Morning arrived quietly in Ronghe City.
Li Wei woke early.
The house was still calm, with only the faint sounds of his mother preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
The familiar scent of steamed buns and soy milk drifted through the house.
He stepped out of his room.
"Up already?" his mother asked.
"Train leaves in a few hours," Li Wei replied.
His father, Li Jian, was already sitting at the table reading a newspaper.
"Back to Linhai today?"
Li Wei nodded.
"Classes start again tomorrow."
Li Jian folded the newspaper and looked at him.
"Good. Study properly. Don't get distracted by nonsense."
Li Wei smiled faintly.
"I'll try."
His younger sister Li Yue rolled her eyes.
"You always say that like studying is some kind of casual hobby."
Li Wei shrugged.
"It kind of is."
Li Yue stared at him.
"You're strange."
After breakfast, Li Wei packed his bag.
Nothing unusual.
Clothes, laptop, a few books.
To anyone watching, it looked like a normal student returning to university.
Before leaving, Li Jian handed him a small envelope.
Li Wei paused.
"What's this?"
"Emergency money," Li Jian said simply.
"You don't need to—"
"Take it."
Li Wei accepted it.
"Thanks."
Li Jian nodded once.
Outside, the streets of Ronghe were beginning to grow busy.
Small shops were opening.
Motorbikes buzzed through the narrow streets.
Li Wei walked toward the bus station with calm steps.
Inside his mind, the Archive Map flickered softly.
Ronghe's node remained active.
And several distant nodes were now visible.
Linhai.
Haicheng.
Yong'an.
Large cities with universities and research archives.
The system clearly favored places rich in knowledge.
Which meant—
Returning to Linhai would likely lead to more opportunities.
Two hours later—
The high-speed train glided smoothly into Linhai Station.
Passengers flowed out in a steady stream.
Li Wei stepped onto the platform and looked around.
Tall buildings rose in the distance.
Compared to Ronghe, Linhai felt far more energetic.
Students rushed through the station.
Business travelers checked their phones.
Vendors shouted promotions near the exit.
City life.
Fast.
Constant.
At the university dormitory—
Li Wei pushed open the door.
Inside, three of his roommates were already there.
Zhang Hao immediately looked up from his phone.
"Li Wei!"
"You're back already?"
Chen Ming leaned over from the upper bunk.
"Did you bring snacks from home?"
Li Wei placed his bag down.
"You two are predictable."
"Is that a yes?"
Li Wei pulled a small bag from his backpack and tossed it toward them.
Local pastries from Ronghe.
Zhang Hao caught the bag.
"You are officially the best roommate."
Chen Ming opened it immediately.
"Excellent quality."
Another roommate, Liu Kang, looked over from his desk.
"Vacation over. Reality returns tomorrow."
Zhang Hao groaned dramatically.
"Don't remind me."
That evening—
The four of them walked to a small restaurant outside campus.
Hot noodles and fried rice filled the table.
"Final exams are coming soon," Liu Kang said.
"We should actually study this semester."
Zhang Hao laughed.
"You say that every semester."
"This time I'm serious."
Chen Ming pointed his chopsticks at Li Wei.
"Ask the genius over there."
"Li Wei studies like a machine."
Li Wei calmly ate his noodles.
"Machines break."
Zhang Hao shook his head.
"Not you."
After dinner, Li Wei walked alone across the quiet campus.
The university library stood in the distance.
Tall.
Silent.
Filled with knowledge.
He stopped for a moment.
Inside his mind, the Archive Map pulsed faintly.
The Linhai node glowed brighter than before.
Now that he had returned—
The system clearly expected something.
Perhaps another activation.
Or perhaps something else.
Li Wei looked toward the library entrance.
Students were still going in and out.
Normal activity.
Nothing unusual.
Yet the system signal was stronger than ever.
He turned away.
"Tomorrow."
There was no need to rush.
Far across the city—
Inside a temporary research office—
Su Yan stood before a digital map.
Several glowing markers were displayed.
Ronghe.
Linhai.
And the activated nodes.
A technician looked at the data.
"Signal activity stabilized after the Ronghe activation."
Su Yan asked calmly.
"Subject location?"
"Back in Linhai."
She nodded.
Exactly as expected.
The director's voice came through the speaker.
"Continue observation."
"No direct contact."
"Understood," Su Yan replied.
But she looked at the Linhai marker thoughtfully.
Because the next node…
Was located inside Linhai University's historical archive building.
And if Li Wei truly was the one activating nodes—
Then their paths would cross again very soon.
Back on campus—
Li Wei returned to the dormitory.
His roommates were already arguing about a video game.
He sat at his desk quietly.
The system interface appeared again.
NEXT SIGN-IN LOCATION DETECTED
Location:
Linhai University — Historical Archive Wing
Availability:
Tomorrow
Li Wei closed the interface.
Outside the dorm window, the campus lights glowed softly in the night.
Tomorrow would be interesting.
Very interesting.