Deadly Game: Almighty Boss’s Guide to Making Money

Chapter 1244. The Book at Night (32)

—Holy shit!
—Didn't Old Deng leave?
—Yeah, didn't he lock the door?
—At first, Uncle Zhang seemed quite kind. Was he bewitched?

—It must be controlled by something!
"He must be controlled by the Shadow of Oblivion!" Chuxue said in a low voice.

“There’s definitely something wrong with the book he’s holding,” Bai said.

Uncle Zhang seemed to sense something and suddenly looked towards the bookshelf.

His gaze swept over the bookshelves where everyone was hiding, lingered for a few seconds, and then he suddenly laughed.

“I know you’re here… Don’t hide anymore. The Shadow of Oblivion will soon devour the entire bookstore, and none of you will escape.”

After saying that, Uncle Zhang turned and walked in another direction from the bookstore, the black book in his hand emitting a faint black mist.

The black mist condensed into a huge shadow in the air, following behind Uncle Zhang.

Once Uncle Zhang's footsteps had completely disappeared, everyone emerged from behind the bookshelves, each with a solemn expression on their face.

“It seems Uncle Zhang has been targeted by the Forgotten Shadow for a long time,” Lin Xi said, frowning. “He’s in charge of the astronomical area, so he probably already knew there was a key in the compass. That monster we just saw might have been released by him.”

Huang Jingjing picked up the star map book that had just fallen to the ground, turned to the last page, and suddenly noticed a line of small print at the bottom of the page.

"Zhang Liming, born in 1934, is the 37th generation successor of the Guardian Bookstore."

"Is Uncle Zhang's full name Zhang Liming?" Bai also asked.

"Is he the guardian of the bookstore?" Chang Xiaohe interjected.

"How could the Guardian be controlled by the Shadow of Oblivion?" Quan Quan asked, puzzled. "Didn't Alo say that it was the true guardian of the bookstore?"

Xiao Qin took the star map book and carefully looked at the small print.

"The 23rd year of the Republic of China... that's been a long time. Perhaps Uncle Zhang is a descendant of the Guardians, but he didn't inherit their power, which is why the Forgotten Shadow was able to take advantage of his weakness."

“Alo said there’s a ‘Book of Time’ in the ancient books section. Maybe that book contains the secrets about the Guardians. We need to get there as soon as possible,” Ouyang Xichen said.

Xia Jin nodded and was about to take a step when she suddenly remembered something and turned to look at the compass in the glass cabinet.

“When I touched the key just now, Alo said that each area’s key has a corresponding guardian spirit. The guardian spirit of the Astronomical Area is the ‘Star Spirit.’ If you encounter danger, you can use the key to summon it.”

As she spoke, she took the silver key out of her pocket, the silver-blue light on the key pulsating gently in her palm.

“The rare books section is on the east side of the bookstore. Uncle Zhang just went west, so we shouldn’t run into him for now. Let’s go there now. Keep an eye on your surroundings on the way; the Shadow of Oblivion might still be nearby,” Guo Yuelang said.

Everyone nodded.

The group walked eastward along the passageway between the bookshelves.

As Xia Jin reached the corner, she suddenly stopped. The key in her palm began to throb violently, its warmth turning into a scorching heat.

She looked up and saw a wooden door on the wall at the end of the passage.

The door was engraved with intricate patterns, and in the center of the patterns was a keyhole, shaped exactly like the silver key in my hand.

"It should be right here."

Xia Jin took a deep breath, stepped forward, and inserted the key into the keyhole.

As soon as the key was inserted, the patterns on the door suddenly lit up with a silver-blue light and began to slowly rotate, as if unlocking some kind of mechanism.

Just then, the bookshelves on both sides of the passageway suddenly began to shake violently, and a group of strange shadows appeared on the shelves, rushing towards the group. This time, the shadows were larger and more numerous than before, densely packed together.

"Everyone be careful!" Lin Xi said, and began to swing the hammer in his hand.

Bai Yueming stepped forward, flames igniting in his hands, and attacked the strange shadow.

Huang Jingjing pulled Xia Jin behind the bookshelf and asked, "The door isn't open yet, can you summon a star spirit to help?"

Xia Jin nodded, gripped the silver key in her hand, closed her eyes, and silently recited the summoning phrase that A Luo had told her.

Soon, the silver-blue light on the key suddenly became dazzling, spreading along her arm into the air and condensing into a huge star pattern.

The pattern flickered a few times and suddenly transformed into a silver owl about half the height of a person. The owl's eyes were two bright stars, and its wings were covered with star trail patterns.

"Star Spirits?" Xia Jin exclaimed in surprise, but she wasn't sure.

Xingling nodded to Xia Jin, then turned and pounced on the strange shadow.

With a flap of its wings, countless silver feathers shoot out, and each feather that hits the monster causes the monster's shadow to vanish instantly.

The strange figures seemed to retreat in fear of the Protoss. The Protoss pursued relentlessly and quickly annihilated most of the strange figures.

Seeing that things were not going well, the remaining few strange shadows tried to turn around and run away, but were stopped by Lin Xi and Bai Yueming who had arrived.

They were quickly and completely wiped out.

Just as the last strange shadow disappeared, the patterns on the wooden door finally stopped turning, making a slight sound, and the door slowly opened.

Behind the door was a long corridor, with yellowed ancient scrolls hanging on the walls on both sides, the text on the scrolls appearing faintly in the dim light.

The Star Spirit called out to Xia Jin twice, then transformed into a wisp of silver-blue light and returned to the silver key.

Xia Jin held the key, feeling the warmth in her palm return to calm.

She looked up at everyone, smiled, and said, "The door is open, let's go in."

Lin Xi walked at the front. As soon as she stepped into the corridor, she smelled a strong scent of old paper mixed with a faint sandalwood fragrance.

The corridor floor was made of wood, and it creaked and groaned underfoot, as if it might collapse at any moment.

She reached out and touched the wall next to her. The scrolls on the wall felt rough, as if they were made of some kind of special fabric.

"Everyone stay close, don't get separated," Lin Xi said, turning around to remind them.

Everyone nodded and followed closely behind her, slowly walking forward along the corridor.

At the end of the corridor was a larger wooden door with a huge hourglass pattern carved on it, and the words "Ancient Books Section" written above the hourglass.

Xia Jin stepped forward and was about to insert the key into the keyhole when the hourglass pattern on the door suddenly lit up, and the sand in the hourglass began to flow slowly.

The sand was actually silver-blue in color, exactly the same as the filaments on the key.

“This hourglass… could it be the ‘hourglass of time’ that A Luo was talking about?” Huang Jingjing asked in surprise.

Xia Jin examined the hourglass pattern closely and noticed a line of small text below it: "Hourglass of Time, source of purification, can only be awakened by those chosen by knowledge."

She looked up at the crowd and hesitated before saying, "Alo said I am the one chosen by knowledge. Am I the one who should awaken it?"

"Give it a try, but be careful," Lin Xi said.