[{"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-223":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},2283701,4467,"Chapter 223: Surveillance","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-223",223,"\u003Cp>“Brother Vading, wait!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they stepped into the hexagonal hall, the awe-inspiring grandeur of its ancient, bizarre architecture momentarily blinded everyone to a clearly visible detail: the thick moss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong? Did we forget something?” A muffled echo came from the opposite side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Scrape off a patch of moss for me, thanks.” Kraft called toward the rock crevice, then added, “Don’t touch them bare-handed—this water isn’t clean.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vading suspected he’d misheard, “What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A patch of moss!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence followed from the sewer side, the flickering torchlight sweeping back and forth as if searching. Soon, Vading’s puzzled voice echoed through the crack again:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s no moss here—strange... I’ll go get some from the hall. Why do you need moss?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite the thick layers of sediment, this humus had not become fertile soil for any plant growth, let alone the moss clumps swelling from brick seams and grooves inside the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me come with you again—I just find it odd.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft climbed over the rock crevice and followed Vading’s team back into the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With deliberate observation, this difference was like comparing desert to jungle; the assumption that moss naturally grew in damp, shady places made it easy to overlook.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a borrowed knife, he easily pried loose a patch from the shallow-rooted moss and held it under the torchlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its sprout-like stems bore needle-thin leaves, clustered and woven into a thick, knitted-carpet texture with wrinkled ridges; the underside clung to mud. Its deep green blended seamlessly with the blackish bricks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how one looked, it was ordinary moss—indistinguishable from the kind that grew around tree roots or cold spring pools.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is there a problem?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The moss itself isn’t the issue—the problem is why moss grows here and nowhere else.” Through his gloves, the thin, delicate leaves brushed against leather, squeezing out moisture between his fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“True—but what does it mean?” Vading agreed with the professor’s observation; this meticulous attention reminded him of Green’s style—both men had a peculiar focus on details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know. Maybe it means watch your step.” Kraft cut off a small piece of moss to take with him. “I’m probably overthinking it. Stay alert—heretics could appear at any moment, and they know this place better.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rest easy. Your clues have brought us significant progress—the Church won’t forget this aid. The rest is our duty now.” The monk showed no disdain, bowed, and carried his torch into the adjacent passage, upstream against the current.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft watched their backs fade into the distance until the refracted water-glow vanished. He cast one final glance toward the dark, unseen hexagonal well, then turned with Kup to leave. On their return, a second team passed them, carrying numbered, crude maps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After navigating the cleared but still winding tomb corridor, the two returned to the surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time had passed unnoticed underground; only now did they realize summer’s long daylight had ended. Climbing the spiral stairs, the archway outside was dark and dim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sense of inverted orientation struck them as they entered a larger enclosed space: sparse, drifting pinpricks of light moved across the dark ceiling, their sharp, hook-shaped beams casting an ominous gray-white pall over the ruined grass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft hurried through the graveyard, then suddenly realized he’d overlooked a trivial but deeply annoying detail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These Church folk didn’t even leave us a carriage!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a exhausting day, discovering no transport to return home was worse than anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nearest lodging was Dai Wei’s clinic—half a district away, reachable only by memory and foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considering the size of the New District, and that it was now deep night, the prospect was especially miserable. The legendary investigator who tracked heretics and descended into ruins still had to walk home after hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, Kup, we’re walking back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not too bad, Professor Kraft—I’m sure you remember the way.” Kup approached a Church attendant crouched by the firepot near the door, asked for some oil, and refilled his lamp. “I used to walk these roads at night often.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hope this gives you a chance to reminisce about your quieter days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Better not—I prefer my current life.” The professor’s retainer shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Back then, I usually found work at the docks, but I didn’t always finish before dark—I had to walk home in the dark. As for the Salt Tide District roads? Ha... everyone knows what they’re like.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their shoe soles struck the cobblestones, the sound carrying far as they walked in silence down the empty street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes one suddenly realizes they know nothing about those around them—even those long woven into the fabric of daily life—how they spend their time beyond one’s sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And those unseen hours are, in truth, the largest part: the experiences before meeting, the moments alone—all known only vaguely, often pieced together from hearsay and imagination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this sense, they were no different from generations of people who’d lived their whole lives in Dunling—most had seen only the surface, knowing nothing of the long past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even after experiencing all that?” The professor turned his neck, rubbing his itchy collar, as if asking casually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recalling his past—the country castle life, the shattered years of study—felt so beautiful that the road didn’t seem so dark anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But clearly not everyone felt this way—or perhaps he was the minority, whether by original soul or outsider. Their perspectives differed: Kup’s, and... Yin Feng’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kup thought for a moment—not long—“I won’t lie. Sometimes I’m terrified. That feeling reminds me of when I was a child and stepped into a stagnant pool in the mudflat. It looked just like a shallow puddle, but once you stepped in, you sank endlessly—from calves to neck.