Shen Shi still possessed a significant amount of capability for action.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to get into such a prestigious 985 university from a small county town.
Moreover, during his school years, he relied entirely on himself to gradually build his own small business—a not-so-small escape room game center.
In recent years, escape room games were becoming popular, especially around university towns. Shen Shi's establishment, thanks to his focus on managing relationships within the school, excellent decor, and bold investments in advertising, had gained a good reputation and consistently good business in the area.
Originally, Shen Shi planned to fully dedicate himself to running this shop as his life's work after graduation.
But now, this plan was evidently disrupted.
At that moment, he put away the projection ball, forced himself to stay calm, then sat at the desk and picked up a blank A4 paper.
"Known 1:"
Shen Shi wrote with his pen.
"The mark I named Time Rhombus, abbreviated as Time Crystal, holds the power to connect the present with the year three thousand and three in the future."
"Known 2: It seems to be to conserve energy, transmitting items from the current world to the future will experience a passage of three thousand years in an unknown space, evidenced by the last transaction of the Jade Pendant, which was detected as an antique."
Previously, Shen Shi had conducted a transaction through the "Black Market Trading Terminal" with a future individual claiming to be an "Antique Collector."
He exchanged a Guanyin Jade Pendant he had bought for over a thousand yuan for a projection recording this part of history; as for the reason for the exchange... it was all he could afford.
"Known 3: Jade materials hold no value in the future."
Shen Shi wrote down these three known facts.
This was a habit he developed during his contemplative times.
Often, he would get inspiration while writing slowly.
Looking at the three known points listed above, he hesitated for a moment before continuing:
"Speculation 1: All materials and substances in the present world have little value in the future."
This was an inference based on the collector's reaction to the Jade Pendant and normal logic. If it weren't for the Guanyin statue on top, even if the other party could confirm that this Jade Pendant was from three thousand years ago, they would not have traded it.
In the cosmos, all kinds of materials are not scarce, and this remains true even for those from three thousand years ago.
"Speculation 2." Shen Shi continued writing, "Antiques possess certain value in the future."
This is easy to infer; if they held no value, why would there be antique collecting?
Shen Shi stopped writing here.
In the future black market, there is not just one store of antique collectors. The problem is, given Shen Shi's current resources, antiques are undoubtedly the easiest to deal in, which is the advantage brought by the Time Crystal and must be utilized well.
So, the issue is clear now.
If the Jade Pendant has no value, it's necessary to find a "valuable" antique.
He pondered for a while.
Shen Shi continued writing, "Evidence: The value of modern antiques comes from three sources: scarcity, historical value, and artistic value."
Scarce things are precious; this goes without saying. This should also apply in the future, so the rarity of materials themselves can be disregarded. What exists now will surely exist in the future, even precious metals like gold may not be valued in the future.
Thus, Shen Shi heavily circled the words "history" and "art."
After thinking for a while, he drew another circle around "history."
The collector he met... had indescribable features, so the artistic aesthetic of modern people might not resonate with those of the future.
Thus, only history remains.
Shen Shi focused intently on these two words, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.
Each antique is a witness to a specific period of political, economic, and cultural development, a carrier of comprehensive historical information, and at the same time an irreproducible and non-renewable item that reflects the profound sense of history and rarity—this, perhaps, is the greatest value of antiques in the future!
"As long as human civilization continues, the quest to explore one's history should become a pursuit for future people," Shen Shi murmured to himself and then suddenly stood up, ran to his room, and pulled out a pile of papers.
These were backups of scripts from his shop.
After thinking a bit, he took out a USB drive, and copied some files from his computer.
If his speculation was correct, these items might be even more valuable than his Jade Pendant!
So now, it's time to attempt a transaction.
The shimmering stars once again appeared on the back of Shen Shi's hand, and the next instant, a cool sensation swept over his mind.
Words appeared before his eyes.
"Would you like to log into the trading market?"
"Yes!" Shen Shi, having experienced it once before, was quite proficient.
"Please select the items you wish to take."
With the next prompt, all the items in the room were covered in a pale blue overlay.
He directly selected the stack of escape room script backups and the USB drive.
"Welcome to your login, esteemed member."
Along with this last line, Shen Yi's consciousness seemed to split into two parts, one remained seated in the chair, while the other arrived at another place.
It was a street of "antique charm."
Yes, antique charm.
Looking around, the sunshine was bright, the sky blue and expansive, and the view wide; on both sides were buildings of various styles, some embodying the "traditional style" of Oriental beauty, whether it be wooden eaves, carved window patterns, or golden glazed roofs, all demonstrating "Oriental characteristics."
Although the small residences and royal glazed tiles mixed together made for an awkward combination.
And those buildings showcasing "Western characteristics" were even more exaggerated.
Clearly styled like ancient Greek temples, yet using architectural colors and materials reminiscent of ancient Egyptian rock-cut tombs?
Columns resembling David statues bearing Cantonese-style signs?
The primary structure of Gothic Revival architecture adorned with Classical Architectural round domes?
This was entirely a mix of different periods, regions, and materials!
However, compared to his first time arriving here and the sense of oddity with everything, this time, Shen Shi saw some information in these diverse buildings that excited him.
It was the pursuit of historical culture! And the lack of historical culture!
Indeed, these buildings appeared mismatched, filled with future people's fantasies of ancient architecture, but in this virtual trading market, architectures of this style were everywhere, clearly a trend, and does this trending not reflect future people's pursuit of history?
Shen Shi's confidence in the upcoming transaction grew stronger.