Kraus stood in the corridor without moving.
After a few seconds of silence, he withdrew his gaze from the stone wall.
“Lake is interrogating Kame,” he said.
He glanced at Lu Yuan. “Go take a look.”
Lu Yuan nodded, turned, and walked toward the other side of the corridor.
The detention area was divided into two sections. Q and J were at the far end of the left side, while Kame was held alone in a room deeper on the right. Kraus’s arrangement was clear: members of the Grey Covenant and the Polymath Tower could not be held together, not even with several iron doors between them.
The corridor grew darker the further in he went. The inscriptions embedded in the walls changed from copper-green to dark silver, their luster more somber and their suppressive force slightly weaker. After all, Kame was only a rank 3 Knowledge transcendent. The air here held a damp, cold smell of mildew mixed with the pungent scent of inscribed metal.
Rounding the final corner, he found the iron door slightly ajar.
Lake’s voice drifted from within. The soundproofing was well-done; the voices inside were intermittent, making it difficult to hear exactly what was being said.
Lu Yuan pushed the door open.
The light was even dimmer than in Q’s room. There was only a single oil lamp in the corner, its flame turned down to the minimum, leaving most of the room submerged in shadow.
Kame sat on an iron chair.
Dark silver shackles locked his wrists and ankles, their inscription patterns shimmering with a faint light that pulsed in synchronization with the suppressive inscriptions on the stone walls. His body was firmly pinned to the chair, unable to move.
His face was still swollen beyond recognition.
The left side of his face bulged high, his eye socket squeezed into a mere slit. Dried blood stained the corners of his mouth, and his jawline was completely lost to the swelling.
The Vice Dean’s dignity was completely gone; it was obvious that Kraus’s slap had left no room for mercy.
However, his right eye was open.
The eye that wasn't swollen shut held a clear gaze, devoid of any obvious emotion.
Grey-white text jumped out at the edge of his vision.
【Target Detected: Kame (Knowledge Transcendent)】
【A human who pursued knowledge but strayed onto a crooked path. Traces of a certain contract remain upon him.】
Lu Yuan’s gaze lingered for a moment on the word “contract.” Clearly, this was another fellow who had made a deal with The Man on the Wall.
He just didn't know what the man had paid or what he had received.
Lake stood directly in front of Kame with his back to the door. He didn't turn around when he heard Lu Yuan enter. His arms were crossed over his chest, his gaze filled with a cold chill. On the table before Lake sat a copper box.
It was the size of a palm, its surface carved with dense inscriptions that still emitted a faint glow. Lu Yuan recognized it—the one they had intercepted from the two rank 3 members of the Grey Covenant. The box was open, and the severed limb on the grey-black rag was still in place, its greyish-white surface covered in dry cracks. An extremely faint knowledge aura drifted in the dim light.
It was unclear how long Lake had been interrogating him.
When Lu Yuan entered, Kame’s gaze shifted from Lake to him, lingered for a moment, and then moved back.
Lake spoke. His voice was not loud, and his pace was slow.
“I’ll ask you one more time.”
He raised a hand and pointed at the box on the table. “Have you seen this thing before?”
Kame looked at the severed limb in the box. No look of surprise appeared in his right eye. After all, the moment the mission failed, feedback from The Man on the Wall had already arrived.
Silence lasted for several seconds.
“I have.”
Lake’s expression remained unchanged. “Do you know who gave it to them?”
The corner of Kame’s mouth twitched as if he wanted to smile, but his swollen face made the gesture look farcical.
“Since you’ve obtained it, you should already have an idea.”
Lake did not respond to that.
“Don’t tell me you weren't present when the Sea of Knowledge leaked that day.”
The detention room fell silent for two seconds.
Kame’s right eye stared at Lake without flinching.
Lake continued. “Kraus and I arrived shortly after. Don’t tell me you knew nothing during that interval.”
Kame leaned against the back of the iron chair, the shackles clinking softly against his wrists. He looked down at the severed limb in the box, then raised his head. His voice was raspy but gradually regaining its composure.
“The defense line at the channel entrance collapsed twice.”
His voice squeezed out from his swollen mouth. Every word was muffled but understandable.
“Too much stuff spilled out the first time. Kraus blocked the second time, but several fragments were scattered outside the channel.”
He paused and swallowed some bloody saliva.
“By the time the Dean sealed the channel, the fragments were already outside. During the cleanup, I intercepted a portion of them.”
Lu Yuan stood by the door and remained silent.
He and Kraus had discussed this problem before. How did the leaked materials fall into the hands of the Grey Covenant? Unless the Grey Covenant was on the scene, the materials must have been intercepted and kept by someone else present before being handed over.
It was Kame.
In the window of time between the leakage and Kraus’s arrival at the outside of the channel, he had intercepted the fragments.
Lake’s voice remained level. “How did you manage to intercept them? And then what?”
“We’ll talk about how later—I think you’ll find it interesting. After that, I naturally handed them over.”
“To whom?”
“To the Grey Covenant,” Kame said indifferently, as if speaking about something that had nothing to do with him.
