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

Chapter 55 The Dream Deepens

Darkness descended.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes.

A familiar feeling of dizziness swept over my whole body, and the surrounding scenery was distorting and changing.

He came here again.

This stretch of beach extends to the west.

His feet were on damp gravel, and the waves crashed over him one after another, the icy seawater reaching above his ankles.

Lu Yuan looked down at his hands.

active.

This time, he could move again.

Since being infected by the strange dream, he has come here every night.

Sometimes they can move, and sometimes they are trapped in place, left to be washed by the sea.

Although we still don't understand why it could move, the goal is clear: it was the Iron Whale that we saw back then.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath and looked around.

To the west lies the endless deep sea, its dark waters stretching all the way to the horizon.

To the east lies the interior of the island, where a huge cave can be vaguely seen, with dilapidated houses built near the cave entrance that cannot be entered.

And to the south... that's where the Iron Whale was seen back then.

Without hesitation, Lu Yuan walked south along the beach, the sand beneath his feet making a rustling sound.

The sea breeze carried a salty smell, causing his clothes to flutter loudly.

After walking for about a few minutes, Lu Yuan suddenly stopped.

Not far ahead, the ruins of the stone pillars standing on the edge of the beach reappeared.

But this time, something different seemed to have appeared here. The previously worn-out runes were now shining brightly, and...

It's so new! Is someone constantly renovating this building?

Lu Yuan frowned, hesitated for a moment, but decided to go closer to take a look.

Lowering his body, Lu Yuan cautiously approached. As his vision gradually cleared, the scene before him made Lu Yuan freeze in place.

Because it should have been an empty place.

At that moment, there were several figures wearing gray cloaks.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, and they chanted some ancient language.

The voice was deep and eerie, as if it came from the depths of an abyss:

"Great Lord of the Deep Sea... Your offspring are calling..."

"Offer this city...offer this flesh and blood..."

"Please descend...Please grant us eternal life..."

Lu Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

This group is definitely not good people. Even if they're not a cult, they're definitely heretics!

And the "city" they're talking about... it can't be Grimport, can it? But isn't this a small island? How did they manage that?

Lu Yuan instinctively wanted to get away from this place.

But at that moment, a strong sense of crisis welled up from the bottom of my heart.

The barrier of reason began to tremble violently.

[Warning! High-intensity mental pollution detected!]

[The barrier of reason is resisting...-1...-1...]

Lu Yuan stopped, but it was too late.

Something was wriggling in the center of the formation.

The next moment, a huge shadow slowly rose from the sea, splashing up a massive wave.

The waves crashed against the sky, then fell one after another like a torrential rain.

The thing was so huge that Lu Yuan couldn't even see its entirety.

All that could be seen were countless tentacle-like appendages, slowly swaying in the seawater, each one even exceeding the length of the Iron Whale!

Lu Yuan dared not imagine what would happen if this thing appeared in Grim Harbor...

As the seawater receded, countless eyes suddenly opened.

The eyes on the surface, covered by the shadows of the deep sea, were all turning frantically, as if searching for something on the beach.

Lu Yuan felt a sense of suffocation.

He had seen the Abyss's Familiars, he had seen mutated monsters, but he had never seen anything like this...something so indescribable.

Just looking at it makes my reason slip away.

[Rationality: 70/75 → 68/75 → 65/75...]

Just as Lu Yuan was in a state of semi-madness, completely bewildered, a gray-robed man suddenly turned around.

Although his face was obscured by the dark hood, Lu Yuan could clearly feel the other person's "gaze".

In that instant, Lu Yuan's barrier of reason trembled violently once again.

[Rationality barrier damaged! -1/-1/-1...]

[Rationality: 65/75 → 60/75...]

The gray-robed man let out a piercing scream:

"There's a spy!"

The other gray-robed men turned their heads at the same time.

Countless eyes, along with the countless pupils on that deep-sea shadow, were all fixed on Lu Yuan.

A terrifying pressure swept over us.

Lu Yuan felt as if countless steel needles were being pierced into his brain! A sharp, intense pain suddenly struck.

[Rationality: 60/75 → 55/75...]

In just a few seconds, Lu Yuan's rationality plummeted like water.

We can't stay here any longer!

Lu Yuan desperately tried to exit the alternate dream, but his body seemed to be frozen in place by something, unable to move.

Those gazes were like tangible chains, binding him firmly to the spot.

"Found... a new sacrifice..."

The gray-robed man's voice echoed in his ears, like countless people whispering at the same time.

