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

The air inside the clinic seemed to freeze.

Lawson slumped in his chair, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Lu Yuan like a drowning man staring at the only piece of driftwood.

The noise he made when he slammed the door was so loud that the heavy thud carried far in the quiet night.

Lu Yuan's eyes flickered slightly as he peered through the crack in the door.

He keenly caught a very slight rustling sound of leather coming from the shadows of the alley—the distinctive sound of the leather armor worn by night watch sentries.

The gestures he made while opening and closing the door had already attracted the attention of the nearby night watchmen.

Lu Yuan originally intended to use this as insurance for himself, but now it seems to have become a problem.

"Shut up."

Lu Yuan grabbed Lawson's shoulder and said in a very low voice, "If you want to live, don't make a sound."

Lawson was startled by the sudden warning.

Despite being filled with fear, out of trust in Lu Yuan, he pressed his hand tightly to his mouth, swallowing back the scream that was about to escape his lips.

Lu Yuan straightened his collar, calmly pushed open the door, and leaned half his body out of the room.

In the shadows at the alley entrance, a dark silhouette was faintly visible, the crossbow in its hand already half-raised.

"fine."

Lu Yuan waved apologetically in that direction, his tone relaxed and natural, "A drunkard probably mistook my clinic for a pub. I've already calmed him down."

The dark figure paused for a moment, seemingly scrutinizing Lu Yuan's expression.

A few seconds later, the silhouette slowly retreated into the darkness, leaving only a soft whistle to indicate "received".

The shadowy figure didn't care whether Lu Yuan was lying or not, because he could sense other people's emotions, and as long as he wasn't being threatened, everything was fine.

Lu Yuan closed the door, locked it, and drew the curtains.

When he turned around, the ease he had felt earlier was completely gone.

Lawson was trembling, his eyes filled with fear, as if he had finally found an outlet, and he spoke incoherently:

"I used to just stand on the beach."

"But starting yesterday, I dreamt that I was walking step by step into the deep sea! The seawater was icy cold, pouring into my nose and mouth!"

"Just now... I dreamt I was about to drown! That suffocating feeling...it felt so real!"

Lawson jerked his head up, his eyes bloodshot, and grabbed Lu Yuan's sleeve. "And when I woke up, I found myself soaking wet! I didn't go anywhere, so how could I be wet?!"

"...Drinking the mixture of silver grass was almost useless!"

"I've also tried the intermediate-level holy water. Before, it would keep me warm for half an hour, but now... it's like drinking boiling water. It's hot, but it doesn't help at all!"

"Dr. Lu, all I want right now is a good night's sleep!"

Lu Yuan stood aside, listening to Lawson's pleas, but did not say anything.

Because in Lu Yuan's eyes, lines of grayish-white text were rapidly appearing above Lawson's head.

[Observation Target: Lawson (Preliminary Variant)]

[Level of Alienation: Deep Erosion (Accelerating)]

[Status Analysis: The physical body is transforming into the "deep sea," the soul's anchor point is loosening, and it is being forcibly dragged into a deep dream.]

Fatal Weakness: Holy items, fire.

"The fatal weakness is the Holy attribute..."

Lu Yuan's eyes sharpened as he looked at the line of red text.

This situation is almost exactly the same as Valentine's before, so does "Strange Dreams" also involve a kind of eeriness?

"Dr. Lu, you have a way, right? You're on the Night Watch now, you can get your hands on better stuff, right?"

Lawson gripped Lu Yuan's arm tightly, his strength astonishing. "Intermediate holy water is useless, then high-grade holy water will do! I want high-grade holy water! I'll pay any price! Please!"

Lu Yuan looked at Lawson, who was on the verge of collapse, while his mind raced with calculations.

High-grade holy water... He was also very curious about how much of a restraining effect this high-level sacred item had on 'Dreams'.

If given the chance, he would indeed like to get some to study.

But it's definitely not going to be used on Lawson right now.

"Money is no problem! As long as I can live!" Lawson roared, as if grasping at a straw.

"But I won't let you use it."

Lu Yuan coldly interrupted him, "Not only high-grade holy water, but from now on, you must not touch even mid-grade holy water."

"Wh...what?" Lawson froze, the hope in his eyes instantly vanishing. "Why? I have money! I can pay double!"

Lu Yuan walked to the medicine cabinet, picked up the unopened bottle of intermediate-grade holy water, and shook it.

"Are you sure you want to drink this? If you're not afraid of dying, you can try it."

"Now look at your own body and see what it looks like."

Lu Yuan sneered and continued, "Lawson, haven't you noticed something's wrong?"

"When you drank the intermediate-level holy water before, it felt too hot; that was the beginning of a rejection reaction."

"If you dare to drink this bottle of premium holy water now..."

Lu Yuan paused, a cruel pity in his eyes, "You will have your esophagus burned through, and then divine power will tear you to pieces until you die in agony."

"Believe me, that kind of death is worse than drowning."

Lu Yuan slammed the holy water back onto the table with a loud "bang".

"Then... what should I do? Just wait to die?" Lawson slumped into his chair in despair, feeling the chill within him slowly eroding his reason.

"No."

Lu Yuan turned and walked toward the stairs leading to the basement, his voice coming from the shadows.

"Since 'holiness' can't save you, then let's try 'blasphemy'."

"Fight poison with poison."

"Wait here, don't move, don't look around."

...

Basement, makeshift laboratory.

Under the dim light, Lu Yuan took out the glass bottle containing the Corpse Moss and placed it on the table along with the Silver Grass and Mercury that Lawson had brought.

Conventional methods have failed in cases like Lawson's, which are deeply alienated and exhibit a rejection of the divine.

He had to "desecrate" the rules of pharmacology.

Lu Yuan stared at the materials on the table, his thoughts sinking into the depths of his mind, activating [Forbidden Studies - Specialization].

Grayish-white text danced wildly on his retina, and countless pharmacological combinations were simulated, collapsed, and rebuilt in his mind.

[Taboo Studies - Research Begins]

[Analyzing target trait: Deep Sea Curse (Phase Two/Holy Repulsion)]

[Formula being derived...]

[Proposal Generation: Deep-Sea Sedative (Modified/Cover-up Version)]

[Principle: Abandoning holy water purification, it utilizes the homology of corpse moss powder for deception, supplemented by the suppression of luminous silver grass, and solidified by mercury. It masks the aura of the deep sea with an eerie presence, altering physical characteristics.]

[Estimated success rate: 44%]

[Note: Failure will very likely result in the materials being rendered unusable, or the user experiencing immediate and uncontrollable transformation.]

"Forty-four percent..."

Lu Yuan looked at the less than 50% success rate with a calm expression.

For such a tightrope walking experiment, a probability of nearly 50% is already ridiculously high.

As for the consequences of failure? Well, it wasn't him who had to take the medicine anyway.