Chapter 3041 Library Summit

First Birthday.

It was a somewhat strange name for a book.

However, Fu Qian didn't question Excellency Corvos's claim. Instead, he let his thoughts expand on the premise.

And the very first thing that came to mind was the Birthday Party.

The correlation between "First Birthday" and a birthday was simply too strong.

There was even potential evidence right in front of him: Corvos had obviously relied on the power of "First Birthday" to accomplish this spatial jump, bringing everyone along with him.

Looking around, he could see that Stoss, Logan, and even Classmate Su Gao were all present.

And just as Corvos had said, their current surroundings were much brighter than before.

To be so casual yet precise—was "First Birthday" truly this powerful, or did it expose a connection to the Birthday Party?

"How is it?"

Corvos seemed to have misunderstood, checking to see if Fu Qian was satisfied with their new reception area.

"It's excellent. It feels like bathing in a sea of knowledge," Fu Qian replied.

How could Fu Qian refuse such great hospitality? Glancing around, he immediately gave it a high appraisal.

He wasn't just throwing words around, either. As an academic, he believed in treating people with sincerity, and this place truly had a rich scholarly atmosphere—

The excellent lighting came from wide, large windows. Beneath them sat long, dark wood-grain tables and equally tall, matching shelves.

That's right—it actually looked like an old-school library.

Corvos truly lived up to his position as a top-tier leader; what seemed like idle chatter remained closely tied to the main topic.

They had just mentioned Fu Qian's business territory in Shangjing, and the next moment, this casually chosen, brightly lit venue seemed to take that into consideration.

A relatively familiar venue would undoubtedly make the guest truly experience what it meant to have Guests Feel at Home.

"This place is much more spacious than mine."

The most important thing when facing a leader's care was letting the leader know you had recognized it.

Before Corvos could respond, Fu Qian made himself even clearer.

His words were still a bit immodest, though. In terms of floor space alone, that small shop in Shangjing couldn't even compare to a single bookshelf here.

Even its popularity wasn't lacking. Despite this being a place like the Birthday Party, a scattered "Crowd" still sat at the long tables beneath the windows.

...

He had even chosen a non-office setting? Was this the perspective of a big shot?

This place didn't look like an important military hub to begin with. Combined with the sight of idle personnel coming and going freely, it was obvious that Corvos was not conforming to a single pattern when picking the venue. He didn't care for superficial formalities.

It couldn't even be ruled out that this place wasn't a permanent structure at all—

"I also thought this place was quite nice. It's rare for a spot with such good lighting to pop up."

His guess was soon confirmed.

Corvos didn't play the riddler; he casually explained the origin of the place.

"To pop up"—that phrase alone made it obvious. Sure enough, this location had only recently spawned.

It was even quite reasonable. After all, a Hongmen banquet was also held in a temporarily pitched tent.

"It seems my luck isn't too bad."

Amid his praise, Fu Qian had already taken a seat at Corvos's invitation.

The five of them were located on a low platform within the library's main hall.

Surrounded by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, there were indeed some relatively formal chairs.

Sitting sideways to face each other, it truly gave off the vibe of a high-level summit.

The only problem was that there were only four chairs—not quite enough.

With the guest of honor and the primary host seated, the three escorts found themselves in a rather awkward game of musical chairs.

Fortunately, none of them were newcomers to the dinner table—bah, to the workplace. After Stoss and Logan exchanged a glance, the two older men promptly sat down.

Indeed, Classmate Su Gao looked very much like she was being iced out in the workplace.

As a newly advanced Tier 2, no one had even offered her a seat.

Of course, this was only "seemingly." In that moment, even someone as esteemed as the Academic Leader, Fu Qian, couldn't help but marvel at Su Gao's status within the Night Watchers.

When encountering an awkward situation at work, the greatest respect one could show a colleague was not dragging her into it.

In Fu Qian's eyes, it wasn't that the two older men disdained to offer her a seat; rather, they naturally felt that Su Gao shouldn't have to worry about this awkwardness. He could only say that she truly lived up to being Classmate Su Gao, exuding a sense of deeply accumulated prestige.

Even now, her expression remained calm and tranquil. She stood there without the slightest hint of discomfort.

"So 'First Birthday' can take us to any corner of the Birthday Party?"

Amid his musings, Fu Qian hadn't forgotten the peculiarly named item in Corvos's hand and continued to voice his curiosity.

"Yes, anywhere... And because of that, it sometimes brings a bit of trouble. For instance, accidentally sending us into buildings that are in the process of dying."

Corvos still wasn't stingy with his words, confirming Fu Qian's guess.

"That is quite troublesome."

Having already heard Su Gao mention the scenes of old buildings being replaced by new ones, Fu Qian could easily imagine the situation Corvos described and strongly empathized with it.

Getting hit on the head by a brick was naturally nothing, but one couldn't forget that accompanying these buildings was clearly an entire ecosystem.

If they accidentally ended up in a place like that, it wouldn't be surprising no matter what kind of commotion the withering "Crowd" inside was causing.

"But why are you so sure it was its power? It's entirely possible that I simply felt holding it fit my image since I was coming to this place."

Excellency Corvos, however, seemed highly suspicious. Frowning slightly, he demanded that Fu Qian give a reason for his earlier guess...

Why? Because he had seen a real-life example, of course.

Excellency Corvos's question carried a hint of deliberately making things difficult.

But for Fu Qian, his earlier judgment hadn't just been based on guesswork.

Holding a book in hand, then going wherever one wanted to go.

Back in the Sacred Night Capital, the Night Watchers' second headquarters, Excellency Levin had already demonstrated a similar method.

While Fu Qian didn't think it was necessarily the exact same mechanism, with so many similar elements, it was simply too easy to draw the connection.

The only problem was that if he voiced this answer, it would practically bring his previous troublemaking in the Sacred Night Capital out into the open.

Perhaps the Supreme Council already had their suspicions, but once certain things were brought to the table, the situation for Chief Yuan and her teacher would undoubtedly become far too awkward.

In short, Excellency Corvos's question was rather tricky. It seemed like idle chatter, but the hidden killing intent was hard to conceal.

Although the explanation about matching his image really had no flaws.

Excellency Corvos, holding "First Birthday," undoubtedly looked the most like someone swimming in a sea of knowledge. The only problem was that even with it openly displayed beside him, the contents on the pages were completely incomprehensible.

Looking from this angle, Fu Qian could tell that there weren't any words on it at all.

Instead, just like the cover, it was entirely pieced together from geometric patterns in gold and silver—both dazzlingly intricate and secretly containing a hidden rhythm.

"Because you said it's called 'First Birthday.'"

Faced with what was, in a sense, a lethal trap of a question, Fu Qian casually provided a different answer.

"Although I can't read the contents, it always reminds me of certain things that can record a whole year's worth of good and bad fortune.

"And then there's the rather heavy atmosphere of the Birthday Party in this regard. Earlier today, I even just cast a fortune-telling hexagram."