Wen Xian cautiously watched the "notebook" floating in the air, avoiding touching it again. He was very familiar with this notebook, as it had appeared countless times in his memory. However, he rarely opened it. He always thought it recorded the adventures he had experienced with his master over the years—events he remembered as vividly as if they had happened yesterday. He could replay every scene in his mind as if watching a movie. But now, it seemed that this "notebook" had something special about it.
Ivy looked at the notebook and exclaimed, "You didn't tell me this is how the notebook works!"
"Is this really the teacher's notebook?" Wen Xian was slightly doubtful. Ivy was notorious for being careless—she had even once lost the keys to the royal treasury.
Noticing Wen Xian's suspicion, Ivy's face flushed instantly. "I'm not that unreliable!"
Wen Xian shifted his attention back to the notebook. Suddenly, it was as if words were etched directly onto his retinas: "Connection permission requested. Please agree to connect."
Seeing the strange message, Wen Xian wanted to decisively select 'No,' but there was no such option. Reluctantly, he chose to accept. Immediately, intense music resonated in his head through bone conduction, completely silencing the outside world. The notebook no longer flipped through its pages, and a small search bar on his retina nearly drove Wen Xian mad! He blinked furiously to ensure he wasn't dreaming as he gazed at the "familiar yet unfamiliar" interface.
"This thing… it's too freaky," Wen Xian complained to himself. "How can there be a search engine in this?"
His changing facial expressions puzzled Ivy, who watched him with concern. When her attempts to add mental shocks didn't snap Wen Xian out of his daze, she reached for the floating notebook. Yet when she touched it, she felt no solid object. Instead, a strange suction pulled her in, and the next thing she knew, she was standing on a starry sky…
Wen Xian began using the search tool he was familiar with from his previous life. He started by looking up basic physics concepts, like the three laws of motion and simple electrical theories. To his amazement, detailed explanations popped up—far more comprehensive than anything from his past experience using TaoSong or WanDu. However, only the knowledge itself was presented—there were no mentions of the inventors or any historical context. Aside from a few symbols that seemed slightly different from what he had learned in middle school, everything else was the same.
Then he made a bold attempt and searched for a simple history question: "Who was the first chancellor of the Qin Dynasty?" As the classic loading circle appeared on the "interface," Wen Xian noticed it was taking much longer than his previous searches. While waiting, a bizarre thought crossed his mind: "What if it just gives me a 404?"
Suddenly, colors appeared on the screen, accompanied by black-and-white text and a 3D-modeled face. After reading through the search results, Wen Xian found that the description of Li Si was disturbingly detailed. The search even included Li Si's personal letters, perfectly replicated 1:1, and a 3D reconstruction of his true appearance, down to the tiniest mole. The page claimed this to be the most accurate data available, leaving Wen Xian astonished. Whoever created this knowledge base must have gone to extraordinary lengths. Even with his limited understanding of history, he found most of the content corroborated with known historical records, with physical artifacts providing additional evidence.
While browsing the entry on Li Si, Wen Xian tried to return to the previous page but was suddenly drawn to a pinned entry. "Li Si: Graduate of the Imperial Military Academy of the Star Spirit Empire, Class 4627. Appointed Lieutenant of a main transport ship in the Sen Solar System of the Lost Star Cluster in Star Year 53741. Promoted to Deputy Captain of the Colonial Transport Fleet Flagship in Star Year 53747…"
The long description outlined Li Si's detailed career, which seemed straight out of a space opera, full of starships traversing the cosmos. The dates and references to the "Star Spirit Council" were completely foreign to Wen Xian, making it seem as if he had stumbled into a futuristic sci-fi narrative. The "ships" mentioned were clearly not the kind that sailed the seas of his world but massive vessels traveling among the stars.
By this point, Wen Xian was convinced he was looking at some sci-fi movie or novel that had become wildly popular after he left. Judging by the sheer depth of the description, this "character" must have been beloved, warranting such a prominent entry. "Looking at this 'character's' life, it seems like a great story. The editor of this entry must be a huge fan to put in so much effort… wait, where's the rest?"
Just as Wen Xian was getting immersed, the introduction of Li Si abruptly stopped. After a turning point in his career, Li Si became a member of the Star Spirit Council, marking a shift from an imperial system to a parliamentary system. The vague descriptions hinted at monumental changes in the empire's history. Li Si's final recorded mission was a journey aboard a significant battleship, carrying something referred to as "the Seed." After this, the records went silent.
"Maybe they haven't finished writing it yet. But based on this character's depth, this must be a massive project. It'll make a 'good book,' for sure…"
…
In the conference room, only four people remained: Su Le, Qin Tai, Li Si, and Oranrich. Everyone else had rushed back to their posts after the five chimes of the battle clock.
The four of them had stayed because of the five chimes. "It wasn't a signal to connect to the Great Library," Li Si said, lowering the internal communicator.
"What was it, then? A unilateral message from the Great Library?" Qin Tai frowned.
"More shocking than that. Someone accessed the Great Library using a ground-level terminal with an administrator account."
"What did you say?" Two of the three seated people jumped to their feet. "Gentlemen, it seems our problems may no longer be just resource depletion or school faction wars. The 'kids' are done playing. The 'adults' are about to enter the arena," Li Si said as he lightly tipped his hat, even though it wasn't crooked.
"Let them come," Su Le said, sitting in his chair with his hands folded into a pyramid shape. "Oran, work hard on your 'Chessboard Plan.' We need to break free. Xiao Li, double-check the core and the computer performance. Run a simulation, and if the results are 'decent,' we'll wait and see whether we're dealing with 'big friends' or the 'big bad wolf.' Lao Qin, the five chimes need an explanation."
"Rest assured, I hold the authority to explain the chimes," Qin Tai said with a formal gesture before leaving the conference room with Oranrich.
"With our current reserves, I don't need a simulation to know the final outcome," Li Si said, looking at Su Le, hoping for some insight from the eldest scholar.
But Su Le only sighed and remained silent. Li Si collected his papers and left the conference room. Just before the door closed, he caught a glimpse of Su Le still sitting there, as if surrounded by an endless expanse of stars…