"Dedicated to the Lord of the Deep Sea...Dedicated to..."

At this critical moment.

A familiar force suddenly surged forth.

Black runes appeared around Lu Yuan, quickly weaving into a barrier.

It's ink!

She had clearly noticed Lu Yuan's unusual behavior!

The black runes formed a solid barrier, keeping those terrifying gazes at bay.

The gray-robed man's gaze was cut off, and the suffocating pressure instantly eased.

Lu Yuan seized the opportunity and rammed his head into the surrounding rocks.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Lu Yuan roared inwardly, as everything went black before his eyes.

The scene before my eyes began to collapse and disintegrate; the scenes from the strange dream vanished into thin air.

"call!"

Lu Yuan suddenly woke up, and the clinic's ceiling came into view.

He was panting heavily, his whole body was soaked in cold sweat, and his heart was pounding wildly.

[You have been subjected to mental pollution, assessment in progress... Assessment failed, your rationality barrier has been breached]

[Current Sanity: 41/71] (This is the total maximum, not experience points)

[Rationality Barrier: 1/3 (Severely Damaged)]

The upper limit... has been lowered again.

It dropped from 75 to 71.

Lu Yuan was pale and had a splitting headache.

This time, the dream was more dangerous than ever before, and he almost didn't make it back.

"Bang!"

The door was suddenly pushed open.

Ink flew in, his face grim, completely devoid of his usual playful demeanor.

She floated in the air, her tiny eyes fixed on Lu Yuan.

"Lu Yuan, what's wrong with you?"

Her voice was cold, filled with suppressed anger.

"I just sensed your sanity rapidly declining, you're almost on the verge of collapse!"

Lu Yuan sat up and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"I...had a nightmare."

Don't lie to me!

The ink floated in front of him, and his voice rose.

"I am a book spirit, and I am more sensitive to fluctuations in reason than anyone else!"

"You have a strange mark on your body, and it's been there for more than just a day or two!"

"This stuff is constantly eroding your sanity. Do you know what it means for your sanity to collapse?"

Lu Yuan remained silent.

Ink continued speaking in an impatient tone:

"You'll turn into a monster! You'll lose yourself!"

Why didn't you say so sooner?!

Lu Yuan gave a wry smile.

"What good would it do to say it?"

"You've seen the Night Watch's attitude towards mutants: once discovered, they are executed; there's absolutely no other possibility."

"Isn't that why Lyson would rather stay home and wait to die than ask for help? You seem to have no idea who Lyson is..."

However, Mo Shui grasped Lu Yuan's subtext.

"You...you don't trust the Night's Watch?"

Lu Yuan looked at the ink, his voice calm:

"It's not that I don't trust them, it's that I'm afraid to take the risk."

"What will they do if they find out I'm infected by the Dream Intervention?"

"Isolate me? Monitor me? Or... execute me outright?"

The ink remained silent for a moment.

She floated in front of Lu Yuan, her voice softening slightly:

"Old Morgan wouldn't."

"Although he is harsh, he genuinely cares about talented young people."

"Moreover, this thing on you, or rather, this strange dream, should theoretically be curable."

Lu Yuan was taken aback when he heard this.

Are you sure?

Ink nodded, his expression serious.

"I've seen all sorts of diseases."

"Although I don't know the specifics of how to treat it, old Morgan should know."

"You should ask him."

Lu Yuan was still somewhat hesitant.

"Your current situation is very dangerous!"

"If you drag this out any longer, once you lose your mind, no one can save you!"

"Then the spirit of this book will have to personally send you on your way!"

Lu Yuan remained silent.

He looked at the inkstone's serious expression, then glanced out the window.

The sky was already turning a pale white, and it was almost dawn.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Yuan made his decision.

"Okay, I'll go find old Morgan."

He stood up and straightened his clothes, which were soaked with cold sweat.

"But you have to come with me,"

Ink nods:

"No problem, I'd like to see the old man's reaction anyway."

She floated to Mina's notebook, her figure shimmering slightly.

"I need to prepare a few more knowledge orbs. In case of any delays, I can't afford to be away from knowledge for too long."

Lu Yuan nodded and waited for the ink to be prepared.

A few minutes later, ink floated out of the notebook, surrounded by several faintly glowing spheres.

"Let's go."

She floated towards the door and glanced back at Lu Yuan.

"Let's go find that old man while there are few people at the base."

Lu Yuan followed Mo Shui and pushed open the clinic door.