Light Barrier Novel Chapter 40

Light Barrier - Chapter 40: Lost Books

The library was silent.

Rows upon rows of bookshelves ford a dazzling sea of knowledge under the interlaced sunlight.

On a table lay a thick book titled ‘Research on the Logic of Electronic Physics Constants’. It was open halfway, with a monocle placed on the pages, its chain pressing down to act as a bookmark.

A gray suit jacket was draped over the chair in front of the book.

The owner of the jacket was standing in front of a huge bookshelf, bathing in the tranquil sunlight.

Deep Sea connected the entire world, sharing data and information.

Nowadays, hardly anyone ca to paper reading rooms.

Cui Zhongcheng took away two books from the bookshelf.

He paused for a mont.

After he took the books, a pair of mischievous eyes with a hidden smile appeared in the empty space on the bookshelf. “It is said that the University of Oto’s library has one million, five hundred thousand books. If you read one book every day, it will take four thousand years to finish them all. And it only took three seconds for Deep Sea to input the library.”

On the other side of the bookshelf, the old man’s voice was extrely low, as though he were talking to himself. “How ironic. Humans have worked hard to develop culture for thousands of years, and a machine only needs a few seconds to digest it all.”

At this point, he looked up and asked with a smile, “Not many people co to places like libraries anymore. To maintain order and give humanity the last bit of dignity, AI is only responsible for recording, not guiding… In such a place, it shouldn’t be easy to find a book you want, right?”

“Mr. Zhou, you must not read books often,” Cui Zhongcheng remarked softly. “Every book is well categorized. You only need to follow the catalog to find books.”

“Ah, I see. I don’t read often.” Zhou Jiren smiled apologetically. “But in this era, having Deep Sea is enough. Apart from stubborn people clinging to the afterglow of the past, who would co to such a place to read paper books? Don’t you think so, Mr. Cui?”

Cui Zhongcheng glanced at his watch. He asked calmly, “Do you have sothing to discuss with ?”

“It’s nothing serious.” Mr. Tree smiled sincerely. “Gu Shen’s assessnt has begun. As his guide, I had nothing to do and nowhere to go, so I wanted to look around the campus. Coincidentally, I t you here.”

The two of them were very respectful to each other.

“This is my alma mater. I haven’t been back for a long ti, so I ca back to take a look,” Cui Zhongcheng said. “A long ti ago, it was quiet here too. But it’s different from the quiet now.”

“That must have been twenty years ago, right? Back then, Deep Sea hadn’t connected the Five Continents yet, and technology wasn’t as advanced.” Mr. Tree didn’t hide his sarcasm and smiled. “We’re becoming stronger and stronger. This is a good thing. In terms of the developnt of the East Continent in recent years. Parliant mber Zhao has contributed greatly. He has made most of Dadu a city full of radiance like Changye.”

Cui Zhongcheng frowned.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect him to agree to issue a pardon order for an unknown teenager.” Mr. Tree chuckled. “Originally, I thought I would have to use my connections for this. It wouldn’t have mattered if he didn’t agree. At that ti, I would have gone to ask a big shot in Changye.”

“Isn’t it good that he agreed?” Cui Zhongcheng sighed. “It would have been embarrassing to go to Changye to ask for help. Seeking help from afar can’t quench your thirst. Whether or not you can get it is another matter.”

“At my age, what do I care about my face?” Zhou Jiren’s smile gradually faded as he stared at the other party. “Since he agreed to the pardon, why did he send such an assessnt team? This is soone I’m willing to protect even if I don’t have any face. Let

make it clear upfront. No matter what the assessnt result is, I will ensure Gu Shen’s safety.”

Cui Zhongcheng rubbed a page with his fingers. “Don’t you understand yet?”

He looked at the old man and said seriously, “It’s precisely because he saw your standpoint… that Elder Zhao made such a decisive decision to issue the pardon order and dispatch the assessnt team…”

“The last person you were so resolute to take away was Nan Jin from the Dadu District, right? Compared to her, Gu Shen is just a poor child with no parents and an ordinary background,” Mr. Cui said softly. “Elder Zhao believed in your judgnt, so he imdiately issued the pardon order. At the sa ti, he wants to see who this child nad Gu Shen really is. So he dispatched this assessnt team.”

He showed a humble and gentle smile. “I think… you can understand Elder Zhao’s intentions, right?

“Now, everyone in the Parliant is having a headache over the dispute about the Awakening Act. At this point, everyone seems to be unable to accept the cost of their failure… This tug-of-war is reaching its climax, and the outco is about to be decided.

“At this mont, even the slightest deviation can lead to significant mutations.” Cui Zhongcheng stretched out two fingers and slowly rubbed them. “A butterfly flapping its wings far away in the West Continent could potentially trigger a storm in Dadu.

“Perhaps this butterfly is not in the West Continent but in the Central Continent or the North Fortress…” Mr. Cui paused and said solemnly, “But no matter what, Dadu can’t withstand a bigger storm.”

Zhou Jiren’s expression was grave, and he didn’t say anything else.

He simply stared silently at Cui Zhongcheng across the bookshelf. Under the sunlight, his body should have the brilliance of noon, but for so reason, it seed to be veiled in a faint layer of gloom.

“By the way, the proposals to issue the pardon order and dispatch the assessnt team… were both made by ,” Cui Zhongcheng said. “Elder Zhao agreed imdiately, so this trip to Oto… also has .”

He stared at Zhou Jiren. “… I have nothing more to say.”

The old man was still solemn as he said calmly, “Even without you, Mr. Cui, there would be others. As long as there’s a pardon order, there will be an assessnt team. I understand this logic.”

Cui Zhongcheng nodded.

He no longer paid attention to Zhou Jiren but walked back in the direction he ca from with books in his arms. The sunlight had shifted its angle, and the original seat was no longer bathed in light but instead subrged in a slightly darker shade.

He took two steps.

“There’s one more thing…” Mr. Tree spoke again and stopped Cui Zhongcheng.

“Hmm?” He frowned and tilted his head slightly, making his face partially obscured by the books.

“It’s about our conversation just now.” Mr. Tree’s voice was soft and slow. “The thod you ntioned about following the catalog is indeed simple and efficient. But so books… are severely damaged, or perhaps because the titles are missing or for other reasons, AI hasn’t recorded them into its database. Is there a way to find such books?”

“…” Cui Zhongcheng remained silent for a long ti, seemingly lost in thought.

“We can only rely on luck,” Mr. Cui said. “You have to believe that as long as the book still exists, you will be able to find it one day.”