After lunch that day, Zhao Fen and Zhao Fang asked me to go to the National Library downtown to look up materials. Since I needed to check on the Yuejin Building, the three of us headed out together.

Once in the car, I leaned close to a woman in the driver’s seat and took a deep sniff. This was strange; these women normally didn't wear perfume because they were naturally beautiful. “Hee hee, let’s see how you distinguish us this time! The scent is identical, right? My sister and I deliberately sprayed the same perfume just so you couldn't tell us apart.” No wonder the sisters were wearing identical, pure student uniforms today, right down to their hairstyles and shoes—they were trying to prank me. But then again, didn't Zhao Fang just give away her own identity? Zhao Fen, in the passenger seat, scolded, “Sister, you just blurted it out. Big Brother Zhao isn't deaf.” Zhao Fang tasted the words: “Oh, Sister, look at my mouth. There’s no game this time.” I said to Zhao Fang, “Get out, get out. Let your sister drive. You’re still under the legal driving age.” Zhao Fang retorted, “Do I need a license? I can just use my sister’s.” The National Library of the Great Dragon Kingdom boasted a massive collection, ranking among the world’s top five. Zhao Fen and Zhao Fang went to look for physics books, while I headed to the architecture section for materials on the Yuejin Building.

The three of us returned to the main hall, each clutching a stack of books, and began our perusal. The Yuejin Building was mentioned in several architectural references: its preliminary planning was proposed in 1964, originally intended as the office and research headquarters for the State-run Steel Plant’s ‘Yuejin’ project.

Groundbreaking occurred in early 1966, but soon after, it coincided with the Great Calamity that swept the Great Dragon Kingdom. Construction stalled several times. Professor Peng Cun, who was responsible for both the design and construction, was labeled a counter-revolutionary before the building was even fully topped out and was subsequently overthrown by a throng of young zealots, branded as 'ox-ghosts and snake-spirits.'

In that era guided by class struggle, the building progressed haltingly. It wasn't until 1974 that the interior finishing was complete and offices moved in. An eight-year construction period for a single building—a minor miracle in itself. Ironically, the building's completion more or less coincided with the closure of the steel plant.

The building’s blueprints and construction documents were also mentioned in related literature. From the data reviewed, the building materials were entirely commonplace, yet the industry universally praised the structure’s scientific design and construction quality. Its stability surpassed current architectural standards; otherwise, it would have long since been condemned and demolished as a hazardous structure.

We could now rule out human intervention as the cause of the haunting inside the building, as very few people could evade the scrutiny of myself, Taozi, and the Super Soldiers. Yet, I must admit, despite my slight fear of ghosts, genuinely believing in their existence would be hard to accept.

Staring at the pile of documents, I couldn't make sense of it. The records mentioned nothing unusual happening during the construction; everything seemed perfectly normal, except for the protracted timeline. Fortunately, according to Little Raindrop, the energy fluctuation detector was nearing completion, meaning I would soon be able to trace the origins of those strange individuals—unless, of course, they required no external energy source at all.

Zhao Fang tapped a book and nudged Zhao Fen. “Sister, look at this section. I’m fascinated by Einstein’s ‘Unified Field Theory.’ According to Einstein, although the matter around us varies greatly, it is fundamentally composed of four basic particles: protons, neutrons, electrons, and neutrinos. These four particles interact to generate four fundamental forces: electromagnetism, gravity, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force. These four seemingly disparate forces could all be unified into a single fundamental force—the ‘Unifying Force’—around which a field forms: the ‘Unified Field.’”

Zhao Fen responded, “Sister, the Unified Field is purely theoretical. Studying it necessitates investigating proton decay, but a proton’s lifespan is 10 to the power of 31 years. Causing it to decay requires a massive energy equivalent to $10^{15} \text{ GEV}$, far exceeding any energy achievable on Earth. This fact has halted scientists’ progress in exploring the Unified Field.”

Zhao Fang countered, “But I have high hopes for the Unified Field Theory! Many believe that numerous ‘Unified Field’ channels exist throughout the cosmos. Once an object enters such a field, time, space, and velocity undergo fundamental alterations. You could say traveling from one star system to another would be as quick as making an overseas phone call. We simply haven’t discovered these channels yet. If we could find a way to enter these channels, our reach could extend beyond the Earth-Moon system, perhaps even beyond the Milky Way.”

