Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 52: The Notebook Revealed (1)

On the day of the school anniversary celebration, early in the morning, the campus network broadcasted a video message from the president.

Despite being on vacation, he spoke with a smile about the school’s history and extended wishes to all teachers and students. He concluded with the classic phrase, "Today you take pride in UUA, and in the future, UUA will take pride in you."

The university’s flag was hoisted across the campus, and a stage was set up on the playground.

Even at lunchtime, when Yuka and Ayoi went to the cafeteria, they were treated to two free large chicken drumsticks.

Back in the dormitory, the butler excitedly suggested to Yuka, "Master, I saw many people preparing for tonight’s celebration. Let me do your makeup!"

However, Yuka stopped the butler, saying, "No, I have something else to do tonight."

The butler asked, "Master, are we really going to the restricted area to... take something? A lady shouldn’t do such things. Why don’t we just attend the dance tonight? I have a rose-patterned skirt here..."

"But I’ve already promised Kimiko," Yuka replied, pulling out a set of black sportswear from the cupboard and placing it into a spatial button. "I gave her my promise, and a real lady should be a one of her own words, right?"

The butler twisted his body, torn between choices.

Ayoi was in a state of excitement, initially wanting to join Yuka in the restricted area. However, considering her physical strength might be a burden to Yuka, she eventually decided against it.

As night fell, Yuka and Ayoi met with Alex at the edge of the playground and together entered the lively crowd.

On the playground, people were grilling and baking cakes on one side, while bartenders passionately added liquor to glasses on the other.

The scene was chaotic, with DJs and singers mingling amidst the audience, who sang and danced tirelessly, replenishing their energy with food when needed.

With the speakers at maximum volume, Yuka shouted into Ayoi’s ear, "Let’s get something to eat first!"

"Okay!" Ayoi shouted back.

The trio picked up some freshly grilled skewers from a buffet area and sat down at a table to eat and watch others dance.

Finding herself choking slightly, Yuka stood up to get a drink from the bar. She picked a light pink beverage that seemed mild, but before she could drink it, someone swapped her cup.

Suddenly, a soft love song replaced the loud music, and the playground quieted down as couples gracefully started dancing together.

Kenji approached Yuka with a glass of peach-flavored sparkling water, saying to Yuka, "I wouldn’t want that. That one has lots of alcohol in it and can get your drunk easily."

Yuka took the glass from Kenji and drank all of it. Then she asked, "How do you know?"

"I saw the bartender add half a cup of distilled vodka to it," Kenji replied.

Leaning his arms on the makeshift bar, Kenji stood with the colorful stage lights flickering behind him, casting speckles of light on both him and Yuka.

Yuka gazed at Kenji, her mind instantly flashing back to that night at the Grand Coliseum. Kenji seemed to recall the same moment and averted his gaze, thankful the dim lighting concealed his blushing ears.

Clearing his throat, Kenji initiated the conversation, "We need to talk."

"Now?" Yuka asked, "About what?"

"About your reluctance to join the Alliance Army," Kenji replied. "Did the Alliance Army disappoint you in some way?"

Yuka shook her head, saying, "No, it’s not that."

She looked at Kenji with a hint of a smile. "Why can’t it just be because I’m lazy and don’t want to join the Alliance Army? I just want to live comfortably."

"You’re not that kind of person," Kenji responded without hesitation. "There must be another reason."

Their conversation fell into a sudden silence.

Yuka’s opticomputer chimed. She read a message from Kimiko, who had arrived at the playground, ready to hand over the solution for their mission at the library.

Yuka glanced at Kenji, not wanting to postpone their talk or raise his suspicions by leaving.

She finally said, "If there’s nothing else, I should go. My friends are waiting for me."

Kenji’s grip on his cup tightened, feeling a pang of panic at her sudden aloofness, wondering if he had asked the wrong question.

However, he masked his emotions and nodded. "Okay."

He watched as Yuka disappeared into the crowd, then turned and downed the strong drink she had left behind.

Meanwhile, Yuka made her way through the bustling crowd to the edge of the playground, where the highly tense Kimiko handed her a spray bottle containing part of the solution.

She nodded to Ayoi and Alex, pulled out a spacious tracksuit from her spatial button, and wore it over her uniform.

The solution was a precaution. If Yuka were caught or couldn’t take the book out of the library, she could use it to read the blank pages and photograph them with her opticomputer, ensuring their effort wasn’t in vain.

"I’ll keep watch outside the playground," Ayoi offered.

"I’ll be outside the History Department," added Alex.

