novelraw Chapter 3 Librarian
Chapter 3 Librarian
"Brother, could you please tap the screen for us to get off at Luojinghe Station?" A group of children on summer vacation boarded the bus and gently tugged at Lin Zhuo's sleeve.
Most of the passengers on this train were elderly people, and they all knew each other. They were all going to the Tonggu Cultural Center to participate in cultural activities, such as singing, dancing, and opera performances. They were not only audience members but also performers. The aisle of the carriage was filled with instrument cases of all sizes, leaving only a narrow space for people to stand.
Lin Zhuo responded. He was in the front half of the carriage, his left hand gripping the handle on the roof, and his right hand against the wall next to the passenger self-service station. He selected his stop and didn't have to keep an eye on whether he had missed his stop.
He was rather absent-minded, his full attention was absorbed in the newbie guide posts on the forum, and he was so eager for this knowledge that he felt it was a waste of his life to spend even a little bit of his energy on unrelated things.
I selected a destination for the children: Falling Whale River Station, the central area of Redwater City's surface, where the colonial ships that explored the area landed in the past.
The ancient metal ship was named the Narwhal, and it never rose again after landing.
The ship was dismantled piece by piece, turning into building materials and industrial raw materials, just like a real whale being slaughtered. The core fusion engine was moved underground, just like the whale's heart sinking to the seabed. The flesh and blood nourished the earliest colonists, and in the end, only a sparse and towering skeleton was left as a site for people to visit.
The children chattered away like a flock of birds as they discussed their plans for visiting the Whale River Station. The elderly people nearby watched with smiles and invited them to sit on their laps.
They really didn't hold back, using these gray-haired grandpas and grandmas as human cushions.
Lin Zhuo watched their chattering, adorable little faces. One child looked up at him and asked, "What does Brother Comrade do? Is he a soldier?"
"No," he replied with a smile.
"This comrade must have gone to university," the elderly man holding the child said with certainty.
"Wow, university, that's amazing!" The kids were very supportive, their eyes sparkling. Their innocent admiration made Lin Zhu unable to admit his current predicament with employment, so he could only nod slightly in response.
The carriage was lively because of these children, who were the apple of the elderly people's eyes. The conversation did not linger on the only young person standing in the aisle. The grandparents in charge of the talent show were coaxed by the children and immediately took out their instruments to sing and play together.
When Lin Zhuo came to his senses, he found himself in a concert hall. The train carriage had become a resonating cavity, and joyful sound waves surged in from all directions, engulfing his eardrums. The children were clapping with delight, and he could no longer concentrate on his reading, so he could only helplessly watch the performance.
The sudden music sparked a flash of inspiration in Lin Zhuo's mind, prompting him to ponder silently.
The difficulty of triggering the quests for Qigong Masters varies, but relatively speaking, the [Recluse] quest is the closest to daily life.
One can gain fame and recognition by inspiring people through artistic performances, or by doing things that ordinary people cannot do, such as climbing to the top of a mountain with bare hands or crossing rivers and seas with a single sail, thus winning a reputation for being extraordinary and charismatic. All of these can earn achievement points.
Lin Zhuo is not ashamed of using art to entertain the masses, and this path is very easy. Online forums have plenty of entertainment materials from multiple universes to broaden one's horizons. He is confident that he can use this to create novel and interesting works to make people laugh.
Lin Zhuo had considered that, given the social security environment he lived in, the path of the [King of Heroes] was probably the least likely to be triggered, since opportunities to right wrongs were extremely rare these days. Peaceful times and meticulous oversight had squeezed out the living space for this historical group of heroes.
The [Champion's Path] is also extremely difficult to trigger.
Lin Zhuo enlisted in the army the day he entered university. However, the military establishment in Hongshui City and even the entire Cuirang Star has always been very tight, and vacancies are only made up after veterans leave, so the number of recruits each year is extremely small.
At that time, all the eligible senior college students who wanted to stay in the military went to draw lots, and the scene was packed with people. He wasn't lucky enough to win a lot, and now it's unlikely he can go back.
Becoming a master craftsman might be easier. From children's toys to colossal wonders, and even various crafts and skills, as long as they can benefit the people of a certain time and place, or give people genuine emotion, they are all achievements.
To become a renowned healer, one must first study medicine and obtain certification. It takes three to five years of hard work. If one becomes a quack doctor, one is unlikely to go far in this era.
The "fake immortals" in the two paths of non-goodness are professionals who cheat, deceive, and pretend to be gods and ghosts, which goes against progressive ideas, and Lin Zhuo is unwilling to do it.
As for the path to becoming a [dominant force], if one can be selected into an interstellar pioneering team to explore and colonize outer space, it would be a promising road to success and achievement.
Unfortunately, although he was sincere in his feelings for Mingyue, he failed the interview and approval process, so this path is probably blocked.
The journey was difficult, and Lin Zhuo felt a little worried about the future, but he was quickly encouraged by the songs and music of the older generation in the carriage, which eased his mind.
"Goodbye, Comrade Brother!" When they got off the train at the station, the children said goodbye to Lin Zhuo, waving their little hands like chubby anemones in an aquarium.
