Deadly Game: Almighty Boss’s Guide to Making Money

Chapter 1217. The Book at Night (5)

Guo Yuelang walked at the front, his steps steady. A wooden strip, broken off from a bookshelf, appeared in his hand, which he used occasionally to push aside books blocking his path.

In the dim light, his profile was clearly defined, as if he were quite familiar with this eerie environment.

"You seem to know this place very well?"

Ouyang Xichen quickened his pace to catch up with him, noticing that he always managed to avoid those bookshelves that seemed sturdy but were actually on the verge of collapsing at the slightest touch.

Guo Yuelang smiled.

“I’ve visited many old libraries with my father before. Once you understand the nature of these wooden bookshelves, they’re not hard to deal with—the sturdier they look, the more likely they are to have loose mortise and tenon joints.”

He tapped the pillar of a nearby bookshelf with a wooden stick, which produced a hollow echo.

"For example, this one looks quite stable, but the pulleys underneath are already rusted solid. It will tip to the left with the slightest touch."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud crash came from behind him.

Bai Yueming had somehow gotten close to the bookshelf and was trying to pull out a book that was stuck in the gap when the entire bookshelf suddenly tilted to the left. Startled, he jumped back and almost bumped into Xiao Qin, who was right behind him.

"Goodness, you were right." Bai Yueming patted his chest, his tone tinged with lingering fear. "Xin Xin, you're really something! You can really warn of danger in advance!"

Guo Yuelang shook his head helplessly.

"Don't touch anything. The bookshelves in this library have a memory. If you touch something they don't like, they'll remember it forever," Bai quickly said.

Lin Xi suddenly remembered what Banxia had said, "The bookshelf will hold a grudge," and her heart stirred slightly.

She looked at the wooden strip in Guo Yuelang's hand, then at the bookshelves that stood silently in the darkness, and felt that Guo Yuelang seemed to know more about the rules here, but hadn't explained them clearly.

It must be... Guo Yuelang has been to a similar instance?
Although they had been in contact, the conversation over the phone was limited, and they didn't have time to talk much about the copies they had visited.

The group continued walking forward, and the gaps between the bookshelves became narrower and narrower, sometimes requiring them to turn sideways to pass through.

The air was filled with a damp, musty smell, mixed with the distinctive scent of old paper, which made people feel inexplicably depressed.

"Did you hear anything?" Xiao Qin suddenly stopped and listened carefully. "It sounds like... someone turning the pages of a book?"

Everyone suddenly became quiet.

Sure enough, a faint rustling sound came from not far ahead, intermittent, like someone rapidly turning pages in the dark.

—Are they other players?

—Is it possible?

—No, I just took a look around. Other players went into the same library as 123 and the others.

—When everyone first entered the instance, it seems they weren't in the same supermarket.

—I hope we don't expect everyone to complete every single library game!

—No way, if we look around and check in turn, we'll know about the other libraries.

Bai gripped the lighter in his hand tightly.

Ouyang Xichen just handed it to him, saying, "Young people have good eyesight, and it's easy for them to carry."

He pressed the switch, and the flame suddenly lit up, illuminating the road ahead.

A narrow passageway had appeared between the bookshelves in front of them, leading to a half-open door at the end, through which a faint light shone.

The rustling sound came from behind the door.

“It looks like a reading room.” Banxia’s voice trembled slightly. “When I used to work there, the boss said that the room was never locked, but we weren’t allowed to go in either, saying it was ‘for the books to use themselves.’”

"Leave it for your own use?" Bai Yueming raised an eyebrow. "This library is quite particular about human rights... oh no, book rights." Ouyang Xichen took two steps forward, his gaze falling on the door.

The sound stopped.

Sure enough, the rustling sound disappeared at some point, leaving only the sounds of their breathing and heartbeats.

"Let's go in and take a look; maybe the second book is inside," Lin Xi said.

Guo Yuelang was the first to push open the small door. The hinges creaked softly, sounding particularly abrupt in the silence.

The reading room behind the door is not large. In the middle is a long wooden table with a few books scattered on it. In the corner stands an old bookshelf filled with classic books with yellowed covers.

What's most eye-catching is a blurry figure sitting in a chair next to the table.

The figure had his back to them, wearing a faded blue cloth shirt, with gray hair, and was bowing his head, seemingly holding something in his hands.

Hearing the door open, he slowly turned his head—it was a face covered in wrinkles, with cloudy eyes, but they suddenly lit up when he saw Banxia.

"Xia?" The old man's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping. "Why are you here?"

Banxia shuddered, and the silver ring in her hand clattered to the ground.

"Mr. Zhang... Mr. Zhang? Didn't you... three years ago..."

"So you left, right?" The old man smiled, revealing his few remaining teeth. "This library can't keep living people, but it can keep memories. I've been 'taken in' here by it, guarding these books, it's quite nice."

—What the hell does that mean?
—What the hell? Even though Boss Zhang is a ghost, he's not scary!
—So easily startled, like they've never seen the world before!
—Sure enough, the three instances last week have made many people accustomed to peace and tranquility.

—I quite miss the peaceful dungeons.

—Yes, even when things are calm, some people still want to see something thrilling.

—There are only 80 people left. Isn't that thrilling?

—I didn't go to see how anyone else died?
—He was crushed to death by a bookshelf!
—Are their library bookshelves moving too?

Lin Xi noticed that the old man was holding a thick photo album.

On the page of the photo album, there was a yellowed photograph. It showed an elderly man in his youth, standing at the entrance of a library, with a young woman beside him, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"Mr. Zhang, do you know about the Time-Space Code Book?" Bai asked softly, afraid of disturbing the eerie tranquility.

The old man raised his cloudy eyes and looked at a book on the table.

The spine of that book was prominently printed with the words "The Book of Time and Space Codes".

"Is this what you're looking for?" He pointed to the book. "This is my keepsake, it holds the story of me and A-Yun. The year A-Yun left was also a rainy season, just like the year Xia lost her diary, it rained for a whole month."

Guo Yuelang picked up the book, and just as he was about to open it, the old man stopped him.

"Don't rush, this book is unfamiliar."

He took a small brass whistle out of his pocket and handed it to Guo Yuelang. "Take this. A-Yun used to love blowing this, saying it could attract fireflies. You recognize this sound."

—Just now, I thought that handsome Xin Xin had been to this instance.

——I thought so too.

—It seems that it didn't happen now.

—Perhaps there has been a simpler version than this.

—Oh right, this stupid game says it's shut down, but then it releases an upgraded version.