"Meet at the usual place," Kimiko whispered. "Come back safely."

Yuka nodded, pulled the hood of her tracksuit over her head to conceal most of her face, and left the playground.

The butler had hacked into UUA’s security system. With a nervous rub of its electronic hands, it informed Yuka, "Master, I can control the system for a maximum of five minutes. Any longer, and the system will initiate its auto-recovery program."

"Understood," Yuka responded, adjusting her hat before sprinting off.

The distance from the playground to the library required one minute.

Climbing up to the fifth floor and getting the book would conservatively take two minutes.

Returning to the History Department would take another two minutes.

Without any unforeseen complications, Yuka could successfully complete her mission.

Blending into the darkness of the night with her black tracksuit, Yuka moved swiftly and agilely, like a nimble black cat, scaling the library’s wall and lightly stepping onto a windowsill.

She took out the butler’s body from her pocket, transforming it into a long rope with a claw hook, and threw it upwards.

The hook firmly grasped the fourth-floor windowsill, and Yuka quickly climbed up, reaching the fourth floor.

After she retracted the butler’s body back into an orb, Yuka touched around the fifth floor’s metal window, trying to find a gap to insert her Oniyon. She had turned it into a crowbar which could pry open the window.

Suddenly, Yuka hesitated. The gap seemed unusually large.

She grasped the broken edge, her body suspended in air, and peeked inside.

The previously sealed window of the fifth floor had a large hole in it.

She noticed a light flashing from inside the restricted area and, in the next instant, spotted a figure beside the bookshelves.

Silently exerting force, Yuka supported herself with her hands to lift her body higher and quietly flipped into the restricted area, hiding in the shadows.

She was curious to see who had gotten there first.

Meanwhile, back at the playground, a student chatting on the campus forum paused mid-conversation, scratching his head in confusion. "Did the campus network crash?"

"Impossible," his friend said, disbelievingly pulling out his opticomputer. "The school’s network is very stable, integrated with the security system... Wait, it really crashed?"

Kenji, still sitting at the bar, overheard this and frowned.

He opened the campus network page on his device.

A red pixelated [×] appeared on the screen. He immediately exited the page and dialed the security department.

"Admiral Kuba, we’re under attack!" exclaimed the sweaty operator at the security department. "The entire school’s security system is down!"

Kenji stood up, asking, "How long to fix it?"

"Within five minutes... Three minutes left," the operator replied. "Our security system has an auto-repair feature. It will shut down and restart five minutes after being attacked. Please inform the students that the campus network will be restored shortly."

Kenji agreed, ended the call, and made his way to the stage.

The singer, engulfed in his passionate performance, handed the microphone to Kenji, encouraging him to sing.

However, Kenji, pushing aside the excited singer, briefly informed everyone about the attack on the campus network before stepping down from the stage.

The frenzied crowd sobered up momentarily but quickly plunged back into revelry as the DJ switched to a heavy metal track.

While on stage, Kenji had spotted Ayoi and Alex, along with an unfamiliar girl, leaving the playground. He hurried after them, asking urgently, "Where’s Yuka?"

Startled, Ayoi gaped; while Alex, speaking before Ayoi and Kimiko, said, "She went to the restroom."

Ayoi and Kimiko quickly agreed, "Yes, yes, she’s in the restroom."

Kenji narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Where are you three heading?"

Swallowing nervously, Kimiko mustered a lie, "I... I invited them to the History Department to... to read."

Kenji stared at then for a tense few seconds, and the three of them sweated profusely, fearing he suspected something.

Seconds later, Kenji finally looked away.

"Give me Yuka’s contact number," he said.

Ayoi, somewhat surprised they hadn’t exchanged numbers yet, reluctantly gave Yuka’s number to Kenji.

After saving Yuka’s number in his opticomputer, Kenji told them to leave. The three quickly ran off.

Kenji, opening the communication interface and hesitating for a few seconds, messaged Yuka, "Where are you?"

Meanwhile, Yuka had silently entered the restricted area and stealthily moved behind the mysterious figure.

The person was dressed in black, just like Yuka. And judging by the figure and the hair tied up high, the person seemed to be a mature woman.

This woman appeared to know the layout of the library well, pressing a button on a compacted bookshelf. The bookshelf then slowly opened, making a slight noise.

Yuka leaned against one side of the opening bookshelf, observing the woman’s movements. The woman seemed to be heading straight to the same location where Kimiko had noted the book was stored.

Yuka was contemplating how to quietly follow the woman when her opticomputer chimed with a message.