Chapter 343 The Whereabouts of the Seeds

Klaus stood motionless in the corridor.

After a few seconds of silence, he turned his gaze away from the stone wall.

"Kame's side, Lake is interrogating her."

He glanced at Lu Yuan.

"Let's go take a look."

Lu Yuan nodded and turned to walk to the other side of the corridor.

The detention room was divided into two sections. Q and J were at the far left, while Cameron was held alone in a deeper room on the right. Klaus's arrangement was clear: the Grey Pact members and the Learned Tower members could not be held together, not even separated by several iron doors.

The further down the corridor went, the darker it became. The inscriptions embedded in the walls changed from copper green to dark silver, their luster deepened, and their suppressive power weakened. After all, Came was only a third-tier knowledge transcendent. There was a damp, musty smell in the air, mixed with the pungent odor of the inscribed metal.

After turning the last corner, the iron gate was ajar.

I could hear Rick's voice coming from inside. The soundproofing was excellent, but the sound was intermittent and I couldn't make out what he was saying.

Lu Yuan pushed open the door.

The lighting was even dimmer than Q's, with only an oil lamp in the corner, its flame kept low, plunging most of the room into shadow.

Cameron sat in the iron chair.

His wrists and ankles were bound by dark silver shackles, the inscribed patterns shimmering and pulsating in unison with the suppressive inscriptions on the stone wall. His body was firmly nailed to the chair, unable to move.

His face was still swollen beyond recognition.

The left side of his face was bulging out, his eye socket was almost squeezed into a slit, there were dried bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, and his jawline was completely unrecognizable.

The vice-dean's dignity was completely destroyed; it was clear that Klaus's slap had left no room for compromise.

But his right eye was open.

The eye that wasn't swollen was clear-eyed, but you couldn't discern any emotion in it.

Grayish-white text jumped out at the edge of my field of vision.

[Target for Detection: Carme (Exceptional Knowledge)]

A human being who pursues knowledge but goes astray bears the marks of some kind of contract.

Lu Yuan's gaze lingered on the word "contract" for a moment, clearly indicating that this was yet another person who had made a deal with the person on the wall.

I just don't know what he gave up or what he got in return.

Rex stood directly in front of Carme, his back to the door. He didn't turn around when he heard Lu Yuan come in. He crossed his arms and his eyes were filled with coldness. On the table in front of Rex was a bronze box.

It was about the size of a palm, its surface covered with densely packed inscriptions, which were still faintly glowing. Lu Yuan recognized it; it was the one he had intercepted from two third-tier members of the Gray Contract Society. The box was open; the limbs on the gray-black rags were still in their original positions, and the gray-white surface was covered with dried cracks. An extremely faint aura of knowledge lingered in the dim light.

Rick had no idea how long the trial had been going on.

When Lu Yuan came in, Cameron's gaze shifted from Rex, glanced at him, and then looked back.

Rick spoke. His voice was soft, and he spoke slowly.

"I'll ask you one more time."

He raised his hand and pointed to the box on the table.

Have you ever seen this thing before?

Cameron looked at the severed limbs in the box, his right eye showing no surprise. After all, the feedback from the person on the wall had already arrived the moment the mission failed.

There was a few seconds of silence.

"I've seen it."

Rick's expression remained unchanged.

"Do you know who gave these to them?"

Cameron's lips twitched as if she were about to laugh, but her swollen face made the gesture look comical.

"Now that you've got this, you should know what's going on."

Rick didn't respond.

"Don't say you weren't there when the Sea of ​​Knowledge was leaked that day."

There was a two-second silence in the detention room.

Carme stared at Rex with her right eye, without flinching.

Rick continued.

"Klaus and I will be there soon. In the meantime, don't tell me you know nothing."

Carme leaned back in the iron chair, the shackles tapping softly on his wrists. He glanced down at the severed limbs in the box, then looked up, his voice hoarse but gradually regaining its composure.

"The defensive line at the entrance to the passage collapsed twice."

His voice squeezed out from his swollen mouth, each word muffled, but still understandable.

"The first time too much spilled out, Klaus blocked it the second time, and a few fragments were scattered outside the passage."

He paused, then swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva.

"When the dean sealed off the passage, the debris was already outside. During the cleanup, I managed to salvage some of it."

Lu Yuan stood by the door without saying a word.

He had discussed this issue with Klaus before. How did the leaked material end up in the hands of the Gray Contract Society? Unless the Gray Contract Society was present at the scene, it must have been intercepted and kept privately by someone else there before being handed over to others.

It's Cameron.

He captured the fragments during the time window between the leak and Klaus's arrival at the outside of the passage.

Rick's voice was flat.

"How did you manage to intercept it? And then what?"

"I'll talk about that later; I think you'll be interested." And then, of course, it was handed over.

"Who did you transfer it to?"

"People from the Grey Pact." Came's tone was indifferent, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

Rick stared at him.

