[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies":3,"chapter-notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-101":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Notes on Kraft Anomalous Studies",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2283579,4467,"Chapter 101","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-101",101,"\u003Cp>“What’s wrong?” Kraft’s voice came from behind, his hand already gripping his shoulder, pressure increasing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m fine!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He jerked his body, unable to shake off the hand—instead, it tightened further. Startled, Kup immediately declared he hadn’t been daydreaming. The spot pinched earlier still throbbed faintly; this time, the grip had kindly switched sides, and if it had waited a moment longer, it would’ve been symmetrical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Free from the threat on his shoulder, Kup looked up again at the massive stone wall. The image stood over two men tall; at its center, beneath the flame’s glow, lay a segmented, non-serpentine, non-insectoid form, its long body coiled to fill half the surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It should have been the focal point of the painting, yet received insufficient brushwork; the overlapping segments resembled scales, or perhaps carapace, and its sinuous posture could just as easily pass for an earthworm’s soft body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within this ambiguous, multi-form body, dozens of human figures were rendered in just a few strokes—utterly unlike the broad-faced human forms above the dividing line. The former were mass-produced, nearly symbolic simplifications; the latter were individually emphasized, distinct in character.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every feature distorted by the widened face showed clear differentiation, deliberately highlighting realistic contours and fine details, so meticulously rendered it felt as if painted face-to-face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he had never seen a person like this—or rather, it looked more like a flattened, stretched version, not naturally so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The abstract, indeterminate form harmonized with the realistic faces, intensifying the contrast between the two, while the segmented body below bridged them, connecting the halves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze followed the sinuous form upward—from tadpole-like tiny figures, to vaguely human shapes, then to the upper figures, their broad faces receding further from the flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“William, I have a suggestion.” Kraft blocked William’s path toward the village. Though he understood nothing about the painting, one thing was clear:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lighting a lamp at midnight for non-utilitarian purposes was a gross waste—especially here. Any such act inevitably implied a non-practical intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Analogous to church candles burning day and night, this lamp, beyond minimal illumination, leaned toward ritual offering. This oil lamp might serve a similar purpose; its hybrid, unnatural imagery satisfied the need for veneration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike churches, where the divine stood above and humans below in hierarchical order, this painting reversed it: human forms occupied the upper half, while that entity was placed below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tuck away your pendants. Someone might not like them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their chest pendants—winged circle holy symbols—glinted brightly in the firelight. These were nearly universal among sailors, and they spared no expense. Most contained silver; William’s even used pure silver, glaringly conspicuous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft didn’t think wearing those pendants to knock on doors was wise. “For the sake of gold, don’t mess up at the last step.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright.” William pulled up his collar, leading the way as he removed his pendant and shoved it into his inner pocket. Inspired by his example—and out of respect for the captain and the pay—the sailors reluctantly complied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Peter, the most devout among them, wore no church-related emblem at all, sparing them the trouble of convincing him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having dealt with that, Kraft turned to his attendant. Kup still stood frozen, eyes glued to the mural, unmoved since he first saw it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More precisely, the upper half of the stone wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What did you find?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I…” Kup opened his mouth, noticed others were watching him, cut himself off, and shook his head to catch up with the group. “Never seen anything like this. Kind of novel.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ha, you’ll have plenty more novel experiences ahead.” William and the sailors chuckled good-naturedly. They’d seen too much; a suspected heretical site meant nothing. Isolation bred stranger customs and beliefs than you could imagine—nothing stranger than the ice wastes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, they were just people who ate and drank. Beyond minor local differences, their beliefs weren’t equivalent to worshipping devils as the Church claimed. Once you’d seen enough, you’d understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry—I’m sure they recognize this.” A golden circular metal appeared in William’s hand, then was swapped for a silver one. “Alright, I admit they might not recognize the first one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sailors burst into laughter and followed William toward the village; the tension along the mountain path had eased considerably. A single horse, with no lives lost, wasn’t worth dwelling on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft beckoned Yin Feng into view, slowed his pace to let Kup draw near, and widened the distance between himself and the front of the group. “Now you can speak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned his head and saw Kup clasping his hands before him, deliberately shifting them to the right, away from the hammer’s hilt. He’d clearly taken Kraft’s warning to heart—though execution proved difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not sure.” Kup drifted into a light daze, his unfocused gaze not avoiding the question, but rather clouded by unresolvable confusion, breeding self-doubt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the mountain path, Kraft had faintly sensed something odd—but each time he extended his spiritual senses, he found nothing. He hadn’t expected Kup to have unknowingly fallen into some trap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he recalled: Kup’s swift targeting during the Salt Tide incident wasn’t merely due to that well water. He had inherent “susceptibility,” making him more vulnerable, a weak link.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just say it. Do you think I’ll mock you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>William was pounding on the nearest door. The pounding drew a coarse woman’s curses from within, drowning out their conversation entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Feng startled at the sudden noise, his attention drawn away. Now was the perfect moment to broach something awkward—private talk would vanish once they entered the house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m really not sure. Just a thought.” Kup interlaced his fingers, repeating self-denial, reluctant even to admit it to Kraft. “It’s… those things up there—the ones that look like faces.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His speech hesitated, lips and teeth rejecting the words, as if warring with himself. What troubled him wasn’t revealing the thought—it was the thought itself. Uttering it meant acknowledging its existence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A vague, shapeless, ridiculous guess—once spoken, it couldn’t be forgotten, permanently lodged among possibilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A muscular arm shoved the door into William’s face. A woman wrapped in a headscarf peered out, wielding a mining pick. Seeing the coins in his hand, her demeanor softened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the most effective language still worked here, and with a local guide to mediate, securing lodging shouldn’t be difficult. The sailors waved to their lagging comrades, signaling Kraft to catch up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One of them… I think I’ve seen before.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1063,"2026-06-20T02:15:55.761Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","db1422d7fdce8985f6b4c5b77ec588154704f10a0d40b0bb3e739826a4e75e9a","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-102","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-100",406,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnotes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-cover.jpg"]