Myriad Machine

Fortunately, the other party mentioned borrowing books at the beginning. Chaoyang coughed twice and replied tentatively, "I want to borrow a few books."

"A deposit of one hundred Ceriel, with a refund for the difference."

So expensive! Hearing the old man's reply, he couldn't help but be surprised. Before, Judy had spared no expense to find Dane's whereabouts, and the reward she could offer was only five hundred silver coins.

At this price, how many residents could afford to borrow books?

"Do I have to pay first? What if the book I want isn't here?" Chaoyang questioned.

"If you can't borrow it here, you won't be able to borrow it anywhere in the world." The old man's smile remained warm.

Such a bold claim?

Chaoyang doubted if he had heard correctly. Based on his shallow understanding of Glorious Fortress, this place was not some great city. The continent was divided into new and old, with the Old Continent being the core of this world. Based on past experience, libraries were advanced functional buildings that appeared only after basic needs were met. Therefore, the wealthier the core city, the more likely it was to have a large library.

This immediately piqued his curiosity.

"Here's one hundred." Chaoyang counted out the equivalent silver coins and placed them on the counter.

The old man smiled even more kindly. After taking the coins, he took out a sect key and said, "Then please follow me."

Chaoyang followed him through a long corridor into a large hall. There were still no bookshelves or books in sight. Instead, the walls were lined with rows of neat doors.

The doors were marked with numbers resembling room numbers.

Hey, this is more like a hotel!

The other party stopped in front of room 1024 and inserted the key into the lock. "We're here."

Chaoyang walked into the room, puzzled. The room was less than ten square meters and contained only a desk and two chairs. The window opposite was a flat pane of glass that seemed impossible to open, yet it emitted a soft light, the source of which he couldn't tell.

Naturally, there were no books in the room either.

But his gaze was drawn to something else—a massive machine that occupied almost half the room's space. The main body of the machine hung down from the ceiling like a series of vertebrae, resembling a giraffe. At the head of the "giraffe" was an extremely complex metal octahedron. Through the oil-stained outer casing, he could vaguely see countless meshing gears rotating slowly within.

"It seems this is your first time visiting Glaic Academy," the old man said, clearly noticing Chaoyang's surprise. "Would you like me to explain how to use the Myriad Machine?"

Chaoyang nodded involuntarily. "Please... tell me."

"You can directly tell it what book you wish to borrow. If the academy has it, the conveyor belt on your left will start moving. If not, it will query the main unit. There are two possibilities: one, the main unit has it, in which case the typewriter on your right will automatically operate, and you will have to wait for the book to be printed. Second, the main unit does not have it either, in which case it will give a negative response, meaning it will sway from side to side."

Voice... voice interaction? Chaoyang was truly shocked this time!

"However, please note that the fees differ depending on the outcome," the old man continued. "If the academy has the book, we only charge ten silver for wear and tear. If the academy doesn't have it, inquiring with the main unit will incur a sixty silver service fee, and printing will cost an additional forty silver for labor and materials."

Good heavens... it actually sounds reasonable.

"Sir, do you have any other questions?"

Yes, and many! However, Chaoyang considered that asking too many questions might arouse suspicion, so he picked the one he cared about most. "This Myriad..."

"Myriad Machine."

"What is the main unit of this Myriad Machine?"

"It's also a Myriad Machine, of course," the other party replied with a smile. "The machine in front of you is, strictly speaking, a part of the Myriad Machine, just like Glaic Academy. Any city that has an academy has a Myriad Machine. If you wish to know more, you might as well ask it yourself."

Right, he almost forgot this was a library. If Myriad Machines were so common, he should be able to find relevant books directly.

"If you require any other services, you can press the bell on the table, and someone will come to you shortly. Now, please take your time reading." The old man bowed elegantly, placing his hand over his chest, then turned and left the room.

It was time to test it.

Chaoyang spoke to the head of the machine in a flat tone, "I want to borrow the Glorious Fortress Travel Guide."

The machine started to move.

Its vertebrae began to extend and retract rhythmically. Chaoyang could even hear the low grinding of its joints and the hissing sound of steam escaping from the pipes.

This thing could actually react to his voice!

And it was a steam-powered machine!

How was this theoretically possible?

Soon, the Myriad Machine swayed from side to side twice. According to the receptionist's explanation, this meant it had not found the corresponding book.

How could that be... Chaoyang was somewhat surprised. Had tourism not yet become popular in this world? Or should he try a different approach?

"I want a book that introduces Glorious Fortress."

This time, the conveyor belt on the left started moving quickly.

A moment later, a yellowed book fell out of the conveyor port. Chaoyang picked it up and saw that the cover read History of Glorious Fortress.

"This is... too amazing..."

He couldn't help but murmur.

This was a fuzzy search! The Myriad Machine not only understood his query through sound but also selected such a book based on his semantics and needs! Even though Chaoyang's knowledge of artificial intelligence was superficial, it didn't prevent him from being utterly astonished by the technology involved!

Of course, since the Myriad Machine couldn't display a list or reply to borrowers verbally, its efficiency in finding books had huge flaws. However, compared to its magical aspects, these shortcomings seemed insignificant.

"I want to borrow a book about the Myriad Machine, or promotional material related to it." Chaoyang spoke again.

This time, the machine's vibrations lasted longer than before.

After about two minutes, the typewriter on the right suddenly started up and began to produce a book.

This made Chaoyang realize that none of the previous clients who came to borrow books had ever asked that question.

Damn it, weren't they curious about the Myriad Machine at all?

Would the question he asked arouse suspicion from the receptionist...

Fortunately, he was using a new appearance for this outing, which ensured no one could connect him to the Detective. Chaoyang weighed the pros and cons and ultimately decided to wait for the book to be printed.

After all, he was so eager to know how the Myriad Machine was manufactured.

This printing took almost half an hour.

When the brand-new "Glaic Academy Records" (Fifth Edition) was in his hands, Chaoyang felt a sense of solemnity.

He opened the first page, and a familiar sentence caught his eye.

"If you have anything you wish to inquire about, you can find the answer at Glaic Academy."

"It is the center of the world."

Chaoyang immediately choked on his own spit and started coughing.

Well, so that's what Judy was talking about – it was the academy's slogan!