"Who arranged this?"

Cameron remained silent.

His throat moved, his mouth opened but no sound came out, his body tensed for two or three seconds, and then relaxed.

"Hmm, I can't explain it."

His voice was much lower than before.

"I can't talk about this part."

Rex's expression didn't change, but his gaze lingered on Cameron's throat for a moment.

Lu Yuan also saw it—the person on the wall. Those who had contact with Him had certain information locked away, unable to speak out.

Rick changed direction.

How do you know you should intercept those fragments that have leaked from the sea of ​​knowledge?

Cameron raised his right eye and looked at him for a moment.

"Something is telling me that a leak is going to happen."

Rick's gaze shifted slightly.

"Or Him?"

Cameron's Adam's apple bobbed, and he fell into a brief silence. He closed his eyes for a moment.

"Um."

"You knew in advance that the leak would happen." Rick's pace remained unchanged. "You were prepared before the leak occurred."

Cameron did not deny it.

"Klaus and the dean are dealing with the leak inside the corridor. You're outside. That gives you just enough time."

"you're right."

The chain of evidence is complete; denial is pointless. Cameron is well aware of this.

Rick stood there and stared at him for a few seconds.

Then raise your right hand.

A crack appeared in the palm of his hand, and a slender worm slowly emerged from it, a dark red glow flowing along its body.

They are swarming insects.

Cameron saw it.

A change finally appeared in his right eye. He knew what this thing was; his eyes gleamed with calculation. Having spent so long in the Tower of Learning, it was impossible for him not to know the purpose of the Swarming Insects.

A person whose mind has been thoroughly rummaged through by the parasites of their own kind is, at best, half-useless.

Rex didn't speak, and the insect slowly wriggled in his palm.

Cameron stared at the worm for a few seconds.

Then he spoke, his voice still in that harsh tone.

"You can read it directly, that's fine too."

He leaned back in his chair, the shackles clattering against the armrest.

"But after reading it, my brain was completely destroyed."

He paused, looking at Lake with his right eye.

"I know where a seed is."

There was a moment of silence in the detention room.

Cameron didn't stop, and immediately spoke again.

"Furthermore, regarding the fishing of the Sea of ​​Knowledge, the Empire's current methods are not only inefficient but also dangerous. I have a more reliable modification plan."

He leaned back in his chair, his swollen face appearing even more grotesque in the dim light.

"After you finish reading, you'll have a bunch of fragments; you can't piece these two things together. Keep me, and you'll have the complete set."

Rick's expression remained unchanged.

Lu Yuan stood by the door without saying a word.

Cameron wasn't begging for mercy. The location of the seeds, the method of harvesting—any one of these factors was enough to make the Empire reconsider its decision. He knew very well what he held in his hands.

Rex's insect body retracted into his palm, and the gap closed.

He neither nodded nor shook his head. But the fact that the insect had retracted itself was a signal in itself.

"Copper wall." Rick changed direction. "Have you been to the pipe network layer?"

Carme simply shook her head this time.

"No, I also wanted to go to the pipeline level, but by the time I received the message, you Night Watchers had already completely blocked it."

"But what you intercepted was being sent in that direction."

Cameron did not deny it.

"Do you know what will happen after that thing is sent over?"

Cameron was silent for two seconds, his throat moved, and this time it was not like his previous reaction of being stuck by the contract, but more like he was considering how much to say.

"I don't know the specifics. But there's one thing."

His right eye was on Lake, and his tone slowed.

"What's behind the copper wall is closer to coming out than you think."

There was a moment of silence in the detention room.

How did you know?

"When the fishing channel opens, there's a resonance underground," Cameron said in a low voice. "The tunnels of the Tower of Learning and the copper wall area overlap to some extent at different depths. Every time the tunnel opens, vibrations can be felt in the corridor from deeper within."

He paused for a moment.

"The first round of fishing produced very slight vibrations, almost imperceptible. The second round..."

He closed his right eye briefly.

"The frequency of the vibrations has become more regular. Moreover, through contact, I have... strong suspicions that the opening of the Sea of ​​Knowledge came at a price that included the escape of things behind the copper wall."

Lu Yuan's back tensed slightly.

Rick didn't respond, waiting for him to finish speaking.

"There's one more thing," Cameron said again.

He spoke even slower, as if confirming whether the contract would recur.

"I know you're looking for seeds."

Lu Yuan and Lei Ke's gazes fell on them at the same time.

Cameron raised her eyes slightly, and the corners of her mouth twitched; it was hard to tell if it was a smile.

"No need to look anymore. I saw that thing at the top of the tower; it's already hatched."

Lu Yuan frowned.

How did you know?

"Of course I know. This isn't a secret. If you have the ability, you'd better find it as soon as possible."

After saying this, Cameron closed his eyes, clearly having reached his limit.

Rex turned and glanced at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan nodded slightly, took two steps closer, and, with a try-it-out mentality, asked one last question.