23: An unexpected rescue and Evelyn's "coincidence"

Just as Excellence was pinned in place by Su Mu's gaze, nearly suffocating, a soft female voice with a hint of a foreign accent broke the deadlock like heavenly music.

"Excuse me, does the Polytechnic University library... allow outsiders to enter?"

The voice was like spring water dripping onto jade, creating faint echoes in the quiet reading room. Excellence and Su Mu turned their heads at the same time, as if two wrestling warriors had their duel suddenly interrupted by a third party.

Evelyn Li was standing by their table, her appearance like a carefully composed painting. Today, she wore a simple beige trench coat; the fabric looked ordinary, but in Excellence's system vision, it showed traces of special anti-radiation treatment. Her light gray long hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, the ends slightly curled, every strand seemingly meticulously designed. A perfectly timed, slightly lost smile played on her face, and she held a book on the history of Renaissance art, the label on the spine confirming it was indeed a library book.

Why was she here? Alarm bells rang in Excellence's mind; this time and place were too coincidental. Was she in league with Su Mu? No, Su Mu's expression looked surprised too.

His system immediately began analyzing: [Target heart rate 62 bpm, respiratory rate 14 breaths/min. Physiological indicators show an extremely relaxed state. Anomaly: Slight pupil dilation, suggesting excitement or anticipation.]

"Miss... Evelyn?" Excellence stood up in surprise, his elbow accidentally knocking over the water cup on the table. Clear water quickly spread across the tabletop, threatening to soak those precious circuit diagrams.

Damn it! This is bad! He cursed his clumsiness internally.

At that moment, Evelyn reached out seemingly casually, her fingertips lightly brushing the tabletop. Miraculously, the water flow seemed to hit an invisible barrier, diverting around the critical diagram area. The movement was smooth and natural, almost unnoticeable, but Excellence's system immediately issued a warning:

[Micro-fluidic control technology detected! Suspected use of Nano-scale surface tension adjustment! Technology Level: 7]

Su Mu's pupils contracted slightly; she had clearly noticed this unusual detail as well. Her gaze became sharper, scanning back and forth between Evelyn and Excellence.

"Student Excellence, what a coincidence." Evelyn smiled slightly at Excellence, her gaze then falling on the circuit diagrams in front of him, a hint of well-timed curiosity flashing in her eyes. "Are you still studying these complex circuits? At the auction last time, I felt you had an extraordinary passion for technology."

The auction? Why did she mention that? Excellence felt Su Mu's gaze pricking his back like a needle. Was she implying something? Or was she trying to intentionally provoke Su Mu's suspicion?

He forced an awkward smile: "Ah, just a hobby, just tinkering around..."

"And this is...?" Su Mu looked at Excellence, her tone calm but carrying an unavoidable inquiry. Her fingers unconsciously tapped on her tablet, and Excellence's system detected a faint encrypted signal transmission.

Was she recording this conversation? Or was she looking up information on Evelyn? Excellence felt his scalp tingle.

"Ah... this is Miss... Evelyn, she's... a friend of mine..." Excellence introduced her hurriedly, feeling as if his tongue were tied in knots. "This is my classmate, Su Mu."

A friend? What kind of friend? He could feel Su Mu's silent questioning.

"Hello, Student Su Mu." Evelyn extended her hand to Su Mu, her smile elegant and appropriate. As the two shook hands, Excellence's system suddenly detected a brief energy fluctuation:

[Biological information exchange detected! Suspected DNA sampling via skin contact! Technology Level: 8]

Excellence's heart nearly stopped. What were they doing? What level of technology was this?

"I am Evelyn Li. It seems Student Excellence has a very excellent companion in his studies." Evelyn glanced at the densely modified diagrams on the table, her tone carrying a well-timed appreciation.

Su Mu shook her hand lightly, her tone indifferent: "Just learning from each other. Is Miss Evelyn not a student of this school?"

"Oh, I'm not." Evelyn shook her head gently, her smile remaining unchanged. "I'm just an art lover, here looking for some inspiration. I didn't expect to get lost and stumble upon this place. I just happened to see Student Excellence, so I wanted to come over to say hello and ask for directions."

