Bill's investigation has not yet yielded results. Sean plans to follow the direction that editor Edward gave him last time and look for clues about the "Judas Ring" in older newspapers and magazines.
In the public reading room of the library at this moment...
Like a worker laying tiles, Sean spread stacks of past newspapers and magazines all over the floor, so that the few readers thought they had met someone with a mental problem and had to leave the reading room with their books.
From the librarian's point of view, Sean was just here to cause trouble - he took out stacks of dusty old newspapers and magazines, and read them very fast, as if he was searching for something, but it was impossible to read them at the speed he was browsing. Clear anything.
The librarian who couldn't bear it, after seeing Sean holding out a pile of old newspapers again, walked up to Sean angrily: "Sir, I don't understand what you are doing..."
Sean was still immersed in the newspaper. He raised one hand and held a brand new 5 New Zealand dollar between his two fingers. The edge of the note almost scratched the librarian's nose: "After reading, I will put them all back into place. No need to bother you—I have only one request, please don’t disturb me.”
The librarian's expression softened instantly: "It's understandable, it's understandable..." He took off the 5 New Zealand dollars and turned away as fast as he came.
After two days of soaking in old newspapers, it was now close to closing time. Sean stretched out in the reading room illuminated by electric lights. His mood was not as relaxed as it seemed on the surface:
"I have browsed through all the newspapers and magazines in the collection in the past two days. The time span is about twenty years, and I have not found any clues about the Judas Ring..."
Sean sighed: "I knew the 'silence sign' meant a complete ban, but I didn't expect that the ban would be so complete - not even half of the relevant word could be found.
"There are only two possibilities. First, the Judas Ring acted extremely mysteriously during its most rampant period, so almost no reports about it can be found in any newspaper.
"Second, the Holy Palace has extremely strong control. After the Ring of Judas became taboo, all relevant newspapers were selected and destroyed..."
Sean propped his elbows on the table, crossed his hands in front of his nose, closed his eyes and thought for a while.
He always felt that things were a little unnatural: "Edward didn't need to lie to me. He said that there were clues in the newspapers of the past. He must have seen relevant reports in the newspapers of the past.
"However, I just selected several large newspapers and periodicals. The time span is very large and there is no interruption in the dates. How can I not find those reports? Did the Holy Court reprint all the issues with reports?
"How is it possible to do such a thing? Why is it necessary?"
"Even if you use the 'self-keeping secret' feature, it is impossible to achieve such an effect!"
His mind was in a mess, Sean frowned, feeling that he seemed to have overlooked something important...
"It feels very unnatural. What is going on?"
"Sir." A gentle and polite voice sounded in his ears.
Sean opened his eyes and looked up. It was the administrator who had collected his money. He now smiled with eight teeth and folded his hands, like a well-trained service staff in a high-end restaurant: "We are going to close here. You are welcome to come again tomorrow."
"knew."
After leaving the library and walking on a street with clear street lights and a slight chill, with few pedestrians, the mist drifted away in Sean's breath.
"There is no result yet from Bill's side, and there is no progress in browsing old newspapers..."
There has been no progress for the time being, which makes Sean very sad at the moment.
However, Sean is different now than before.
He used to feel very insecure walking on the street, always worried about being attacked by enemies lurking in the shadows.
Now... because he is in a irritable mood, he really hopes that someone with shortsightedness will provoke him, preferably the driver George, so that he can use various strange powers to torture the other person until death is worse than death, and force him to confess. Liya's whereabouts...
"Just think about it... If the conflict turns to the bright side, it will be detrimental to both Aaliyah and I." Looking at the dimly lit city, Sean exhaled a breath of mist and walked towards home.
It takes about fifteen minutes to walk home from the public library, passing through a dark cemetery.
Sean liked the silence in this area, which allowed him to calm down and think.
Turning his head to look at the quiet cemetery with only a few streetlights illuminating the trees, Sean, who had always been a little depressed, suddenly remembered something and straightened his back: "There is also a place where you can read old newspapers! And there are The data has probably not been processed!”
In the Explorer Library, there is an "old book cemetery" that sank underground due to geological disasters.
——
Sean arrived at the Explorer Center early the next morning: "Listening to the introduction from the explorer last time, there seems to be danger lurking in the old book cemetery.
"I won't call him Moonlight this time - the mission in Undercurrent Street had a big impact on him, so he needs to rest."
Standing under the building, Sean adjusted the collar of his coat: "This time I will explore the secret alone..."
Taking the elevator to the underground floor again, passing through the association security personnel wearing red "First Regulator" masks, rows of three-dimensional bookshelves, and the central circular part of the cross-shaped layout, Sean walked into the library. In the North District.
Nearing the end of the North District, a section of the three-dimensional bookshelves that had been continuous was vacant, as if an entire wall had collapsed, unable to block the sight of passers-by.
Sean looked across the void and saw a strange sight.
In the neat and orderly library, there seems to be a temple piled up by various books that has collapsed due to the passage of time.
The light of the library's chandelier shines in the "cemetery of old books", and you can see the shape of a vaulted roof above the ground. There is even a flagpole on it, with a white New Zealand flag hanging down.
"...the whole thing that was once the 'Municipal Library' has sunk underground. This is the top of the library."
There are several dark holes on the outside of the vault, and there seems to be fire flickering in them.
The sudden chaos in order, the dilapidated buildings underground... these gave Sean an unreal feeling, as if this place was a dream about the past and old books.
Sean took a step forward and walked onto a path that seemed to be piled up with all kinds of old books.
On the road approaching the vaulted roof, a warning signboard was erected: "Risk warning for explorers: There are valuable materials in the old site of the municipal library. The association encourages explorers to bring out documents with research value from it. After identification, corresponding rewards will be given. Reward. However, there are unknown risks in this area, and it is not recommended for practitioners to enter. It is not recommended for explorers below the Queen level to enter below the third floor - Risk Control Department of the Explorers Association."
"It's the Risk Control Department again..." Sean thought of Austin, who always seemed capable and strong. "Exploration is a process of constantly poking holes and making mistakes. The Risk Control Department should be the busiest organization in the association..."
After passing the nameplate, we walked not far in front of the vaulted roof, which looked like a small square made of old books. As soon as Sean set foot here, he felt a strange feeling coming from his left side.
Sean turned his head slightly and looked over.
A woman with greasy chestnut hair was lying on what looked like a section of the wall. Glasses thicker than the bottom of a wine bottle were placed on her button nose with freckles, making her eyes dilated to a somewhat comical degree.
She was not wearing a mask, wearing a floral sweater and dirty fingerless gloves. She was reading a few pieces of paper in one hand and chewing on the nails of the other hand.
Her expression was focused and... strange - there was a smile on her lips, her eyes sometimes showed fear, sometimes she glowed with excitement, and her whole body seemed to be trembling slightly.
"This man..." Sean frowned, wanting to stay away, "What's going on?"
