Saturday morning arrived without the usual rush of classes.
Li Wei woke up later than usual. Sunlight was already bright outside the window, and the street below was filled with the noise of weekend traffic.
He sat up slowly and checked his phone.
A message from Chen Ming had arrived an hour earlier.
Chen Ming:Robotics competition meeting today. Don't wait for me for lunch.
Li Wei typed a quick reply.
Li Wei:Good luck.
He placed the phone down and stretched.
No classes today.
Which meant he had more freedom to choose where to go.
After washing up, he spoke quietly in his mind.
"System."
[ONLINE]
"Any nearby information nodes?"
A moment later, a response appeared.
[INFORMATION NODE DETECTED]
LOCATION: QINGHE TEMPLE DISTRICT ARCHIVE
DISTANCE: 5.8 KM
Li Wei read the message twice.
"Temple district?"
The Qinghe Temple District was one of the oldest parts of Linhai City. Several historic temples and cultural buildings had been preserved there for tourism and religious activities.
He had only visited once years ago during a school trip.
Still…
Ancient places usually contained plenty of historical records.
Which made it a logical location for the Archive network.
Li Wei grabbed his jacket and left the apartment.
The subway ride took about fifteen minutes.
The train emerged from the underground tunnel near the river, revealing rows of older buildings and narrow streets.
Compared to the modern city center, the temple district looked completely different.
Stone pathways.
Red wooden gates.
Rows of lanterns hanging between rooftops.
Tourists wandered through small markets selling incense, tea, and handmade crafts.
Li Wei stepped out of the station and followed the crowd toward the main temple road.
The air smelled faintly of sandalwood.
Bells rang occasionally from somewhere deeper in the district.
It was surprisingly peaceful despite the number of visitors.
After walking for several minutes, Li Wei spoke in his mind again.
"System."
[ONLINE]
"Where exactly is the node?"
[CORE INFORMATION NODE LOCATED: QINGHE TEMPLE ARCHIVE HOUSE]
DISTANCE: 120 METERS
Li Wei looked ahead.
Past the main temple gate stood a smaller courtyard building that most visitors ignored.
A wooden sign beside the door read:
Temple Historical Records Office
He stepped inside.
The room was quiet.
Rows of shelves contained old scrolls, religious texts, and historical documents related to the temple's history.
An elderly man sat behind a wooden desk reading a book.
He looked up as Li Wei entered.
"Research?"
"Just looking around," Li Wei replied politely.
The old man nodded.
"Please handle the documents carefully."
Li Wei walked slowly through the room.
Unlike modern archives, many of the records here were handwritten.
Some scrolls dated back hundreds of years.
The room smelled strongly of aged paper and incense.
When he reached the back corner—
A familiar message appeared.
[CORE INFORMATION NODE CONFIRMED]
[SIGN-IN AVAILABLE]
Li Wei glanced around.
No one else was nearby.
"Sign in."
The quiet pause returned.
Then the system responded.
[SIGN-IN COMPLETE]
LOCATION: QINGHE TEMPLE DISTRICT ARCHIVE
A new message followed.
[REWARD GENERATED]
INTUITION ENHANCEMENT — LEVEL 1
This time the sensation was subtle.
Almost like a light pressure behind his eyes.
Then it faded.
Li Wei blinked.
"…Intuition?"
He wasn't entirely sure what that meant.
But when he looked at the shelves around him, something felt slightly different.
His attention naturally moved toward certain documents as if something quietly guided his focus.
Not forced.
Just… instinctive.
He reached for a scroll on the shelf and opened it briefly.
It described the temple's reconstruction after a fire two centuries ago.
Li Wei smiled faintly.
"Interesting."
Just as he rolled the scroll back up—
Another notification appeared.
[ARCHIVE NODE ACTIVITY REGISTERED]
Li Wei sighed softly.
"That again."
[EXTERNAL SYSTEM RESPONSE DETECTED]
So the same thing was happening again.
Someone—or something—was reacting to the node activation.
Still, nothing in the room suggested anyone was watching.
The old man at the desk remained focused on his book.
Visitors occasionally stepped inside and left again.
Everything seemed normal.
Li Wei returned the scroll and walked toward the exit.
Outside, the temple courtyard had grown busier.
Incense smoke drifted through the air while visitors lit candles and made quiet prayers.
Li Wei paused near the entrance gate and looked at the sky.
Three sign-ins.
Three days.
Three different abilities.
He wondered what the next location might give.
Across the city—
Inside the underground monitoring facility—
The technician stared at the screen in disbelief.
"Director…"
The man looked up.
"It happened again."
"Where this time?"
"Qinghe Temple District."
The director folded his arms slowly.
"That makes three consecutive activations."
"Yes, sir."
The technician hesitated before speaking again.
"If someone is doing this intentionally… they must be visiting these locations one by one."
The director looked at the city map on the monitor.
A quiet smile appeared on his face.
"Then sooner or later…"
He tapped the screen.
"…we'll find them."
Back in the temple district, Li Wei walked through the crowded street market toward the subway station.
The day still had plenty of time left.
But the next sign-in would have to wait until tomorrow.