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Later they told me it was the drowned ghosts pulling at your ankles. Luckily someone nearby dragged me out, but I fell seriously ill afterward and suffered nightmares for a month.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After that, I never went near that place again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It did sound terrifying. Kraft thought the metaphor apt. “So why accept your current life?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Honestly? Staying there would’ve just been another stagnant pool—even without that incident, I’d have died of some other illness eventually.” The farther they walked, the more his expanded perspective revealed the truth of his old life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry—I didn’t mean to burden you with these complaints.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I’m glad to hear them. Opportunities like this are rare.” Kraft raised a hand to wipe his cheek, then trailed it down his neck. A faint discomfort wandered over his body, but he couldn’t pinpoint its source.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like some night insect drawn by light—hovering just beyond sight, irritating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve said it before: we are one whole. Only through communication do we understand each other. No one succeeds alone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kup had no reply. In truth, he felt this was more like comfort—Kraft rarely voiced negativity outside work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, if you boarded this ship out of dissatisfaction with your past, and now you had a stable choice—say, a respectable, well-paid path like Dai Wei’s—wouldn’t that suit you better?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the night wind, the retainer shivered. True, he often played a role requiring little thought—but that didn’t mean he wasn’t sharp. Quite the opposite—he reacted quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sounded too much like hidden meaning. And Kraft had turned his head—though his gaze didn’t rest on Kup, but beyond him, toward the rear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have no desire to change.” Kup answered without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perhaps you should consider it.” His expectation was wrong—Kraft seemed serious. “Your learning ability is strong. Though you’re a bit older, with time you might enter the Academy. My letter of recommendation still carries weight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re joking.” For Kup to believe he could attend university was as likely as a blind man regaining sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or I could recommend you to my grandfather. For a retainer with courage, experience, and who’s survived perilous battles, he’d gladly grant you a knightly title. The North is vast—though clearing land might be hard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kup fell silent. The first suggestion had been absurd; this one struck the bullseye—with unsettling accuracy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dream came too suddenly. The ideal end for a retainer was precisely this. It felt as if nodding now would summon a knight’s holding waiting for him in the North.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well? You should keep learning, anyway. Skills never weigh you down. Once back in the North’s spruce forests, opportunities to learn will be scarce.” Kraft advised sincerely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having someone capable was good—but one’s own hopes might not align with another’s desires. Yin Feng was proof.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The question struck Kup like a blow—he walked mechanically for a long stretch, stunned, unable to recover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft didn’t press for an answer. After stretching his spine, the faint discomfort remained. He traced back the last time he’d felt it: yesterday, upon arriving at the graveyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sensation—like invisible insects—continued to plague his neck and back, producing tiny, stinging pricks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned his head again toward the rear. Kup was lowering his head, organizing his chaotic thoughts; the empty street held only the damp night air, mingled with the river’s mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【What is it?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a physical sensation—then a spiritual one. Something had stirred his spiritual senses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vague synesthesia made the source hard to pinpoint. Kraft first ruled out environmental factors—they’d taken the same path earlier, with no such feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He chose to walk further and observe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After several turns, the sensation didn’t fade—it intensified, becoming slightly clearer, perhaps due to attention or some other shift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the persistent, fly-like itching and pricks, like a gourmet sniffing a dish to discern spices, Kraft caught a trace of malice—too faint to confirm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as he focused, its direction grew marginally clearer—still unstable, like an eye constantly shifting position, leaping through cracks, casting tangible glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Or perhaps it’s exactly that】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the houses on both sides, though continuous, were not connected, and no hidden spots existed nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At another corner, Kraft feigned casualness, glancing in the general direction. It was a sealed building—windows shut, broken lettuce leaves crushed before the door, evidence of a vegetable vendor’s stall from earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kup was caught off guard as Kraft suddenly surged forward, sprinting toward the street’s side. The narrow street was no more than two or three steps to him—he arrived in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before acting, he’d already identified his target. He halted, then stomped hard. One end of the cobblestone lifted and flipped, exposing the foul, dark sewer space beneath the torchlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kup arrived a step late, his mace raised, peering down. Broken vegetable leaves floated in black-green water; strands of silt spiraled downward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What happened?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s call it a moment of paranoia.” Kraft sheathed his sword halfway, then kicked the stone slab back into place. “By the way—what’s your answer?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not sure.” Kup realized he might not be as certain of his goals as he thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve always admired you—you’ve saved me more than once, starting with that time in Wenden Port. But now, Professor Kraft, you’re one of the Academy’s core figures—even the Duke invites you. You could obtain anything through your medical skill. Why still venture into these sewers yourself?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not sure.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1835,"2026-06-20T02:15:56.940Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","dd678aef230ca56f9f7782d9d561e7ac35b039d6d00cac659472ad7b26074d0e","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-224","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-222",406,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnotes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-cover.jpg"]