Late afternoon sunlight filtered through the tall trees on the northern side of the university campus.
Compared to the busy main area, this part of the campus was much quieter.
Older buildings stood here.
Most of them belonged to research departments or administrative offices that students rarely visited.
Li Wei walked along the narrow stone path, passing a small courtyard where several professors were talking quietly near a fountain.
The Restricted Archive Building stood at the far end of the path.
It wasn't large.
Three stories tall, built decades ago with gray stone walls and narrow windows.
A small metal sign beside the entrance read:
University Research Archive — Authorized Access Only
Li Wei slowed his steps slightly as he approached.
Students occasionally walked past the building, but very few entered.
He stopped a short distance away and spoke in his mind.
"System."
[ONLINE]
"Confirm node location."
A moment passed.
[CORE INFORMATION NODE DETECTED]
LOCATION: RESTRICTED ARCHIVE — SECOND FLOOR
Li Wei glanced toward the entrance door.
Locked with an electronic access panel.
Not surprising.
This building probably stored research papers, old academic records, and archived scientific materials.
Which meant a large amount of information.
Exactly the type of place the Archive System preferred.
Still…
Getting inside required a card.
Li Wei stood there quietly for a moment, thinking.
Then footsteps approached behind him.
A middle-aged man carrying a stack of folders walked toward the door.
He looked like a professor.
The man swiped his access card.
The door unlocked with a soft beep.
Li Wei stepped forward at the same time.
"Professor Zhao?"
The man turned slightly, confused.
"Yes?"
Li Wei nodded politely.
"I'm a computer science student. I was told to retrieve an old research paper from the archive for Professor Lin."
The man looked at him for a second.
Then shrugged.
"Just don't touch anything you shouldn't."
He held the door open.
"Thank you."
Li Wei entered calmly.
The interior smelled faintly of old paper.
Rows of filing cabinets and bookshelves filled the first floor.
A small reception desk stood near the entrance, but no one was sitting there.
Most likely the archive staff had already left for the day.
The professor continued walking toward a staircase without paying attention to Li Wei.
Li Wei waited a few seconds, then headed toward the stairs as well.
The second floor was even quieter.
Long rows of shelves filled with old journals, research documents, and thesis records stretched across the room.
Dust particles floated in the sunlight coming through the narrow windows.
Li Wei walked slowly between the shelves.
Then the system notification appeared.
[CORE INFORMATION NODE CONFIRMED]
[SIGN-IN AVAILABLE]
He looked around.
No one else was nearby.
"Sign in."
The familiar pause returned.
Then the system responded.
[SIGN-IN COMPLETE]
LOCATION: LINHAI UNIVERSITY RESEARCH ARCHIVE
A new message appeared immediately.
[REWARD GENERATED]
LOGICAL REASONING — LEVEL 1
Li Wei blinked.
This time the effect was strange.
His thoughts suddenly felt more… structured.
Like puzzle pieces automatically arranging themselves.
When he considered a problem, possible steps appeared naturally.
Cause and effect relationships became clearer.
It wasn't raw intelligence.
More like improved analysis.
He tested it quickly in his mind by recalling Chen Ming's robotics issue from earlier.
Almost immediately, several possible solutions appeared.
"…That's very useful," Li Wei murmured.
Then the next notification appeared.
[ARCHIVE NODE ACTIVITY REGISTERED]
[EXTERNAL RESPONSE DETECTED]
Li Wei sighed softly.
"Again."
At this point, it was basically routine.
Still…
He decided not to stay long.
He picked up a random journal from a shelf, flipped through it briefly, then placed it back.
After that, he headed downstairs.
Outside the archive building—
Two people stood across the courtyard pretending to examine a campus map.
Both wore casual clothes.
But small communication devices were hidden in their ears.
One of them spoke quietly.
"Signal spike confirmed."
The other nodded.
"Inside the archive building."
"Can you isolate the source?"
"Too many internal structures interfering."
The first agent looked toward the building entrance.
Students occasionally walked past.
Nothing unusual.
"Should we go inside?"
The second agent shook his head.
"Orders are observation only."
"Then we wait."
Inside the building—
Li Wei walked down the stairs and toward the exit.
Just another student leaving after retrieving some documents.
His expression remained calm.
As he pushed the door open—
He noticed the two people across the courtyard.
They looked normal.
But something about their posture felt… deliberate.
Li Wei's newly enhanced intuition quietly reacted.
Not danger.
Just attention.
He didn't look at them again.
Instead, he walked naturally along the campus path and blended into a group of students heading toward the dorm area.
Across the courtyard—
One of the agents frowned.
"Did you see that student?"
"Which one?"
"The one who just left."
"What about him?"
The first agent hesitated.
"…Nothing. Probably nothing."
But far beneath the city—
Inside the monitoring facility—
Another node had just been added to the map.
Five activations.
And the pattern was becoming impossible to ignore.
Back on campus—
Li Wei checked the system interface one more time.
[TOTAL CORE NODES ACTIVATED: 5]
SYSTEM ANALYSIS: NEW FUNCTION UNLOCKING SOON
Li Wei raised an eyebrow.
"New function?"
For the first time since obtaining the Archive System—
He felt a small sense of curiosity.
What exactly would unlock next?