109: Chapter 47 Dock Warehouse

On the last day of late April, a continuous drizzle shrouded the entire Backlund.

The weeping willows on both banks of the Hoi River were washed to a vibrant, dripping green by the fine rain, while the rough flagstone roads of the Dock District accumulated a shallow layer of water, reflecting the entire gloomy, lead-gray sky within the tiny ripples.

Lu Li stood silently at the entrance of the abandoned dockyard on the border between the River Bay District and the East Borough, holding a black umbrella.

The cold rain slowly dripped down the ribs of the umbrella, falling silently onto the damp, greenish moss at his feet.

The heavy, rusted iron gate ahead was tightly locked, and in the center of the door frame was embedded a Sealed Artifact token exclusive to the Secret Order, its faint blue glimmer of spirituality piercing through layers of rain and mist, steadily shrouding the entire dockyard with the stagnation and solemnity unique to ancient sealing structures.

Lu Li raised his hand and took out the folded paper crane sent by the client from the inner pocket of his coat.

The plain white paper body was slightly dampened by the rain, yet it remained undamaged; as soon as it left the cover of his pocket, it began to tremble gently.

On the inner side of the paper crane's wings, the snake emblem outlined in dark patterns glowed faintly, resonating from afar with the ancient and obscure sealing runes on the iron gate's token.

An extremely faint, almost inaudible "click" sounded from deep within the bolt.

The spiritual confinement that had lingered around the iron gate for years was completely lifted in response.

Lu Li reached out and pushed open the heavy iron gate, and a damp wind, carrying a unique mixture of rust, decaying wood, and thin spiritual dust, rushed toward him.

The interior of the dockyard was far more spacious and magnificent than it appeared from the outside. Above the towering, mottled stone dome, rows of phosphorescent stone lamps had long since been extinguished and covered in dust, with only mottled light and shadow spilling in through the broken window lattices.

On both sides of the passage, a large number of cargo crates, tightly covered by thick, waterproof canvas, were stacked neatly, occupying most of the space and exuding a sense of silence from long-term storage.

His gaze pierced through the rows of cargo crates; at the very back of the dockyard, adjacent to the abandoned dock berths, dozens of solid wooden crates were lined up neatly.

The surface of the crates was clearly stamped with the exclusive markings of a Southern Continent port, and the seal on each one was intact and had never been opened.

The seal on the tape did not belong to the Backlund Geological Research Institute, nor was it a standard official institution stamp; it was a private emblem Lu Li had never seen before—a venomous snake coiled around a quill, with simple yet mysterious lines, carrying an aura that intertwined scholarly air with secrecy.

Lu Li walked slowly forward and arrived at the nearest wooden crate.

A faint glint of spirituality flashed in the depths of his eyes, and the spatial perception exclusive to a Sequence 6 Cryptologist unfolded, meticulously scanning every part of the crate's structure to precisely check for all hidden spiritual traps, trigger arrays, and concealed mechanisms.

After confirming it was absolutely safe, he applied force with his fingertips to tear off the seal, then used the short blade he carried to slowly pry open the lid.

Inside the crate, pieces of dark green serpentinite ore samples were neatly arranged.

The stone bodies were covered in winding, flowing snake-like patterns, and their texture and markings highly matched the fragments of the Antigonus seal pedestal he had seen during his investigation at the Secret Order quarry.

But there was a fundamental difference between the two.

The spiritual fluctuations of these ore samples were weaker and more archaic, carrying the inert texture of endless years of sedimentation.

These were not relic fragments that had undergone seal activation or energy dissipation, but raw ores that had never participated in seal power supply and had been quietly stored since they were mined.

Compared to those worn, incomplete, and energy-depleted seal fragments, the spiritual value of this batch of raw ore was negligible, but the information value they could carry was irreplaceable.

They were the most complete and original first-hand research materials for analyzing the Antigonus Family's seal power supply system and dismantling ancient spiritual circuits, and their academic significance far exceeded any damaged relic fragments.

Lu Li carefully returned the ore samples to their places, closed the lids to restore them to their original state, and then proceeded to check the remaining cargo crates one by one.

In the vast majority of the wooden crates, there were raw serpentinite ores of the same origin and quality from the Southern Continent, uniform in batch and regular in appearance; only in the innermost corner of the dockyard, a small wooden box without any seal was particularly special.

The box was smooth, with only a minimalist snake ring pattern engraved in the center, low-key yet highly recognizable.

Lu Li leaned down and opened the wooden box.

There were only two items inside: an ancient scroll sealed with a lead seal, and a letter without any stationery or decoration.

The envelope was blank and unsigned; the only identification was the venomous snake coiled around a quill emblem at the seal.

Unfolding the letter, a familiar handwriting came into view. The strokes were solid and heavy, and the endings of the strokes had a unique hooked curve, coming from the same person as the secret letter he had previously obtained from the locker.

"This batch of raw serpentinite ore was taken from a secret ancient quarry of the Antigonus Family in the Southern Continent that was not registered by the Church."

"After the ancient seal was completely closed, all spiritual structures in the entire ore vein automatically entered a permanent state of inert dormancy, with no risk of runaway or pollution hazards, absolutely safe."

"Hidden within the ore is a rare variant of serpentinite raw stone. Its natural grain structure perfectly matches a core anomaly node in the calibration records of the ancient seal power supply circuit."

"If you need to use it, you can apply for temporary outbound permission at the freight company in the Dock District with the copy of the private laboratory emblem authorization attached to this letter, along with the official contact information."

