【Analyzing target status: Guardian (Eerie Transcendent) (Out of Control)】
【Status Analysis: At the end of the pathway. Eerie power has permeated the surface of the body. Humanity anchors are on the verge of falling away. Total loss of control estimated in no more than a few days.】
【Deducing plans...】
The grey-white text paused for two seconds before it began to surface continuously.
【Plan Generated: Devouring Hope (Optimal Version)】
【Estimated Success Rate: 2.7%】
【Plan Generated: The Man on the Wall (Stable Version)】
【Estimated Success Rate: 1%-6%】
It was almost identical to the time at the clock tower, with the only difference being a slight fluctuation in the probabilities.
"Devouring Hope" required the seed "Hope." Even a 2.7% success rate meant the Guardian would likely endure a shock for nothing, potentially destroying both the person and the seed simultaneously.
"The Man on the Wall" required a trade with the entity behind the copper wall. The price was unknown and there were too many variables; even Specialized Research could not calculate it accurately.
Neither plan was viable, but the grey-white text continued to roll.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan knew his gamble had paid off. The more medicines he came into contact with, the higher the probabilities would become.
【Plan Generated: Grudge Infusion (Newly Generated)】
【Principle: The remnants of the essence of "Wish" within the drained seed "Grudge" can serve as a counter-carrier for eerie mutation. Grind it into powder and mix it into the eerie mutation inhibitor, then blend with holy water to stabilize its activity. Use Sanity restoration fluid to maintain the consciousness foundation. Finally, have the Knowledge Worm guide the medicinal fluid into the target's body to block the out-of-control transcendent power.】
【Estimated Success Rate: 10%】
【Note: The consumption of the Knowledge Worm will be extreme. Entering the body of a fifth-rank eerie transcendent is no different from entering a storm. "Grudge" will be completely consumed.】
【Operational Steps:】
【1. Grind "Grudge" into powder.】
【2. Pour the powder into the eerie mutation inhibitor to activate the "Wish" essence.】
【3. Blend with holy water to stabilize the medicinal fluid and prevent uncontrolled activity.】
【4. Add Sanity restoration fluid to ensure the target's consciousness does not collapse during the infusion process.】
【5. Use the Knowledge Worm as a guiding medium to pour the mixed medicinal fluid into the target's body, flushing in reverse along the path of the eerie mutation erosion.】
Lu Yuan opened his eyes.
One-tenth—a ten percent success rate.
It was higher than the previous two plans, and all the materials were right at his feet; there was no need to go elsewhere to retrieve them.
The consumption of the Knowledge Worm was a price he had to pay, but it was within his limits of endurance.
The key was that seed.
He stood up and walked over to Kraus, signaling that he had something to say.
The two of them retreated to a corner of the corridor, a few steps away from the others.
Kraus had been treated by Lu Yuan using similar methods before, so he knew Lu Yuan possessed this ability.
Though his tone was heavy, he still asked the question.
"Do you have a way?"
"I do. A ten percent chance," Lu Yuan said. "But I need something."
He looked at Kraus. "That withered seed from before—is it still on you?"
Kraus's expression shifted for a moment. He didn't ask what it was for; he simply reached into the leather pouch at his waist, pulled out the withered small black sapling, and handed it over.
Lu Yuan took it. It felt very light in his hand, dry and rough—completely different from the texture it had when he first pulled it from the skeleton's eye socket. After being drained by the Authority, even the patterns on its surface had become brittle and harsh.
Kraus was silent for two seconds.
"It's worth a try."
His voice was very soft. He knew that if they didn't try, the Guardian wouldn't even have a ten percent chance.
Kraus turned to the others. "Everyone, retreat to the corridor."
Adrian glanced at the Guardian but said nothing, standing up and walking out.
The Blue Knight turned and left, her grey-blue cloak brushing against the doorframe. The Great Ascendant was the last to leave; his silver-grey pupils lingered on the Guardian for two extra seconds before he stepped out.
Looking at the Guardian's state, it was clear he had some designs on the Guardian's body.
Unfortunately for him, Kraus, Lake, and the others were still here, and this was still the Bronze City.
Lake paused at the door for a moment, looking back at Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan nodded to him, and Lake left.
Arthur was the most hesitant.
The shutdown process for the console had entered its final stage. He looked at the old Dean and then at the Guardian, his lips pressed tight.
"I'll take the Dean out." Hilde retracted her silver needles and, together with Arthur, lifted the old Dean to retreat down the corridor.
Only four people remained in the Main Control Room.
Lu Yuan, Kraus, Margaret, and the Guardian.
Lu Yuan opened his palm, where the withered seed Kraus had just handed him lay.
The small grey-black sapling had a drooping bud, its surface covered in a parched grey layer.
After being drained by the Authority, not a single trace of transcendent fluctuation could be felt from it, but Specialized Research stated that the essence of "Wish" remained.
This was the core material for Plan Three.
He arranged the operational steps in his mind—five steps, and not a single one could go wrong.
Lu Yuan mentally reviewed the process to ensure nothing was missed, then began to act.
Step one: grinding. He pressed the seed with his palm, slowly increasing the pressure.
The withered husk was more brittle than he had imagined. After a few seconds, the entire seed shattered into grey-black powder mixed with some extremely fine fibrous debris.
The powder was spread across his palm. He couldn't smell anything; after being drained, it didn't even have a scent. However, his palm could feel an extremely faint layer of warmth. The essence of "Wish" was still there.
Step two: mixing with the inhibitor. Lu Yuan crouched before the bottles Margaret had lined up, picked out the dark blue eerie mutation inhibitor, unscrewed the cap, and poured all the powder from his palm into it. The moment the powder hit the liquid, a very faint warm orange shimmer surfaced on the dark blue medicine; the activity of "Wish" was activated.
