Modern History of the Empire · Seeking Monthly Tickets · Recommendation Tickets

The bell of the tower chimed right on time.

Gallo finished the last sip of black tea in his cup and offered a professional smile to the customers waiting around him: "Everyone, we may begin."

His work proceeded methodically from there.

Gallo handled each request with high efficiency—finding books, analyzing content, or recommending titles within specific academic fields—his brain operating like a precision instrument.

In his consciousness, the image of Malcolm sitting alone in the distance occasionally flickered; the man appeared to be leisurely reading that novel, but through the Eye of Spirituality suspended above him, Gallo could clearly see that most of his attention was actually focused here, his gaze filled with scrutiny.

Finally, it was Malcolm's turn, and Gallo was curious to know what this man who had been monitoring him wanted.

Malcolm held a novel with a gaudy cover titled Mask of Moulin Street, walked over slowly, and sat down across from Gallo.

Gallo controlled his expression perfectly, acting as if a complete stranger were sitting across from him.

"I've waited quite a while; your business is booming." Malcolm pushed the book in his hand onto the table in front of Gallo.

"Analyze this book for me—I'm almost finished with it—and then recommend another one with a similar style!" Malcolm's tone was flat, devoid of any discernible emotion.

Gallo picked up the book and flipped through it quickly.

It was a typical urban novel tinged with sensuality and conspiracy, telling the story of a young man from the lower class who used various schemes to maneuver among the noblewomen of high society, eventually becoming embroiled in the power struggles of various factions.

For Gallo, who possessed Learning Lv3 and Memory Lv2, understanding the content was effortless, though Malcolm was the first person to ever ask him to analyze a novel.

A few minutes later, he closed the book and said clearly: "Sir, the core of this book lies in depicting the struggle and disillusionment of an individual attempting to achieve class mobility through unconventional means against a backdrop of social stratification.

The protagonist of this book uses emotion as a tool, only to be consumed by his own desires and conspiracies in the end.

Just like the protagonist's ultimate fate, he wears so many masks that he no longer knows his true identity, eventually ending up as a patient in an asylum.

The book provides a profound portrayal of the hypocrisy of the upper class and the powerlessness of those at the bottom; it can be considered... a decent piece of light reading."

Malcolm tapped his fingers lightly on the table, noncommittal, and asked instead: "Then recommend a similar book, something to kill time."

Gallo thought for a moment and recited the name of a bookstore and a shelf location: "Aofan Bookstore, on the left side of the third shelf, there is a copy of The Nightingale and the Rose. The style is similar, but the ending is better than this one."

"Very well." Malcolm nodded, pulled two one-Copper Nil banknotes from his wallet, and placed them on the table.

"The fee for the analysis and the book recommendation."

"That comes to one Copper Nil and two Fenso," Gallo said calmly, then counted out three one-Fenso coins from his pocket and pushed them toward the other man as change.

Among them was the Divination Coin, which appeared pitch-black and greasy to Gallo, entwined with faint, tentacle-like spiritual fluctuations.

The moment he pushed the coins across, Gallo's enhanced Inspiration stirred slightly; leaving this coin in Malcolm's possession seemed as though it would lead to a situation favorable to Gallo in the future.

Malcolm clearly didn't pay any mind to this "ordinary" change; he casually collected all three coins, picked up his book, and stood up to leave without saying another word.

Gallo watched his retreating back and continued with his work.

When it reached the lunch break, Gallo was just about to enjoy the buttered bread he had brought when he saw Stur walking over carrying something.

"Gallo! Look what I brought you!" Stur proudly stood a black wooden board, about a meter high and half a meter wide, next to Gallo's table.

The surface of the board was polished quite smooth, and Gallo's Knowledge Navigation service items and prices were clearly written on it in white paint. The font was neat and eye-catching, and the edges were even outlined with simple decorative patterns.

Compared to the crude cardboard sign from before, this GG Sign looked far more professional.

"I made this for you last night in the department's industrial operation workshop." Stur patted the board, wearing an expression that practically begged for praise.

"How about it? Much more impressive than that cardboard, right?"

Gallo was genuinely surprised; he smiled and thanked Stur: "Thank you, Stur, this is indeed much better."

Gallo stood the GG Sign his friend had made against the side of his table, then folded up the original cardboard sign and stuffed it directly into the trash can at the corner of the desk.

He invited Stur to sit down, then split his buttered white bread in half to share with him, and the two chatted while eating their simple lunch.

"I was actually a bit worried that you would be feeling down last night... I didn't expect your spirits to be this high." Gallo tore off a small piece of buttered bread, put it in his mouth, and spoke while chewing.

"Me? Why?"

"Sacia Taylor. I thought you might still be pining for her." Gallo's words brought a blush to Stur's face, but he immediately replied boldly: "I was being too naive yesterday. Twenty years ago, she wouldn't have even glanced at me, let alone spoken to me of her own accord.

After all, she is from the Taylor Family. Twenty years ago, they were high nobles with immense power, while I was just a destitute commoner."

Gallo frowned. He had read quite a few books on history, but most were about the history of the Northern Continent and Southern Continent, as well as maritime and trade history. The number of modern history books was very small, especially those concerning the modern history of the Iron Glory Empire.

However, he did know that the founding of the Iron Glory Empire began twenty years ago with the "Iron Moon Coup" launched by General Renard. In one fell swoop, he overthrew the royal family of the then "Faruon Kingdom," militarily suppressed the royalists and various nobles, transformed the Faruon Kingdom into the Faruon Republic, established a government, and served as the first Supreme Chancellor of the government.

In the two years that followed, he launched massive campaigns against neighboring countries, occupying much of their territory and more than doubling the land area of the Faruon Republic compared to the kingdom era.

He also reached into the colonies of other Northern Continent neighbors in the Southern Continent, giving the Republic significantly more colonies in the Southern Continent than it had during the kingdom era.

In the third year of Renard's rule, he changed the country's republican system into an imperial dictatorship, establishing the "Iron Glory Empire," which possessed a land area more than double what it had been before!