The sun is high

Inside this temporary laboratory, there is a row of hospital beds.

On these hospital beds, multiple twisting figures were fixed with a large number of magic-strengthening silver shackles.

Near the hospital bed, healing mages and alchemists were constantly passing by. They seemed very busy and nervous, and did not react at all to Wei Lin's arrival.

Wei Lin did not disturb the others. She stood by the door, her eyes trembling and her expression a little stiff.

As a lake-level scholar who has participated in many magic experiments and personally dissected many samples of magical creatures, Weilin is quite resistant to those bloody and weird scenes. However, now, those who are bound and fixed to the metal hospital bed The figure on the screen caused her to lose the ability to speak in a short period of time.

If she guessed correctly, these figures should be those members of the volunteer team who successfully returned from the Great Rift, but now, Weilin had no way to associate their status and image with the term "human beings".

A considerable part of their skin has mutated.

Different from the symptoms caused by some magical diseases and vicious rituals that Wei Lin had learned about in the past, the skin and flesh of these patients did not show severe ulceration, decay or other symptoms, nor did they look like "wolves". It grows inhuman hair, claws or scales like a plague.

A large number of crystals grew under the skin of these survivors.

It was as if someone had sewn the daily magic crystals directly into their bodies through crude surgery.

She saw that half of one of them's head had completely crystallized. A large number of bright yellow magic crystals that shone with dazzling light had completely replaced half of his head. These shining crystals had grown out for unknown reasons. The crystals have completely exceeded the size of the head itself. It looks like a huge crystal tumor has grown on the head.

Similar situations also occurred in other people.

There was even one person whose half of the body had been completely replaced by the flickering magic crystal. Weilin could even see the hospital bed below through the translucent crystal. The other person was obviously injured on the way back. He lost Half of his arm was broken, but the crystals grew irregularly from his broken arm. It looked as if a cruel artist had attached an irregular crystal sculpture to the wounded man's broken arm.

Although these people with strange symptoms were constantly twisting, they did not make any sound, and their faces looked extremely dull, with no unnecessary expressions at all.

"They are all soldiers of the Ymir Legion, or spell casters within the Legal Committee and Council."

Although he had seen it with his own eyes several times, the face of the mage who was following Wei Lin still flashed with pain and unbearability. He could not bear to see these elite soldiers and mages suffering such pain.

Wei Lin nodded slowly, and then she asked uncertainly: "Are they... still alive?"

"Yes, they are all still alive, at least from our perspective, they are still alive."

However, it was another voice that answered her.

Wei Lin turned around and saw a mountain elf wearing a white experimental robe walking out of another door in the laboratory.

It was none other than Finn, the butler and chief magic advisor of the Walter royal family.

Seeing that she was in the laboratory, Wei Lin did not salute Finn. Butler Fenn was also very satisfied with Wei Lin's compliance with the rules of magic experiments. He forced a smile and then pointed to the room next to him: " Miss Wei Lin will come with me, and everyone else can do their own thing."

After saying this, Butler Fenn walked towards the door of the previous room without looking back, and Wei Lin hurriedly followed.

Behind the door is a laboratory with a relatively small space but also complete equipment. In the center of the laboratory is a cylindrical alchemy container that is the size of two people. It is fixed horizontally in the center of the laboratory. Above it is shrouded in a magical mist that obscures vision.

"You came on time, Miss Wei Lin... was the journey smooth?"

Weilin quickly looked around, and then she realized that this place was more like an operating room than a laboratory, because on the side, she saw many tools and equipment that ordinary magic laboratories would not be equipped with. Instruments, these things are often used for dissecting magical creatures, and they are not used in ordinary magic experiments.

So Wei Lin replied: "Everything goes well, Mr. Finn, but my personal matters are not that important. You have come to me in such a hurry. What do you need my help to do?"

After hearing Wei Lin's question, Finn nodded slightly, and then he asked very directly: "So, how much does Miss Wei Lin know about "Poetry of the Night"?"

Weilin had already been mentally prepared for the problems she might face, so she quickly answered: "It's not too in-depth, but I should know it better than most mages."

"very good."

Butler Fenn raised his hand, and the magic power in the laboratory immediately began to turmoil, and the fog that shrouded the central magic container immediately dissipated, and the things soaked in some kind of alchemical solution also immediately appeared in Weilin's eyes. in front of.

The moment she saw the appearance of that thing clearly, even Wei Lin, who could always remain calm and collected, couldn't help but let out a low cry: "Goddess Mel..."

Compared with the weird human bodies with magic crystals growing in their bodies that she saw in the outside rooms, the body in the container in front of her looked even more terrifying. Elements such as skin, flesh, internal organs, and bones had completely disappeared from this body. Weilin What I see now is simply the crystallization of a human form.

Due to the wanton growth of crystals, the edges of the human figure's outline appeared uneven, and the positions where its arms and body were in contact were even connected. For a moment, Wei Lin almost thought that what was soaked in the solution was simply a human body. An inanimate crystalline sculpture of a humanoid figure.

But then, she noticed that the liquid in the alchemy container was constantly flowing - it was continuously absorbed by a hole in the "head" of the human-shaped crystal, and then spurted out from it, It looks like breathing.

