29: Chapter 29 2013

Chen Zhen organized all the letters, placed them back into the iron box, and set them alongside the notebook.

[System Prompt: exploration dimension experience increased significantly]

[Current Progress: 92/100]

[New feature unlocking soon: Clue Association Network]

Almost full.

Chen Zhen glanced at the remaining boxes; there were still three left.

But it was already 4:30 PM.

He stood up and walked to the counter: "Grandpa Wu, Engineer Gu's things... it might take a few days to sort through them."

Old Wu looked up: "Found something interesting?"

"Some notebooks and letters."

"Hmm." Old Wu paused, "That Engineer Gu... he was obsessed with these strange things his whole life. His family thought he was neglecting his proper work, and his colleagues thought he was weird, but he enjoyed it himself."

"Did he ever say... what might be behind these things?"

Old Wu looked at him for a few seconds and slowly shook his head:

"He said one thing that I still remember to this day."

"He said: 'Old Wu, this world is like a sheet of paper, and we all live on the front side. But occasionally, the paper gets poked by something from the back, creating a bump. Most people think the paper is just wrinkled, but I always wonder, is there another layer on the back?'"

Chen Zhen fell silent.

"When sorting through his things, just treat it like listening to a story." Old Wu lowered his head to continue bookkeeping, "Don't take it too seriously; if you do, it's easy to suffer from Qi Deviation."

These words were similar to what the old man said about "not digging too deep."

Chen Zhen returned to the boxes and gathered the sorted materials.

The notebook, iron box, photos, and clippings.

He packed these separately into an empty cardboard box and moved it next to the counter: "Grandpa Wu, these... can I borrow them to look at?"

Old Wu glanced at the box: "For how long?"

"Two or three days."

"Alright."

Old Wu pulled an old newspaper from under the counter and covered the box with it.

"Don't lose them, and don't show them to anyone else."

"Mm."

...

At 5:30, Chen Zhen left the Bookstore carrying the cardboard box.

The box wasn't heavy, but his heart felt heavy.

He didn't go straight home; he went to the Secret Base first.

A basement he rented near the school.

He opened the door with his key and placed the cardboard box on the small table in the corner.

He had rented this place half a month ago, originally intending to use it as a Secret Base for his senior year, but he hadn't expected it to come in handy ahead of schedule.

The basement was less than ten square meters, but it was clean and quiet.

Of course, what he valued most was the rent.

Because almost no one would rent that basement, the rent was very cheap—only three hundred yuan a month.

On the wall hung the architectural structural diagrams he had drawn.

In the corner, there were piles of cheap jade scraps.

He had bought them to try and set up a Spirit Gathering Array, though he hadn't succeeded.

There was also a simple bookshelf holding miscellaneous books he had scavenged from old book stalls.

He opened the cardboard box and took out the dark green notebook.

He didn't flip through it immediately; instead, he first lit a pinch of calming incense.

He had kept a small bottle of the incense powder given by the old man here.

The bitter, clean fragrance permeated the air, and his mind gradually calmed down.

Only then did he open the notebook.

Engineer Gu's handwriting was very neat, like scientific research records.

Every page had the date, location, weather, observation tools, detailed descriptions of the phenomenon, and finally, a "Preliminary Inference."

Chen Zhen first found the entry for 1953.

"July 18, 1953, heavy fog. According to three eyewitnesses (all mountain villagers who did not know each other, descriptions highly consistent): Around the hour of the Rat, thick fog rose in the East Mountain valley. A colored light appeared in the fog, divided into seven layers, rotating slowly, lasting about twenty minutes. After the fog dispersed, the light vanished. Inspection the next day showed no abnormalities in the valley; vegetation and soil were unchanged. Note: No earthquakes or special meteorological records in the area that year. Preliminary inference: Unknown atmospheric optical phenomenon, possibly related to geomagnetic anomalies."

Attached behind it were hand-drawn orientation maps and a simplified diagram of the light color distribution.

Chen Zhen flipped to the 1983 entry.

