62: Chapter 62 Past Events

Day 34.

Chen Zhen opened his eyes, and the first thing he did was summon [Rune Analysis].

The system panel appeared before his eyes, and the analysis progress of the Dongshan Rune had automatically advanced to 83%.

The System had been silently calculating in the background while he slept, cross-referencing the photos provided by Engineer Zhou with the Dongshan Rune.

This was the benefit of exploration dimension Lv.4.

He lay still, his consciousness sinking into Internal Vision.

The Dantian Spirit Bead rotated slowly, its rotation speed stable, and the jade-colored luster flowing on its surface was one notch more solid than yesterday.

The circulation of spirit power was smooth, starting from the Dantian, passing through the meridians of his whole body, and returning to the Dantian.

He got out of bed, his gaze sweeping across the room.

Cleaning Spell.

1 point of spirit power consumed, an invisible ripple swept past.

The leaves of the pothos on the windowsill unfurled, and the pale gold fine lines on the edges became a notch clearer.

In [Internal Vision], the spirit power circulation within the pothos was basically complete.

Those tiny "plant meridians" formed a complete network, covering the entire plant.

[Pothos Spirit Plant Conversion Progress: 76 / 100]

It had increased by 8 points compared to yesterday.

Chen Zhen had a thought, separating a wisp of spirit power to inject into the pothos, slowly guiding it along the meridians within its body.

The leaves of the pothos trembled slightly, and that layer of pale gold halo brightened for an instant before slowly fading into the depths of the leaf veins.

The entire plant emitted a warm, fresh aura of life.

[Spirit Power Guidance Successful]

[Pothos Spirit Plant Conversion Progress: 81 / 100]

Soon.

In another three or four days, this pot of pothos would be able to officially promote to a Spirit Plant.

During his morning run, Chen Zhen began to challenge the dynamic stability of the "Twenty-five Rune Array".

Twenty-five Spirit Control beads flew out from the Storage Space, lining up beside him in the complete pattern of the Dongshan Rune.

Core circle, three-point triangle, radial curves, nested geometry, seventy-two dot matrix.

He could already maintain the static formation for thirty seconds.

Today's goal: maintain the formation while running, for three kilometers without it breaking.

First kilometer, formation stable.

Twenty-five stones formed an ancient floating totem in the morning light, moving steadily with his footsteps.

Second kilometer, minor fluctuations began to appear.

Some stones in the radial curves shifted slightly; he made a fine adjustment with his intent, and they returned to their positions instantly.

Third kilometer, the formation showed a clear disturbance.

Three stones in the outer dot matrix were blown off course by the morning breeze.

He split his focus three ways, correcting the three stones simultaneously, and the formation regained stability within 0.3 seconds.

When he ran to the Riverside, the twenty-five-rune array was steady and secure; it hadn't fallen apart over the entire three kilometers.

[Morning Run Quality 'Transcendent']

[Health Dimension Experience + 188]

[Cultivation + 2.12]

[Spirit Control Perfection Effect Improved: Spirit Power Control Precision + 8% (Current 271%)]

[Rune Array Proficiency + 30]

[Unlocked Hidden Achievement: 'Rune Walker' (Ability to maintain complex formations while moving greatly increased, Rune-type effects + 15%)]

The old man was not under the willow tree today.

Chen Zhen looked around and found that the Riverside was empty.

He waited for five minutes, confirmed that the old man would not come today, and then turned to leave.

This was the second time the old man had "something to do".

He didn't think too much about it and went home after finishing his practice.

He arrived home at exactly seven o'clock.

His mother was already up and cooking porridge in the kitchen.

Chen Zhen changed his shoes, "Mom, is Dad coming back tomorrow?"

"Yes, the afternoon train." His mother served the porridge, "He said the training is over, and his results are pretty good."

"What results?"

"He didn't go into detail, just said they were pretty good." His mother smiled, "With your dad, if he says 'pretty good', it means very good."

Chen Zhen smiled too.

After finishing breakfast, he returned to his room to start today's schedule.

The first thing in the morning: inject spirit power into the black lump.

He took the dark blue mineral out of the Storage Space and placed it in his palm.

He injected spirit power, consuming 0.3 points, and a ring of dark blue halo lit up on the surface, extinguishing after four seconds.

[Spirit Power Injection Complete]

[Spirit Power Affinity: 20 / 100]

Eighty more times to go.

The second thing in the morning: research the new findings of the Rune Analysis.

He summoned the system panel and checked the results of the [Rune Analysis] that had been calculating overnight.

[Dongshan Rune Deep Analysis Complete]

[Core Symbol: ⊙ (Earth Vein Node Marker)]

[Auxiliary Symbol: △ (Heaven, Earth, and Man, representing the connection between the node and Heaven, Earth, and Man)]

[Radial Curves: Energy release paths, 9 in total, corresponding to the Nine Palaces]

[Nested Geometry: Three-layer structure, representing 'Surface Layer', 'Middle Layer', 'Deep Layer' respectively]

[Outer Dot Matrix: 72 points, corresponding to the 'Seventy-two Hou', but after geographic location correction, the actual cycle is 'Seventy-two Hou × 150']

Seventy-two Hou multiplied by one hundred and fifty?

