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

When Lu Yuan regained consciousness, it was already dark.

[Rationality: 61/90]

A dull, throbbing pain throbbed in his head, like the heavy feeling of someone who had slept too long, extending from the back of his head to behind his eyes. He propped himself up and sat up, the scene before him swaying for a couple of seconds before settling.

A figure immediately came to greet him.

"Captain Lu, you're awake?"

Lu Yuan composed himself and looked around, only to find that he was lying on his bed in his room, and the figure was Bo Er.

At this moment, Bor's voice carried a hint of concern.

He had already carried a pot of water to the bedside, and with his other hand, he placed it on Lu Yuan's back to help him lean back.

Lu Yuan took the water bottle and drank a few sips. The water was warm, and when it went down his throat, it left a slightly cool aftertaste, characteristic of holy water.

"Captain, you've been sleeping for two days."

Two days?

Lu Yuan was slightly taken aback.

Boer put down the water bottle, took out a small stone from his pocket. It was only the size of a thumb, grayish-white, with several fine engravings on its surface. He held it up to Lu Yuan and stared at the stone for a few seconds.

The stone did not change color.

Bo let out a sigh of relief, put the stone back in his pocket, and his shoulders relaxed completely.

"I slept for so long? What happened after that?" Lu Yuan propped himself up and looked at Bo'er.

Bohr didn't answer immediately. He thought for a moment, then smiled at Lu Yuan. It was a relaxed smile that came from confirming something.

"When you came back, things weren't good." Bor pulled up a chair and sat down, his tone very soft. "And you were mentally unstable, on the verge of a breakdown. Deputy Chief of Staff Klaus personally gave you a lot of medication, suspecting that your pathway might have mutated, and specifically assigned me to keep an eye on you."

Boer spoke casually, but Lu Yuan could sense the weight in his words.

Reason is in turmoil.

For any extraordinary individual, these four words mean they are only one step away from losing control.

If I lose my rationality, my only fate will be death.

"But it seems you're alright." Bor took a vial of potion from behind the chair and handed it to him. The glass bottle bore the Night's Watch label. "You've recovered faster than we thought. Drink this one too."

Lu Yuan didn't stand on ceremony and drank it all in one gulp.

[Sanity: +9...70/90]

A cool sensation spread from my chest and then throughout my body.

Lu Yuan became much more sober.

But there was still a sense of weakness underneath, as if something inside the body had been pulled out. Lu Yuan knew the reason: the upper limit of rationality had been temporarily reduced by 50 points, from 140 to 90.

Of course, you will experience some minor health issues.

I just don't know how long it will take for this "temporary deduction" to be reinstated.

If it takes a long time, then things will become very troublesome afterwards.

While Lu Yuan was drinking the sanity potion, Bor got up and went out.

Lu Yuan took advantage of this break to examine the gray text.

Several new records were lined up at the edge of my field of vision, clearly accumulated during the two days I was asleep.

[Rationality IV: +10...31/140]

[Taboo Studies - Seeker of Knowledge: +6...72.8/100]

[Current Status of Bronze City: +3...18/50]

The insect of knowledge is always giving back.

The things ingested by "9" have been digested over the past two days, and then returned to the body. This caused his Rationality IV to increase by 10 points in one go, and his Forbidden Studies also made progress.

72.8. I'm getting closer and closer to becoming a polymath. By then, I will have real combat skills, and at least I will have the ability to struggle against fourth-tier extraordinary powerhouses.

Lu Yuan put aside the thoughts in his mind and realized that he seemed a little dirty, so he quickly washed up and tidied himself up.

Deep within the left eye, the worm of knowledge is currently drifting about.

With a lazy, overeating posture, it slowly spun around in the space inside the eyeball, occasionally pausing to curl up before continuing to float. After sensing that Lu Yuan had regained consciousness, a faint vibration came through the symbiotic connection.

It conveys a pleasant mood.

It's as if it's saying, "You're finally awake."

Lu Yuan looked at it and remembered something.

He conveyed a question through symbiotic connection, a vague image and a sense of doubt mixed together, and pushed it forward.

The gist is: Why didn't you enter the "sea of ​​knowledge" within the body of "9"? Why did you burrow into flesh and blood and start gnawing?

The worm of knowledge responded with a whole bunch of chattering.

Symbiotic connection conveys fragmented emotions and vague images. In the image that Lu Yuan received, there was an extremely thick wall, the feeling of the worm of knowledge hitting it and bouncing away, and a kind of restlessness of "too hard to bite".

He understood the core meaning.

It's too powerful, I can't get in.

"9" represents a fourth-order mutated transcendent being. To the Knowledge Worm, its body is an impenetrable fortress; being able to burrow into flesh and blood is already its limit.

As for the deeper 'knowledge' within his body, it was completely inaccessible.

Lu Yuan nodded.

That makes sense.

"9" is, after all, a genuine fourth-order rank, so being able to extract those knowledge fragments from him is already a good deal.

