The evening air was cooler as Li Wei stepped out of the subway station.
Across the street stood the Linhai Central Library.
The building was large but not flashy. Wide stone steps led to glass doors, and tall windows revealed rows of bookshelves inside.
Soft lights were already on.
Even on weekends, the library stayed open late because many university students came here to study.
Li Wei crossed the street with several other pedestrians and walked up the steps.
Inside, the atmosphere changed immediately.
Quiet.
Calm.
The faint sound of pages turning and keyboards clicking filled the large reading hall.
Students sat at long tables with laptops and notebooks.
Some were reviewing textbooks.
Others were preparing for exams.
Li Wei walked past the front desk and entered the main reading area.
Rows of bookshelves stretched across the floor.
History.
Science.
Engineering.
Literature.
Thousands of books organized carefully.
He slowed his pace slightly.
Then spoke in his mind.
"System."
[ONLINE]
"Confirm node location."
A moment later the response appeared.
[CORE INFORMATION NODE DETECTED]
LOCATION: ARCHIVE FLOOR — LEVEL 3
Li Wei glanced toward the staircase.
The archive floor was where older and less frequently used materials were stored.
Usually fewer people visited that section.
Perfect.
He walked up the stairs quietly.
The third floor was noticeably quieter.
Only a few readers sat at desks near the windows.
Most of the shelves here contained older books and research journals.
Li Wei walked slowly between the aisles.
When he reached the far end of the floor—
The system notification appeared again.
[CORE INFORMATION NODE CONFIRMED]
[SIGN-IN AVAILABLE]
He looked around casually.
One student nearby was wearing headphones and typing on a laptop.
Another was flipping through a thick reference book.
No one was paying attention to him.
"Sign in."
A brief pause followed.
Then the system responded.
[SIGN-IN COMPLETE]
LOCATION: LINHAI CENTRAL LIBRARY ARCHIVE
Another message appeared.
[REWARD GENERATED]
MEMORY INDEXING — LEVEL 1
Li Wei blinked.
For a moment nothing seemed to happen.
Then suddenly—
His mind felt… clearer.
It was subtle, but noticeable.
Memories that once felt scattered now seemed more organized.
When he tried recalling something he read earlier that day, the details appeared almost instantly.
The news headlines.
The museum exhibits.
Even the map of the temple district.
Everything surfaced with unusual clarity.
Li Wei exhaled slowly.
"That's useful."
Being able to recall information quickly could help in almost any situation.
Then another notification appeared.
[ARCHIVE NODE ACTIVITY REGISTERED]
[EXTERNAL RESPONSE DETECTED]
Li Wei wasn't surprised anymore.
"That again."
He quietly returned a book he had picked up from the shelf.
Nothing unusual had happened in the library.
No alarms.
No people rushing in.
Everything seemed normal.
Still…
He felt a slight sense that something in the background had changed.
Like a ripple spreading outward.
At that moment—
Across the street from the library—
A black vehicle was parked beside the sidewalk.
Inside, two people watched the entrance through a monitoring screen.
One of them spoke quietly.
"Signal spike confirmed."
The other nodded.
"Third-party energy fluctuation detected inside the building."
"Can we locate the source?"
"Not precisely. The signal vanished almost immediately."
The first agent leaned back slightly.
"So someone triggered it again."
The second agent tapped on the tablet.
"Based on timing, whoever it is must still be inside the library."
Both of them looked toward the building entrance.
Students continued walking in and out normally.
Nothing seemed suspicious.
Still…
They knew the event had just occurred.
Inside the library—
Li Wei walked calmly toward the stairs.
He didn't rush.
Just another student leaving after studying.
His expression remained relaxed.
But inside his mind, the system displayed one more message.
[TOTAL CORE NODES ACTIVATED: 4]
NEXT NODE SEARCH IN PROGRESS
Li Wei stepped outside the building and walked down the steps into the cool evening air.
Behind him, the quiet library lights glowed against the dark sky.
Across the street, the agents inside the parked vehicle watched every person exiting the building.
For a brief moment—
One of them looked directly at Li Wei.
But Li Wei simply walked past without hesitation and disappeared into the subway station crowd.
The agent frowned slightly.
"Did you feel that?"
"Feel what?"
"Nothing… maybe I imagined it."
Underground, the subway train arrived with a loud metallic screech.
Li Wei stepped inside along with dozens of passengers.
The doors closed.
The train began moving.
And the city lights slowly faded into darkness as the train entered the tunnel.
Far above the streets of Linhai City—
The hidden search for the mysterious Archive activator had officially begun.
Li Wei just didn't know it yet.