It was standard wear for Mountain City researchers, designed for comfort while offering some protection.
She strode out of the main control room, passed through a brightly lit corridor lined with instruments and cultivation pods, and took a dedicated elevator up.
The elevator doors opened onto the institute's living and administrative area. It felt more lived-in than the underground laboratory, though it was just as clean and efficient. When the elevator stopped, she headed straight for the Civilization Archives and Document Organization Center in the west wing.
The corridors here were much quieter, and the lighting was softer.
A faint smell of old paper and disinfectant hung in the air.
Older researchers in plain clothes occasionally passed by, carrying folders or cups of tea. They cast surprised, curious glances at Lin Zhiwei as she hurried past, her expression stern.
Lin Zhiwei was one of the central figures in Mountain City's research system, and a favorite of Long Aoshuang. It was rare to see her here.
But Lin Zhiwei ignored their looks. Recalling the floor plan she had seen earlier, she came to a half-open door with a sign on it.
Ancient History and Mythology Research Office (Xia Country Division).
She knocked, then pushed the door open.
The room was small, around sixty square meters.
Bookshelves reaching the ceiling lined the walls, crammed with thread-bound books, hardcover classics, and neatly organized archive boxes.
Several large tables had been pushed together in the center of the room. Padded mats covered them, scattered with yellowed papers, damaged scrolls, and restoration tools such as magnifying glasses, tweezers, and gloves.
A woman in a faded pale-blue shirt sat bent over a table. Her hair was graying, and she wore glasses. With an extremely fine brush, she was carefully tracing something on a fragment of tortoise