[{"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-197":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},2283675,4467,"Chapter 197: The Tour Group","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-197",197,"\u003Cp>The facts were indeed much as suspected. The scars left by the fire on the Medical College of Dunling University had not healed in months; instead, they showed signs of infection, suppuration, and chronic persistence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After escorting the visiting delegation to the banquet hall, Professor Samuel exchanged pleasantries with the other professors and lecturers, then excused himself under the pretense of urgent business, preparing to leave. Even Kraft, as the primary representative of the technical exchange society, received only minimal extra attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He offered perfunctory praise for the new academic group’s abundant achievements and its young, capable staff, his wandering gaze betraying that something more worthy of his time demanded his attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Considering you’ve just arrived in Dunling and are likely weary from travel, the schedule over the next few days will prioritize ample rest time,” he explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Not enough time to arrange】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We welcome free exchange and academic discussion among you, especially regarding internal medicine, pharmacology, and pathological research—but please ensure your methods remain within bounds unlikely to provoke controversy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Not including surgery, of course】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, with no schedule set and the Tribunal inspecting the campus every other day, everyone had to tone it down—certain gray-area activities were off-limits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Professor Lin Deng immediately cleared his throat to interrupt, signaling he wished to speak: “I have a question, an important one—your answer may determine our society’s plans for a long time to come.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go ahead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I haven’t been to Dunling in years—are the sightseeing spots still the same? If nothing’s changed, I’ll just take my students straight there.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ripple of laughter swept through the room, even among the Dunling side. Amid the laughter, Lin Deng pushed back his chair and led his students out, pausing only to pluck the reddest apple from the fruit basket on the table before leaving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft hesitated, realizing he had nothing to gain by staying, and rose to leave as well, slipping out of the hall disguised as a member of the surgery society amid the commotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But outside, Lin Deng did not head straight for any tourist site as he claimed. Instead, he moved with practiced ease to a staircase and prepared to ascend. “I need to visit an old friend first. Dismiss yourselves—this is your one chance to see Dunling. Go wherever you like. Just be back before dinner.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The students, long restless, eagerly took their leave. As members of the surgery society, they had never expected to learn much under Dunling’s tight restrictions. With no schedule and their professor granting them half a day of freedom, it was perfect—they skipped straight to the paid-tour phase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the crowd dispersed, three members of the tuberculosis and rare diseases society emerged from behind. Kraft spread his hands. “I thought there was nothing worth staying for either—mind if I join you for the tour later?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Before that, would you be interested in touring the college first?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perfect.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps due to its isolation, they encountered no faculty, students, or inquiries, proceeding straight up the stairs to the fourth-floor corridor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A classic, minimalist layout: one side featured rows of rooms, their sizes suggesting teaching and laboratory use; now empty, with no one entering or exiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other side opened to windows overlooking the garden enclosed by the building. From here, trimmed tree-towers and spherical shrubs formed delicate, interlinked symmetrical landscapes arranged in concentric circles. Main pathways radiated outward, branching into narrow trails that sliced through colorful flowerbeds, fragmenting their hues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Given the current environment, this site may shut down at any moment—please migrate promptly to the permanently operating Huanyuan app】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Deng paused briefly to orient himself, then walked purposefully in one direction—toward the center of the main building, beneath the dome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A heavy door blocked their path. He grasped the handle and pushed. A deep, metallic clanking echoed from behind the thick panel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Locked? Even against our own people?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve been here before?” The notion of visiting an old friend here was strange. This route—bypassing the main entrance, climbing the back staircase to the top floor—was far too familiar to be the work of a stranger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Deng tugged again, confirming he hadn’t misremembered the direction. “Someone showed me this path before. It bypasses the central spiral staircase and was used when the dome was closed to the public.