Stream Pearlstone was born on a planet where the oceans covered 99% of the surface area. When it was young, its body was always coated with thick layers of salt crust, and the seawater polished it into a smooth outer surface.

Among the Flash Clan, it stood out as unusual because it had the broadest perspective and the most demanding taste. Its clansmen did not like staying on the same planet as it, lest their own underground palaces be picked apart by its nitpicking. But recently, Stream Pearlstone seemed much quieter than before. Could it be that it had already entered its dormancy period?

"Even if it's asleep, asking it to serve as a judge and review submissions is really putting it in a difficult position."

"The meeting decided that the Flash Clan would be responsible for reviewing this writing competition. How could it just fall asleep whenever it wants?" the purple giant said. "I'll go find it."

In fact, Stream Pearlstone was slowly flipping through the Ancient Tomb Code page by page, afraid that if it read too fast, it would immediately finish the book.

When it first picked up this submission, it had been extremely dismissive. The manuscript was too thin. Roughly estimated, it wasn't even one hundred thousand words. What could possibly be written in a mere hundred thousand words? The plot wouldn't even have time to unfold, let alone describe the rich and colorful underground world. This wasn't some online novel site for terrestrial creatures, where, as long as readers were willing to pay, they would sell anything. They produced physical books, and they were very particular about quality.

However, after flipping through the first ten pages, its heart skipped a beat. It felt like this underground world was a little different.

It described a planet called Earth, which concealed many mineral resources. Some distinguished people, before dying, would build tombs for themselves and bury countless treasures inside, hoping to live comfortably in the afterlife. After burial, the tomb would be sealed and hidden forever in the depths of the Earth. At the same time, to prevent grave robbers, the tomb owner would set up many traps inside the ancient tomb.

But wealth stirred human desire. In order to steal burial goods, tomb raiders employed every possible skill, even forming schools and factions. Over time, four major techniques emerged: Seeking for Jade, Probing for Gold, Feeling for Treasure, and Cutting Through Mountains. Each of these had countless branches, but they were generally classified under these four categories.

In ancient times, families of wealth and power, upon hearing that someone had mastered one of these techniques, would politely invite them as honored guests, fearing that their ancestral graves might be dug up. This was a testament to how arrogant and rampant tomb raiders once were.

It was said that during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the top masters of these four techniques agreed to rob the tomb of the First Emperor of Qin.

After performing rituals to Heaven and Earth, they set out and never returned. Later, the four schools gradually declined and were lost, until they were eventually grouped among the lowest professions.

"This novel is actually describing the underground world of the human race," Stream Pearlstone felt somewhat unconvinced. "Can it really compare to mine?"

But the idea that an entire school of thought had developed purely for exploring the underground world was intriguing, and it wanted to keep reading.

[

"I suspect that your village was once the location of a branch of the Feeling for Treasure Sect," the strange old man said. "Feeling for Treasure evolved from diving into the sea to harvest pearls. People relied on nothing but a rope and a curved knife to dive down and collect pearls from clams. Over time, they trained a pair of 'Water Eyes' and 'Knife Hands.'

'Water Eyes' could see clearly underwater, but once on land, they would tear up at the slightest wind. Meanwhile, 'Knife Hands' possessed immense strength, where two fingers alone could lift a giant clam weighing over a hundred pounds. With these two advantages, stealing other treasures naturally became easier. But 'stealing' sounded unpleasant, so they were called the Feeling for Treasure Sect.

At first, they only stole gold and silver. Later, they became truly formidable, obtaining heavenly materials, earthly treasures, and century-old spirits. They could take everything with a single reach.

It's said that they sealed their treasures at the Yin-Yang River and even selected a few spirits to guard the place… Judging by the look on your face, you've been struck by baleful energy. If you want to live, you'll have to find the Feeling for Treasure Sect's burial ground. Are you willing to take this trip with me?"

The boy beside the strange old man closed his eyes, as if he couldn't bear to watch.

I felt that he was rather strange, and the old man's words were even less trustworthy. Water Eyes? Couldn't pearl divers just get dry eye syndrome from occupational injuries? He truly had no sympathy for the working class.

