Chapter 533: Speculation Over the Identity

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The prankster appeared in the chatroom this morning. Zhang Zian couldn’t help but suspect that the prankster had something to do with the elfin that also appeared this morning.

The fifth floor’s computer system was only accessible on this floor, so the prankster had to be here.

Unlike the other readers, Zhang Zian’s mood wasn’t affected by the prankster, instead, he felt a little excited.

He told Mr. Zhou to keep reading while he wandered the aisles with his phone. This time, he focused on whether the seats in front of the computers were empty or not.

Zhang Zian tried to be discreet, but since he was holding his phone and looked like he was recording, everywhere he went, readers gave him annoyed looks. If it weren’t for the prankster still typing in the chatroom, Zhang Zian probably would’ve been mistaken for the hooligan.

Zhang Zian ignored the looks because he didn’t care how people perceived him. With his excellent patience, he walked around the floor again, but he couldn’t find the elfin.

Was the elfin so subtle that the capture interface of the game couldn’t see it? Or was it constantly moving around?

Every time he walked past a computer with a vacant seat in front of it, Zhang Zian would try to see or hear the keys moving. Unfortunately, the library equipped the computers with shallow keyboards, so the movements and sounds were minimal. Even if he stood beside the typist, he would barely be able to hear any noise.

After walking around the computers several times, Zhang Zian returned to Mr. Zhou who was happily reading. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl whose chatroom ID was Coco stand up and wave at him.

He had walked past Coco twice. Coco seemed like a stylish girl whose hair was dyed blue. From her appearance, it was hard to imagine that she was the type of girl who liked reading.

Zhang Zian didn’t want to miss any possibility of finding the elfin, so he walked swiftly towards her.

“Hey, you seem like you’re looking for someone. Are you looking for Pi?” Coco whispered when he was close to her.

Zhang Zian nodded and replied in a low voice, “Everyone’s extremely annoyed with Pi, so I thought it was time to kick him out of the chatroom.”

“Oh, are you staff?” asked Coco curiously.

“No, I’m just a reader who wanted to help,” said Zhang Zian calmly.

Coco believed him, so she said with admiration, “There are several readers I’ve met at this library, and we’ll say hello to each other, but we don’t know each other’s real names. I’ve never seen you before. Are you new?”

Zhang Zian answered, “Yes. It’s my first day. I think the library’s atmosphere is great, so we shouldn’t let the black sheep ruin the fun. Do you have any clue who it could be?”

Coco thought before she said, “I arrived very early this morning because I wanted to read the whole day. I was among the first group of readers who came in. There was probably less than ten readers on the floor.”

“Pi was already here?” Zhang Zian asked.

Coco nodded. “Yes. At first, no one was talking in the chatroom. I greeted everyone casually in the chatroom, and subsequently, Pi typed a string of digits. I thought it was a joke, so I ignored him, closed the chatroom, and continued reading. When people started showing up, I noticed several familiar faces, so I reopened the chatroom and saw everyone condemning Pi.”

Zhang Zian realized that the prankster was here when the library opened this morning, which was exactly the same time when the game detected the elfin.

“Everybody was just watching? No one tried to find him?” he asked.

Coco smiled. “How should I put it? Frequent readers of the library are really nice. Even the readers who talk fiercely in the chatroom, would try to reason with Pi in real life if they found him. There are over a hundred readers on the floor, but less than 50 readers have been talking in the chatroom. If we check everybody, we might disturb those who are just reading. Then what’s the difference between us and the prankster? I think we’d only worsen the issue.”

Zhang Zian thought what Coco said made sense. Most of the readers were shy, so no one was willing to catch the prankster.

“Of course, we’ve done something.” Coco continued. “Several readers went to the service desk and told the staff about the situation, asked them to find Pi and kick him out of the chatroom, but it didn’t work. The on-duty staff said that tech support is on vacation because it’s New Year’s Day, and the library’s system can’t be accessed from outside the building, so remote administration isn’t possible.”

New Year’s Day. The isolated computer system. The friendly readers.

The prankster had utilized all the advantages. No matter how annoyed the readers felt, there was nothing they could do.

Zhang Zian was 99% certain that the prankster was the elfin he was looking for.

What kind of elfin could it be? What did it mean by typing the digits of Pi repeatedly? Was it just for fun? The elfin’s life was about to end, could it afford to play tricks?

Zhang Zian didn’t think the elfin was joking, it was like it was asking for help.

“Sorry, that’s all I know,” said Coco apologetically, “I don’t think we can help you, but if you do find Pi, please don’t be too hard on him.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle the matter properly.”

Zhang Zian thanked Coco and walked back to his seat. He launched the chatting software and gave himself a nickname, The Hottie.

After entering the chatroom, he waited patiently. When the elfin typed the digits of Pi again, he immediately typed a response.

[The Hottie]: 3.1415926, what do you want?

Zhang Zian typed in English because he thought the elfin may not be from China.

[Blue Flower]: I’ve never seen this nickname before. Newcomer?

[A Liu]: Look at the nickname. Another prankster?

[Jackdaw]: It’s useless. Do you think he’ll reply to you if you speak to him in English? He’s like a robot who can only type the first 100 digits of Pi. He’s doing this on purpose!

[Coco]: English! How did I never think of that? He replied to my greeting, maybe he can only read English. Everybody, please calm down and let the newcomer try!

The chatroom quieted down temporarily. Several users didn’t think English was a good method, but they were still waiting for a response.

Several seconds later, the situation changed.

[3.1415926]:3.1415926589w7932384626h433832e795r02884197e16939937i51s058209m749445923078y1640628620b8998o628o0348242117k0679

Zhang Zian and the other users blankly stared at the string of familiar numbers on the screen. After a while, they realized that there were English words hidden within the numbers.

[Coco]: W-h-e-r-e i-s m-y b-o-k? Sorry! It’s ‘book.’ There’s another ‘o.’ I’m dizzy.

Where is my book?

The users in the chatroom felt embarrassed. So, the prankster could only respond to questions in English? Why didn’t they think of it earlier? Was this person a foreigner? Or a Chinese person who didn’t understand Chinese?

All of a sudden, a ton of questions in English filled the chatroom.

“Who are you?”

“Where are you sitting?”

“Why didn’t you type in English to start with?”

“Why do you type the first 100 numbers of Pi?”

The prankster kept silent.

[Coco]: Everyone, please be quiet, all right? We can’t get the answer we want if we bombard him. Let the newcomer ask.

Staring at the screen, Zhang Zian contemplated.

The earlier “like a robot” statement inspired Zhang Zian. Obviously, the readers regarded the elfin as a “human” that behaved like a robot.

Zhang Zian assumed that the elfin couldn’t appear because its Strength of Faith was too weak. At that moment, a well-known experiment came to Zhang Zian’s mind, so he made a vague speculation about the elfin’s identity.

The AlphaGo in the Chinese Room? Are we confronting artificial intelligence that’s moving in cyberspace?