Chapter 11

The librarian scratched his head awkwardly and said nothing.

That equipment used the most advanced dust-removal technology available internationally. One machine probably cost several hundred thousand. Working in a quiet backwater like a library, even if he spent his whole life as director, he probably would not make that much money. So, as soon as the previous mayor had been transferred away, the people above the library had discussed selling the machine. Important archive rooms like this usually had no visitors anyway, and those who did enter were mostly acquaintances. They cared more about whether the materials were safe than about the environment, so they were not worried about anything happening.

Having spent half his life among the upper circles, Zhang Xianyang immediately caught the librarian's unspoken meaning. He clicked his tongue disdainfully and did not pursue the matter further. He merely waved the man away. "Go out first. I'll leave on my own after I'm done reading."

The librarian said awkwardly, "Well..."

"If he tells you to leave, then leave. What are you dawdling for?" Li Zhuang, the bodyguard who had long disliked the librarian, stepped forward and shoved him. He said viciously, "If you don't leave now, be careful you might not get to leave ever again."

"Li Zhuang." Zhang Xianyang raised his voice slightly to stop the threat. Smiling at the pale, nervous librarian, he said, "Don't worry. There are surveillance cameras in this archive room, right? I'm just looking for some materials. Once I find them, I'll leave immediately."

The librarian could only nod. "Then I'll head downstairs first."

Zhang Xianyang said to the driver and the two bodyguards, "You go wait outside too."

Zhang Han and Li Zhuang nodded and filed out.

Once Zhang Xianyang was alone in the archive room, he looked up at the surveillance cameras in the four corners. He pulled out a file and pretended to flip through it as he asked the Brain AI in his mind, "Can you scan all the materials in this archive room? I shouldn't have to read them one by one, right?"

The Brain AI scoffed disdainfully. "Nonsense. What do you take me for? I'm the finest Intelligent Optical Brain in the Seth Star Domain. Do you think a scan this low-tech could stump me?"

Zhang Xianyang ignored the Brain AI's boasting and asked bluntly, "So you can scan them?"

"Of course... I can't!" The Brain AI in Zhang Xianyang's head said through gritted teeth, "How many times have I told you? In order to save you, I exhausted all the bioelectric energy stored in the Photon Brain. The fact that I can still say a few words in your head without crashing is already pretty impressive. If you want me to keep using my energy, hurry up and improve your physical condition. Then I can draw on your own energy to do things. You weak chicken!"

After being chewed out from head to toe, Zhang Xianyang rubbed his nose. Resigned, he moved a stack of files before him and began reading them page by page. At the same time, he told the Brain AI, which was still bristling in his head, "Remember to save the information, then organize it. I believe Dad will need it in the future."

The Brain AI snorted and said nothing, but it obediently began recording everything.

Zhang Xianyang sat cross-legged on the floor and read for nearly three hours. It was not until Zhang Han, who had been waiting outside, could no longer stand it and knocked before coming in to wake him. "Third Young Master, it's already five-thirty. If you don't go home soon, the boss will skin us alive."

Interrupted in the middle of his work, Zhang Xianyang rubbed his sore neck from keeping his head lowered for so long. Looking at the sky outside, already half-dark, he suddenly realized, "I read this late without even noticing."

As he spoke, he put down the file and rose to his feet. However, sitting cross-legged for so long had seriously impeded his circulation. He had not felt it while sitting, but the moment he tried to stand, his numb, senseless legs went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees.

Zhang Han quickly grabbed Zhang Xianyang by the arm and asked with concern, "Third Young Master, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. My legs are just numb." Zhang Xianyang waved him off and cautiously took a few steps in place. Then he crouched down and returned the files he had read to their original spots, even carefully leaving a marker before smiling. "I'll come back tomorrow and keep reading."

Zhang Han and Li Zhuang exchanged glances, unable to understand when Zhang Xianyang, who had never liked studying, had become so diligent.

As Zhang Xianyang left the archive room, he casually locked the door. Only when he went downstairs did he discover that nearly everyone in the library had already left. The once brightly lit building had only motion-sensor lights glowing in the halls and stairwells, and even the elevators had been locked. Their hollow footsteps echoed through the library, creating an eerie, tranquil atmosphere that easily brought to mind the ghost stories they had heard as children.

Zhang Xianyang led his two bodyguards all the way to the first floor and found that the librarian was no longer at the counter. The lights in the reading area and multimedia classroom were still on, however. Several uniformed staff members moved between rows of large bookshelves, returning books and magazines that readers had pulled out but failed to put back. Cleaners were also dragging mops as they tidied up. Zhang Xianyang knew the library closed at six, and his family ate dinner at six as well. He had to get home before six, or his father would be angry.

Thinking of that, Zhang Xianyang moved faster and faster. Once in the car, he did not forget to remind Zhang Han, "We have to get home before six."

Zhang Han answered, "Got it," then immediately started the car and sped home like an arrow. Who knew how far over the speed limit they went or how many red lights they ran? In any case, at five fifty-five in the evening, the car entered the Zhang Residence in the Old District on time. Zhang Xianyang stumbled out of the car and rushed toward the living room. The instant he pushed open the villa doors with both hands, the grandfather clock in the living room began to chime.

Zhang Xianyang poked his head into the living room and immediately saw Zhang Linmo sitting expressionlessly on the large sofa with his arms folded across his chest; his eldest and second brothers sitting properly on the sofa opposite him and making faces at him; as well as his second uncle and eldest cousin, both seated elegantly on the sofa, refined and gentle as jade, radiating endless grace. With a guilty chuckle, he waved his left hand and greeted them, "Hi, good evening, everyone."

