Chapter 58: I Have a Bold Idea

"That's roughly what happened. I suspect someone dumped the Clarity Potion into the well in the Salt Tide District, and that people who have consumed Clarity within a certain range will experience worsening symptoms when they gather."

Kraft slouched in the chair, propping up a fresh-broken plank beside him. The splinters on it hadn't had time to be smoothed yet, and one side bore a huge, charcoal-drawn broken circle.

In the end, the table was bought. The shopkeeper didn't give a negative answer to these somewhat abnormal people, especially since the most abnormal of them, a noble, was carrying a sword.

Seeing the shopkeeper's attitude, staying at this inn was impossible. Kraft packed his meager belongings, hung them on the horse stabled at the livery, and moved to another inn. Before leaving, he didn't forget to borrow a hand saw from the shopkeeper to cut off that table plank and take it with him.

Now they sat in the room of the new inn. Since there was only one chair, Li Sidun and Lu Xiusi could only sit on the edge of the bed.

Pulling the small blanket covering him up a bit, Kraft shifted closer to the fireplace. "Tomorrow we go together to the Salt Tide District, guard that well, and tell them they can't drink from it anymore."

"So they will really believe it and accept walking a much farther distance every day to fetch water?" Li Sidun expressed doubt. "And given your current state, can you really go tomorrow?"

Kraft had just changed into clothes that were half-dry, rinsing off the salt grains that constantly irritated his minor scrapes. Now he dared to declare he would go to the Salt Tide District tomorrow; Li Sidun seriously doubted whether he could manage it.

"No need to worry. Even on a battlefield, I am someone who can last a few rounds."

Old Wood didn't want him going to the battlefield, that was true, but he also considered that he couldn't manage him for a lifetime, and there was the possibility of him getting a sudden urge to achieve glory. So the training intensity was absolutely not slackened; physical fitness for jogging in full metal armor was a must.

Although Kraft privately complained that this was preparation for running away after losing his horse on the battlefield, he still basically met the standard his grandfather recognized.

The warm hearth fire radiated reassuring heat, the most effective and reliable energy source humanity currently mastered, the cornerstone of civilization. He could feel his body warming up, his strength gradually recovering; at the very least, normal activity tomorrow morning would be no problem.

"As for the well problem... I can pay someone to dig a new well for them in another location, even two if needed, and then fill in that damn polluted well."

Having money was indeed a happy thing; it could easily solve most problems. Even matters involving anomalous phenomena required a material basis.

The residents of the Salt Tide District could only live there because they had no money, sharing a single well with many people. So Kraft could use money to solve the impact of the well water, cutting off the source directly.

But speaking of money, Kraft remembered something. "By the way, as a lecturer, I should have remuneration, right?"

"Is this the first day you've noticed this?" Li Sidun gave him a look reserved for a lord's foolish son. He had never seen someone who worked overtime for two months before remembering remuneration.

Unexpectedly, Kraft thought for a moment and nodded seriously. His daily expenses were not large; the largest sum was for paper and ink to copy books. If not for the recent situation of spending without income, he really wouldn't have considered this issue.

In his subconscious, he was not yet an independent individual but existed as a family heir; all economic sources were in Old Wood's and Anderson's hands.

"Do you need me to explain the academy's operational model to you?"

"Thanks, but now is not the time." Kraft keenly smelled a trace of something unpleasant; it was the administrative process he disliked most.

He could understand countless complex operations, memorize hundreds or thousands of convoluted knowledge points, but he just couldn't sort out these strange rules and procedures. As soon as he touched paperwork outside his specialty, his head hurt.

"Let's talk about the current situation instead. Li Sidun, your work there must also be adjusted. Before we completely clarify the mechanism of everything that happened, not a single drop of Clarity Potion can be used."

Emotionally, Li Sidun found it hard to accept this decision. "Then we will immediately return to our original predicament. We won't even be able to perform the clean surgery you requested in some amputations."

"We can't gamble on exactly how many Clarity consumers gathering will affect each other, and I don't know how to calculate what range counts as gathering." Kraft was also helpless on this matter.

Losing the help of the diluent would be terrible, but if he allowed an anomalous phenomenon that could wear through the barrier between the Surface and the Deep to spread throughout Wendeng Port, he would be inexcusable.

If it really continued, more people would realize the significance of this technology's application. Once Professor Mo Lisen over in Dunling decided to make the discovery public, the situation would be beyond their control.

No one could resist the temptation of painless surgery. Even if it were proven that too many people couldn't use it, the result would only be that everyone would think, "I'll use it first and worry about the rest later."

And just the remaining black liquid in the basement, once diluted, would be enough to provide conditions for thousands of surgeries. If that number were placed across the entire Wendeng Port, it would be a quite considerable proportion. Creating a large-scale replica of the Salt Tide District incident was just a matter of time.

