Lu Yuan followed the symbiotic link and gently extended a sliver of thought.
The worm retracted deeper into the hollow. What came back through the link was clear resistance: Don't touch me. Leave me alone.
Lu Yuan withdrew the thought and didn't try to get closer.
He focused his gaze on the worm, and the grey-white text surfaced.
【Target Detected: Knowledge Worm (Lu Yuan)】
【A little fellow that has come into contact with many strange things. It seems to have undergone a certain degree of mutation, and currently, its body is experiencing some minor issues.】
Lu Yuan stared at those two lines, and the string that had been pulled tight in his heart finally slackened.
What he feared most was seeing "contamination" or "severe injury" following its name.
If a symbiote was injured to that extent, it would usually mean a long period of recovery or even a total collapse. However, the grey-white text indicated "minor issues." The worm's foundation wasn't damaged; the injuries were all on the surface and could be recovered with a few days of rest.
As for the part about "mutation," Lu Yuan made a mental note of it. After all, the creature had indeed consumed far too many inexplicable things.
He sent another thought through the link. There were no specific words, just a sense to let it know: You did well. Thank you for your hard work.
Pressed against the Key, the worm's body flickered slightly, signaling that it had heard him.
Lu Yuan released the symbiotic link on his end, leaving only a tiny thread to maintain the connection while withdrawing the rest. He would let the worm rest in peace and not disturb it.
He opened his eyes. In the Main Control Room, Kraus and Arthur were still busy with their own tasks, and no one was paying him any mind.
Lu Yuan leaned back against the cold copper wall, slowly catching his breath.
Margaret retracted the probes she had been holding for a long time. After a low-voiced discussion with Hilde, she turned to the Guardian by the wall and asked if she could perform a more detailed check on him.
The Guardian kept his eyes closed and gave a low grunt of assent.
Only then did the two of them officially begin.
The probes from Margaret's copper box moved along the old man's torso from top to bottom, the faint copper-green light at the tips pausing at various points over the dark tissue.
Hilde's silver needles entered from the other side, several needles lining up in mid-air as the inscriptions on their surfaces flickered in and out of light.
The two recorded their findings and handed them to Kraus for review. Arthur remained at the main control console, barely moving as he stared at the circuit on the panel that had been tampered with.
The examination went on for quite a while. The dark tissue beneath the Guardian's feet retracted slightly following his movements, its writhing slowing down as its spread narrowed.
He stood in the center of the Main Control Room, his white hair hanging over his shoulders. Pitch-black aura drifted slowly around his body. He appeared much more stable than when he had first settled in, having already begun to figure out the workings of this body that was now fused with the Polymath Tower.
The Guardian slowly opened his eyes. His cloudy pupils looked past everyone present, following the copper walls and pillars of the tower upward, layer by layer. Suddenly, he seemed to sense something.
"You all should leave now."
The Guardian's voice was raspy and not particularly loud, but everyone in the Main Control Room heard him clearly.
Kraus was the first to react. His hand instinctively moved toward the bone ring on his ring finger, but he stopped immediately. He followed the Guardian's gaze upward, his expression shifting.
Arthur's hands at the control console suddenly stiffened. He also looked up in the direction of that gaze, quickly realizing what was happening as his entire body tensed.
The Guardian's pupils remained fixed on the ceiling. Within the dark tissue at his feet, the previously dormant black eyeballs surfaced one after another, emerging from the gaps in the patterns. Their pupils all focused simultaneously on the top of the tower directly above.
Leaning against the wall, Lu Yuan's heart sank bit by bit. He understood now. The Guardian was now one with the inscriptions of the entire tower; the pipes, bricks, and stones within the tower had become extensions of his perception.
Through this system, he had reached the top of the tower and felt the thing being suppressed there.
Lu Yuan knew exactly what was at the top. On the day of the harvesting, everyone in the Main Control Room had gone up there.
That giant head transported back from the North Sea was enshrined at the spire, and the will of The Man on the Wall resided within it.
An incomplete form of a forbidden existence was being held down by the Polymath Tower's inscription seals, which had even stripped away more than half of its radiating will.
But no matter how much it was stripped, it couldn't hide from the Guardian. Back when the Nightwatchers had forced their way into the Polymath Tower, he had remarked that "there is something in the main tower, something very dangerous." He could smell it even then through the entire tower. Now that the tower's inscriptions were linked to his perception from the inside out, what was being suppressed at the spire and how heavy it was could no longer be hidden from him in the slightest.
Kraus thought of something and walked quickly toward the Guardian.
Arthur also abandoned the control console, rushing to the old man's side.
"Sir, what you're sensing is a head. It has always been enshrined at the top of the tower, stabilized by the seals of the Bronze City."
The Guardian withdrew his gaze from above and looked at Arthur.
Arthur rarely showed such a humble posture. "We call it The Man on the Wall."
His voice was dry, but his pace was steady.
"A unique existence, highly likely related to the Forbidden. Our harvesting this time relied on things stripped from Him." He whispered the last part almost directly into the Guardian's ear.
"As long as you don't go near it, it won't be able to harm you."
Arthur felt a bit guilty at this moment, as the Imperial Regulations explicitly forbade touching anything related to forbidden existences.
For now, it was a matter of tacit consent, but the imperial center had never officially acknowledged it. If the Guardian were to take offense because of this, they might truly be unable to handle the consequences...