But when I looked at my mother's reddened, tear-filled eyes, I decided to follow the eccentric old man on this trip. He gave me a dose of traditional Chinese medicine that temporarily alleviated my weakness.

]

As the protagonist explored the village, the wondrous sights of the ancient tomb beneath the river slowly unfolded.

They tied a rope to a rat to search for ventilation holes in the tomb, confronted a rare weasel spirit, splashed realgar wine, and sacrificed roosters.

Entering the tomb passage, traps were everywhere.

The Life-and-Death Moth Lock: one wrong step, and all ten fingers would be instantly severed.

The Dark River One-Line Bridge: beneath the river was another river, and the only way forward was to climb along a rope; falling meant plunging into a pitch-black abyss.

The Rolling Stone Passage: a massive stone thundered downward through a narrow passage, crushing every possible escape route.

Inside the ancient tomb, there were also brilliant and fantastical murals, seemingly telling an unknown history. But once exposed to air, they immediately dissipated into nothingness, leaving only the protagonist to remember their contents…

The detailed and complex settings greatly broadened the horizons of this Flash Clan member. Sentient animals, terrifying mechanisms, and pitch-dark tombs. These seemed to be only the tip of the iceberg of some ancient history.

With every new revelation, its curiosity grew more unbearable, desperate to know what lay beneath. Moreover, each page was more astonishing than the last, as if the novel's worldbuilding was perfectly formed with an inexhaustible inspiration.

It couldn't help but imagine whether similar mechanisms awaited exploration inside its own underground palaces. And since it knew how to Feel for Treasure, Probe for Gold, Seek for Jade, and Cut Through Mountains—

Oh no... It actually wanted to excavate its own clan's dungeons!

Stream Pearlstone continued to read excitedly.

So there really existed a kind of underground world completely different from that of their Flash Clan!

As the plot progressed, the three protagonists finally reached the last tomb chamber. The strange old man burst into wild laughter with a crazed expression.

The taciturn boy looked ashen. But after enduring countless hardships to break through the mechanisms, what awaited them was a massive snake with a red tumor on its head.

[

I immediately recognized the stench. It was the monster I had encountered before losing consciousness. It turned out to be a snake?

The strange old man's lips trembled, and he seemed to age twenty years in an instant. Clutching his head, he said, "Impossible! The treasure guarding this tomb… is actually a Jiao!" (T/N: 蛟 (jiāo) - flood dragon, a snake-like creature that has not yet fully transformed into an actual dragon. )

When a snake cultivates deep in the mountains, consuming the essence of the sun and moon, a tumor will grow on its head like a lantern. If it grows further, horns will sprout from the tumor, and it will turn into a Jiao. After that, it must undergo tribulations, enter the sea, and ascend the Dragon Gate. As for true dragons, opinions vary, but no one has proof.

That ugly snake… was actually a Jiao?

"Yes, yes! There's a Yin-Yang River here. The one on land is the Yang River, filled with strange rocks. It was clearly meant to slice the Jiao open once it emerged! The Yin River only allows entry, not exit… Damn it! The Feeling for Treasure school didn't build this tomb to store treasure, but to suppress a snake that preyed on cattle and sheep!" the strange old man cried in grief. "My days are numbered, and I wasted three whole years!"

Compared to him, the Feeling for Treasure Sect sounded far more beneficial to the people.

]

The protagonist's occasional sarcastic remarks often made readers smile. Along the way, Stream Pearlstone developed a fondness for the protagonist and subconsciously hoped he would be safe. But what the strange old man did next filled it with rage.

It turned out that the old man was never righteous. He wanted to seek treasure, but upon hearing that a spirit guarded the tomb, he deliberately found two boys to offer as sacrifices. The protagonist narrator and the taciturn youth were his offerings.

The taciturn boy came from a feudal village that still practiced river sacrifices. The strange old man had saved him, but also poisoned him to make him mute. Along the journey, his inappropriate behavior toward the narrator was actually an attempt to save him.

After failing to obtain the treasure, the strange old man became enraged. He tried to kill the boys using the tomb's mechanisms, deliberately activating the Snake-Slaying River passage.

