Chapter 1 The Library

The library was utterly silent.

Rows upon rows of bookshelves, bathed in the intermingling sunlight, piled up into a dazzling sea.

On the table lay a thick book, *Logical Research on Constants in Electronic Physics*, opened halfway. A monocle rested on the pages, its chain acting as a bookmark, weighing down the pages.

The chair at the desk was draped with a grey suit jacket.

The jacket's owner stood before the massive bookshelf, basking in the serene sunlight.

The Deep Sea linked the entire world, sharing data.

Nowadays, hardly anyone came to the paper book reading room anymore.

Cui Zhongcheng took two books that were placed together from the shelf.

He paused.

After he removed the books, a pair of cunning eyes, hinting at a smile, were revealed in the empty space on the bookshelf.

"It is said that the Dateng Academy library has 1.5 million books. If you read one book a day, it would take four thousand years to finish them all. Yet, the Deep Sea only took three seconds to record the entire collection." From the other side of the bookshelf, the old man's voice was extremely low, as if talking to himself, "It's truly ironic. Humanity spent thousands of years developing its culture, and machines can digest it all in just a few seconds."

As he said this, he raised his head, and asked with a smile, "There's hardly anyone coming to places like libraries anymore. To maintain order, and to give humanity its last bit of dignity, AI is only responsible for recording, not guiding... In a place like this, finding a book you want shouldn't be easy, right?"

"Mr. Zhou, you probably don't read books often."

Cui Zhongcheng said softly, "Every book is categorized, so finding a book is easy as long as you follow the index."

"Oh, oh, oh... is that so? I certainly don't read books often."

Zhou Jiren smiled apologetically, "But in this era, the Deep Sea is enough. Except for those stubborn people who are nostalgic for the remnants of the old era, who would come to a place like this to read paper books, don't you think... Little Cui?"

Cui Zhongcheng glanced at his watch.

He asked calmly, "Is there something you need from me?"

"It's nothing much..." Mr. Shu said sincerely with a smile, "Gu Shen's assessment has begun, and this accompanying member of mine has nothing to do and nowhere to go, so I thought I'd wander around the academy... Coincidentally, I ran into you here."

Both of them addressed each other with respect.

Both used the honorific "you."

"This is my alma mater. I haven't been back in a long time, so I came back to take a look," Cui Zhongcheng said softly. "A long time ago, this place was also quiet... but it's different from the quiet now."

"That must have been twenty years ago, right? Back then, the Deep Sea hadn't yet connected the five continents, and the technology wasn't as advanced..." Mr. Shu didn't hide his sarcasm, and smiled, "We are getting stronger and stronger, which is a good thing. Just look at the development of Dongzhou in recent years... Councilor Zhao has made a great contribution, making Dadu a city as radiant as Nagano."

Cui Zhongcheng frowned.

"To be honest, I didn't expect him to agree to issue a pardon for an unknown teenager," Mr. Shu said with a soft laugh. "Originally, I wanted to pull some strings for this matter... It wouldn't matter if he disagreed, I would just ask a big shot in Nagano."

"Isn't it a good thing that someone agreed?" Cui Zhongcheng sighed, and said, "It's more embarrassing to ask someone in Nagano. Distant water can't quench immediate thirst, and whether you can get help is another matter."

"At my age, what face do I care about?"

Zhou Jiren's smile gradually disappeared, and he stared at the other person, and said, "Since you agreed to the pardon, why did you send such an assessment team... This is someone I'm protecting even at the cost of my own face. To be clear, no matter what the final assessment result is, I will protect Gu Shen at all costs."

Cui Zhongcheng's fingers caressed the book pages.

"Don't you understand?"

He looked at the old man, and said seriously, "It's precisely because he saw your position... that Elder Zhao made such a decisive decision, issuing the pardon and dispatching the assessment team..."

"The last person you were so determined to take away was Nan Jin of the Dadu District, right? Compared to her, Gu Shen is just a pitiful child with no parents and an ordinary background." Little Cui said in a low voice, "Elder Zhao trusts your judgment, so he immediately issued that pardon. At the same time, he also wants to see what kind of person this child named Gu Shen is... so he sent this assessment team."

Saying this, he revealed a modest and gentle smile.

"I think... you should be able to understand Elder Zhao's intentions, right?"

"Everyone in the council is now troubled by the dispute over the Awakening Decree. Things have come to this, and everyone seems unable to accept the cost of their failure... This tug-of-war is also about to come to a conclusion."

"At this time, the slightest deviation can cause huge distortions." Cui Zhongcheng extended two fingers, and slowly rubbed them together, "A butterfly in the far west continent, flapping its wings, may cause a storm in Dadu."

"Perhaps this butterfly is not in the West Continent, but in Zhongzhou, the Northern Fortress..." Little Cui paused, and said solemnly, "But in any case, Dadu cannot withstand a bigger storm."

Zhou Jiren looked serious, and had nothing more to say.

He just silently stared at Cui Zhongcheng across the bookshelf. The sunlight shone over him, and he should have been reflecting the midday brilliance, but for some reason, he seemed to be covered in a faint shadow.

"By the way..."

"The proposals to issue a pardon and dispatch an assessment team... were both proposed by me." Cui Zhongcheng said softly, "Elder Zhao agreed immediately, so it was me who came to Dateng this time..."

He stared at Zhou Jiren.

"...I have nothing to say."

The old man was still serious, and said calmly, "Even without Little Cui, there would be others. As long as there is a pardon, there will be an assessment team. I understand this principle."

Cui Zhongcheng nodded.

He ignored Zhou Jiren, and hugged the book, walking back the way he came. The sunlight had shifted its angle, and the original seat was no longer enveloped in light, but immersed in a slightly darker shade.

After walking two steps.

"One more thing..."

Mr. Shu spoke again, stopping Cui Zhongcheng.

"Hmm?"

He frowned, and turned half his face slightly. His face was unclear through the book.

"It's about the question we were chatting about earlier."

Mr. Shu's voice was very soft and slow, "The method you mentioned of following the index is indeed very simple and efficient, but some books... are severely damaged, or have not been recorded into the library by AI due to missing titles or similar reasons. Is there a way to find such books?"

"..."

Cui Zhongcheng was silent for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.

"You can only rely on luck."

Little Cui said softly, "You have to believe that as long as the book is still there, it can always be found one day."