The record was more detailed because Engineer Gu had conducted the observation himself this time.

Tucked inside the notebook were several hand-drawn observation sketches, as well as a sleeve for camera film negatives (though the negatives were missing, likely already developed).

"July 29, 1983, clear. Conducted fixed-point observation at East Mountain Viewing Platform (straight-line distance of about 5 km from the 1953 sighting location). 23:17, a faint halo appeared in the northeast sky, gradually expanding into a band, color primarily cyan-white, with purple edges. No obvious movement, brightness fluctuated slowly. Lasted 13 minutes. During this time, used a theodolite to measure the azimuth angle, and a photometer to record brightness changes (see appendix for data). Preliminary inference: Phenomenon similar to 1953, but location shifted, brightness weakened. Period about 30 years. Nature remains unknown."

Chen Zhen noticed that at the end of the 1983 record, Engineer Gu had added a line in red ink:

"Is this a periodic 'leak'? If the period holds, the next occurrence should be around 2013. By then, I will be old, I hope a successor can continue the observation. Gu Mingyuan, Autumn 2005."

2013.

Chen Zhen calculated: It was currently summer break of his sophomore year of high school, next year was the college entrance exam, then college... in 2013, he should be a sophomore in college.

Two more years.

He closed the notebook and rubbed his brow.

There was too much information.

If Engineer Gu's inference was correct, then this "strange light" phenomenon was periodic, like the Earth "exhaling" at fixed times.

But what was it exhaling?

Why were those involved so tight-lipped?

And the System unlocking the "exploration dimension" happened to occur at this very point in time.

Was it a coincidence, or was the System also guiding him to observe this?

He thought of the shouzhong token given by the old man, and the calming incense.

Were these "Cultivation aids" and the "abnormal phenomena" recorded by Engineer Gu different sides of the same world?

[exploration dimension progress reached 100/100]

[Dimension upgraded to Lv.1]

[New feature unlocked: Clue Association Network (can automatically associate discovered clues to generate inferences)]

[Upgrade reward: Cultivation +8]

[New ability unlocked: [Spiritual Perception Glimmer] Passive, sensitivity to abnormal energy fluctuations +10%]

The system panel prompt interrupted his thoughts.

It had upgraded.

And it gave him a passive ability—Spiritual Perception Glimmer.

Although it was only 10% sensitivity, this was the first time an ability directly related to "abnormal energy" had appeared.

Chen Zhen summoned the Clue Association Network.

On the translucent interface, several nodes appeared:

[1953 Map "Strange Light Sighting"] — Link → [Engineer Gu's 1953 Notebook]

[1983 Clipping "Strange Light Reappears"] — Link → [Engineer Gu's 1983 Notebook] ← Link ← [Letters from various places "Earth Light" reports]

[Periodic Inference: approx. 30 years] — Link → [Next time: 2013 (Prediction)]

Between the nodes, there were faint dotted lines pointing to a gray, unlocked node: [Nature of the Phenomenon].

The System provided a preliminary inference below:

[Based on existing clues, it is inferred that the 'strange light' is a periodic, low-intensity Spiritual Qi leakage phenomenon, possibly related to the activity of Earth Vein nodes. Specific nature requires more data.]

Spiritual Qi leakage.

This term made Chen Zhen's heart tremble.

If it really was Spiritual Qi, then everything made sense:

Why the System existed, why the old man had those abilities, why people like Engineer Gu would be obsessed with recording...

This world was never completely "spiritless."

It was just thin, just obscure, and only leaked occasionally.

And he, under the guidance of the System, was stepping closer and closer to this hidden layer.

...

When he left the Secret Base, it was already getting dark.

Chen Zhen didn't bring the notebook home; it was too conspicuous.

He only copied the key information: the detailed records of 1953 and 1983, the periodic inference, and the predicted time of 2013.

He folded the slip of paper with "Next time: 2013" written on it and tucked it into the inner compartment of his wallet.

When he arrived home, his father was already back, sitting on the sofa, looking at something on his phone.