At the critical moment, the Jiao saved the protagonist's life, and the ancient tomb collapsed. The strange old man was swept onto the riverbank and was captured by the villagers. Seeing the Jiao on the brink of death, the protagonist felt pity and, together with the taciturn boy, dragged it to a lake and released it.

[

My illness healed without medicine. The strange old man was arrested for fraud and for damaging public property. Only that boy remained. He was a despised outcast and was now homeless.

But my mother was kind-hearted, and our village was full of warm people, so they took him in. He lived with my family, took my surname, and was named Fu Huaining.

Ten years later, he and I remembered the murals from the ancient tomb and had another extraordinary encounter. I recorded everything in my diary. Looking back now, it still fills me with emotion.

I only knew that we were no longer children meant to be sacrificed. People of the trade called us the Twin Fiends of the Fu Family.

]

What a cool title! Stream Pearlstone also wanted to find another Flash Clan member and be known together as the Twin Radiance of the Flash Clan!

And then they could dig up their own clan's underground palaces together!

Stream Pearlstone suddenly thought of the underground palace it had built. Because the Flash Clan was enormous and feared no external invasion, their underground palaces had no bizarre or treacherous mechanisms at all.

There were no murals recording history either. The Flash Clan had always relied on their own memories to preserve history. What was forgotten didn't need to be sought again.

There were also no strange creatures guarding or imprisoned underground. They had long since driven away any other beings that once lived below.

If some creature really tried to steal something from their clan, it would probably find their place extremely boring.

Its own underground palace wasn't exciting at all!

Stream Pearlstone suddenly felt a bit of inferiority. No, the Flash Clan's underground world had to be the best! It would read more about this human underground world first, then criticize it properly.

It flipped to the next page and let out a long sigh of relief.

Thankfully, the book had enough words. After finishing this story, it could still read another one…

The following story took place ten years later. The Fu brothers were sought out with a large sum of money to explore a cliffside hanging tomb by the sea. The entrance was connected to murals that the protagonist once remembered.

The locals had a custom of sea burials. After death, coffins were lowered down sheer cliffs with tools, then carried away naturally by the sea during high tide. But in recent years, the sea level has dropped. It exposed half of the hanging tomb's structure and revealed an ancient tomb carved into the cliff by a descendant of the Cutting Through Mountains Sect!

"There are more tombs!" Stream Pearlstone excitedly flipped the page. However, what awaited it was only blankness.

Stream Pearlstone's mind went blank as well.

Oh right! The submission was only half complete…

Along with it, a letter from Canghai fell out.

[

"Esteemed Flash Empire, I don't know if you'll see this. In truth, in order to gain more chances for my incomplete manuscript to be read, I lied. I've only written one-eighth of the outline. I sincerely apologize!"

]

Stream Pearlstone instantly felt furious at being tricked. This Canghai had actually dared to submit only one-eighth of the work, showing absolutely no respect for the Flash Empire's submission rules! It would definitely educate him thoroughly and let him know what the rules of an ancient race were, and what dignity the Pangshi Galaxy possessed!

Its anger caused the surrounding pebbles to tremble. Afterward, the vibrations gradually diminished, reached a certain point, and then slowly intensified again.

Looking closely, Stream Pearlstone was actually secretly delighted!

This was great! Was there anything more worth celebrating than this? The Ancient Tomb Code wasn't finished yet! There were still seven-eighths left for it to read! There were still countless ancient tombs waiting to be explored!

When would Canghai send the rest…

As long as he sent it, it would forgive his rule-breaking behavior.

Stream Pearlstone waited happily.

While waiting, why not dig up a fellow clan member's underground palace?

It acted immediately. Just as it was about to grab its tools and head to another planet, Snakeheart Stone came looking for it.

SnakeHeart Stone was born in a mine, slender in shape, with stalactites growing on its body. In humanoid form, its lower half resembled a long, winding snake tail.

It resembled the Jiao mentioned in the book.

Stream Pearlstone instantly found Snakeheart Stone very pleasing to look at.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Snakeheart Stone asked warily. "I thought you fell asleep and stopped working. Was there really no satisfactory novel?"

"There was," Stream Pearlstone replied. "But I have a question. Are you willing to dig Big Purple's underground palace with me?"

Big Purple was the purple giant who had hosted the meeting.