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To conduct experiments?” It was hard to understand—what would a Rivers member be doing sneaking into Dunling’s medical labs on a day they were sealed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, just sightseeing.” Lin Deng leaned against the door, his eyes nostalgic. “I might forget other places, but this one stands out. If you get close to the local students, they’ll tell you—it’s said this was where ‘Human Anatomy’ was written.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Really?” Kraft felt a quiet surge of superiority. According to the manuscript from the forest chapel, Edward’s final writing location was likely not within the university at all, but atop a church bell tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Discovering hidden historical secrets was deeply satisfying—especially when everyone else was misled by “credible rumors.” Too bad this secret could never be spoken aloud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s true. A pity—there were still some artifacts from Edward’s time preserved here. Now they’re all gone. Centuries later, we could have pointed to them and told future generations: ‘Edward performed his dissections right here on this table.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He made a vague gesture, imagining the scene. “By the way, I almost forgot—make sure you preserve the original set of ether bottles.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment of reflection, Lin Deng set aside his emotions, gave Kraft firm instructions to safeguard the current equipment, and abandoned the idea of finding another route to the dome laboratory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looks like we can’t get in today. Interested in visiting somewhere else? I haven’t been here in a long time, but Dunling doesn’t change often.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft gazed out the window. Behind the white stone rooftops, a tall, gray-black spire loomed, asserting its omnipresent presence. A distant bell tolled, trembling, triggering a chain reaction—metallic chimes from nearby towers chimed in harmony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How many bell towers does Dunling have?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That stumps me. Why not ask how many stars are in the sky—or how many bones a person has?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“206.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Correct—but only for a typical adult. Children and certain special cases may differ.” Lin Deng glanced with mild surprise at the one who answered—Kraft’s male attendant. “Is this your student? Apologies—I assumed he was your attendant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Learn more, never hurts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“True,” said the Rivers surgeon, nodding. “Dunling’s bell towers may outnumber human bones. You couldn’t tour them all in an afternoon—but there’s one famous one. Visit that, then head to Knight’s Island nearby. You’ll make it back in time for dinner.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Cathedral of the Holy Mother. Dunling’s tallest bell tower—right there. We saw it from the ship,” Lin Deng said, stepping down from the college’s carriage and gazing up at the building casting its shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Up close, the overwhelming scale of the structure was magnified by its deliberately towering design. Only at this distance could one discern the original hues preserved within the layered, stepped architecture—light stone, similar to the college’s, darkened over centuries into a solemn, somber tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This deepened color naturally merged with the building’s façade design, unintentionally—or perhaps intentionally—enhancing its relief and contrast, creating shifting light and shadow while preserving consistent tonal differences. Within the eternal, stratified structure of marble and snowstone, successive concave crescent arches held narrative reliefs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carvings mostly depicted standing figures, their upward motion echoing the building’s form, conveying a sense of soaring ascent, converging at the angelic wings of the spire, pointing toward a sky seemingly within reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most distinctive were the slender, slightly bowed female figures, cradling soft, realistically carved cloth swaddling a child, positioned high beneath the wings—only their arms visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I must admit, their taste is still sound. It would be even more beautiful if we could climb the bell tower.” Beneath the figures of God and the Holy Mother, even the most irreverent dared whisper, mindful of the Tribunal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, does this cathedral bell tower have a hunchback bell-ringer?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How do you know that?” Lin Deng looked at Kraft in surprise. Where did he get this travel guide? This wasn’t the sort of detail a first-time visitor would know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s an unverified story, very old, told only locally. It says he was abandoned at the church’s doorstep, raised by a priest, born deformed and ugly but kind-hearted. He married a woman famed for her beauty, and with his foster father’s blessing, lived a happy, long life.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong? Why do you look so shocked?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s surprising, yes—but I love this story. Thank you.” Kraft laughed heartily, refusing to explain the private amusement he couldn’t share. “Don’t mind me—everyone has their own peculiar sense of humor, don’t they?”\u003C\u002Fp>",1452,"2026-06-20T02:15:55.761Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","cd46630d238f9ce00890a8934246577bf535b3139ae3e80f2a9a487f0534dde0","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-198","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-196",406,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnotes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-cover.jpg"]