"Additionally: Old Kohler's labor contract has been renewed until the end of the year. His daughter's enrollment has been properly arranged, and a full-tuition free enrollment recommendation letter for the Dock District Art School has been submitted on his behalf, signed—An Anonymous Friend."

Lu Li read the contents of the letter quietly, gently folded the letter paper with his fingertips, and put it into his inner pocket.

Then, he picked up the lead seal bag in the box, undid the layers of seals, and unfolded the yellowed leather scroll.

The content of the scroll was detailed and rigorous, densely recording the precise mining coordinates of this batch of raw ores, the underground geological layer structure, and the complete decay curve of the ore vein's spiritual fluctuations, with precise data and clear charts, which could be called the most complete ore research file.

Attached to the last page of the scroll was an old-fashioned film photograph, which captured the special variant serpentinite ore sample.

On the back of the photo, a line of neat pencil writing indicated its precise storage number among this batch of cargo crates.

Lu Li quickly located it according to the number and successfully found the fist-sized variant raw ore.

To the naked eye, it was no different from ordinary raw serpentinite ore; its color, texture, and feel were all much the same, with nothing special about it.

But when the Cryptologist's spiritual vision fully unfolded, penetrating the surface texture of the ore, the truth suddenly emerged.

The snake-like patterns of ordinary raw ore were just a disorderly accumulation of natural stone textures, which could only serve as a power supply carrier for a seal pedestal.

But deep within the patterns of this variant ore, crisscrossing and hidden from view, lay a complete, precise, and never-before-activated spiritual encryption circuit.

Lu Li understood instantly.

The snake-pattern encryption method that the Secret Order was good at, and the secret coding technology on the title pages of ancient imitated books, all had their initial source in the natural texture architecture of this variant ore.

This was a natural encryption carrier nurtured by nature; the snake-like pattern itself was the most primitive and mysterious information storage medium.

It did not have the violent power of any Sealed Artifact, nor the cultivation efficacy of a rare potion, but this inconspicuous raw ore was the core clue pointing to ancient spell analysis and primitive encryption technology.

For him, who would deeply cultivate the Scholar Pathway and impact higher Sequences in the future, this value far exceeded ordinary treasures.

Lu Li carefully put the variant raw ore back into the lead seal bag, isolating all spiritual leakage, and properly placed it into his inner exclusive storage pocket.

After finishing all this, he restored all the cargo crates and furnishings in the dockyard to their original state, leaving no trace of his investigation, and then turned and left the silent, abandoned warehouse.

Returning to the apartment in the River Bay District, the sky had already turned completely dark.

Lu Li lit the kerosene lamp on the desk, took out the precious variant raw ore, put it into the desk's secret drawer, and placed it quietly together with the two broken halves of the snake emblem token.

Under the faint lamplight, he sat upright at the desk and picked up a pen to condense and organize all the discoveries, clues, and speculations of this night into a short and precise memorandum.

From the first contact with the snake emblem token, to exploring the Secret Order quarry, and then to obtaining the core clues of ancient encryption technology today.

All the seemingly accidental encounters and perfectly timed resources were never a coincidence.

This mysterious client never showed up directly, never asked for a return, and always paved the way for him in the most secure and secret way, hoarding core materials and key clues corresponding to his promotion path in advance.

The other party was not a simple intelligence middleman, but more like a layout planner who had been dormant for a long time, accurately predicting his advancement direction, silently paving the way for him, clearing obstacles, and preserving opportunities.

Lu Li closed the memorandum and picked up a dim piece of the snake emblem remains in the drawer with his fingertips.

The token fragment that once could open the entrance to the Antigonus ancient ruins now had its spirituality completely dissipated, its fluorescence gone, leaving only cold, ordinary silver fragments, retaining only traces of the past.

The night passed in a flash.

The next evening, the twilight was soft and the evening breeze was cool.

Lu Li went to the old bookstore on Water Pump Street again.

Old Eye was squatting in the corner of the bookshelf, slowly and methodically organizing the newly received old books, his fingertips brushing over the yellowed pages, his movements relaxed. Noticing the movement at the door, he didn't even lift his head, only slightly raised his chin, and his hoarse voice slowly sounded:

"You have the heavy smell of serpentinite ore powder on you. Did you go to the dockyard?"

Lu Li didn't beat around the bush and asked directly:

"Do you know where the venomous snake coiled around a quill emblem comes from?"

Hearing this, Old Eye stopped the movement in his hands, took off the old copper-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, wiped the lenses carefully with the corner of his clothes, was silent for a moment, and slowly told a dusty past event:

"This emblem does not belong to any existing secret organization."

"It originated from the late fourth epoch, an independent group of scholars specializing in ancient document restoration, ancient spell analysis, and high-level private encryption technology."

"Before Roselle Gustav reached the top and became the Emperor, he had long anonymously funded this niche group. The Roselle private collection encryption system, which became famous in later generations, came from their hands."

Old Eye put his cleaned glasses back on, looked at the heavy twilight outside the window, and his tone carried a bit of the distance accumulated by time:

"After the Black Emperor fell and Roselle was assassinated, this group of scholars completely disintegrated. The vast majority of the core members were absorbed and recruited by the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, becoming document monks of the church. Only a few collateral descendants hid among the populace, passing down ancient encryption techniques and document restoration abilities from generation to generation."

"The client you came into contact with, their ancestor, is most likely a surviving collateral descendant from back then."

"They have guarded the snake emblem token left by Roselle for generations, inherited the disconnected ancient encryption technology, shouldered a secret contract spanning a hundred years, acted as 'debt managers' for generations, waiting silently until the old debt is cleared and the ancient seal is completely and permanently closed."