"Why would I dig someone else's home?" Snakeheart Stone flicked its tail, causing rocks to tumble. Stream Pearlstone thought of the Rolling Stone Passage from the book and sighed regretfully. "If you're not willing, then forget it. By the way, help me review this novel first. Once you read it, you'll understand how I feel."

It sent copies of The Ancient Tomb Code to all of its clansmen. Publishing a physical book required unanimous approval, and it wanted to speed up the process.

"Read mine first! You won't regret it!" Stream Pearlstone didn't know how to write a proper recommendation, so it could only shout awkwardly.

"Did Stream Pearlstone read a hilarious novel?"

"Although it has a terrible personality, since it's recommending it so strongly, I'm curious how funny it really is."

"This writing competition is really lacking in fun…"

The Flash Clan, driven by curiosity, began reading The Ancient Tomb Code one after another. Snakheart Stone also flipped through it half-doubtfully.

Stream Pearlstone planned to use Flash Clan technology to create some excavation tools, so it didn't leave for the time being.

After a few minutes, the star system that had been filled with laughter gradually grew quiet. On the planets, the thunderous sound of falling rocks and the crashing of ocean tides echoed through the vast skies. The enormous mineral race seemed to have truly turned into stone, motionless in place.

After a long time, someone finally turned the next page.

Finding things too quiet, Stream Pearlstone spoke in the shared light-brain group chat:

"Do you know how the protagonist decrypted the Mother-Child Lock Chain?"

Chaotic sounds instantly rang out across various planets. After a burst of electrical crackling, the group chat was filled with overlapping voices:

"Shut up!! No spoilers!!"

Stream Pearlstone stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again:

"There's a twist later for the strange old man's plot."

"Ahhh, Stream Pearlstone! If you spoil again, I'll smash you!!"

"Shut up and get out of Flash Empire!"

"Next time I see you, I'll tear off your rock layers!"

The Flash Clan voiced their anger.

The Ancient Tomb Code was truly captivating to the point that its novel worldview made them want to flip page after page.

Was there actually such an underground world? Such ways to guard tombs? Such methods to decrypt ancient mechanisms?

The protagonist's actions felt like a duel across centuries with long-dead ancients. Time in the underground world seemed frozen, waiting only for the moment it would see the light again before flowing onward.

Two timelines converged. The strange, heavy sense of history contrasted with relaxed exploration, and the joy of adventure burst forth.

They were completely absorbed. After all, when reading a tense and suspenseful novel, the greatest taboo was having other readers spoil it. Doing so ruined the experience.

Only with curiosity about the ending could the moment of revelation bring a truly exhilarating sense of enlightenment. That Stream Pearlstone was truly hateful. Just because it had read it already, it refused to let others read properly!

At that moment, the usually lazy Flash Clan was united in demanding that Stream Pearlstone shut up.

Stream Pearlstone didn't care. It was heading out to dig underground palaces itself!

Coincidentally, Big Purple returned from handling external affairs. The two beings, suspended in their spaceship, brush past each other in space.

Seeing Stream Pearlstone leaving, Big Purple felt exhausted. What trouble did its clansmen stir up this time?

As the most responsible member of the Flash Clan, Big Purple had to handle many miscellaneous matters. For example, removing microorganisms carried on someone's stone body that might damage another planet's mineral environment, or relocating a planet whose star was about to cool down.

It had just received shocking news: their security monitors had detected the possible birth of a newborn clansman!

This newborn was still very small, walked on two legs, and shimmered with dazzling fiery colors. Unfortunately, the Flash Clan's surveillance coverage was limited. After the newborn entered a blind spot, its trace was lost.

"What is Stream Pearlstone up to now…" Big Purple sighed heavily, but no one responded. It sighed again and casually opened a copy of a novel sent by some unknown clansman. Because it was used to handling affairs, its reading speed was extremely fast.

Planets across the universe continued to rotate in endless cycles according to their own laws.

The Flash Clan remained motionless, fully immersed in reading.

The first story ended.

Great! The progress bar was still holding up! There were still a few pages left!

Now it has to turn the pages slowly...

No, even if it finished a page, it had to reread it. It couldn't take it anymore! It wanted the next page!