He noticed something else.

Ever since the Knowledge Worm formed a symbiotic bond, my translation abilities seem to have failed when I'm dealing with it.

In the past, when encountering texts I couldn't read or languages ​​I couldn't understand, Gray Text would automatically translate them. But Gray Text didn't translate a single word of the vague vibrations and images emitted by the worm of knowledge.

I don't know why.

However, Lu Yuan didn't pay much attention. He had already mastered the Imperial language very well and rarely used his translation skills in daily life, except when faced with some ancient inscriptions or strange characters.

I didn't think much of it.

Footsteps came from outside the door.

Boer carried in a bowl of milky white meat soup and a steaming white bread, and placed it on the small table beside the bed.

A few drops of oil still clung to the rim of the soup bowl, and a tear in the white bread allowed steam to escape from the ripped surface.

"Come on, Captain, eat first. We can talk more after you've finished eating."

Bor sat down opposite him, took out his small wine jug from his pocket, unscrewed the lid, and took a small sip.

Lu Yuan didn't stand on ceremony and took a sip of the meat soup first.

The soup was made from lamb bones and was very thick. It had a strong muttony smell when you first tasted it, but this smell actually became comforting once it settled in your empty stomach, and a warm feeling spread from your stomach to your limbs.

He broke the bread into pieces and soaked them in the soup, then ate them one by one.

I felt much warmer.

Bohr began to speak.

"You and Burren were trained by Lake."

Bohr spoke while drinking, not very fast, and occasionally paused to think about his words.

"The exit was on the other side of the warehouse, leading to a side alley. Rick's condition at the time... it's hard to describe, but the two new recruits on patrol almost drew their guns."

Bohr chuckled as he said this.

"They later recognized the uniform and urgently contacted the branch. Deputy Chief Klaus, upon receiving the message, immediately notified the Earl. The Earl, accompanied by his guards, rushed there on the spot."

Bor took another sip of his drink.

"You and Beren were sent back to headquarters first, and Margaret gave you emergency treatment." He glanced at Lu Yuan. "That old man Beren is alright. He's quite exhausted, but his mind and body are perfectly normal, and he hasn't even been contaminated. He's done a much better job protecting himself than you, Captain."

"But you're not in such good shape." Bor's tone turned slightly somber. "You're on the verge of a mental breakdown, and you have extensive muscle strain. Most importantly, the Gray Pact's aura lingers in your body."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan understood.

That aura was most likely picked up by the worm of knowledge when it crawled back from inside "9".

Bohr continued, "At one point, we suspected you'd been corrupted by the Grey Pact, but later we had church members come to examine you. They found the aura on you was only superficial and dissipated quickly. After that, we regularly fed you holy water and monitored your sanity..."

He patted his pocket.

"At the same time, use the sacred stone to confirm that you have not been further contaminated."

Lu Yuan remained silent for a moment.

He could imagine the tension the branch was under during those two days, with everyone on the verge of a mental breakdown and the lingering presence of the Grey Pact. Any normal Night Watchman would have thought, "This guy is probably done for," when faced with this combination.

"What happened to the inner city afterwards?"

Bor shook his head. "I don't know about that. But it's true that Klaus didn't look too good when he came back."

His complexion was not good.

Lu Yuan frowned slightly, indicating that they probably hadn't caught anyone underground, and the Gray Contract Society had retreated with those wooden figures.

The four kneeling wooden structures, plus the one that was lost earlier, make at least five. They play a key role in some kind of ritual or formation, but he still has no clue what that role is.

"How is Lake?"

Lu Yuan asked the second question he was concerned about.

He remembered clearly that Rek wasn't among the particularly strong fourth-tier individuals; in order to maintain his human form and preserve his human identity, his power had been constantly suppressed.

But in the battle underground, Rek unleashed all the swarms of insects, and the size and aggressiveness of the swarm were more than double that of the one in the pipeline.

Liberation always comes at a price.

Bor's expression relaxed instead.

"Don't worry about Rick. Apparently, he actually benefited from this misfortune."

"I don't know the specifics either. You can ask Deputy Chief of Staff Klaus." Bor put away the flask, stood up, and said, "He's waiting for you."

Aren't you coming with us?

"I won't follow you." Bor took the plates away, took two steps towards the door, and said, "I've had a rare moment of peace these past few days, and I'm completely exhausted. I have a mission waiting for me early tomorrow morning."

He paused at the doorway, turned back, and said, "The new clothes are in the closet."

Then he smiled and left.

Lu Yuan rolled over and got out of bed.

I glanced at the bedside table first.

The "Flame" was placed on the counter, the barrel was wiped clean, and the copper surface gleamed coldly. Next to it was a bullet belt.

There are a few spare rounds left on the ammunition belt, but not many; I'll have to go back to Margaret's to get more.

It's a pity the sealing disc is gone. Lu Yuan had planned to dismantle it after he finished using it to see if he could gain any knowledge from it.