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

"Dr. Lu, I don't ask you to support us for nothing."

Seeing Lu Yuan's silence, Brent assumed he was hesitating and was eager to prove his worth.

Speaking very fast:

"I can go out and work! I've spent so many years at the docks and in the slums, I know a little bit about those places."

"Whether it's the current church, or... or that 'Ascension Society'! I can tell you anything unusual I hear."

Lu Yuan's hand, which was wiping the bottle, suddenly stopped in mid-air.

He lowered his head and looked at the boy in front of him with a scrutinizing gaze for the first time.

"Do you know about the 'Ascension Society'?"

Lu Yuan's voice lowered slightly.

It's important to understand that although the Ascension Society is disliked, it is still an organization under the Empire. The common people don't even know what a superhuman is, let alone know their names.

Brent shrank back, intimidated by Lu Yuan's gaze, but still forced himself to speak:

"I know... a little."

"I once overheard some drunk old men cursing while I was shining shoes. They were saying, 'What kind of experiments are those lunatics from the Ascension Society doing now, turning their bodies into lumps of iron?'"

Brent swallowed hard, carefully observing Lu Yuan's expression:

"I remembered that name. Dr. Lu. Those men never shy away from talking about people like us; they think we wouldn't understand, but I remember it all!"

"My life is worthless, but my eyes and ears will definitely be of use to you!"

Lu Yuan had no intention of making things difficult for Brent. As a good young man of the new century, he was not yet a juicer.

Moreover, Lu Yuan had already planned to accept Mina.

It disgusts the church and helps yourself, so why not?

Most importantly, Brent seems to know far more than he imagined; he should take this opportunity to learn more about the current situation in Grimport.

"I have plenty of ears."

Lu Yuan spoke calmly.

Brent trembled, his face turning deathly pale. He thought he had been rejected again, and the light in his eyes dimmed instantly.

"However, I do currently lack an apprentice to clean."

Lu Yuan looked at Brent, whose face was full of confusion, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Mina can stay, but I don't need you to risk your life. You just need to do your job as usual and then pass on any information you think is useful to me."

"For example, the accident that happened at the dock before."

Upon hearing this, Brent's sorrow instantly turned to joy, and he kowtowed repeatedly.

"I understand! I understand! Thank you, Dr. Lu! Thank you so much!"

"Alright, stop kowtowing. I happen to have a few questions I'd like to ask you."

"Sit down and talk."

Lu Yuan casually pulled over a chair and poured Brent a cup of warm black tea.

The rising steam from the cup eased Brent's tense nerves slightly.

He held the cup, took a small sip, and his tense body visibly relaxed.

This also made Lu Yuanzai take a closer look at the boy in front of him.

His once bright and cheerful face was now only haggard, with a large swelling on his forehead, indicating that he had kowtowed very forcefully.

"Alright, Brent, tell me all the factions you know in Grimport, including the Ascension Society that you overheard."

Brent, holding his teacup, thought for a moment and then began to speak:

"Dr. Lu, you don't actually have that many influences in Grimport, but I overheard about several of them by chance, and I don't know the specifics."

Lu Yuan leaned against the counter, his fingers lightly tapping the tabletop: "It's okay, just say it all."

Anyway, with the current situation in Grimm as a safety net, you'll know whether the news is useful or not as soon as you hear it.

"First, the inner city."

Brent pointed to the mist-shrouded highlands outside the window. "That's the Viscount's mansion and the Knights' Guild's territory."

"The Viscount is a nobleman of the empire and the nominal master of this city, but he rarely shows his face. The real power lies with the Knight Merchant Guild."

"The members of the Jazz Guild are all gentlemen and some barons. They control coal, grain, and shipping."

Brent shrank back: "The Chamber of Commerce is the most ruthless. Although they don't kill people directly, if they raise the price of coal even a little, hundreds of people in the lower city will freeze to death in winter."

Lu Yuan nodded. Monopoly was to be expected.

After all, given the world's productivity, it would be strange if capital hadn't emerged.

This usually means the concentration of wealth and resources, and also represents the potential customer base for selling "customized medicines" in the future.

"Then there's the port."

"That's the most chaotic place. It's the domain of all the major gangs, but I've heard recently that some strange things have infiltrated there. Even the biggest gang, the Blood Anchor, doesn't dare to go out at night."

"Then there are the Night's Watchmen."

Brent glanced at Lu Yuan, his eyes filled with awe. "This is the neighborhood you're in. Although the Night Watch is small, no one dares to mess with them in Grim Harbor. It's the only 'safe zone' in the outer city."

Lu Yuan remained noncommittal.

Security is built on the deterrence of force. Whether it's the other members of the Night's Watch or Morgan's "explosion" last night, it's enough to crush the vast majority of villains.

"As for the church..."

Brent gritted his teeth, hatred flashing in his eyes. "Those guys have taken over the church district in the north of the city. They pretend to care about us, but they're capable of anything behind our backs. They're more terrifying than gangs because they always say it's 'God's will'."

"And that Ascension Society."