The next page was finished too! Help! Why was the remaining stack of pages so thin? What's going on?

The last page!

Gone!!

"Ahhh! It's not finished yet!!"

A world-shaking howl of anguish erupted from the planet of the Flash Clan!

"Canghai! I'll remember you! You dared to cut it off here! You have no literary virtue!"

The Flash Clan complained loudly to each other as their emotions fluctuated with unprecedented intensity. They practically wanted to shoulder entire mountains and roll them around the planet!

"Boom boom boom—"

The loudest sound came from the planet closest to the Court of the Star— Big Purple!

It shot out of the planet at high speed, its burning agitation visible even in its afterimage.

"What is Big Purple going to do?" the Flash Clan looked at each other. It was normal for anyone to be excited, but it was extremely rare for Big Purple.

"I know!" Snakeheart Stone slapped the ground. "Earlier, Stream Pearlstone said it wanted to imitate tomb raiding and dig Big Purple's underground palace!"

"What?!"

The Flash Clan condemned Stream Pearlstone's actions, then said:

"I kind of want to try it too…"

"What tools did it bring? What does an entrenching shovel look like? Does any clansman have an underground palace they'd let me dig?"

"I don't want to clash with your palace designs. Why doesn't Canghai release more? I need more references."

In fact, Big Purple knew nothing about the digging plans, and even if it did, it wouldn't be worried. The Flash Clan's coming-of-age ritual was to dig one hundred underground palaces. Their palaces were built extremely deep, so it would take a very long time to dig them out.

Big Purple flew out quickly to sign a contract with Canghai.

It knew that other races perceived time differently, so it couldn't afford to dawdle. It had to race against time!

Canghai had only sent one-eighth of the manuscript, possibly because he had just arrived in this star system and hadn't had much time to prepare. But what if he thought his submission had no chance and switched to the other two writing competitions?

Big Purple landed on its usual office planet and burrowed into its underground office. It was born near a volcano and was capable of forming superconductive materials, so its underground palace was highly advanced technologically. It swiftly drafted a contract.

Physical books were divided into deluxe and standard editions based on the amount of Stardust mixed in. There was also an epic edition, made by slicing an entire block of Stardust ore into thin sheets and engraving them into a book: the ultimate level of luxury.

Physical books were essentially the universal hard currency in the universe.

Publishers need to accumulate large quantities of Stardust and usually split profits 9:1 with authors. If publishing outside a competition, authors might earn even less.

But Big Purple wanted to give Canghai a higher share.

First, it wanted to show sincerity toward the novelist and take the chance to improve the Flash Empire's reputation.

Second, and more importantly, as the nominal chief overseer, it could communicate directly with Canghai and read the follow-up immediately!

Wasn't that far more interesting than digging underground palaces?

"Hello, Mr. Canghai from Blue Star. Our Flash Empire has retained an extremely strong interest in your work, The Ancient Tomb Code, and we would like to purchase the limited publishing rights for this star region at a higher price. At present, our price point is…"

Big Purple hesitated for a moment, deleted "7:3," and replaced it with "6:4."

In the traditions of the Flash Empire, this was the price offered to first-rate novelists.

It felt that betting everything on Canghai shouldn't go wrong.

A reply arrived quickly, and Canghai appeared to be a lively young being.

"Ah! You really like my work? That truly makes me so happy! I'll finish the remaining chapters as soon as possible and send them to you for trial reading. If there's anything inappropriate, please feel free to point it out!"

Send it for trial reading first?

Plan successful!

After being the host of Flash Conference for so long, it finally got some benefits today!

Big Purple directly signed the contract. The "Spiritual Authorization" was completed, and now, they only had to wait for Canghai's remaining manuscript.

…

Tidal Peace.

"I made money!"

Xi Yujin was so excited that he couldn't control his strength, causing the entire Tidal Peace to spin along with him. He froze in terror. Fortunately, the ship quickly stabilized, and Gano's voice came through the communicator in the cockpit:

"Please rest assured, everything is fine."

It was really great to have Gano here.

Xi Yujin began counting his little treasury. His spiritual need in participating in three competitions was to find something interesting, while his material need was to make money.