He did a mental calculation: one Hou is five days, seventy-two Hou is three hundred and sixty days, exactly one year.

Multiplied by one hundred and fifty, that equals fifty-four years.

Fifty-four years?

That's not right, historical records show that the cycle of Dongshan was thirty years, and later shortened to fifteen years.

He continued to look down.

[Analysis Supplement: Seventy-two Hou is the 'Standard Cycle Base', the actual active cycle is affected by Earth Vein activity and presents non-linear changes. According to historical data fitting, the current cycle is approximately Base × 0.42, which is thirty years. It is estimated that in 2013 the cycle will be approximately Base × 0.28, which is fifteen years. After 2030, the cycle will enter a state of Chaos, which cannot be predicted.]

State of Chaos.

Chen Zhen stared at this term for several seconds.

In 2030, he would be thirty-seven years old.

He didn't know what a state of Chaos meant, but judging by the term the System used, it definitely wasn't a stable state.

He took a deep breath and continued to look down.

[Other Rune Preliminary Analysis]

[Beishan Rune: 36 points, corresponding to the Thirty-six Tiangang, cycle base is 'Tiangang × 180', current cycle is about thirty years]

[Xishan Rune: 24 points, corresponding to the Twenty-four Solar Terms, cycle base is 'Solar Terms × 365', current cycle is about thirty years]

[Nanshan Rune: 12 points, corresponding to the Twelve Earthly Branches, cycle base is 'Earthly Branches × 730', current cycle is about thirty years]

[Remaining runes pending analysis]

More than thirty runes, and their cycles are all about thirty years.

But the cycle of the Dongshan Rune has shortened the most significantly.

From fifty-four years to thirty years, and then to fifteen years.

Why?

He continued to read the analysis.

[Speculation: The Dongshan node is located at the intersection of multiple Earth Veins and is most affected by crustal movement, so the cycle changes are the most sensitive. Other node locations are relatively stable, and the cycle changes are smaller.]

So that was it.

Chen Zhen closed his notebook and closed his eyes to digest it.

The amount of information today was too large; he had to absorb it slowly.

At noon, Chen Zhen made himself a bowl of egg noodles.

After eating, he checked the time.

Twelve-thirty.

Engineer Zhou's address was at the Jiangcheng University family quarters, and it would take half an hour to ride there.

He decided to go find Engineer Zhou in the afternoon.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Chen Zhen arrived at the Jiangcheng University family quarters.

This was an old residential area; the houses were all built in the eighties, the outer walls were mottled, but the greenery was very good, with tall plane trees everywhere.

The residential area was very quiet, with only a few old people playing chess and chatting under the shade of the trees.

He found Building 12, went up to the third floor, and knocked on the door of Room 302.

The door opened.

Engineer Zhou stood inside the door, wearing an old sweater, wearing reading glasses, and holding a book in his hand.

"You're here?" He said, his tone very flat, as if he had known Chen Zhen would come.

"Hello, Grandpa Zhou."

"Come in."

Engineer Zhou's home was not big, two bedrooms and a living room, the decoration was very old, but it was kept very tidy.

There were books everywhere in the living room.

On the bookshelves, on the coffee table, and even on the floor, books were piled up. A blackboard hung on the wall, filled with formulas and sketches.

"Sit." Engineer Zhou pointed to the sofa and went to pour water himself.

Chen Zhen sat down, his gaze sweeping over those books.

Most of them were professional books on geology, astronomy, and physics, as well as some ancient books and thread-bound books.

Engineer Zhou brought over two glasses of water, handed him one, and then sat opposite him.

"Did you receive the rune photos?"

"I received them, thank you, Grandpa Zhou." Chen Zhen took the stack of photos from his bag, "I studied them, and I have some findings."

"Oh?" Engineer Zhou's eyes brightened slightly, "Tell me about it."

Chen Zhen briefly explained the conclusions drawn from [Rune Analysis].

The core circle plus three points is the Earth Vein node marker, the outer dot matrix corresponds to different cycle bases, and the Dongshan node is located at the intersection of Earth Veins, so the cycle changes are the most sensitive.

After listening, Engineer Zhou was silent for a long time.

"These things of yours," he said slowly, "did you research them yourself?"

"Sort of." Chen Zhen said, "Combined with some... ancient materials."

Engineer Zhou nodded and didn't ask further.

"Old Gu also reached similar conclusions back then."

"But he used twenty years. You used... a few days?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

Engineer Zhou was silent for a while longer, then stood up, walked to the desk, and took a thick notebook out of a drawer.

"This, for you."

Chen Zhen took it. The notebook was very old, the cover was worn, and the edges were curled.

Opening it, there were dense handwritten notes inside, as well as a large number of charts and photos.

"This is my forty-year research record."

"You already have Old Gu's notes, these are mine. You young people have flexible minds and read quickly."

Chen Zhen was stunned.

"Grandpa Zhou, this is too valuable..."

