Chapter 84 - Library (2/2)

“Library?” Xia Fei read out the words on that building plaque.

There was actually no one around this library. The front stairs were littered with trash and leaves, and it was unknown how long it had been since someone last cleaned this place. The white walls were already mottled, giving off a sense of solitude after witnessing the vicissitudes of life.

In the age where information boomed, the interplanetary internet could easily provide people with books that no one would be able to finish reading in many lifetimes, so this sort of library from a bygone era was becoming less and less valued, almost to the point of neglect.

Since Xia Fei had nothing else to do, he went up the flight of stairs with twelve steps, arriving at the main entrance to the library.

A sign was hanging on the door which read: recruiting librarians.

It was unknown how long this sign had been hanging there as the words themselves had faded a lot. It took Xia Fei sometime before he could make out what it said.

Pushing open the door and making his way inside, the unique smell of ink on paper entered his nostrils as rows upon rows of neatly positioned big and tall bookshelves held old tomes. It was really hard to believe that in the modern era of advanced technology, there would actually be such a quaint place.

The counter where a librarian would be was empty, and there was only an overweight fat black cat lazily sprawled across the table. With its size already beyond what a cat should have, the cat seemed more like a ball of fur—the kind that ate up all space.

Judging from its half-closed eyes, the cat lying on the table should have been taking a nap but was roused from sleep by Xia Fei’s arrival; its golden eyes focused on him in annoyance for a moment, then the cat resumed its wonderful dream.

Xia Fei felt very curious. Heaven Execution Training Camp claimed to have the best facilities and resources in this star region, so who knew what sort of books could be found in its library?

Pulling out an old tome, which was as thick as a dictionary, and casually flipping through it, the few pages he scanned through told him that it was an introduction to the various types of ore, from the low-grade mineral spars to the high-grade black crystal ore. Every possible variation which could be found across the universe, including instructions on how to mine and smelt them, was written in this thick tome.

An old man with beefy legs and thick arms came walking out of the librarian’s office. Just like the cat, he was very obese. Even the simplest activity like walking left him struggling to breathe.

He made his way to the desk and looked at Xia Fei, saying, “Lad.”

“You talking to me, old man?”

The old man nodded, stabbing a chubby finger to a sign on the table. “Ten points an hour, with a twenty percent discount if you pass six hours.”

Xia Fei was stunned. It turned out that browsing a book would cost him points, and it was a fairly expensive price point to boot. Ten points could let him rent a large, comprehensive training room.

Xia Fei shrugged helplessly. “Sorry, I’ve just arrived at the training camp, so I don’t even have a point to my name.”

The obese, old man sighed, stroking the lazy black cat with his hand. “Woe to me. I’ve finally managed to catch someone reading a book, only for him to be a pauper.”

Xia Fei chuckled. “There are very few who come to this library normally, probably because the fees are too high. Perhaps you’ll attract more readers and earn better if you lower the price by a bit.”

The obese, old man was evidently annoyed by the suggestion. “Do you think these are radishes, haggling with the prices like that? These are all books! Precious tomes—do you understand? Ten points for an hour of reading is already a steal.”

Xia Fei was silent. He pulled out a cigarette and did not say a word.

“Young men nowadays are becoming more and more uneducated, only knowing how to train, train, train. All these resources here yet not knowing how to properly use them,” muttered the obese, old man to himself with much resentment.

Taking a moment to think, Xia Fei asked, “Why don’t you put these books online? That way, anyone can read them whenever they wish to do so.”

The obese, old man rolled his eyes at him. “Suppose you have a house of treasures; will you put it online and let others view it at their discretion?”

Xia Fei furrowed his brows. “Of course not. Good things ought to be hidden, but I’ve glanced through a few books here, and while they’re fairly precious, it isn’t to a point of being invaluable as you make them out to be.”

The obese, old man looked to be very incensed by his remark. He gestured at Xia Fei to follow him.

The library was split into two floors, and the bookcases on the second floor were larger than those on the first floor. Twelve of these bookcases were enough to cover the entire floor space.

These bookcases were all made of metal and mahogany, and the tomes were neatly placed behind transparent glasses.

A ventilation system ensured that bookcases would remain in dry condition. Even the temperature was set to something suitable for book storage; each of these bookcases was even fitted with a combination lock to prevent anyone from gaining access to the tomes whenever they wished to do so.

Xia Fei was very intrigued by this. The library was just a place to store books; why would it need such a sophisticated maintenance system?

He walked over to take a look at the books inside, and he could not help but gasp!

The books were all records from the ancient civilization, some pertaining to warships and others about robots; they encompassed all aspects of the lives of the ancient civilization.

The obese, old man had one hand on the stair railing, wheezing hard. It seemed that just a dozen steps was taxing enough for his elderly self.

“How is it? These are all out of print information detailing the most tabooed knowledge in the Pan-Human Alliance, the robot technology of the ancients. The interplanetary internet doesn’t allow for the appearance of any books related to robots, and what you’re looking at is the interplanetary repository. Whatever you can’t find on the internet can all be found here,” proudly declared the obese, old man.

Phantom had already appeared from his Moore Stone by then and gazed at these bookcases filled with tomes for a long time. “He’s not wrong. Because the ancient civilization was decimated by the robots, it led to the Pan-Human Alliance harboring a strong aversion toward any robot- and AI-related objects or materials. These are all restricted in the alliance.

“A long time ago, there was once a movement in the Alliance to revitalize the past in hopes of rebuilding the glory of yesteryear, but since such information couldn’t be distributed over the interplanetary internet, ancient civilization aficionados made them available in the form of books, then circulated them in their cliques for perusal.

“Later, when the Alliance learned of such a thing, a large-scale seizure of all those books was enacted, and many of the works were destroyed. There’s no doubt that these books we see before us now are safe-kept from that period,” explained Phantom.

After bragging about these treasures, Xia Fei was very aggressively chased away by that obese, old man; since he had got no points, he had no reason to be there.

Turning around to see the sign about recruiting librarians, Xia Fei began going down the same path he had come from.

“Phantom, what are your thoughts on the library?” asked Xia Fei.

Phantom was quiet for quite a while before he gave his answer. “The more something is prohibited, the more valuable it becomes.”