At present, Canghai had already earned him a revenue-sharing contract, Yongye had earned him many tips, and Xun Ming hadn't yet entered the paid stage.

His mental energy was limited, and maintaining updates for three pseudonyms at the same time was becoming tiring. He planned to tilt his efforts appropriately and focus more on the two that made money. As for Xun Ming's Fairy Tale of a Life and Death Romance, updating a little less shouldn't be a big problem.

The backend data for Fairy Tale of a Life and Death Romance was steadily rising, and it had already entered the top 100 of the preliminary competition division. His editor had already sent him several congratulatory emails, but due to an ostrich avoidance mentality, he didn't look at the comment section.

He updated on schedule according to the outline, occasionally putting on the Xun Ming persona to casually comment in Reader's Digest, shaping Xun Ming's persona as someone who argued with everyone and everything.

When writing melodramatic fiction, one should have the mindset of never looking back at the explosion.

Stay steady, he can keep writing!

"Yongye's tips have already reached 100,000 Stardust? Let me think about what to buy." Xi Yujin opened a shopping site. After a while, he walked toward the cockpit, wanting to ask Gano's opinion. He wanted to buy some furniture to decorate the ship, but shopping alone was really boring.

…

The struggle between Flying Duck Novel Network, Materialist Archive, and the Flash Empire Publishing House had officially begun. Signals crossed back and forth, colliding into the invisible smoke of war. Each side set up its arena to face the challenge.

Cosmic readers suddenly felt that the quality of books had recently improved, and that book advertisements were being pushed more aggressively. It seemed that overnight, many sharp new writers had emerged.

Readers were, of course, happy about this. The quality of the granary had improved! Readers across the universe wouldn't stick to just one website anyway; scavenging for good reads everywhere was a reading virtue.

An alien reader named Gezi was one of them.

Sometimes it followed the latest physical publication news from the Flash Empire, sometimes it went to the Materialist Archive to farm some coins, but most of the time it binge-read on Flying Duck Novel Network. Although Flying Duck was often criticized for severe homogenization, if one searched carefully, there were still some edible finds.

Recently, however, it received a recommendation for Mr. Zhong's Case Files from the Materialist Archive, so it bounced back and forth between the two websites daily.

"Flying Duck has released a new special-feature recommendation? In the past, their special recommendations usually had some quality guarantee, so I'll take a look."

Gezi glanced at the word count and found that it was relatively short. Thinking that it hadn't finished the latest update of Mr. Zhong's Case Files, it decided to read one special-feature recommendation first, then one case from Mr. Zhong.

Wasn't the forum always arguing about which of the two sites was better? It would let the books prove it themselves this time.

Gezi prepared its recording tools, planning to write reviews at any time and then share them on the forum for fellow readers' reference.

The first book was Flying Duck Novel Network's Watch Me Overturn the Stars with One Hand, a plot-track novel with an original rate of 33%.

Gezi skimmed it and saw that it was a traditional revenge story. That is, during a journey, the protagonist encountered an accident, lost their ship companions, and thus embarked on a path of revenge. It mainly described how the protagonist easily locked onto the enemy's star system and then blasted them into oblivion.

Cosmic beings tended to have strong feelings toward their ship companions, so when reading this kind of theme, it was easy to project oneself into it, wishing that the next chapter would smash the enemy's head in.

The enemies were usually powerful figures, while the protagonist started as a small fry, leveling up all the way until finally blowing up an entire star system. It was exaggerated, but readers loved it.

Watch Me Overturn the Stars with One Hand had a relatively innovative point: its background was set during a super–time-space war between the Intelligent Machine and the Zerg. Gezi read with great interest.

"Someone actually dares to write about the Intelligent Machines and the Zerg? Well, they're pretty peaceful now," Gezi casually remarked. "Those two races are at the peak of combat power. How could the protagonist easily blow them up? It's satisfying, sure, but you really can't use your brain when reading this…"

Gezi skimmed it in one go and gave it four stars.

"Next is The Case Files of Mr. Zhong."

For some reason, just mentioning the name made Gezi feel a shiver of anticipation. It thought it needed to quickly reinstall the brain it had lost; otherwise, how could it appreciate Mr. Zhong's charm?