"Valuable, what's valuable about it." Engineer Zhou waved his hand, "I'm eighty, I don't have many years left to live. These things, either rot in a box, or are handed over to someone who can understand them. You choose."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds and put the notebook into his backpack.

"Thank you, Grandpa Zhou."

"Don't thank me." Engineer Zhou picked up his water glass, "Study hard. If you have any new findings, just let me know."

He paused and suddenly asked: "You've met Old Chen, right?"

Old Chen?

Chen Zhen was stunned for a moment, then realized.

The old man.

"I have." He said, "I practice martial arts with him at the Riverside every morning."

Engineer Zhou nodded, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"He is a few years older than me. Back then at the institute, he was our boss."

"Later, something happened, and he retired, moving to the Riverside to live alone. It's been decades."

"What happened?" Chen Zhen asked.

Engineer Zhou was silent for a few seconds.

"It was something from the eighties."

"It's not something that can be explained in a sentence or two. You should ask him in the future."

Chen Zhen didn't ask again.

After chatting for a while longer, he got up to say goodbye.

Before leaving, Engineer Zhou walked him to the door and suddenly said: "Little Chen, there is something I want to tell you."

"Please go ahead."

"When researching these things, you must have a sense of proportion." Engineer Zhou looked at him, "Not all secrets need to be uncovered, and not all truths are suitable to be known. When it's time to stop, you must stop."

These words were exactly the same as what the old man had said.

Chen Zhen nodded: "I will remember."

Leaving Engineer Zhou's house, Chen Zhen got on his bike and rode back.

Along the way, he thought about Engineer Zhou's words in his mind.

"When it's time to stop, you must stop."

The old man had also said similar words: "Don't dig too deep."

What had they both experienced? What exactly happened in the eighties?

He didn't know.

But he knew that now was not the time to ask.

Do the things right in front of him first.

When he returned home, his mother had already gone out.

There was an activity in the community today.

Chen Zhen heated up the leftovers and ate a little simply.

Then he returned to his room and began to study Engineer Zhou's notes.

Opening the first page, there was a handwritten date: "March 7, 1982".

Forty years ago.

He continued to flip down.

The notes were very detailed, recording every observation, every thought, and every conjecture of Engineer Zhou over the past forty years.

There were successes and failures; there were clear parts and chaotic parts.

Flipping to the middle section, he saw a familiar name — "Old Chen".

"July 1985, went to Dongshan with Old Chen and Old Gu. Old Chen insisted on not letting us enter that cave, saying 'Some places, once you enter, you can't come out'. Old Gu didn't listen and snuck in. After returning, Old Chen and Old Gu had a big fight, and after that, Old Chen retired."

"August 1985, Old Chen moved to the Riverside to live. I went to see him, and he said: 'Old Zhou, some things, it's better not to know than to know.'"

"September 1985, Old Gu came to find me, saying he found runes in the cave. I looked at the photos, and they were the same as the ones Old Chen took back then. Old Gu said: 'Old Chen is right, but we cannot stop.'"

"1986..."

Chen Zhen flipped page by page, as if watching a documentary of several decades.

These Seniors used their whole lives to pursue the same truth.

And now, he was standing on their shoulders.

[Obtained Key Information: Engineer Zhou's Forty-Year Research Notes]

[exploration dimension Experience + 100]

[Rune Analysis Progress: 83% → 91%]

[Unlocked New Node: 'Past Events of the Eighties']

He closed the notebook and closed his eyes to digest it.

In the evening, his mother came back and cooked dinner.

After eating simply, Chen Zhen returned to his room to start today's Cultivation.

First, standing stake for five minutes, running the Simplified Microcosmic Orbit ten times.

In the [Internal Vision] state, the Dantian Spirit Bead rotated slowly, and the spirit power circulation was smooth.

Then, he took out the twenty-five Spirit Control beads and began the rune array training.

Today's goal: make the twenty-five-rune array rotate slowly as a whole while they rotated on their own.

Multi-tasking:

Twenty-five stones each rotated on their own, while the entire formation rotated like a star chart.

The core circle rotated clockwise, the radial curves rotated counter-clockwise, the nested geometry remained relatively static, and the outer dot matrix flashed sequentially according to the seventy-two points.

The difficulty was off the charts.

The first time, it fell apart after just three seconds.

The second time, the third time, the fourth time...

The thirty-fifth time, it finally successfully stabilized for ten seconds.

Chen Zhen finished his practice, leaned back in his chair, and panted heavily.

There was sweat on his forehead, and the consumption of Mental Energy was huge, but his heart was full of a sense of accomplishment.

[Extreme Spirit Control Training]

[Spirit Control Perfection Effect Improved: Spirit Power Control Precision + 6% (Current 277%)]

[Rune Array Proficiency + 25]

[Unlocked Achievement: 'Dynamic Rune' (Ability to move rune arrays greatly increased)]

He rested for ten minutes, drank a sip of spirit plant Mint tea, and his Mental Energy slowly recovered.

Then, he summoned the panel and started today's summary.