Chapter 17
Jiang Yunu turned around and saw a red-haired boy standing behind him.
The boy may have been observing her for a while, his eyes and expression were full of curiosity, and he seemed embarrassed for taking the initiative to speak to her. When he saw her turn around and stare at him, the boy became visibly more embarrassed.
"I, I didn't mean to peek." The red-haired boy explained himself a little nervously, but his words were ambiguous, and the color of his cheeks began to turn closer to the color of his hair.
Jiang Yunu was still looking at him.
The boy waved his hands frantically. "No, no, that's not right! I wasn't peeking. I just happened to be standing behind you, about to go through the gate, but I noticed you seemed to be having trouble. I saw you turning back and forth and not going in, so I..."
The boy was a bit talkative when he was nervous. He was no older than twelve years old, much taller than Jiang Yunu, and his bones were still thin and weak, which was unique to children who had not yet entered puberty.
Jiang Yunu was used to catching people's eyes when she looked at them. This way of looking at people was fine for adults, and with her current childish body, adults would rarely feel anything was wrong about being stared at by a little girl like this.
But if it were someone of the same age, or someone of a similar age, such as the red-haired boy in front of him who took the initiative to talk to him, they might feel that Jiang Yunu's gaze was a bit oppressive for no reason.
Jiang Yunu noticed that the boy got stuck after "I just", so she spoke up in time to save him from embarrassment.
"Thank you." Jiang Yunu said.
"Ah...ah?" The red-haired boy looked a little dazed. "I haven't been able to help you much yet."
"But you saw me wandering around here." Jiang Yunu said, "You took the initiative to talk to me because you wanted to help me, so thank you for wanting to help me."
This was probably the first time in the red-haired boy's life that he received a thank you even though he had done nothing and just spoke to someone, stumbling over his words and making them very ambiguous.
The boy's face was really red this time, but it was a red that was a bit embarrassed and excited.
"How can I help you?" The red-haired boy calmed down and asked Jiang Yunu seriously.
Originally, he spoke up just because he was kind-hearted, and he was also prepared for the possibility that he might be being too sentimental if the other person didn't need his help.
As a result, Jiang Yunu's words made the boy feel that he had to help the other party today.
Jiang Yunu didn't hold out hope that the boy could conjure up an ID for her out of thin air; that was clearly unrealistic. She simply told him the truth about her predicament: "I can't get through the turnstile."
"Ah? Why?" The red-haired boy was still a little naive, and his first reaction was that the gate in front of him was broken.
Today is a working day in Shate City. Not many people come to the Citizen Library in the morning, and there are few people at the gate.
Apart from Jiang Yunu and the red-haired boy, no one else had used the turnstile in front of them for a long time.
"Wait for me and let me go over and take a look." The red-haired boy said to Jiang Yunu.
Then he approached the gate first and raised his left wrist - he was wearing a simple black watch on his left wrist.
A small three-dimensional shadow vaguely appeared on the watch. It was aimed at the gate verification port and the closed gate slid open silently and automatically.
The red-haired boy walked over and turned around: "The gate is fine, didn't you align the terminal just now?"
Jiang Yunu: "..."
Jiang Yunu thought for a while, raised her hands towards him, and shook her forearms lightly. The cuffs of the loose-fitting sweatshirt immediately slid down her arms to her elbows.
Exposing two empty wrists.
In this world, wristband-type personal mobile terminals are the mainstream. They are small and portable, and can also use space folding technology and stereo projection technology to display the touch screen at any time. They are very convenient and easy to use.
The red-haired boy looked at Jiang Yunu's wrist, which was bare, and suddenly realized: "Did you leave your personal terminal at home?"
Jiang Yunu shook his hands and said honestly, "I don't have a personal terminal."
The red-haired boy showed an expression of disbelief.
Because wristband-type personal terminals are not only widely popular and convenient to use, but also have a huge range of price fluctuations, from top-end models to basic models specifically for poor families, and prices range from "exclusive for low-income households" to "a must-have for wealthy families", basically ensuring that families of any class can afford their own terminal.
More importantly, personal identity ID is directly bound to personal terminals. People travel, take public transportation, generate personal files online, go to school or work, contact others... basically all the necessary things in daily life cannot be avoided without the use of personal terminals.
The red-haired boy couldn't imagine that there were people in the world who didn't have a terminal. He thought it was a necessity for modern human survival. But seeing Jiang Yunu's calm and generous expression, he felt that the other party should not be lying, which made him confused.
"You...are you the legendary heir of a noble family who lives on the 'Powerful Planet' and has only received high-quality education from your family since childhood to reduce the interference of junk messages, and has not been equipped with an independent terminal until he goes to school?" The red-haired boy cautiously put forward his fantasy.
Jiang Yunu not only showed an expression of concern for the innocent children.
"Do you think I look like one?" Jiang Yunu lowered her wide cuffs, fully displaying her simple attire and unruly hairstyle, ensuring that not a single hair on her body would come close to the so-called "powerful star."
"..." The red-haired boy watched Jiang Yunu's demonstration carefully, and finally shook his head sincerely.