Author's note: (:3"∠)

This person is dead. If you need anything, burn paper offerings. For small matters, summon the soul. For major matters, dig up the grave qaq.

Zhang Linmo raised an eyebrow as he looked at the sweating Zhang Xianyang. "You have ten minutes."

Zhang Xianyang chuckled and darted upstairs to his bedroom without his feet seeming to touch the ground. He used five minutes to take a cold shower and change into clean clothes, then hurried downstairs to the dining room with water droplets still clinging to his hair. Sister Li had just set the table and was carrying an empty tea tray toward the kitchen. When she spotted the flustered Zhang Xianyang, she reached out and touched his dripping hair, smiling indulgently. "Master specifically instructed us not to serve the meal until Third Young Master came through the door."

After a pause, she leaned closer and whispered, "Don't worry. Master loves you too much to be angry over something this small."

Zhang Linmo snorted from the dining table behind them, interrupting Sister Li awkwardly. He asked in a low voice, "Since when did the Old Zhang Family have a rule that two people talking in the living room have to whisper to each other?"

Sister Li tugged at the corner of her mouth at Zhang Xianyang, then immediately turned back and bowed with a smile. "Yes, Master."

Zhang Xianyang hunched over and quietly walked to his seat. Zhang Muyang looked at his wet hair and frowned in obvious displeasure.

His second uncle, Zhang Tumo, who was seated opposite him, spoke up. "Yangyang, why did you come downstairs without drying your hair? Be careful not to get a headache when you sleep tonight."

Zhang Linmo snorted in agreement. "You're always so careless. I wonder who you take after."

As they spoke, Sister Li entered the dining room carrying a round, silver-white tea tray edged in gold paint. On it lay a neatly folded white towel. Sister Li stopped beside Zhang Xianyang and smiled. "I thought Third Young Master might need this."

Zhang Xianyang turned and thanked Sister Li. He picked up the towel, left his seat, and stood two meters away to roughly wipe his hair twice before preparing to return to eat. Zhang Muyang, seated nearby, could not stand Zhang Xianyang's perfunctory manner. He got up, walked over, and pressed the towel directly onto Zhang Xianyang's head. He carefully dried it for several minutes until his hair was half dry, then put the damp towel back onto the tray. Nodding to Sister Li, who had been waiting at the side, he pulled Zhang Xianyang back to his seat.

Zhang Linmo's gaze lingered on Zhang Xianyang's hair for a moment before he said with satisfaction, "Let's eat."

Dinner was steamed rice mixed with millet grits, every grain plump and fragrant, all pure green food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes were arranged on the table, giving off a rich aroma. Considering the topic that might be discussed over dinner, Sister Li thoughtfully placed all four meat dishes in front of Zhang Tumo and his son, while Zhang Xianyang and his brothers had only green, lightly flavored vegetable dishes before them. Smelling the food, Zhang Xianyang's stomach growled at an especially inappropriate moment. A flicker of amusement passed through Zhang Linmo's eyes. He picked up a piece of crisp green cucumber and placed it in Zhang Xianyang's bowl before asking, "Why did you get back so late?"

Zhang Xianyang guiltily glanced at Zhang Tumo before replying, "I went to the library to look up some information and lost track of time."

Zhang Linmo asked knowingly, "Was it for the Old District redevelopment?"

Zhang Xianyang nodded.

Zhang Linmo said gravely, "While we were waiting for you to come home for dinner, I discussed the construction of a secret base and the practice of Military Body Fist with your second uncle. As for the latter, obviously no one has any objections. The foundation of the Old Zhang Family's standing has always been absolute force, so naturally no one would oppose becoming even stronger. But regarding the redevelopment of the Old District and the construction of a secret base, your second uncle brought up some issues we had not considered."

Zhang Xianyang had still looked extremely guilty upon hearing Zhang Linmo's first sentence. But at the rest of it, his expression immediately turned serious. "What issues?"

Zhang Linmo raised an eyebrow and gestured toward Zhang Tumo with his chin. Zhang Tumo chuckled softly and asked, "First, I need to confirm something. Big Brother, have you really decided to work with the city to redevelop the Old District?"

Zhang Linmo nodded. "Although the Zhang Family Secret Passage is not an absolute secret to the people of the Old District, we cannot openly tell everyone that we intend to rebuild it. Redeveloping the Old District is therefore a very good opportunity. When the time comes, whether we import equipment or raw materials, we will have a seemingly reasonable excuse."

Zhang Tumo nodded and continued, "I looked over the information Xianyang provided this afternoon. Regarding the redevelopment of the Old District, Big Brother's plan is to repair and preserve the buildings' original style, displaying the area's cultural heritage to the greatest extent possible. But Xianyang's plan to build a secret base clearly requires higher-quality, more advanced military materials. Many of those materials are unavailable domestically, or the state does not sell them to private citizens. So it is clear that the materials needed to establish a secure base are vastly different from those needed to restore the Old District. We cannot exactly tell the city that we are restoring a cultural relic but need basic materials used to build a military base, can we? Some of the metal soft materials used exclusively in aerospace zones are even necessary for us."

Zhang Xianyang was left speechless. Before this, he truly had not considered the issue of raw materials for building the base. After he had relentlessly pestered it, the Intelligent Optical Brain had reluctantly provided him with a plan for constructing the secret base, along with chemical formulas for several high-tech composite metal materials that had not yet been discovered. He could not possibly ask an Intelligent Optical Brain living in his head, which might not even possess a physical form, to conjure up the materials needed to build the secret base out of thin air, could he?