Wei Lin realized something, so she raised her head suddenly: "This is also..."

"Yes, he was also one of the people who returned from the rift, but his symptoms were the most severe. Within half a day after returning to the camp, he had already developed to this irreparable state."

When he said these words, Finn's tone did not change much, but Weilin clearly caught a look of helplessness on the elf's face, and then she heard Finn say: "He is me His student is also a distant relative of the princess, and he is a River Valley-level mage within the council, and he is very outstanding."

"Sorry, Mr. Finn."

Weilin expressed her sadness schematically, and then her eyes fell on the crystalline human figure trapped in the container again. After observing carefully for a while, Weilin asked: "On the way here, who The colleague who brought me here showed me some weird patterns and lines, and he told me that those patterns and lines were imprinted on the bodies of the people who returned from the cracks, but I don’t see them now.”

"That's normal because those were the first traces."

"initial?"

"Yes, when they first returned to the camp, most of them were still able to move on their own, but they were in a daze and almost lost the ability to speak. They only knew how to cry out in pain... When we checked their bodies, we found these weird things on their bodies. The alchemist in the camp initially diagnosed them as 'burns caused by strong magic'. However, as time went by, these wounds gradually began to change, and it turned out that they were simply the 'seeds' of those magic crystals!"

Listening to these bizarre narrations, Wei Lin felt a chill running down her spine. She quickly asked, "You mean that these crystals grew from those 'wounds'?"

"Yes, I have personally checked it many times... So far, I have not been able to find any records similar to this situation. Mainstream treatments have also been tried, but they have no effect."

Finn paused and then said: "I even performed alchemical surgery on them and tried to directly remove all the crystals on some individuals. However, the result was that before these wounds were completely healed, new traces of crystals appeared. It will appear quickly, and its growth rate will be much faster than before."

With that said, Finn raised his hand and pointed to another container placed in the corner. Weilin looked along and saw that there was a bunch of magic crystals of different colors in the container. There were a lot of them. The ritual site was isolated, but Wei Lin could still see the abnormal activity of these strange crystals through their constantly flashing light.

"They seem to be ores, but they are not completely ores... In my personal feeling, these things have a certain similarity with flesh and blood. They can grow, sense the surrounding environment, and can even deal with damage caused by the outside world. reaction, so I personally think that they are most likely to be some kind of lost existence that has been forgotten for a long time, or... it is the result of some kind of 'evil magic'."

Finn smiled at Vaelin: "Or should I say, lost magic?"

"I know what you mean, sir."

Wei Lin breathed a sigh of relief: "So, what do you want me to do next?"

"Wicked magic and "Poetry of the Night" are both your subjects. Since Miss Wei Lin already has a certain understanding of the original manuscript of "Poetry of the Night", the task of finding these traces and patterns and verifying their specific significance is I leave it to you to finish.”

As he spoke, Finn pressed his palms to the surface of the container that bound the humanoid crystal in front of him. As a powerful spellcaster, his magic power immediately wrapped the entire container. After sensing the injection of magic power, those inscribed The magic lines on the surface of the alchemy container began to appear, and then, these external magic powers were successfully injected into the interior of the container, and entered the crystalline humanoid body along with the flowing alchemical liquid.

The next moment, Wei Lin saw dense and strange lines emerging from the crystal body. These lines were not static. They were crawling, crawling, and constantly changing their shapes. When a line or pattern disappeared, it immediately disappeared. There will be new lines forming.

"This is an unexpected discovery when I applied healing magic to him. Controlling the injection of magic power can cause a similar phenomenon... I hope it will be helpful to you."

"Time, how much time do I have?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Weilin, you may only have less than seven days...and I must tell you that it is not any country, organization, or any person that limits this time. The waves are huge. Before the waves are captured, if If the ship cannot sail away, it will only capsize."

Wei Lin's face turned a little pale, she closed her eyes and took two deep breaths.

She really hates countdowns.

What's more, during this countdown, there was no one around her who could give her some help and advice, which actually made her feel a little powerless.

Finn also sighed, then as if he remembered something, he walked aside, took out a emblem with a golden eagle pattern from the coat pocket hanging on the wall, and put it aside On the table: "Miss Weilin, you are still involved in this matter as a member of the Ernst family, an advisor to the royal family, and a mage of the council... This represents the royal family's reward and reward for you."

Wei Lin stared at the humanoid crystal in the container: "Sir, is there any point in talking about remuneration at this time?"

Finn twitched his lips: "Maybe, accept it. If your research makes real progress, then you can propose a proposal that is not too excessive to the Walter royal family, the Ernst family and the Plateau Mage Council. I think they will agree to your request.”

Wei Lin was silent for two seconds, and then finally nodded: "Please send me some more manpower, at least five stream-level mages and above, fifteen apprentices... I need them to complete some boring work for me, and Please send all my notes from the past, as well as the records about the cracks and the patients these days, here."

"That's very good, Miss Vereen."

Steward Fenn took the coat in his hand, and then said: "No matter what the outcome is, I think Miss Weilin has the potential to become the national magic advisor in the future... So, do you need a refreshing drink? I think you seem to be a little nervous. You are tired, I have brought a lot of tea bags specially provided by the royal family, they may be able to help you relax."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Finn... please give me more sugar."