Walking through the halls and shelves, Adam managed to reach hexagon 18. The journey was quite peaceful due to the few awake people around. However, as time passed, he began encountering more individuals starting their daily routines.

Adam took the opportunity of the scarce crowd to switch his worn-out shoes for the new ones. He placed his old shoes neatly in a shoebox, intending to store them in the cave along with other sets of clothes, following his father's advice.

At the bank's entrance, four guards were stationed, seemingly vigilant to prevent any incidents within hexagon 18. As Adam arrived, the guards looked at him with some suspicion for quite a while.

Meanwhile, Adam was summoning the courage to pass through the guards, creating an awkward atmosphere where both parties did nothing but silently observe each other. As Adam hesitated at the bank's door, keeping his distance while gazing at the guards, the tension grew until one of the guards approached him with a slightly nervous tone:

—Do you need something, sir?

—Uh, yes... I need help...— Adam replied with concern, a bit flustered about conversing with a guard — I wanted to check my bank account, but I'm not sure how to do it. Can you assist me?

—Are you a child?— asked the guard, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, while the rest of the guards regarded Adam with even greater suspicion — Well, come in, I'll help you. The others will keep a very close watch.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

As if it were a signal, the three guards at the door took out red books from their robes and stared at Adam's back as he walked with one of the guards.

The bank on the middle floors had the same wooden decoration as the other hexagons, but it was peculiar in that it was surrounded by shelves only at the ends and was entirely hollow inside. All the shelves were identical and appeared to be made of stone, and on them, only books with golden spines could be found, lacking any inscription to distinguish them from each other.

The guard led Adam to the farthest shelf from the door and said:

—You just need to take one of the books; then, the shelf will provide further instructions. We'll be watching closely from the door in case there are any issues. So, don't do anything strange: Understood?

Adam nodded and proceeded to take one of the books. The guard stayed a while longer until he saw the stone face emerge: it didn't seem human with its wrinkled appearance, sharp teeth, and blindfolded eyes. As it appeared, the stone face asked in a measured voice:

—What operation do you wish to perform?

—I want to check my bank account, how do I do that?— Adam said, opening the book in his hand, but it was completely blank, with nothing written in it.

The blindfold on the stone face shifted for a few seconds, as if scanning Adam, before returning to its place, while the stone face replied:

—Just place your finger on the book for a few seconds, and we'll see what happens...

Adam followed the instructions and, upon placing his finger on the book, the same information that appeared on his identification card materialized on the first page of the book.