The late afternoon sun stretched long shadows across Ronghe City.
Li Wei walked calmly along the sidewalk after leaving the museum.
People passed by normally.
A delivery truck stopped near a store.
Two students rode bicycles down the street.
Everything looked ordinary.
But inside his mind, the system interface still displayed the latest update.
[TOTAL CORE NODES ACTIVATED: 9]
NEXT SYSTEM UPGRADE AT: 10 NODES
"One more," Li Wei murmured quietly.
The next upgrade might unlock something important.
He opened the Archive Map again.
Several small markers glowed across Ronghe City.
But one stood out.
Ronghe Cultural Records Center
Distance: 1.9 km.
Li Wei considered it.
He still had time before dinner.
But he didn't move immediately.
For the first time since receiving the system…
He felt a faint sense of caution.
Something during the museum visit had felt slightly unusual.
The woman he passed in the hallway.
Her expression had been calm, but her eyes were observant.
Almost too observant.
Li Wei closed the map.
"There's no rush."
He decided to walk home instead.
Meanwhile—
Inside the Ronghe Industrial History Museum, Su Yan stood near the archive shelves.
Her tablet displayed Li Wei's photo from the campus camera footage.
The resemblance was clear.
The same student she had been tracking in Linhai.
And the same person she had just seen walking out of the archive hallway minutes ago.
Su Yan frowned slightly.
The timing was too perfect.
She stepped outside the museum and looked around the street.
But Li Wei was already gone.
Still…
Her instincts were rarely wrong.
She spoke quietly into her earpiece.
"Send me the subject's full background again."
A moment later, the information appeared on her tablet.
Name: Li Wei
Age: 20
University: Linhai University
Major: Computer Science
Family: Parents and one younger sister in Ronghe City
Everything looked completely ordinary.
Which made the situation even stranger.
If Li Wei really was activating the nodes…
Then he had been doing it with remarkable precision.
Back in the monitoring facility in Linhai—
A technician looked up at the incoming data.
"Another activation detected."
The director stepped closer.
"Where?"
"Ronghe Industrial History Museum."
The director nodded slowly.
"That's nine."
"Yes, sir."
The technician hesitated.
"If the pattern continues…"
"The tenth activation will trigger another system change," the director finished.
He looked at the map.
"Su Yan is already there."
In Ronghe City—
Li Wei returned to the familiar neighborhood streets near his home.
Children played basketball on a small outdoor court.
A grocery store owner waved as he passed.
He stepped inside the workshop where Li Jian was still working.
"Back already?" Li Jian asked.
"Just went for a walk."
Li Jian tightened another bolt and stood up.
"Good timing. I need help moving this."
They lifted a heavy gearbox together and placed it onto a workbench.
Li Jian glanced at him briefly.
"You seem distracted."
Li Wei paused.
"Just thinking."
"About studies?"
"Something like that."
Li Jian nodded.
"Thinking is good."
That was the end of the conversation.
Later that evening, the family gathered for dinner again.
Li Lan served hot soup while Li Yue complained about another difficult practice exam.
"My teacher said the real exam might be even harder," she groaned.
"You'll manage," Li Wei said.
"You always say that."
"Because it's usually true."
Li Yue rolled her eyes.
"Easy for a university student to say."
Li Jian quietly ate while listening to the conversation.
Despite the simple setting, the dinner table felt warm and peaceful.
For a while, Li Wei forgot about the system and the strange network of nodes across the cities.
But far away—
Inside a small hotel room in Ronghe City—
Su Yan studied the data on her laptop.
She replayed the museum security footage.
Li Wei entering the building.
Li Wei leaving shortly after the signal spike.
The pattern matched too closely to ignore.
She leaned back in her chair.
"Li Wei…"
If he really was the mysterious activator…
Then there was one thing she knew for certain.
He still needed one more node.
And when he activated it—
She intended to be there.
Back at the Li family house—
Night settled quietly over the neighborhood.
Li Wei stood outside near the workshop for a moment before going to sleep.
He opened the system map one more time.
The nearby marker still blinked softly.
Ronghe Cultural Records Center
Distance: 1.9 km.
The final node.
Li Wei closed the interface.
"Tomorrow."
In another part of the city—
Su Yan looked at the same location on her tablet.
The Cultural Records Center.
A small archive building.
Exactly the type of place the activator would visit.
She set an alarm for early morning.
"Let's see if my guess is right."
Both of them were now moving toward the same destination.
Neither one fully aware how important the next encounter would become.