"No, not really." The boy said a little weakly, and then quickly looked at Jiang Yunu's expression, as if he was afraid that if he said it didn't look alike, the "little sister" in front of him would get angry.
But Jiang Yunu would definitely not get angry about obvious facts.
"I don't have a personal terminal, so I can't verify my identity at the gate." Jiang Yunu was more concerned about the problem she needed to solve right now, and she brought the topic back to the topic that had been digressed. "Is there any way I can pass through without verification? I want to go into the library to look up information."
Although the red-haired boy couldn't produce a new personal terminal on the spot, nor could he produce an identity ID for Jiang Yunu, he was determined to help. After pulling his hair for a while, he faced the technologically advanced machine and used the simplest and most ancient method - he came out of the gate and swiped his terminal again, letting Jiang Yunu follow closely behind him, and sneaked in with Jiang Yunu.
The turnstiles at the Public Library do not strictly limit the number of people who can pass through at one time, not to mention that Jiang Yunu is short and agile.
After the boy passed the gate for the second time, he looked back and saw that the back was empty. He was not sure whether the white-haired girl had followed him in. He was about to turn around to look for her, but he felt movement beside his leg. He lowered his head and found that Jiang Yunu was straightening up and standing up beside him.
"Thank you." Jiang Yunu stood up straight and smiled sincerely at the boy, thanking him again.
This time, the other party really helped me.
The boy had only led someone through one gate, but he had already been thanked twice. He was not often treated so formally in his daily life, and he suddenly felt a great sense of responsibility towards Jiang Yunu, a "kid" who didn't even have a personal terminal.
"Which area do you want to look up information in?" the boy asked. "I can take you there. I've been to the Public Library quite often."
This is indeed a convenience for Jiang Yunu, saving her the time of wandering around looking for the guidance desk, then going to the guidance desk to familiarize herself with the operation panel and retrieve information.
She said, "I want to go to a place that has information on superpowers, preferably books that have basic theories and comprehensive textbooks."
The boy's eyes lit up when he heard her answer.
"Do you also like to study superpowers?" the boy said. "I'm going to the superpower information area too, and I need basic information. We have the same destination. Come on, I'll take you there!"
About ten minutes later, Jiang Yunu followed the boy through the library hall, took the elevator in the corner, walked through two long curved corridors, and arrived at the Richat City Citizen Library where primary information on supernatural powers was stored.
Shatt City is truly a city that combines technology and tradition. In addition to being able to connect personal terminals to the library system and directly download all public information, citizens also retain paper books stored on rows of ceiling-high bookshelves.
This is just convenient for Jiang Yunu who doesn’t have a personal terminal.
"However, you'd better find a way to ask your family for a personal terminal."
Joyson - after the two had known each other for almost half a day, this enthusiastic red-haired boy finally remembered to exchange names with Jiang Yunu, and Jiang Yunu thus knew his name.
Qiao Yisen had assumed Jiang Yunu didn't have a terminal, perhaps because her family didn't prioritize the idea of children having personal terminals, or perhaps because their family was simply struggling. He had a terminal, which was clearly much more convenient. After connecting to the system, he downloaded all the information he needed for the day in one go, then brought up the terminal screen and settled into his study at a table in the reading area.
Jiang Yunu was also concentrating on reading and studying, but she was holding several thick books. Although her reading speed seemed not slow, once she encountered something confusing and needed further explanation of terms, paper books were not like personal terminals. She could not type in keywords at any time and search for corresponding new information online with one click.
Joyson should have been busy with his own business, but he couldn't help but distract himself to care about the "little sister" who was reading a thick book. He even offered to help and looked up some terms for Jiang Yunu.
"Even if we use something discarded by someone else in the family, as long as it has the most basic functions, it's fine." Qiao Yisen persuaded Jiang Yunu to apply for a personal terminal at home. "You see, it's still too inconvenient to not have a personal terminal at all."
Jiang Yunu flipped through the book and said calmly, "But I don't have any family."
Joyson: “…”
Joyson's fingers that were swiping the screen paused, and then his whole body froze.
Jiang Yunu spoke the truth as she continued flipping through the "Encyclopedia of Basic Knowledge of Superpowers" in her hand. She learned that superpowers in this world are divided into four categories, namely fire, water, wind, and earth.
They are called elemental powers.
The elements that impressed Jiang Yunu the most were gold, wood, water, fire and earth, which are the five elements. When she looked at the classification of fire, water, wind and earth, she always felt that they were unfamiliar, but also a little familiar, as if she had seen them somewhere before.
At this time, Joyson twisted in the other person's chair.
Joyson inexplicably felt guilty towards her and whispered, "I'm sorry."
Jiang Yunu: "Hmm?"
Jiang Yunu looked up from his thoughts, not knowing why Joyson wanted to apologize.
"I took it for granted," Joyson said. "So... do you have a place to eat tonight?"
Jiang Yunu: "Well, I should be able to get to Track 12 before the library closes to collect today's random relief meal."
Joyson: “…”
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