28: Chapter 28 Notebook, Materials

Chen Zhen spent the rest of the morning practicing Hand-drawing.

The ten minutes of [Structural Perception] had not been used yet.

He closed his eyes and activated the ability. In his mind, the "Tai-Liang (Beam-lifting) Framework" he had seen yesterday in *History of Chinese Architecture* emerged.

The 3D model rotated in his consciousness.

He "saw" clearly how the main beams were set on the pillar tops, how the smaller beams were stacked on the main beams, and how the rafters were arranged.

Every stress point was clearly marked.

Ten minutes later, the ability ended.

He opened his eyes and picked up a pencil.

His hand almost moved on its own, the lines falling accurately where they should.

The perspective was so natural it didn't feel like drawing; it was like tracing the projection in his mind.

A complex structural drawing was finished in twenty minutes.

When he put down the pen, he noticed his hand was trembling slightly.

It wasn't from fatigue; it was a physiological reaction after intense concentration.

But he felt satisfied.

[Skill Dimension (Hand-drawing) Experience + 50]

[Unlock new branch: [Structural Drafting] Basic Mastery]

The system panel popped up at the right moment:

[After Skill Dimension (Hand-drawing) Rank increases to Lv.2, experience gain speed + 20%]

[Special Tip: Branches of the Skill Dimension can be improved synergistically to produce composite effects]

Synergistic improvement?

Chen Zhen thought for a moment, picked up another sheet of paper, and tried to draw an "exploded view" of the framework from before.

He drew each part disassembled, marking the names and dimensions.

This required more precise spatial imagination.

He drew a bit slower, but every time he drew a part, the corresponding 3D model in his mind automatically updated its position.

Halfway through, a flash of inspiration struck.

If he added a scale and material annotations, wouldn't this be a simple construction drawing?

Once this thought arose, the system panel popped up again:

[Trigger Skill Fusion: Hand-drawing + Structural Understanding → Initial Mastery of [Basic Engineering Drafting]]

[Skill Dimension (Hand-drawing) Experience + 30, Learning Dimension Experience + 20]

So that was it.

It wasn't linear leveling up; it was network-like growth.

Once one point was understood, it could bring up a whole area.

He checked the time; it was 11:30.

The morning's learning tasks were over-fulfilled.

He took care of lunch himself.

He cooked noodles in the leftover fish soup from yesterday and sprinkled some chopped green onions on top.

While eating, he took out his phone and searched for information on the municipal museum's special exhibition.

Sure enough, there was one:

Starting on the 15th of next month, "Ingenious Craftsmanship: Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Timber Architecture Art".

Exhibits included actual mortise and tenon components, models, blueprints, and an interactive experience area.

He took a screenshot and sent it to his mother: "Mom, this is the exhibition."

His mother replied quickly: "Yes, that's the one. Mom already asked; student tickets are thirty, I'll buy one for you."

"Thanks, Mom."

Putting down the phone, Chen Zhen slowly finished his noodles.

He wanted to earn more money.

But not now.

His Foundation Establishment was halfway done, and he couldn't afford to be too distracted.

He had to get through this summer vacation steadily first.

When he arrived at the Bookstore in the afternoon, Old Wu was flipping through a thick volume behind the counter.

Seeing Chen Zhen, he closed the volume.

Chen Zhen caught a glimpse of the cover; it was a local gazetteer.

"You're here?" Old Wu stuffed the volume under the counter. "Sort that side today."

He pointed to the row of bookshelves at the very back of the Bookstore, against the wall.

Five or six cardboard boxes were piled next to the bookshelf, all sealed with tape, but the tape had already turned yellow and brittle.

"Those are the belongings of Engineer Gu, that geological engineer... His family sold them all in one go back then, and I haven't touched them since."

Old Wu took a utility knife out of the drawer.

"Take your time sorting them. Put useful things aside, and for the useless ones... do whatever you see fit."