Brent lowered his voice even further, "They're not in the city, they're in that dark forest west of the city."

"I heard that smoke of various colors is constantly billowing from there, and mutilated corpses often float down the river. Moreover, those who dare to go in without permission have all disappeared."

Lu Yuan quickly sketched out a map in his mind.

The inner city of Grimport, far from the port, is the domain of the powerful and wealthy. Gangs are scattered throughout the port, the behemoth that is the Church is entrenched in the north of the city, and the Ascended Order and the Night's Watch, which I belong to, are hidden in the forest to the west of the city.

These five forces, entrenched in the port of Grim, controlled almost all of the resources.

"Besides these, is there anything else?" Lu Yuan pressed.

He needs to know more about the hidden forces.

"have."

Brent hesitated for a moment, then said:

"There are two more places that you'd better avoid, Dr. Lu, but you should know about them because a lot of shady things happen there."

One is the [dockside black market].

"It's not on the ground, it's deep in the sewers of the slums, built by a group of criminals and smugglers."

"It's said that if you have money, you can buy anything anywhere."

Lu Yuan's eyes lit up.

Source of materials.

What he lacks most right now is high-level materials, whether they are mutated creatures or bizarre materials.

But the Night's Watch would not allow these things to leak out on their own, even though, as advisors, they would receive a pitifully small share.

Of course, there's nothing we can do about it, since a normal person's rationality is definitely not at that level.

Once you come into contact with these things, your rationality will plummet, and at that point you'll be completely alienated, which will be a huge mess.

This black market might be the key to my advancement in "Taboo Studies".

"What about the other one?"

"The other one is called 'The Ferryman'."

Brent showed little expression when the name was mentioned.

"They are not a gang, and they don't do business."

"They are a group of strange people dressed in blue who frequent the most remote part of the pier, 'Dead Man's Bay'."

"In Grimport, if someone dies and doesn't want to be cremated by the church or rot in the streets, they'll go to them, because they can not only help you solve the problem, but also give the family a sum of Imperial Shields."

"They would put the bodies into specially made iron coffins and sink them into the sea."

Brent swallowed hard.

"I peeked once... When they were sinking the body, they would mutter some unintelligible words to the sea. And... I swear I saw it, a huge shadow rose from the sea and took the coffin away."

"However, people don't dislike them. After all, as long as you contact them in advance, they will come and collect your body after you die."

Lu Yuan became interested upon hearing this.

A corpse, a sea burial, and a shadow? It sounds like some kind of religious group.

However, Lu Yuan felt that the problem with this group was actually relatively minor.

First of all, Brent didn't lose his sanity or get caught while peeping, which means the target was too weak if it was a sacrifice.

Secondly, the Night's Watch did not specifically target this group.

However, I should still look into it if I have the chance.

As Brent finished speaking.

[Grim Port Status: +9, 41/50]

Looking at the gray and white text in front of him, Lu Yuan knew that Brent's information was correct, or at least all of it was accurate.

However, there are still nine o'clock left, so it seems that there is something unknown hidden in Grim Harbor.

"Well done, Brent."

Lu Yuan stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and took out a key.

"This is the key to my clinic. Your sister Mina will still need your care from now on."

"Of course, you can also temporarily borrow the room next door. Your sister and you will live next door from now on."

"I have to go out for a while, so Mina will be in your care for the time being."

After Lu Yuan finished speaking, he took off the hat hanging on the wall, straightened his clothes, and turned to walk towards the tavern.

The tavern has now returned to its usual bustling state.

Many people have already started drinking alcohol.

Passing through the crowd and entering through a hidden gate, Lu Yuan arrived at the base.

Lu Yuan's goal this time was simple: to quickly master the "Basic Structure of the Rationality Barrier" and then build his own rationality barrier.

After the defeat in the early morning, there were noticeably more guards at the Night Watch base.

On the way to the library, especially when passing through the area where mutated creatures are imprisoned.

Lu Yuan detected at least four guards hiding in the shadows.

As the lion-head gate slowly opened, the white light remained.

He looked up at the lamp above his head.

A dark shadow hung upside down like a bat, swaying gently, fast asleep.

"Ink, wake up!"

Lu Yuan tapped the table, the sound echoing in the empty hall:

"Spit out those two books from last time, I want to continue reading."

The dark shape remained frozen for a moment, then reluctantly began to wriggle.

"yawn--"

Ink let out a long yawn, its beady eyes snapped open, and it looked upside down at Lu Yuan.

"What do you take this place for? Who comes to the library to read books so early in the morning for no reason?"

"I don't recall any rule from the Night Watchers that we can't come to the library at this time," Lu Yuan said calmly.

Ink pursed his lips, and although he looked unhappy, he still opened his mouth.

"vomit--"

At the same time, with a dry heave, two thick books, along with a wisp of black slime, fell from its mouth.

"Clatter".

He slammed the book heavily onto the table.

One is "The Basic Structure of the Rational Barrier," and the other is "A Pictorial Guide to Deep-Sea Creatures: From Egg to Adult."