Step three: blending with holy water. Lu Yuan reached out to Margaret. "Holy water."
Margaret did not hesitate, picking out the holy water from the bottles and handing it over.
Lu Yuan unscrewed it and dripped about one-third of the bottle into the mixture. Diluted by the holy water, the dark blue medicine lightened in color, and the warm orange shimmer spread, blending with the blue into an indescribable grey-purple.
The Knowledge Worm deep in his left eye worked in tandem with his perception of the liquid's reaction inside the bottle. The feedback from the symbiotic link told him the activity had stabilized.
Step four: adding Sanity restoration fluid. Lu Yuan picked out the milky white Sanity restoration fluid from the remaining bottles and poured in the final half-finger's worth, stirring it evenly.
The grey-purple liquid flowed slowly in the bottle, its surface floating with that extremely faint warm orange luster. The preparation was complete.
Lu Yuan stood up holding the bottle and walked to the Guardian.
The old man leaned halfway against the wall, his sunken eye sockets turning toward him.
Black aura obscured most of his pupils, but the remaining sliver of iris looking at Lu Yuan still held the gaze of a human.
Another eyeball bulged on the back of his hand, squeezing out its sclera to rotate half a turn before retracting. The old man's facial muscles didn't twitch; he had already grown accustomed to his body doing such things.
"Lord Guardian, this might hurt a little."
The Guardian did not speak. He gave a slight nod, so subtle it was almost invisible.
Lu Yuan aimed the bottle at the Guardian's parched lips, and the grey-purple medicinal fluid slowly poured in.
Step five: the infusion begins.
The moment the symbiotic link fully expanded across his consciousness, Lu Yuan felt the Knowledge Worm's resistance.
It was an instinctive resistance, unrelated to whether it obeyed orders or not.
Deep in his left eye, the worm's body curled into the depression at the bottom of the key, its antennae tightly retracted against its sides. The brightness of its tri-colored shimmer was suppressed to the dimmest level since Lu Yuan had established their symbiosis.
It was trembling. Lu Yuan did not rush it.
The Guardian sat just a step away. Pitch-black aura intermittently seeped from that aged body; its concentration was very low now, but its nature had not changed.
The aura of a fifth-rank eerie transcendent, even if only remnants remained, was enough to fill the Knowledge Worm's symbiotic link with cowering fear.
When he had treated Kraus before, the worm had been incredibly excited to enter a fourth-rank transcendent's body. The symbiotic link had been surging with the emotion of "someone who had been hungry for a long time entering a kitchen."
This time, it didn't even dare to come out.
There was a qualitative difference between the fourth and fifth ranks. To the worm, the things inside Kraus were ingredients, but the things inside the Guardian would burst it apart.
Lu Yuan closed his eyes and transmitted three pieces of information through the symbiotic link: the Authority will protect you; open a path that can function; and finally, he is important.
Lu Yuan's emotions were conveyed, and the symbiotic link went quiet for a few seconds.
One of the Knowledge Worm's antennae loosened from its side, slowly extending in the space of the left eye's inner wall. It touched the edge of the key and then retracted.
When the feedback came through, Lu Yuan was stunned for a moment.
The symbiotic link contained neither emotional fragments nor blurred images. The thing sent back was very quiet and held hesitation, but it was indeed moving toward acceptance.
It was willing to try, even though it was scared to death.
Lu Yuan transmitted his judgment on the conscious level:
I will be watching from the outside while you are in there. As long as the symbiotic link isn't broken, I can pull you out at any time.
The tri-colored shimmer of the worm's body brightened slightly—a small gesture that was essentially a nod.
Its antennae retracted again, and the worm's body swam out from the depression at the bottom of the key, moving slowly toward the exit of the left eye.
Lu Yuan took this interval to glance at the edge of his vision. Grey-white text floated there quietly.
【Sanity: 49/140】
It was three points higher than after he had drunk the potion earlier, clearly the result of the potion's continuous restoration.
He memorized this number, closed his eyes again, and pressed all his attention back into the symbiotic link.
The Knowledge Worm had already swum to the exit of his left eye. Its body was even smaller than during Kraus's treatment, and the tri-colored shimmer on its surface was dim and compact. It swam down his cheek very slowly, pausing for half a second every time it moved a short distance, its antennae probing toward the Guardian before retracting.
Lu Yuan opened his eyes and watched the worm swim down his cheek to his jaw, then transition from his jaw to the tip of his right index finger.
He could feel the worm's minute wriggling on his fingertip. The Guardian leaned against the wall, his sunken eye sockets turning toward Lu Yuan's finger.
Black aura covered most of his pupils, but the focus of what remained of his irises fell on the worm. He watched it for two seconds without speaking.
Lu Yuan drew his copper sword from his waist with his left hand.
The blood vessels in the neck were dense and closest to the core of the torso; once the medicinal fluid was poured in, it would be carried throughout the body by the bloodstream most quickly.
Aiming the sword tip at the spot on the side of the Guardian's neck above the collarbone, Lu Yuan controlled his strength and slowly pressed the tip against it.
The moment the copper touched the surface of the skin, a short vibration traveled up his wrist.
Then, the sword tip simply shattered.
Clearly, this standard-issue weapon couldn't even leave a white mark on the body of a fifth-rank eerie transcendent. The triangular fragment of the sword tip went flying, hitting the nearby stone slab with a sharp clink.
Lu Yuan looked at the broken sword in his hand, retracted it, and turned to look at Kraus.
Kraus stood three steps away. His gaze swept over the broken sword tip, and he immediately understood.
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