Morning in Ronghe City began quietly again.
Sunlight passed through the kitchen window as Li Lan prepared breakfast.
Li Yue was already sitting at the table with her textbooks open.
"You woke up early today," Li Wei said as he sat down.
"I have a practice exam later," she replied without looking up.
"Good luck."
"Luck won't help," she said seriously. "Math requires suffering."
Li Wei smiled faintly.
Li Jian finished his tea and stood up.
"Workshop."
He left the house as usual.
Breakfast continued with simple conversation.
Nothing unusual.
Across the city—
Su Yan was already awake.
She sat inside a parked car near a modest government building.
The sign outside read:
Ronghe Cultural Records Center
It wasn't large.
Just a small archive office storing local cultural documents and historical records.
Exactly the kind of place the mysterious node activator preferred.
Su Yan checked the time.
If her theory was correct…
Someone would eventually arrive here today.
Back at the Li family house—
Li Wei finished breakfast and stood up.
"I'm going for a walk," he said casually.
Li Lan looked up from the kitchen.
"Back before lunch."
"I will."
Li Yue didn't even look away from her textbook.
"Bring snacks."
Li Wei shook his head slightly and stepped outside.
The morning air felt fresh.
Li Wei walked along the familiar neighborhood streets.
Inside his mind, the Archive Map appeared again.
The nearby marker blinked quietly.
Ronghe Cultural Records Center
Distance: 1.8 km.
He walked at a relaxed pace.
No hurry.
No pressure.
Just another archive visit.
Fifteen minutes later, he reached the building.
The entrance door was open.
Several bicycles stood outside.
Li Wei stepped inside calmly.
The interior was quiet.
A few staff members worked at desks organizing documents.
Shelves filled with historical files lined the walls.
A middle-aged employee looked up.
"Research?"
"Local cultural records," Li Wei replied politely.
The man nodded and pointed toward the shelves.
Li Wei walked deeper into the archive room.
Then the system notification appeared.
[CORE INFORMATION NODE CONFIRMED]
[SIGN-IN AVAILABLE]
Li Wei glanced around.
No one was paying attention to him.
"Sign in."
The system paused briefly.
Then responded.
[SIGN-IN COMPLETE]
LOCATION: RONGHE CULTURAL RECORDS CENTER
Another message appeared immediately.
[REWARD GENERATED]
FOCUSED CONCENTRATION — LEVEL 1
Li Wei felt the familiar shift again.
This time his mind became extremely clear.
Distractions faded.
Thoughts felt sharp and stable.
It was like entering a perfect state for studying or solving problems.
"Useful," he thought quietly.
Then the system displayed another message.
One that looked different.
[TOTAL CORE NODES ACTIVATED: 10]
SYSTEM UPGRADE INITIATING
Li Wei blinked.
"So it starts now."
At the same moment—
Outside the building—
Su Yan's phone vibrated violently.
She looked down.
Major signal spike detected
Location: Ronghe Cultural Records Center
Her eyes sharpened immediately.
"That's it."
She stepped out of the car and walked quickly toward the entrance.
Inside the archive—
Li Wei watched the system interface update rapidly.
[SYSTEM FUNCTION UNLOCKED]
ARCHIVE ANALYSIS — BASIC LEVEL
ABILITY: SCAN DOCUMENTS AND IDENTIFY KEY INFORMATION
Li Wei's eyes widened slightly.
"So now it can analyze information directly…"
This ability could dramatically speed up research.
Especially when dealing with large volumes of data.
He was about to test it—
When footsteps approached behind him.
"Excuse me."
A calm female voice spoke.
Li Wei turned.
The woman from the museum hallway stood there.
Su Yan.
Her expression remained calm, but her eyes were focused.
"We've seen each other before," she said.
Li Wei recognized her immediately.
"Yes. At the museum yesterday."
Su Yan nodded slowly.
"What a coincidence."
She studied his face carefully.
"Li Wei, right?"
Li Wei raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You know my name?"
"I work with regional archives," she replied smoothly.
"I tend to remember visitors interested in historical records."
Her explanation sounded reasonable.
But her gaze remained sharp.
Li Wei sensed the conversation wasn't random.
Still, he kept his expression relaxed.
"Just interested in local history."
Su Yan smiled faintly.
"Of course."
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Just two people standing quietly inside a small archive room.
But both of them were thinking very different things.
Su Yan was wondering:
Is he really the one?
And Li Wei was thinking:
She's definitely investigating something.
Finally, Su Yan stepped slightly aside.
"Well… enjoy your research."
Li Wei nodded politely.
"Thank you."
He walked past her calmly and headed toward the exit.
Outside—
Sunlight filled the street.
Li Wei walked away without looking back.
But inside his mind, the system displayed the new function panel.
The Archive System had just reached a new stage.
And now someone else had begun paying close attention.
Inside the archive building—
Su Yan stood quietly near the shelves.
Her phone displayed the exact timestamp of the signal spike.
The moment she had walked in.
And the moment Li Wei had been standing near the records.
She looked toward the door he had just exited.
Her suspicion had now become something stronger.
Not proof.
But very close.
She spoke quietly into her earpiece.
"I think I found him."
The quiet investigation had just become much more serious.