I am a full-level celestial master, you let me enter the strange talk of rules?

The library only had a “mere” thousand or so books, which Zhang Yangqing read in just a few hours.

Now, he is the person who reads the most books in this library; no one reads more than him.

His authority is perhaps the highest it has ever been since the library was established.

Zhang Yangqing's presence is so strong that you can "feel" his presence in every book.

He wants these books to devour people, so these books have to obediently eat them.

Authority and a sense of presence are the core of this ghost story.

The purpose of surveillance footage is not for you to view, but to increase your privileges.

This is why Zhang Yangqing wanted to obtain a lot of surveillance footage.

If he possesses the strongest presence and authority in this world, then he can kill anyone at will.

If every time a surveillance video disappears, the Chosen One's authority diminishes, then the number and power of the supernatural entities appearing here will increase, and more of these entities will be able to take action against the Chosen One.

So, for every additional surveillance device added, the privileges of the unorthodox individuals are restricted, while the privileges of the chosen ones are increased.

Only the chosen ones who have read enough books can understand this.

In this stage, only Zhang Yangqing had finished reading all the books; his understanding of authority was beyond that of ordinary people.

And this is only Zhang Yangqing's understanding of rule 1.

This is also the main reason why Zhang Yangqing just said, "If you don't give me rules in the world of ghost stories, I'm going to act recklessly."

Zhang Yangqing then analyzed rule 2: Do not stare directly at the surveillance screen for more than 30 minutes. Take a five-minute break to relieve fatigue. If you feel that something in the screen is watching you, immediately look away and try to deal with it. Avoiding it will not solve the problem.

This is a professional rule: you can't watch surveillance footage indefinitely. If you can't watch for 30 minutes, you need to take a 5-minute break and refresh the CD.

You can do something else during these five minutes.

The rules of the profession also require that if there are 'strange phenomena' in the footage, then the chosen one must go to the scene to resolve them, or else face certain death.
Rule 3 is also a tip about 'permissions'.

[Rule 3: If the hallway lights go out, don't open the door and go out. Wait for the lights to come back on before observing the outside. This is key to your survival. Remember, when the lights are off, the hallway is not your domain.]

According to Zhang Yangqing's understanding, when the lights are off, the corridor belongs to other 'people', so it's best not to be in the corridor, otherwise you might encounter danger.

Zhang Yangqing couldn't understand for the time being which profession had the privilege of gaining a sense of presence after the lights were turned off.

Rule 4, a very crucial rule.

[Rule 4: If someone calls for help, first check the surveillance footage. If you cannot see the person calling for help in any frame, do not respond or help. That person is not human; they are imitating a human.]

Upon seeing this rule, Zhang Yangqing's immediate reaction was that the Chosen One wasn't the only one in the building; there were others as well.

Of course, Rule 8 already provides a very clear hint here.

However, Rule 4 states that if someone is calling for help, do not help if you cannot determine whether they are a person.

In other words, if it's confirmed to be a human, you can choose to help and you can gain benefits.

Another point worth noting is the last sentence of the rule: That's not a person, that's imitating a person.

"What's going on? The rules don't explicitly say it's weird, but rather that this guy is imitating people? Could it be a third-party faction?" Zhang Yangqing muttered to himself.

Based on the current information, this is the only way to understand it. Rule 5 is a bit unbelievable; it's impossible to understand without information, except that we know the importance of matches.

Next is Rule 6, which contains some information.

[Rule 6: If you see someone wearing the same uniform as you in the surveillance footage, kill them immediately. Otherwise, they will kill you sooner or later. That person is not your colleague; they are hiding in the surveillance footage, waiting to replace you.]

Zhang Yangqing has a good memory, but even the Chosen Ones with poor memories know one thing.

In the monitoring room, among the four remaining images, one is of a restaurant.

On the table closest to the camera, there is a plate with a severed hand on it.

The sleeve of that hand was the exact same color as the Chosen One's uniform.

Zhang Yangqing was pondering, what does this mean, what is it trying to tell me?
Does this mean I'm being told to kill the person wearing the same clothes as me in the restaurant?
Or is it a hint that the person wearing the same clothes as me might be at the restaurant?
Or, to put it another way, my former colleague died in a restaurant? Does that mean restaurants are dangerous, and you shouldn't go there without being prepared?
These are all Zhang Yangqing's guesses. To know the specifics, he would definitely have to go to the restaurant.

Next is rule 7, which is somewhat abstract.

Rule 7: Don't be afraid. Fear will lead you to make wrong judgments, and wrong judgments will kill you. Trust your intuition, trust your judgment, and trust that you can get out of here alive.

At first glance, it seems to be encouraging the chosen ones.

But Zhang Yangqing always felt that there might be a trap here.

The first part of Rule 8: Remember, you are not alone here.

This is easy to understand; it means that there are still some other humans in this building.

The second half of the sentence: If you have no companions, then become your own companion.

This sentence is difficult to understand: how does one become one's own partner?

Does it mean I need to split myself into two?
Or does the partner have something else in mind?
Whatever it may be, Zhang Yangqing has analyzed it thoroughly and has spent a long time in the library; it's time for him to go out.

As he turned to walk toward the library door, a cold wind swept over him from the corridor, carrying an even stronger musty and fishy smell than before.

The moment Zhang Yangqing stepped out of the library, he sensed something was wrong.

The hallway has changed? No, that's not right, the atmosphere has changed!
The change is not visible to the naked eye, but can be felt by the skin.

The air grew colder, abnormally cold, as if countless invisible hands were moving through it. With each step, those hands brushed against his skin, icy and gentle, like fingertips or tongues.

New marks appeared on the wall, not the old cracks, but new scratches, some deep and some shallow, some still dripping with an unknown red liquid.

Something was crawling on the ceiling, making a rustling sound. The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet corridor, like fingernails scratching glass.

It looks completely different from when I first arrived.

Moreover, the further Zhang Yangqing went, the more bizarre phenomena occurred.

Footsteps echoed from the depths of the corridor, not just one person's footsteps, but the footsteps of several people, some light, some heavy, some hurried, some slow, as if waiting for their prey to arrive.

Zhang Yangqing stopped walking, and the sound of his footsteps also stopped.

He continued walking, and the sound of his footsteps echoed again. (End of Chapter)