The Guardian narrowed his eyes after hearing Arthur's explanation, offering no immediate reaction.
The black eyeballs around him turned slowly, adjusting their focus one by one.
The old man didn't truly take the words to heart. Something that could make even a rank 5 feel threatened was being suppressed at the spire of the tower beneath his feet, yet these people were telling him it "couldn't harm him."
Kraus stepped forward, his tone heavy and earnest.
"Sir, you can trust Arthur's words for now." He spoke carefully. "At least for the time being, it cannot move against you. Once your body has recovered, it won't be too late to decide how to handle it. But your body has only just stabilized with the tower; if you were to clash with it now, no one would be able to handle the fallout."
The Guardian's gaze lingered on Kraus's face for a few moments.
Adrian also stepped forward from behind, one hand resting on the holy emblem on his chest. His voice was quiet but clear. "Sir, it is best not to go near it. At least not for now."
The Guardian didn't speak, his expression returning to its original state. He took one last look at the ceiling, his cloudy pupils unreadable. After a long silence, he shook his head helplessly. The black eyeballs that had surfaced closed one by one, their pupils shifting from a direct upward gaze to aimless drifting before sinking back beneath his skin.
Lu Yuan watched from the side, roughly guessing what the old man had realized. Previously, the Guardian only knew there was something dangerous in the main tower, but no one had told him in detail that it was a forbidden head used for harvesting. They likely hid it because his condition had been too poor then; no one dared to burden a rank 5 who could go berserk at any moment with such information.
From now on, the Guardian would be tied to the Polymath Tower, and The Man on the Wall was also locked at the top by the tower's seals. Both things would henceforth occupy the same tower. Who would control whom, and whether they would one day pull on each other's seals, was something no one could say for sure.
With the Guardian's situation settled, Kraus turned to Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan was sitting against the wall. While the potion had suppressed the worst of the dizziness, he was still very weak, his face greyish and his fingers resting on his knees trembling uncontrollably.
Kraus stared at him for a few seconds and couldn't help but sigh, though he ultimately said nothing.
"Margaret, take him and leave first." Kraus's tone left no room for negotiation. "Take the Old Dean as well and send them back to the branch."
He looked at Lu Yuan again. "Don't worry about anything else. Go back and have Margaret give you a full examination. Your Sanity is in an unstable state; you need to be careful about losing control."
Lu Yuan didn't try to be brave. He truly couldn't help with anything else at the moment; going back to lie down was the right thing to do.
Margaret agreed, packed away her copper box, and called for someone to lift the Old Dean from the floor.
The Old Dean looked even worse than Lu Yuan. Having been used by Kame as a medium for the Fourth Harvesting, his mind and body had both been drained dry. No one could guarantee if he would ever recover.
Kraus continued to assign tasks.
Hilde was to remain at the Polymath Tower to monitor the Guardian's condition.
No one had ever seen someone fuse with an entire tower like this, and no one could say what it would become in the future. Someone had to stay and record the changes as they happened.
Hilde was sent from headquarters and had solid appraisal skills; her ability to read transcendent states was more accurate than anyone else's. The Guardian had no objection to this arrangement.
Arthur also stayed behind, as his troubles were even heavier.
He first had to figure out where Kame had bypassed the locks he had carved himself, plug those holes, and then re-carve the entire set of locks.
There was also the harvesting circuit Kame had tampered with.
The man had previously insisted he had an improved scheme that could speed up the harvesting significantly. He had clearly used it by now, and there should be traces left in the conduits that were worth digging out and examining one by one.
Kraus himself had to rush to the sinkhole. The situation underground hadn't been fully explored yet, and he had to personally oversee the defense lines and containment there.
After finishing the assignments, Kraus looked back at the Guardian. The old man stood in the center of the Main Control Room, his white hair hanging down, the pitch-black aura quietly wrapping around him as the dark tissue at his feet rose and fell slowly.
"I plan to take a look around," the Guardian suddenly spoke. Kraus was startled by the words.
Lu Yuan heard it too, taking a few moments to process the meaning.
The Guardian wanted to walk through the tower and get to know the place where he would be staying from now on.
After living in that outer city clock tower for so many years, moving to a new place could be considered a good thing for the Guardian.
Furthermore, the old man's acceptance of being locked within the Polymath Tower was calmer than anyone present had anticipated.
The people in the Main Control Room began to disperse. The Great Ascendant's metal skeleton was the first to squeeze through the door, his heavy footsteps echoing down the hallway.
Lake had disappeared at some point without anyone noticing.
The Blue Knight's gaze swept over the Guardian by the wall. With a flick of her grey-blue cloak, she silently exited the room.
Adrian was the last, lingering for a moment before the Guardian before turning to follow the others out.
Margaret helped Lu Yuan to his feet, while the Old Dean was carried out directly. The group moved along the corridor toward the Polymath Tower's main entrance.
As they passed the plaza in front of the tower, some of the dozen or so mentors who had fainted there were starting to receive care.
Those from the Polymath Tower who had recovered were helping their colleagues up one by one.
Calvin and Selena were slumped by a stone pillar, seriously injured but still breathing. The Polymath Tower's own people were seeing to them, so there was no need for the Nightwatchers to intervene.
Lu Yuan was supported by Margaret as they passed them without stopping.
As the group walked out of the Polymath Tower's gates, the sky outside was already beginning to pale with the coming dawn.
Rate on N.U.