I interjected, “Indeed. The Unified Field Theory sees significant development and application in the future, but Little Raindrop knows too little about this area; otherwise, it would greatly assist our research.”

Zhao Fang exclaimed, “Brother-in-law, you’re interested in the Unified Field too? If the Unified Field Theory becomes reality, the energy released during proton decay would be incalculable. If harnessed, we would no longer depend on resources like oil or coal. Furthermore, the Unified Field Theory allows us to transcend three-dimensional space to establish a new cosmic perspective. Quantitative theoretical analysis suggests that beyond our three spatial dimensions, other spaces exist. It seems the space currently discussed in ‘Unified Field’ theory is eleven-dimensional.”

Zhao Fen sighed, “It’s all theory, and we lack any practical means of testing it. Instead of this, we should study something tangible; that would be of greater help to Big Brother Zhao.”

Zhao Fang pressed on, “Sister, think about it. If we viewed everything from the perspective of five or six dimensions, what would the universe look like? Ordinary physicists tell us light always travels in a straight line, but Einstein showed us that light rays can bend, and space itself can warp. Take another example: textbook laws state the interior angles of a triangle sum to 180 degrees, but in macro-cosmic geometry, the sum is greater than 180 degrees, whereas in the micro-geometry of subatomic particles, the sum is less than 180 degrees. Isn't that marvelous? To revert to our ordinary three-dimensional view: if the distance between Earth and a certain star system is 8 billion light-years, what would their relative positions be in multi-dimensional space? Perhaps we could traverse those 8 billion light-years in the blink of an eye!”

These questions were profoundly deep, but fortunately, thanks to the knowledge I’d been cramming under Xiao Hui’s guidance recently, I hadn't completely lost the thread. The Unified Field Theory and multi-dimensional space offered me some sparks of inspiration. Could the mysterious figures appearing in the building be related to this?

Wang Yongle clearly died in a car crash, yet he appeared and worked a half-shift at the company before vanishing silently around dawn. The old man who borrowed the flashlight and Wang Yongle on the first night also appeared and disappeared without rhyme or reason. Could this be related to multi-dimensional space? Were they from another world due to spatial distortion?

However, to truly breach multi-dimensional space, the support of the Unifying Force is essential, which requires the unification of the four forces: electromagnetic, gravitational, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear. The inevitable prerequisite for the appearance of the Unifying Force is proton decay—a feat currently impossible under Earth’s physical conditions. So, where did the Unifying Force that supports the Yuejin Building’s multi-dimensional space originate?

“Brother-in-law, what are you looking at?” Zhao Fang asked when she saw me lost in thought. “Still that haunted building. I can’t sleep until I unravel this mystery.” Zhao Fang covered her mouth to suppress a giggle. “But my sister said you were sleeping like a little pig clinging to her last night.” My face flushed bright red. Lying isn't what good kids do. It was true I had slept curled up next to Zhao Fen like a little pig at my place last night; I hadn’t even noticed when Zhao Fen went upstairs by herself.

“Peng Cun?” Zhao Fang read the name from the material in my hand. “I didn’t know Peng Cun was into architecture. Isn’t he a physicist?” “A physicist? I don’t know. He doesn't seem to be any kind of famous figure,” I said, meticulously searching through the names I’d encountered in my twelve years of study—no record of him. “Look here,” Zhao Fang said, pointing. “He was an archaeologist, too!” Zhao Fen was now holding the book of famous figures that Zhao Fang had been reading moments earlier. “Damn, this guy is more significant than I thought. We really need to look into him.” As I spoke, I took the dictionary and flipped through it. Zhao Fen and Zhao Fang then sought out several more biographical dictionaries; sure enough, Peng Cun was mentioned in all of them.

This Peng Cun was truly extraordinary, making contributions to architecture, physics, and archaeology. He was simply born in the wrong era; many of his studies were cut short by the Calamity, causing him to be swept away and never recover.

After quickly reviewing Peng Cun’s works, I noted from several of his papers that he was also an ardent believer in Einstein’s Unified Field Theory, and his writings vaguely hinted that he had achieved some breakthroughs in this area!

One sentence caught my attention particularly. In his text, he wrote, ‘Humanity can never truly see itself because humanity’s footing is too low. If humanity could see itself, it would herald the beginning of a new cosmic era.’ A mysterious fellow; it seemed he must have mastered certain unknown secrets. Perhaps it was his accidental revelation of these secrets that led the people of that time to mistakenly brand him a demon and sweep him into the cow pen from which he never emerged.