In the last chapter, it had read the first half of "The Curse of the Clock", and this part was about to unravel the mystery.

The security captain sealed off the crime scene, saying evidence needed to be preserved, and that none of the seven tourists could leave.

The captain spoke in a gloomy tone, claiming he had learned deductive reasoning. He immediately performed on the spot, using clues at the scene to catch the murderer.

Gezi was stunned.

Could it be that the captain had inherited Mr. Zhong's true teachings, and that the real protagonist of this episode was actually the captain? Why hadn't Mr. Zhong appeared for so long?

However, after a series of nonsense operations, the captain accused all seven tourists in turn. Each of them burst into tears, and the scene gradually became comical.

Gezi chuckled lightly. Reading Yongye's books always seemed to involve more than just one emotion. Joy, sorrow, separation, and reunion were all drawn out by Yongye's pen.

[

Just as one tourist dared to question the security captain, Mr. Zhong appeared.

"I already know who the murderer is," Mr. Zhong said in his usual indifferent tone.

"How do you know? Are you going to interrogate us all over again?" the tourist complained.

"The answer is at the crime scene," Mr. Zhong stared at them. "But there is more than one crime scene. The first one should have been your spaceship. I had my friend keep watch over you to prevent you from destroying the original scene. Now, please follow me back to the ship."

The security captain said, "Right, earlier I was just bluffing you!"

The seven tourists' expressions changed.

]

"So that's the kind of reversal! Yongye tricked me again!"

Gezi felt as if reading this book was like playing a long-distance mind game with Yongye. Every line had to be read with extreme caution, like a detective capturing hints hidden between the words. The feeling of uncovering evidence like this was incredible!

Gezi carefully followed Mr. Zhong's subsequent reasoning. Whenever it found that its own thinking aligned even a little, it wanted to pop champagne immediately. When it realized it was completely wrong, it could only shake its head in frustration, wishing it had grown another brain.

Mr. Zhong deduced that the two tourists were murdered and their bodies were disposed of using the escape pods, so the murderer must have had access to the escape pods. As for the strange curse symbol, it had been stuck to the outer hull. If it were painted on the outer hull, the entire clock symbol should have been mirrored.

[

"So he was sitting in the cockpit, operating the cleaning tools through the viewing window, slowly drawing the pattern on the glass. Who could sit in the cockpit for long periods without arousing the suspicion of other crew members?" Mr. Zhong said.

"Why did you do this!?" The tourists all turned to look at the pilot.

"Why? Probably for the Stardust you scavenged. Killing one person means one less person to share the loot, isn't it?" Mr. Zhong said mockingly.

The pilot lowered his head in shame.

"But I discovered something interesting," Mr. Zhong continued. "When I said that 'the answer is at the crime scene,' only two people lowered their heads to look at the room. The remaining four looked toward the ship instead.

Subconscious actions are always the most truthful…"

Hearing this, the others looked at the seven tourists in shock.

"You actually exposed yourself long ago," Mr. Zhong stared at the pilot. "But your accomplice agreed with what you did, kindly helped you erase the evidence, and acted out a curse drama with you.

The real murderer is human greed."

]

Amazing!

Besides the direct killer, there were indirect accomplices! And greed was the true culprit behind everything!

How could it have forgotten the foreshadowing Yongye planted at the beginning! That group of tourists had originally gone to the edge of the universe to scavenge stars? The motive had been hinted at from the very start!

"I lost again!" Gezi slammed its fist on the table in frustration. "Next time, I'll definitely guess the real culprit before Yongye does!"

It reread the case with relish, digging out details and lines it had overlooked before.

"Damn, this was actually a hint!"

"This part straight-up explained the method!"

"There was foreshadowing here, and here too!"

"So strong!"

Gezi let out a satisfied breath. This kind of exhilaration wasn't the brainless thrill of charging forward. It was the joy of being toyed with by words even while entirely on guard with one's brain engaged!

It loved it! More, please!

Gezi stayed immersed in this case for a while before reluctantly switching back to Flying Duck Novel Network. It still remembered its plan to share reviews with fellow readers. At the very least, it had to finish reading the recommended book.

The next Flying Duck recommendation was an emotional-track novel, another story of a love triangle and white moonlight. Gezi yawned repeatedly.