Gladiolus Library is a relatively unknown leisure and cultural institution. It occupies a small area and is located in a corner on the first floor of the G10 building. It is quite far from the prime location near the elevator, so the number of visitors is not high.
Most of the visitors on weekdays are adults who pretend to go to work. They come to clock in around 10 a.m., sit in the building all day, and then leisurely take the elevator up to the community canteen on the middle floor of the building to have dinner with their families in the late afternoon.
Lin Zhuo was able to come here as a temporary worker thanks to Comrade Chijiang's introduction.
As the oldest and most authoritative artificial intelligence on the planet Cuirang, Chijiang accompanies its citizens from birth to death. They can seek its help for any trivial matter in life, and it never hesitates to lend a helping hand.
Lin Zhuo was happy with the librarian job that Chi Jiang had assigned him.
His main responsibilities included typesetting and proofreading e-books in the library, recommending reading materials to customers, and occasionally acting as an online reviewer.
Cultural and entertainment works imported from colonies on other planets often contain local ideological propaganda and need to be reviewed by specialists with a credit rating of Level 3 or above, who will then annotate and suggest revisions for sensitive content.
This job sounds serious and respectable, but the actual work is more like panning for gold in a sea of dung. There are so many random and unreliable imported entertainment products that Lin Zhuo often feels like he's getting a work injury.
His only advantage was that he was relatively free and had a lot of free time to read. He could choose books that interested him to broaden his horizons, and he was content because he learned something every day.
Lin Zhuo stepped inside, ready to clock in for work, when a warm greeting drifted from the library's lounge counter. The young and pretty waitress, Shu Wan, stood on tiptoe and waved to him.
"Brother Lin is back. My sister came to see me today. Little sister, this is Comrade Lin Zhuo. He went to university. You were hesitating about whether to take the college entrance exam, right? You can ask him if you don't understand anything."
Shu Wan's younger sister is in high school. When chatting with her older sister, she always pouts, looking a little defiant. But when she sees Lin Zhuo, she timidly hides behind her sister, only peeking out half of her head, and greets him in a weak voice, "Hello, Brother Lin."
"Hello, comrade." Lin Zhuo grinned and nodded, tapping his wristband onto the time clock. He had taken the morning off, so he was sure to have some work points deducted today.
Shu Wan tugged at her younger sister, but still couldn't get this bully out in public. "Didn't you just say that going to university was useless and that you should find a job right after high school like me? Why are you hiding whenever you see a university student?"
"Sister...please stop...please." The younger sister pressed her forehead against her older sister's back, shrinking completely. Lin Zhuo could see that her earlobes were burning red.
"You must be laughing at me. She's not usually this shy." Shu Wanchong shook her head at Lin Zhuo, then pulled a large thermos from under the counter and handed it to him. "I bet you're still the same. This tea is freshly brewed and still hot, drink it carefully."
Drinks and snacks in the lounge are mostly free, but animal products such as jerky must be exchanged for work points. After all, animal husbandry is relatively expensive for artificial dome cities, so it has always been a scarce resource under control.
Lin Zhuo pondered that if he could develop a more efficient meat production technology with the help of the Comprehensive Network, he might be able to activate the [Master Craftsman] path quest. However, the relevant information would require spending disaster coins to purchase, so the penniless Lin Zhuo should first find a way to make money.
He stood outside the bar chatting with the Shu sisters, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of taking the college entrance exam, and slowly finished two tubes of nutritional paste while sipping hot tea.
At this moment, Shu Wan suddenly raised her hand and beckoned to someone behind him, "Good afternoon, Curator."
Lin Zhuo turned around. Qiao Mingyang, the librarian who was over forty years old, was all smiles, holding a tall stack of physical books in his arms, like a pregnant snake struggling to support the pile of books.
As the librarian, in addition to handling various personnel arrangements and submitting applications to higher authorities, he also prints books for some customers to share and collect.
"I'll take it." Lin Zhuo immediately snatched the pile of books, glanced at it, and saw that on the top was a collection of classical poems from Earth. The contents of the spines of the books below were varied and there seemed to be some thin booklets tucked in between, which were very inconspicuous.
"Oh, good. Xiao Lin is back. How did it go? Did you pass the interview?" Qiao Mingyang was sweating profusely, his glasses were fogged up, but his eyes were still intently fixed on Lin Zhuo.
"without."
Lin Zhuo answered quickly, catching the curator and Shu Wan off guard. Shu Xiaomei peeked out like a snail to examine this unattainable college student.
"Oh dear, this shouldn't be the case. You applied for the pioneer team, which is always short-staffed. How come you were rejected?" Qiao Mingyang lowered his head slightly to wipe his glasses, his eyes still fixed on him.
"It's probably a difference in ideology," Lin Zhuo said with a smile.
Shu Wan was greatly surprised. "How is that possible? Even someone with your personality, Brother Lin, got eliminated? Are all the members of the interstellar pioneer team superhuman?"
The librarian's eyes brightened slightly, and his expression towards him became inexplicably kind. He offered words of comfort: "It's normal for young people to have their own ideas. What's the difference between living life and doing other things? Come help me move these books to the mailroom."