His mother was cooking in the kitchen, the range hood buzzing.

"You're back?" His father looked up, "Lots of work at the Bookstore?"

"Mm, sorting through a batch of old books." Chen Zhen changed his shoes, "Dad, how was work today?"

"Not bad." His father put down his phone, "Assembly line maintenance, a bit more complicated than I imagined, but manageable."

His tone carried a hint of imperceptible relief.

Chen Zhen could feel it: his father truly cared about this job.

Not just for the money, but for that breath of dignity.

After being laid off, he was able to stand back up on his own skills.

At dinner, his father rarely took the initiative to chat about the details of his work.

How to disassemble and assemble a certain part, the old master's little tricks, the dishes in the cafeteria at noon.

His mother listened, asking a question from time to time, her gaze gentle.

Chen Zhen ate quietly, occasionally chiming in.

This mundane daily life now had another layer of meaning in his eyes.

The smell of machine oil on his father's hands, the smell of cooking fumes from his mother's cooking, the heat of the rice, the buzzing of the electric fan.

All of these were the world of the "front side," solid, concrete, and tangible.

While the strange light in the notebook, the old man's Breathing Method, and the system panel were the world of the "back side," obscure, mysterious, and flickering.

He lived between the two layers.

He had to take care of the front side.

Studies, college entrance exam, family, future.

And he had to explore the back side.

Cultivation, strange phenomena, cycles, that 2013 two years away.

It was not easy.

But it was not impossible.

After dinner, his father took the initiative to suggest a walk: "Sat all day, let's walk a bit."

The family of three walked slowly along the road outside the residential complex.

The summer night breeze still carried the lingering warmth of the day, and the streetlights stretched and shortened their shadows.

His mother mentioned that the old gentleman at the Library gave them a few more flyers for a museum exhibition, and his father said the factory might organize skills training next month.

Chen Zhen walked in the middle, listening.

Against his chest, the shouzhong token pressed against his skin, warm.

This warmth made him feel grounded.

Regardless of the front side or the back side, the road under his feet was real.

...

During the evening summary, the data on the system panel surprised Chen Zhen:

[Day 15 Summary]

[Cultivation Gain: +11.74 (Morning Run 0.31 + Learning 1.2 + Skill Breakthrough 0.5 + exploration dimension Upgrade 8 + Other 1.73)]

[Current Total Cultivation: 63.07/100]

[Health Dimension: 85.2/200]

[Learning Dimension: 146.7/200]

[Social Dimension: 43/200]

[Skill Dimension: Cooking 48/100, Organizing 72/100, Hand-drawing Lv.2 (80/300), Structural Drafting Intro]

[exploration dimension: Lv.1 (0/200)]

[Special Status: Wearing "shouzhong token" (Cultivation assistance continuously in effect)]

[Special Prompt: Hundred-Day Foundation Building progress breaking through 60% is in sight]

[Assessment: Excellent]

His Cultivation increased by over 11 points in one day, setting a new record.

It was mainly due to the 8 points from the exploration dimension upgrade reward.

It seemed the System was quite generous when unlocking new dimensions and discovering key clues.

But Chen Zhen wasn't too excited.

It was good that his Cultivation was rising quickly, but the content in Engineer Gu's notebook gave him a deeper sense of urgency.

Not just Foundation Establishment, not just the college entrance exam.

In 2013, two years later, for that predicted "next time," he had to be prepared.

What Realm should he be in by then?

How much ability should he have?

Would he be able to observe it himself, or even... do something?

He didn't know.

But he had a direction.

He lay on the bed and closed his eyes.

The slight warmth of the shouzhong token, the faint lingering scent of the calming incense, the solid mass of Qi in his Dantian.

And the clue nodes in his mind, glowing faintly in the darkness like a star map.

Before sleepiness washed over him, a line of text finally appeared on the panel:

[Suggestion: Maintain daily Cultivation rhythm, gradually digest what has been explored.]

Chen Zhen turned over, his breathing sinking into his Dantian.