Tower of Knowledge full of students...?"

Lu Yuan sighed upon hearing this.

"None of the twenty-three students from the Tower of Learning have returned."

Beren tapped the tip of his cane with his finger and remained silent for two seconds.

"Life on the other side of the Tower of Learning has always been worthless."

No one continued the conversation.

After a few seconds of silence, Burren brought the conversation back on track, a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth:

"By the way, my injury has healed."

He then spread out his right hand.

A faint blue light emanated from his palm, and a tiny inscribed ring condensed in the air. Its structure was more complex than the one he had shown Lu Yuan before, with an additional inner spiral pattern, and its rotation speed was more stable.

After spinning around twice and pulling back, Burren cleared his throat:

"Last time I wasn't in the right state of mind when I went down into the pipeline network, but now it's different. I'm confident that if I look at the inscriptions on those bronze pillars again, I can decipher even more."

Buren leaned back in his chair and adopted a more consultative tone.

"Shall we go down again sometime?"

Lu Yuan nodded.

"Bring Klaus along too. He didn't get a single benefit from last time. Let's make things clear this time."

Having just finished reading that booklet, I can confirm that Klaus's path might indeed be the optimal solution when facing the inscription below.

"In the next few days, after I've finished my rest. I'll ask the deputy chief of staff then."