The power of technology was formidable.
Especially technology from an advanced civilization.
In just a few minutes, Chen Fan had "read" an entire bookshelf under Gao Yuan's horrified gaze.
Seeing Chen Fan step toward the next bookshelf, Gao Yuan finally could not sit still any longer.
"Hey, hey, hey, wait!"
He reached out and grabbed Chen Fan, then casually pulled a yellowed book from the shelf beside him.
"I need to ask you something."
"What was the standard procedure for a divine blessing?"
Chen Fan calmly glanced at the book in Gao Yuan's hand and answered with ease, "Believers went to the West Main Church to pray to the Goddess. Once the Goddess responded to their prayers, they could go to the South Main Church to undergo the blessing ceremony."
Gao Yuan froze for a moment. "That sounds pretty convincing, but this is basic common knowledge. It doesn't prove anything..."
Chen Fan cut him off directly:
"Detailed Explanation of the Divine Blessing Process, page 3, line 61. Pages 4 and 10 respectively describe the prayer attire requirements, the Prayer Ritual process, and the prayer text."
"The prayer attire requirements are on page 4, line 3. When believers prayed at the West Main Church, they were required to wear..."
Gao Yuan's expression stiffened. Then, half-believing and half-doubting, he lowered his head and flipped through the book in his hands to verify Chen Fan's words.
As the pages turned, the expression on Gao Yuan's face gradually froze.
"H-how is this possible?!"
Gao Yuan looked through the tome in his hands, then raised his head and scrutinized Chen Fan from head to toe.
Looking at the holographic teleprompter automatically displaying the book's contents before him, as well as Gao Yuan's expression as though he had seen a ghost, the corners of Chen Fan's mouth kept rising.
It was impossible to suppress. His grin was harder to hold back than an AK.
If he had possessed this Intelligent Terminal in his previous life, he did not dare imagine how happy he would have been!
Under Chen Fan's gaze, Gao Yuan stubbornly took another tome from the shelf. "Then... the God Chosen Ceremony..."
"'The God Chosen One,' page 2, line 1."
"The time and location of the God Chosen Ceremony shall follow divine will."
"At the beginning of each year in the Varrela Calendar, the Archbishop and bishops shall pray to the Goddess at the West Main Church and listen to her oracle, thereby determining the specific requirements of the God Chosen Ceremony."
"After the Goddess selects the God Chosen during the ceremony, the church shall devote all its efforts to instructing the God Chosen..."
Watching Chen Fan speak without pause as though he were reading directly from the tome, Gao Yuan felt his mind go numb.
"I told you, I was reading."
Chen Fan stared solemnly at the holographic teleprompter before him. "You should believe me now, right?"
Gao Yuan's lips trembled a few times, but he still could not believe Chen Fan.
"Y-you really read books with your hands?"
"Yeah. Is there a problem? Is there some rule saying hands can't read books?"
Gao Yuan: "?"
Gao Yuan returned to the desk in a daze, reaching out to continuously stroke the book before him.
The kid had practically been fooled stupid.
Watching the absurd scene before him, Chen Fan happily turned around and headed for the next bookshelf.
Chen Fan.
You really are a dog!
One's exasperated voice rang out in his mind.
Scanning and cataloging the books did not take very long.
In roughly two or three hours, Chen Fan had entered every book in the church library into One's database.
Chen Fan himself was quite satisfied with the speed.
But One held the exact opposite opinion.
Slow. Far too slow!
If I could unlock these damned visitor permissions, I would show you what quantum-speed reading was.
Give me one second, and I could scan every book in this library!
Hearing One complain in his mind, Chen Fan was somewhat surprised. You can't unlock the visitor permissions?
Surely not?
Isn't this Intelligent Terminal under your control?
One fell silent.
After a long while, the synthetic voice sounded again.
I cannot modify administrator permissions.
You may understand them as underlying code that restricts me.
Then who can change the administrator permissions?
The Human Federation Academy of Sciences.
More precisely, the Central Mainframe of the Human Federation Academy of Sciences.
Chen Fan nodded thoughtfully and temporarily set aside the idea of obtaining higher permissions. Has the analysis of the library's books been completed?
Was there anything unusual?
As Chen Fan questioned One in his mind, he casually walked over to Gao Yuan and lightly patted his shoulder. "Old Gao... Holy shit? What are you doing?!"
"Me?"
Gao Yuan looked up at Chen Fan with a baffled expression. "Can't you see that I'm reading?"
"Y-you read books like that?"
Watching Gao Yuan lovingly stroke the pages, Chen Fan felt a chill rise from the depths of his heart.
"Yeah, wasn't this what you taught me?"
Gao Yuan looked mysteriously at Chen Fan. "Chen Fan, I've found that your method is pretty useful."
Chen Fan: ?
What had he taught him?
"Reading with your hands!"
Gao Yuan gazed "lovingly" at the book before him. "I've found that stroking the pages while reading noticeably improves memory."
Chen Fan: ???
Are you sure you're reading a proper book?
"Y-you're happy, then that's all that matters."
Chen Fan shook his head, tossing the evil thoughts from his mind aside, then sat back down in his chair.
The analysis results were out.
I found a total of 37,968 descriptions related to that disaster.
Among them, 314 descriptions contained basic logical contradictions.
It can now be essentially confirmed that this history was extensively altered by human hands.
As soon as the voice fell, a holographic image appeared before Chen Fan once more.
Just as described in the Varrela Chronicle, every account of that disaster mentioned countless fireballs appearing in the sky.
Some accounts were relatively detailed. I can find them for you.
Year 1 of the Varrela Calendar.
Old Calendar, year 1800.
Countless fireballs hung high in the sky, radiating a dazzling brilliance comparable to the sun.
Disaster descended.
Gales tore apart the entire city, and everything standing in their path was shredded into countless fragments.
For a time, all life upon the earth suffered devastation.
But the disaster was far from over.
Even those who escaped the initial gales continued to die from a mysterious force invisible to the naked eye.
The skin of those fortunate enough to escape the storm looked as though it had been burned by fire, covered everywhere with blisters caused by scorching.
Festering sores, flesh separating from bone...
In just a few days, living beings died amid endless agony.
All living beings pleaded to the gods for help.
Then, the Goddess descended from the heavens aboard a Divine Carriage.
She extinguished the fireballs hanging high in the sky and waved her hand, bringing rain upon the earth to wash away the sins of all living beings.
The rain poured over their bodies, dispelling that invisible mysterious force.
The downpour continued for several days, and the foul, tainted surface of the earth was restored to its original state.
That same year, Varrela City was born upon the earth, becoming the last pure land upon the tainted world.
Before you continue