She was lying. Alarm bells rang in Excellence's mind. Her soles were spotless, not at all like someone who had been wandering lost around campus. And her choosing this moment to appear was definitely no coincidence.

"The library entrance is on the right side of the first-floor lobby; a card is required. Outsiders might need to register," Su Mu replied professionally, but her gaze never left Evelyn.

"I see, thank you for letting me know." Evelyn nodded, her gaze sweeping over the pile of circuit diagrams again before she suddenly said to Excellence, "Student Excellence, since you are so obsessed with technology, have you considered the summer internship program at the 'Prophet Foundation'? We sponsor many cutting-edge and... interesting research projects; perhaps there's a field you'd be interested in."

The Prophet Foundation?! Morpheus Li's foundation?!

Alarm bells rang in Excellence's heart! He felt Su Mu's gaze become even sharper, as if it could penetrate his skull and read his thoughts.

Was she recruiting him openly? Or was it a test? Or... was it a warning?

"No... no need! Thank you, Miss Evelyn! My level is too poor, I'm not qualified..." Excellence hurriedly refused, feeling his back soaked with cold sweat. He could hear his heart pounding wildly, sounding exceptionally clear in the quiet reading room.

Evelyn didn't seem surprised, only smiling regretfully: "That's a pity. If you change your mind, you can contact me anytime." As she spoke, she took a sleekly designed business card from her handbag.

The business card was made of a special alloy material, showing a complex micro-circuit pattern in Excellence's system vision. It only had her name and a private email address, without any titles.

Excellence's fingers trembled slightly as he took the card. When his fingertips touched the card, the system suddenly issued a warning:

[Neural interface attempt detected! Immediate termination of contact is recommended!]

He pulled his hand back as if struck by lightning, and the card almost fell to the floor. An imperceptible flash of surprise crossed Evelyn's eyes, which then turned into a deeper smile.

"Then I won't disturb your studies." Evelyn nodded to the two of them and turned to leave elegantly. Her footsteps were almost completely silent, making no sound on the old library's wooden floor.

But the ripples she left behind made the atmosphere in the corner even more eerie. A faint scent of cedar from her seemed to linger in the air, forming a strange contrast with the smell of old books in the library.

Su Mu looked at the special business card in Excellence's hand, then at the direction Evelyn had left. Her fingers slid quickly across her tablet, clearly searching for some information.

"Prophet Foundation..." Su Mu whispered to herself, her voice so low it was almost inaudible. "A multinational tech investment institution, founded by Morpheus Li, with many big moves in the field of Quantum computing recently..."

Excellence felt like he was being observed under a microscope. He could feel Su Mu's gaze moving back and forth between him and the business card, building some kind of terrifying association.

It's over; she must think I'm involved with these mysterious organizations, Excellence thought despairingly. How should I explain? Say we met at an auction? What kind of auction? Why would a student attend such an event?

Su Mu finally looked up, her gaze fixed on Excellence with complexity. That silence was more suffocating than a direct interrogation; Excellence could feel every one of his physiological reactions being analyzed and evaluated.

In the midst of this suffocating silence, Excellence's system suddenly detected a very faint conversation coming from a distance. Through his enhanced hearing, he caught Evelyn talking on the phone at the end of the library corridor:

"...The target indeed possesses abnormal technical capabilities, but doesn't seem to have fully mastered them yet... Yes, Su Mu was also present, her identity has been confirmed... Further observation is needed..."

Excellence's heart sank to the bottom. Evelyn's appearance was by no means accidental, and Su Mu's identity was far from that of a simple student.

He felt like he was caught in a carefully designed chess game, where every piece moved according to rules he didn't know.

The old library bell rang at the right time, breaking the frozen atmosphere. Excellence took a deep breath, knowing he had to say something to break this deadlock.

But before he could speak, Su Mu suddenly stood up and packed her things.

"I have an experiment to do," her tone was terrifyingly calm. "Go ahead and study on your own."

Without another look at Excellence, she turned and left, leaving him alone to face that business card emitting a dangerous aura and a table full of mysteries.

Outside the window, a gray pigeon streaked across the sky, its eyes flashing with the same metallic luster as Evelyn's business card.

Excellence realized that this game had only just begun, and he had already been drawn into a whirlpool far more complex than he had imagined.