193: Second session and borrowing books

The atmosphere in the private room became incredibly strange because of Lin Yao's half-joking, half-serious remark.

The boys couldn't laugh.

Their brains were still processing the thrilling scene they had just witnessed, still savoring Chen Ruiyu's threatening phrase, "You just wait."

Symmetry?

Blooming?

That did not sound like a joke at all.

Only the girls were still immersed in the pleasure of that extreme contrast, chattering excitedly and pressing for details, as if listening to an urban legend.

After this incident, most people actually weren't in the mood to go to a KTV for a second round.

Especially the male students.

Self-esteem, sometimes, is just that fragile.

They had personally witnessed the dual crushing power of class and strength. First, Chen Ruiyu suffocated them with his family background, and then, Lin Yao, with a posture they couldn't comprehend, utterly shattered Chen Ruiyu's dignity.

Throughout the entire process, they were like a group of irrelevant background characters, not even having the right to interject a single word.

This intense sense of disparity left them feeling stifled.

The originally planned second round was singing, the classic graduation party package.

The organizer, Li Hao, anxiously scratched his head, seeing the mood cool down.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and ran straight to the hotel manager. Whether he used his connections or promised some benefit, he managed to get them to drag a semi-used karaoke machine and a small television out of the warehouse, setting up a temporary KTV right in the private room.

"Since we're already here! How can it be called a graduation party without singing!"

Li Hao held up the microphone, forcefully injecting energy into the atmosphere.

"Nobody is leaving today! You can't go until we finish singing 'Friends'!"

Since no one could really leave, and seeing Li Hao's nearly tearful face, they reluctantly stayed.

It must be said that music was indeed a good medicine for dissolving awkwardness.

When the familiar melody started, a few karaoke enthusiasts took the lead, and the atmosphere slowly began to warm up.

Amidst the slightly off-key singing, the recent unpleasantness truly seemed to dissipate significantly.

However, when someone's gaze occasionally swept over Lin Yao, who was sitting quietly in the corner sipping juice, it would unconsciously carry a trace of awe... Meanwhile, at the Municipal Library.

Unlike the noise in the KTV room, it was so quiet here that the only sounds were the rustling of turning pages and the occasional faint cough from afar.

Lin Yu was standing in front of a row of towering, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

Wang Qingxuan, who was beside him, had gone from being highly enthusiastic to completely bored.

Lin Yu should at least be looking at something young people read... Wang Qingxuan could barely understand these dry archival materials and historical records.

In comparison, Lin Yu was much more interesting to look at.

She crossed her arms, leaned against a nearby shelf, and stared at Lin Yu's profile, slightly lost in thought.

This man was truly strange.

Despite possessing divine power, he would come to a place crowded with mortals, poring over dusty old books like an ascetic monk.

What exactly was he looking for?

Lin Yu, of course, wasn't just "poring over" them.

His fingers traced row after row of spines, his mental power having already spread out like spilled mercury, scanning the contents of every book with inhuman efficiency.

Although Lin Yu's Mental Power was only five hundred points because he constantly had to maintain the existence of cards and frequently experienced bursts of power, his control over his mental strength was extremely abnormal, allowing him to handle these small applications with ease.

[Card Creation], [Formula], [Proficiency], [Primeval], [Origin].

These keywords flashed rapidly through his mind, comparing against the massive amount of scanned information.

The vast majority was useless information.

But occasionally, there would be scattered discoveries, buried within the old paper stacks.

"Found it."

Lin Yu stopped moving and pulled a thick, heavy volume from the very top shelf.

The book's cover was a dark red hardcover, bearing no text, only a complex, gilded emblem made of gears and cards.

He blew the dust off the top, making the nearby Wang Qingxuan wrinkle her nose from the resulting cloud.

"Boss, what is this?" Wang Qingxuan leaned closer curiously.

"I don't know." Lin Yu answered casually, opening the book immediately.

The pages were yellowed and carried a stale odor.

The writing inside was handwritten, strong and vigorous, recording ancient theories about "Card Enchantment" and "Structural Mutation."

Although it didn't perfectly match what he was looking for, some of the ideas mentioned gave him a sudden sense of enlightenment.

Useful.

Lin Yu didn't look further, closed the book, and tucked it into his arms.

Over the next hour, he repeated the process, digging out seven or eight similar books from various inconspicuous corners.

These books included records of ancient professional lineages, discussions on the evolution of skill tiers, and one was even a cultivation journal left by an unknown powerful individual.

Without exception, they were all extremely old and had been categorized by the library into forgotten areas like "Historical Documents" or "Folkloric Oddities."

In reality, ordinary people were the majority. Among Second Job Holders, those who needed to consult such materials usually had the background and family resources that meant they wouldn't need to check them personally. Only Lin Yu, an anomaly who popped up from the grassroots, had to do the work himself.

When Lin Yu walked over to the rest area carrying a stack of books taller than him, Wang Qingxuan was completely dumbfounded.

"Boss... are you planning to move the library home?"

She stood up, looking at the small mountain of books with disbelief.

Lin Yu set the books down on the table with a thud and stretched his arms.

"Pretty much. I'll borrow them first and read them slowly at home."

"This many... can you even borrow them?" Wang Qingxuan expressed doubt.

"We'll find out when we try."

Lin Yu carried the books and walked to the library's circulation desk.

Behind the counter sat a middle-aged auntie wearing reading glasses and a serious expression. She didn't look up, merely extending one hand.

"Library card."

Lin Yu froze.

Library card?

What library card?

In his entire life, he could count the number of times he had entered a library on one hand. The last time might have been in elementary school when the school organized a trip to write book reports.

He genuinely didn't have one of those.

The scene instantly became extremely awkward.

An existence capable of instantly casting Primeval-level skills and making black market administrators bow down was now stumped by a tiny card.

"Uh... Auntie, I don't have a library card. Can I apply for one now?" Lin Yu tried to communicate.

The librarian auntie finally looked up, adjusted her glasses, and scrutinized him.

"Do you have your ID card? Fill out the form, attach a photo, and pick it up in three business days."

Her reply was filled with the coldness of procedural justice.