Chen Zhen took the utility knife: "What do you mean by useful?"

"Things he wrote by hand, blueprints, notes. And..."

Old Wu paused.

"Clippings and magazines related to abnormal celestial phenomena and strange geological events. Other ordinary books should be sorted into their corresponding categories."

"Okay."

Chen Zhen walked to the row of cardboard boxes and crouched down.

The first box was the most tightly sealed, with layers of tape.

He carefully sliced it open with the utility knife and lifted the lid.

A scent of old paper wafted out, mixed with a faint musty smell.

The box contained books, mostly professional books on geology and mineralogy, as well as some foreign language originals.

Chen Zhen took them out one by one, brushed off the dust, and flipped through the pages.

Most of the books were very clean, with only a few having pencil annotations in the margins; the handwriting was neat, mostly professional terminology.

When he reached the bottom of the box, he felt a hardcover notebook.

Dark green cover, worn corners, no name written on it.

He opened it; the first page was a table of contents, handwritten:

"1953.7 Fog Incident Investigation Notes"

"1968.11 Dongshan Magnetic Anomaly Records"

"1975.3 Unnamed Meteorite Fragment Analysis"

"1983.7 Strange Light Reappearance Observation Report"

Chen Zhen's heart skipped a beat.

He looked up at the counter.

Old Wu was looking down, keeping accounts, and not looking this way.

Chen Zhen set the notebook aside and continued to finish sorting this box.

He put the professional books on the geology bookshelf and placed the notebook separately in an empty cardboard box nearby.

The second box was filled with magazines and loose materials.

Sure enough, there were more clippings.

In addition to the 1983 evening paper found yesterday, there were torn pages from *Astronomy Amateur* magazine, photocopies of *Nature* journals, and even a few blurry black-and-white photos.

They seemed to be photos of bands of light in the night sky, but the image quality was too poor to see details.

Beside each document were handwritten notes, and some even had simple charts drawn: timelines, azimuth angles, and brightness variation curves.

Chen Zhen sorted them very slowly.

He carefully examined every document, trying to find patterns in those scattered records.

Halfway through, he discovered a pattern:

All events occurred in July or August, with a time interval of about thirty years: 1953, 1983... If he pushed back, might there have been one in 1923?

But there were no earlier materials in the box.

The third box contained some miscellaneous items:

A geological hammer, a compass, a magnifying glass, a few Ore specimens, and an old camera.

Seagull brand, film type.

At the very bottom of the box, a flat iron box was pressed down.

Chen Zhen opened it, and inside was a stack of letters.

The envelopes were all kraft paper, and the recipient was always "Comrade Gu Mingyuan" (it seemed this was Engineer Gu's full name).

The senders were different, and the addresses were from all over the country:

Gansu Province, Qinghai Province, Yunnan Province, Gu Province.

He pulled one out and carefully unfolded the letter paper.

The letter was written in fountain pen, the handwriting sloppy:

"Engineer Gu: Regarding the 'Earth Light' phenomenon you inquired about in your letter last month, there have indeed been reports from multiple herdsmen in my area. It occurred in mid-July, in the northwest direction, and lasted about a quarter of an hour. The color is described as 'blue-white with purple edges,' and it was silent. Attached is a hand-drawn orientation map. Also, the local weather station has no record of this matter; it is suggested not to investigate it publicly. Sincerely, Zhang Jianguo, 1983.8.10"

Chen Zhen stared at the two characters "Earth Light".

Was it the same thing as the "Strange Light"?

He continued flipping through and found a few similar letters:

Some mentioned "Rainbow at night," some said "White light from the mountain peak," and others said "Phosphorescent fire on the lake surface."

The times were all in July or August, but the descriptions were all different.

But at the end of every letter, there were similar reminders: "Do not investigate publicly," "Treat only as a personal interest," "No need to investigate deeply."

It was like there was some kind of invisible tacit understanding.

They could communicate privately, but it couldn't be brought to light.