Lake stared at him. “Who arranged it?”
Kame fell silent.
His throat moved, and his mouth opened, but no sound came out. His body tensed for two or three seconds before relaxing.
“Well, I can’t say.”
His voice was much lower than before. “This part... I can’t speak of.”
Lake’s expression didn't change, but his gaze lingered on Kame’s throat for a moment.
Lu Yuan saw it too—The Man on the Wall. For those who had been in contact with Him, certain information was locked down, and their mouths were unable to speak of it.
Lake shifted directions.
“How did you know to intercept those fragments from the Sea of Knowledge leakage?”
Kame looked up at him with his right eye for a while.
“Something told me the leakage would happen.”
Lake’s gaze shifted slightly. “Was it Him again?”
Kame’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he fell into a brief silence. He closed his eye for a moment.
“Yes.”
“Knowing the leakage would happen in advance.” Lake’s speaking speed didn't change. “You were prepared before it even occurred.”
Kame did not deny it.
“Kraus and the Dean were both inside the channel dealing with the leakage. You were outside. You happened to have enough time.”
“You’re right.”
The chain of evidence was complete; denial was meaningless. Kame was well aware of this.
Lake stood in place and watched him for several seconds.
Then he raised his right hand.
A slit opened in his palm, and a long, slender insect body slowly poked its head out, a dark red shimmer flowing along its body.
It was a Swarming Worm.
Kame saw it.
A change finally appeared in his right eye. He knew what that thing was; his gaze was filled with blatant calculation. Having spent so long at the Polymath Tower, it was impossible for him not to know the purpose of a Swarming Worm.
Someone whose brain had been rifled through by a Swarming Worm would be lucky to end up only half-crippled.
Lake didn't speak as the insect body slowly writhed in his palm.
Kame stared at the worm for a few seconds.
Then he spoke, his voice still maintaining that stiff tone.
“You can just read me if you want.”
He leaned back against the chair, the shackles clinking against the armrests.
“But after you’re done, this brain of mine will be useless.”
He paused, his right eye fixed on Lake.
“I know where a seed is.”
The detention room fell silent for a moment.
Kame didn't stop, immediately continuing.
“Furthermore, regarding the harvesting of the Sea of Knowledge, the methods the Empire currently uses are not only inefficient but dangerous. I have a more stable modification scheme.”
He leaned against the chair, his swollen face looking even more gruesome in the dim light.
“If you read my mind, you’ll just get a pile of fragments that you won't be able to piece together. Keep me alive, and you get the complete picture.”
Lake’s expression remained unchanged.
Lu Yuan stood by the door and said nothing.
Kame wasn't begging for mercy. The location of the seed and the harvesting method—either one was enough for the Imperial level to reconsider his disposal. He knew exactly what he was holding over them.
Lake’s Swarming Worm retreated into his palm, and the slit closed.
He didn't nod, nor did he shake his head. But the fact that he withdrew the worm was a signal in itself.
“The copper wall,” Lake said, shifting directions. “Have you been to the pipe network layer?”
This time, Kame simply shook his head.
“No. I wanted to go to the pipe network layer as well, but by the time I received the news, you Nightwatchers had already completely sealed it off.”
“But the things you intercepted were being sent in that direction.”
Kame did not deny it.
“Do you know what would happen after those things were sent there?”
Kame fell silent for two seconds, his throat moving. This time, it wasn't the reaction of being blocked by a contract; it was more like he was weighing how much he should say.
“I don’t know the specifics. But there is one thing.”
His right eye looked at Lake, and his tone slowed down.
“The thing behind the copper wall is closer to coming out than you think.”
The detention room was silent for a moment.
“How do you know?”
“There is resonance underground when the harvesting channel is opened,” Kame’s voice was very low. “The Polymath Tower’s channel and the copper wall area overlap in depth. Every time the channel is opened, one can feel vibrations coming from deeper down in the corridors.”
He paused.
“During the first round of harvesting, the vibrations were very faint, almost imperceptible. During the second round...”
He closed his right eye.
“The frequency of the vibrations became regular. Not only that, but through contact, I... strongly suspect that the cost of opening the Sea of Knowledge includes the escape of whatever is behind the copper wall.”
Lu Yuan’s back tensed slightly.
Lake didn't interrupt, waiting for him to finish.
“There’s one more thing,” Kame spoke again.
His speaking speed was even slower, as if he were confirming whether the contract would flare up again.
“I know you’re looking for the seed.”
Lu Yuan and Lake’s gazes fell on him simultaneously.
Kame looked up slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching in what might have been a smile.
“No need to look for it. I’ve seen it at the tower top. It has already hatched.”
Lu Yuan’s brow furrowed.
“How do you know?”
“Of course I know. This matter isn't exactly a secret. If you have the ability, you’d better go find it as soon as possible.”
After saying this, Kame closed his eyes, clearly having reached his limit.
Lake turned to look at Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan gave a slight nod, stepped forward a couple of paces, and asked one final question with the mindset of just giving it a try.
Rate on N.U.