"This is too strange. It's like some kind of plague; drinking Clarity is its transmission prerequisite, and the gathering of consumers is its outbreak cause?" Li Sidun glared at Lu Xiusi. The latter wore an innocent expression; Kraft hadn't told him this at the time. "Do we also need to make them disperse?"

"It's hard to achieve; they have nowhere to go. Moreover, it probably isn't necessary." Kraft explained. "I guess the well water has already diluted the potion to the extreme, requiring continuous drinking and gathering to interact and gradually drive the disease progression."

"Our method is to break one of these links first."

More words were swallowed. Regarding the wandering invisible creatures of the Deep, he couldn't explain how he knew. Saying it out would only make him be treated as delusional, lowering his credibility, and would be meaningless otherwise.

"I don't have many questions about these, but there is one thing I need to know." Li Sidun had wanted to ask this question for a long time. "How did Clarity end up in the well in the Salt Tide District?"

Kraft, who had just been speaking freely, quickly shut his mouth, putting on a thoughtful pose that wasn't very convincing. Lu Xiusi beside him shrank his body, trying to minimize his presence.

The scene became quite awkward. For Li Sidun, silence was the most powerful answer, even more obvious than Lu Xiusi's refusal to speak.

This basically confirmed his previous guess. Lu Xiusi helping to hide it was one thing, but Kraft also couldn't bring himself to say it, not even daring to give an uncertain suspect. This person could only be Professor Kalman, and most likely the source of the Clarity Potion.

"Alright, if you wanted to know, you would have gone and caught him long ago." Playing dumb was an art. Although Li Sidun hadn't read certain classic segments familiar to souls from other worlds, this didn't stop him from learning this skill through long-term social practice.

It was too late to regret now. This trap had been buried when participating in that surgery. Perhaps Kraft himself hadn't realized it, but at this point, no one could wash their hands of the matter.

Why would the professor do such a thing? How on earth could this damn motive be explained? Li Sidun was frantic inside but had to maintain a helpless expression on the surface, pretending to know nothing.

Kraft also knew his silence was too far-fetched. Fortunately, Li Sidun's words gave him a way out. "I indeed have no clue about this matter. Fortunately, it doesn't hinder the next steps. Let's just do what can be done first."

"Do you need to sleep for a while?"

"No, I've slept enough. Let's talk about it tomorrow night." At the mention of sleep, Kraft subconsciously pressed his left waist, touching the sword hilt. The cold, hard, blunt texture brought him the same sense of reassurance as always.

His good mental state made him forget one issue: he would eventually have to sleep, and that entity, that soft, writhing thing, would still come knocking, dragging him into the Deep.

From a certain perspective, this wasn't a bad thing; in fact, it suited him perfectly.

He already knew the clue to return from the Deep. Moreover, judging by the result, that thing in the Deep hadn't been able to catch him. Wouldn't that be the perfect opportunity to go see what the situation was in the area corresponding to the Salt Tide District in another layer?

A bold idea was born.

Humanity's desire to court death and curiosity were unstoppable. Kraft mused for a while, then voiced his idea: "I'm going to Elmwood Street to find a house where I can stay overnight."

"Is it really necessary?"

"I may need to travel back and forth to the Salt Tide District frequently. Isn't it necessary to find a temporary place to stay nearby?"

"Hmm... yes." Lu Xiusi expressed agreement.

Li Sidun nodded. He felt there were some other reasons behind this. Everything about Kraft was abnormal, but the specific reasons could be explored later. "If there are other things you need help with, please do not forget me."

"Thanks, that couldn't be better. I have some things to buy." Whether Li Sidun was being polite or not, Kraft didn't stand on ceremony. He removed the blanket covering him and went to get paper and pen. "I'll make a list; they're all common items that are easy to find."

In his mind, Kraft had already begun to conceive a complete strategy. From fragmented memories, that dark, damp, yet strangely consistent layer with the Surface gave him inspiration. Preparations here would likely be copied exactly in the Deep.

"Oil, kindling?" Li Sidun frowned. "What is this for?"

"It will let me have a good dream. Just consider it the obsession of an unlucky guy waking up in cold dampness." Kraft's response was a shrug, shaking the draped blanket to one side.

He took the paper and even saw a small boat at the bottom, the kind only one person wide, used for near-shore water traffic and for escaping from large ships.

"Alright, no problem. When you return from the Salt Tide District tomorrow, you will find these things delivered to Elmwood Street."

The paper was folded into a small square and stuffed into a bag. Li Sidun didn't raise further questions, having no dissatisfaction with this task that was clearly meant to send him away. He could entrust the chaotic list of purchase items to someone else.

Anyway, he also needed a suitable reason to act alone to fulfill a bold idea.