It vaguely felt that the writing was quite delicate, but unfortunately, the characters felt fake, and the emotions floated above the ground. Even when the author wrote long passages of psychological analysis, it was hard to immerse oneself.

Better to read Mr. Zhong's Case Files again. This time, who died?

Haha, this Yongye really must not know what actually happens during interstellar travel. How could he come up with so many bizarre ways to die? It was truly eye-opening.

The third story in the case files was called Night of Mechanical Resurrection.

This time, the setting was finally not in the Clock City. The security captain won two tickets and dragged Mr. Zhong to watch a stage performance.

"They are best friends," Gezi thought briefly. "In Yongye's race, does 'best friend' have multiple meanings?"

That seemed possible.

The play they watched had a small theater, where performers donned simulated mechanical appearances to imitate the miraculous moment when machines gained souls. The performance required portraying a transformation from stiffness to vitality, while wearing thick costumes and rising from beneath the stage via a lift platform. It was highly demanding in skill.

The performance was called Night of Mechanical Resurrection.

"Looks like someone is going to die," Gezi had already grasped Yongye's writing habits. Wherever Mr. Zhong went, someone died.

The small theater ran performances in cycles. But during the fourth show of the day, no one appeared on the lift platform. When staff looked into the passageway, they found that the actor had already fallen to death at the bottom of the lift shaft.

However, the actor had been dead for some time. The staff speculated that he had tried to rehearse during the interval and, unfortunately, slipped.

Mr. Zhong and the staff went around investigating the actor's relationships, but said nothing.

Gezi was getting anxious.

"Mr. Zhong! Hurry and use your perfect reasoning to bring the murderer to justice!"

By the end, it seemed to confirm that the actor had simply died by accident.

[

Mr. Zhong finally spoke:

"The truth is actually very simple… The costume was very heavy. So tell me, who helped reach the platform after the previous performance? You said yourself that you hadn't seen the deceased.

The person who helped you onto the platform could have returned via the hidden passage, but you pushed him from behind, sending him into the shaft.

On stage, you performed Resurrection, but beneath the stage, a life vanished because of you."

The security captain asked, "If the reasoning was so simple, why didn't you say it earlier? You made me guess blindly for so long!"

"Because I couldn't understand…" Mr. Zhong walked toward the murderer, "the reason for murder."

The murderer said, "Does it matter?"

"It matters." Mr. Zhong was rarely this serious, as if hiding a deeply etched pain. "I once swore that I would know the truth behind every murder."

The murderer smiled miserably. "Because of jealousy. That actor was young and beautiful, with the best years of his life ahead of him. I wasted half my youth in the theater and gained nothing."

"That's not true," a staff member said. "Before his death, the actor planned to give you the theater's recommendation slot…"

Hearing this, the murderer's lips curled slightly. The smile grew wider until it turned into sobbing laughter, finally producing retching sounds that felt more painful than crying.

Only Mr. Zhong seemed deaf to it all. "Jealousy…"

]

"Jealousy…" Gezi sighed along with Mr. Zhong. It clearly felt that the emotions in the case files were more memorable. Without long descriptions, just a look or a gesture etched the changes of the human heart vividly.

"Yongye's performance is very stable. Whether it's plot exhilaration or emotional depth, it surpasses Flying Duck by a notch. The Materialist Archive might really win this!"

"And Mr. Zhong seems to have a story. I really want to know how he learned all this knowledge."

Gezi reread the case several more times and discovered that earlier parts had already described the actor's personality multiple times. A genius with strong stage sense who had just entered society. These details made it feel even more melancholic.

"I want to keep reading the case files, but every story read is one less left. I should continue browsing instead."

Gezi turned its gaze to the next special-feature recommendation on Flying Duck Novel Network.

Fairy Tale of Life and Death, by Xun Ming.

This one was even shorter than the previous two. Xun Ming might be the type of author who doesn't update on schedule. But strangely, the comment section was nearly twice as active as other works from the same period. What's going on?

Gezi finished reading very quickly.

It turned off its light-brain and sat in silence for a long time.

After a while, it turned the light-brain back on, quickly opened the book forum, edited the post, and immediately published it!