stjorthotic Chapter 42 Old Museum District
Chapter 42 Old Museum District
"To the library," he decided. "Everyone together. If it's a trap, we'll get through it together. If it's the real core, we'll destroy it together."
"But other locations..." Cheng Xu hesitated.
"We can't worry about that now," Li Shancheng said. "If Lin Han controls the laws of knowledge, everything else is meaningless. He can directly 'define' what reality is like, without needing to go through physical rituals."
The plan is set: everyone will head to the library for one last push.
At 4 PM, preparations began. Cheng Xu provided the library's latest security layout map—following the Shuanglong Bridge incident, Hanshan Technology had further strengthened its defenses; now, there were at least fifty modified body guards around the library, along with at least ten cultivator-level administrators. The interior was also riddled with energy detectors and traps.
"A direct breakthrough is impossible," Cheng Xu analyzed. "But there is one path that may not be completely blocked—the underground drainage system. The old library area was built eighty years ago, and the sewage system at that time was not connected to the current main network and was later sealed off. But the pipes are still there and can lead directly to the vicinity of the library's basement."
"How did you know?" Su Yan asked.
"Old blueprints from the city archives." Cheng Xu pulled up the scanned document. "Last night I hacked into the archives system and found the original design drawings for all the old buildings. There's a spare ventilation duct in the basement of the library, eighty centimeters in diameter, big enough for a person to crawl through. The exit is... under the floor of the antiquarian books section."
"That's too risky." Xu Qingqing frowned. "What if the exit is blocked, or there's detection equipment..."
"This is the only hidden passage," Cheng Xu said. "All other entrances are under close surveillance. Moreover, if they didn't know this passage existed, they probably wouldn't have focused on guarding it."
Li Shancheng looked at the diagram of the narrow pipe. Eighty centimeters in diameter was cramped for an adult, let alone carrying equipment. Moreover, it was impossible to move quickly inside; once discovered, one would be a sitting duck.
But he had no choice.
"This is the road," he said. "I'll go first, Sister Su second, Qingqing third, Liu Wei fourth, Cheng Xu fifth, Old Jiang..."
"I'm not going," Jiang Han interrupted him. "I'll stay here and take care of Qin Yunfeng and Su Qing. Besides... if you fail, someone has to know what happened, and someone has to continue."
Li Shancheng looked at the aged guardian and saw the resolute determination in his eyes. Jiang Han knew he was a burden in his current state, so he chose to stay and preserve their last hope.
"Understood." Li Shancheng nodded. "If we succeed, we'll come back for you. If... we don't come back..."
"Don't say things like that." Jiang Han patted his shoulder. "You are Li Mingxuan's grandson, the last descendant of the Wen Shu bloodline. I believe in you."
At 5 PM, the final equipment check took place. Each person carried: specially made night vision goggles, energy suppression patches, communication headsets, an emergency medical kit, and special tools prepared according to their individual capabilities. Li Shancheng also brought five additional fragments of relics—although he didn't know exactly how to use them, his intuition told him that these fragments would come in handy at a crucial moment.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, the sky began to darken. The moon had risen, not yet fully full, but already quite bright. A strange tension permeated the air, palpable even to ordinary people—the streets were less crowded than usual, animals were restless, and electronic devices occasionally malfunctioned for no apparent reason.
"The earth's ley line energy is starting to become active." Jiang Han looked at the moon outside the window. "The night of the full moon is not only an astronomical phenomenon, but also the peak of the energy tide. The array's core will become exceptionally sensitive, and the power of the relics will also increase."
"We should get going," Li Shancheng said.
The five people said goodbye to Jiang Han one by one, then left the apartment and headed towards the library. They didn't drive, but instead walked separately, agreeing to meet at an abandoned substation on a street behind the library.
At 7 p.m., everyone arrived at the designated location. Cheng Xu had already scouted out the entrance to the drainage pipe—a rusty iron cover hidden in the bushes. He used a portable cutter to open the cover, revealing a dark passage leading downwards.
"The pipeline is about 300 meters long, with three turns along the way," Cheng Xu confirmed the route again. "I will maintain communication and notify you immediately if we encounter any blockages or traps. I will be at the very end, so we can evacuate quickly if necessary."
Li Shancheng took a deep breath and was the first to crawl into the pipe. The inside was narrower than he had imagined, damp and cold, filled with a strong musty smell. His night vision goggles illuminated the surroundings in green, revealing moss and unidentified fungi growing on the pipe walls.
He crawled forward slowly, trying not to make a sound. The pipe wasn't straight; it had slight inclines and bends, sometimes requiring him to squeeze through sideways. After crawling about fifty meters, he suddenly stopped—there was an almost invisible energy sensor on the pipe wall ahead.
"There are sensors," he reported in a low voice. "Small, passive, detecting vital signs. Can I bypass them?"
Cheng Xu checked through the camera on Li Shancheng's helmet: "It's possible, but it needs to be very slow. The sensor has a 30-centimeter blind spot. You'll have to crawl along the opposite pipe wall while keeping your heart rate steady."
Li Shancheng did as instructed, his body almost pressed against the cold tube wall, inching forward. Passing the sensor, he could feel its faint energy field, as sensitive as a spiderweb. He controlled his breathing, slowing his heartbeat, and it took him a full two minutes to pass through that dangerous area.
"Passed," he reported, and they moved on.
At the second bend, an unexpected situation occurred: a pipe ruptured, and groundwater seeped in, forming a small puddle. The water wasn't deep, but it might leave a mark.
"We have to get through this," Su Yan said from behind. "There's no turning back."
Li Shancheng carefully waded across the puddle, trying not to splash any water. But when he reached the other side, his night vision goggles showed subtle energy fluctuations on the water's surface—there were detection runes in the water!
"There are runes in the water!" he warned immediately. "Touching the water will trigger them!"
"Can we jump over it?" Xu Qingqing asked.
Li Shancheng estimated the distance; the puddle was about two meters wide, making a running start and jump impossible in the narrow pipe. But perhaps...
He placed his palm against the pipe wall, channeling his energy. Moisture began to condense on the wall, forming a thin ice bridge above the water. The ice bridge wasn't sturdy, but it was strong enough to support a person's weight as they quickly passed through.
"Quickly, one after another!" He was the first to rush across the ice bridge. The ice surface made a slight cracking sound under his feet, but it did not break completely.
Su Yan, Xu Qingqing, and Liu Wei crossed in turn. Cheng Xu was last; as he stepped onto the ice bridge, the bridge finally gave way and shattered completely. But he had already jumped to the other side.
"That was close," Cheng Xu said, panting.
Continue on. After the third turn, the pipe began to slope upwards, meaning the exit was near. Li Shancheng slowed down, becoming more cautious. Sure enough, twenty meters ahead, the pipe was blocked by a metal fence—presumably a safety measure from back then.
The fence was rusty, but still sturdy. Li Shancheng inspected it and discovered that it wasn't connected to an alarm system; it was merely a physical barrier. He used his energy to enhance his arm strength and tried to bend the fence's steel bars. But the rusted metal was harder than he had imagined, and it only bent slightly.