In archaeology, Peng Cun focused on studying ancient civilizations. He proposed that external factors were the primary cause of the abrupt transition from ape to human, directly challenging Darwin’s theory of natural evolution—no wonder he was overthrown by the young zealots. He also stated, ‘Ultimately, man created man.’ Furthermore, he emphasized that the ‘first man’ he referred to was not Homo sapiens itself; he claimed he had the ability to see himself, but the time had not yet arrived.

These strange pronouncements by Peng Cun were only mentioned sporadically in his texts without deep elaboration, likely due to the prevailing social climate. Atheism was promoted then, and the entire nation was united in battling heaven and earth. Anyone attempting to overturn the long-held banner of established science was committing a heinous crime. Even so, Peng Cun ultimately died unjustly.

I closed all the reference books and said to the two women, “This man is very mysterious. We’ll do a deeper study if the opportunity arises. If there’s nothing else, let’s go.”

A chorus of clicking high heels echoed, and the three of us looked up. A group of foreigners was touring the National Library. Judging by their appearance, they were important figures. I vaguely recognized a tall American man in the group as the one we encountered at Hualong Fast Food. As for his identity, we were too far away that day to know for sure.

Edward remarked, “Mayor Chen, your National Library certainly lives up to its reputation. Your modern electronic retrieval system is also very convenient and practical. When I return to the US, I will certainly suggest that our national libraries study your model.”

Mayor Chen of Kyoto City, who was accompanying the tour, replied politely, “Mr. Edward, you flatter us. When it comes to advancements in science and civilization, your country is truly a world leader. Once our cooperation succeeds, it will elevate cultural and technological exchange between our two nations to a new level, which will be a great boon for the people of both countries.”

After the translation, Edward added, “I personally greatly admire your country’s two technologically advanced companies, Huanyu Communications and Dadi Energy. I wonder if Mayor Chen could introduce us to their mysterious founder?”

The translator conveyed the message to Mayor Chen, whose expression shifted instantly. Huanyu Communications and Dadi Energy had now become the primary public enemies of nations worldwide. While countries feared and hated them, they had no choice but to use their products. The central government had issued a gag order. Although these two companies had provided considerable assistance to the Great Dragon Kingdom, even launching military satellites for them, no government official was permitted to claim them as domestic companies; doing so would easily attract unnecessary political enemies for the nation.

So, Mayor Chen corrected him, “I must correct Mr. Edward’s slip of the tongue. Huanyu Communications and Dadi Energy maintain only an international cooperative relationship with our country. As for their corporate nationality and their mysterious founder, even we cannot ascertain their affiliations. I hope Mr. Edward will understand.”

Edward didn't seem bothered. He smiled and smoothly changed the subject. “Your country is a place that produces many beauties. I am quite taken with it here. In the past few days, I’ve seen more beautiful women than I have in an entire year in the US. Look at those two young ladies sitting over there—not only do they look identical, but in all my years living in America, I’ve never seen girls so pure and lovely, yet simultaneously mature and sensual.”

Foreigners speak so boldly and act so directly. Hearing this, Mayor Chen’s face flushed. The two young women sitting there were undeniably eye-catching. Their pure student uniforms paired with their delicate, doll-like faces were immediately arresting. What kept the eyes glued, however, was that the girls, who looked like adorable little dolls, possessed devilishly curvy figures. Anyone possessing such a pair would not trade them for a mountain of gold.

Mayor Chen dared not look further; he had to maintain his public image. “Mr. Edward, you are too kind. Your country also has many beautiful women.”

“NO!” Edward emphasized forcefully. “American girls mature too early; by two or three years old, they already have mature faces. That is a world of difference from that pair of twin sisters; they cannot be compared.”

Mayor Chen secretly signaled the translator. The translator understood immediately. Edward, despite his gentlemanly façade, spent his days under the guise of investigating the investment environment, constantly scouting the beautiful women of the Great Dragon Kingdom. First, he couldn't get over the busty female CEO of Yuejin Construction. Then, in the fast-food restaurant, he fixated on the cute, lively, and sexy university students. Now, he was making such explicit comments about this pair of loli. His intentions were transparently obvious to all.

However, Edward had not been satisfied with his pursuits in the first two instances, and thus the investment talks remained stalled. Now that Edward had a new target, Mayor Chen’s instruction to the translator was to secure his satisfaction by any means necessary, or face consequences.