by N. Heller
First, Reno asked Siri if she knew the location of the target books that had already been found.
Siri replied that she didn't know.
"Now, I am sure the third book is with the people from the south wing," Reno said with an excited expression. "Even if Siri doesn't know, it doesn't affect us. I was shocked when she answered my next question. Weren't you guys worried about the people in the west wing? Just wait and see."
The teenage boy coughed. He looked rather enthusiastic. Before the others could react, he suddenly shouted, "Siri, can you announce the number of people in each team?"
All of them were shocked. No one expected Reno to suddenly ask that question. This was quickly followed by Siri's monotonous voice which rang out over the speakers, "Okay. Central Hall, three members. West Wing, four members. East Wing, one member. South Wing, eleven members."
Right after Siri said "eleven members", a commotion was instantly created. Even though Lin Sanjiu and her team were more or less mentally prepared, they were quite taken aback when they heard what Siri said and almost suspected that they had heard her wrong. Siri's report clearly referred to the number of people who were still alive. If they were to add the duoluozhong that Rena and Silvan had killed previously, the south wing actually started out with thirteen members.
Lin Sanjiu couldn't believe that so many duoluozhongs would just obediently stay upstairs.
The people from the west wing cut loose a barrage of expletives, "What the f*ck? They have way more members than us, how are we supposed to fight?"
"They're duoluozhongs! How did they manage to infiltrate this place?"
Coincidentally, Siri heard that particular remark made by someone and she replied emotionlessly, "Anyone with a number on their back can join one of the five teams in this event. This is not limited to specific species."
"So, Siri can be used like this. How interesting." The woman from the south wing made a sudden comment. The commotion stopped instantly. The woman's voice was a little deep and she dragged her words. It was difficult to imagine that a duoluozhong could speak in that manner.
"But, it's alright. Although we lost two members, we are definitely going to earn all the lives," the woman declared after laughing.
"Why can duoluozhongs enter a pocket dimension?" Lin Sanjiu couldn't help asking Silvan.
Apart from Lin Sanjiu, all the posthumans present were from the Twelve Worlds Centrum. Evidently, duoluozhongs entering a pocket dimension wasn't something shocking to them.
"Low-level duoluozhongs are like normal humans. They can't enter a pocket dimension and they can't go to another world," Silvan gave Lin Sanjiu a quick glance and whispered, "But, duoluozhongs can also evolve."
Lin Sanjiu immediately remembered the flying duoluozhongs she had seen in Hyperthermal Hell. She could feel the blonde man's warm breath down her neck and she rubbed her neck unconsciously as if to erase that sensation.
"Since the other team has so many more members, I think the mushroom heads will be willing to help us," Silvan said acidly as he stood up. He turned to Reno and smiled, "Now I know why you said we don't have to worry about them."
With this morale boost, the teenage boy grinned and added, "There's more!" After that, he began telling the team all the information he had obtained. Though Lin Sanjiu came up with the idea to ask Siri more questions, she didn't expect that Reno could dig out that much information. With that information, they managed to come up with a plan.
"Right now, the South Wing team already know that we have two books, so, we will be their main target. Meanwhile, the West Wing team had also switched off their light," Lin Sanjiu stressed as if to reaffirm their plan. "We will move in pairs. I will team up with Rena. Reno, go with him… We need to avoid their attacks and search the main areas mentioned in Siri's clue. But, we don't know the English title of the last book, so it is a bit troublesome."
"Speaking of which…" Silvan suddenly said softly before he removed a small detachable part of his battle goggles. After that, he said a line of fluent English. He instantly sounded different from before. His words did not have that sort of strange enunciation.
Lin Sanjiu was stunned. Silvan slowly replaced the detachable part back on his goggles and smiled at her, "What were you saying?"
Lin Sanjiu sighed, "Nothing."
"The Twelve Worlds Centrum is an extraordinary place."
Chapter 269 - The Fourth Book
Q: "Siri, if nobody finds the five books even after a long time, what would happen?"
A: "In that case, the book searching event would just continue... until the books are found. Or until the number of days that have passed exceeds the total amount of lives that every participant has. Then, everyone's lives will be deducted all at once."
Q: "Doesn't that mean that everyone would die?"
A: "After that, I would open the doors once again and invite the next batch of readers to join the event."
Q: "Okay. If a team gathers all five books but does not verify them with you, what will happen?"
A: "It will be treated as if no team had won yet. "
Q: "That means the verification process is a necessary step. Must we come over to your work desk to verify the books? If I raise five books in the air and show them to you, will that suffice?"
A: "No."
Q: "Well, then can you tell me what is the total c.u.mulative lives of all the surviving people in the library have right now?"
A: "Yes."
Q: "Then, tell me!"
A: "522."
Q: "Huh, that much… Can you tell me how many lives each individual person have?"
A: "No. This does not directly affect the length of the book searching event."
Q: "Anyway, you can put things in whatever way you want. How did the location of the five target books disappear from the library's system?"
A: "The librarian of this library enjoys reading. When the library was closed, she would spend the whole day in it. She would have a book in her hand wherever she went, whether she was eating or just taking an afternoon nap. It might be because she had been too lax, but she finally discovered that five books were missing only after some time."
Q: "You must be that librarian!"
A: "No comment."
—
Under the cover of the darkness, Lin Sanjiu and Rena approached a corner of the library quickly and stealthily. They stopped and listened for any movements in the corridor behind the wall.
From the clues Reno gathered after talking to Siri, they basically came to the conclusion that the librarian had lost the five target books during her leisure time, moving around the library. The books that were found in the reading sections and the multimedia section seemed to prove their conjecture. Since Siri mentioned "eating and taking a nap", it seemed to hint that the librarian was living a normal everyday life. However, there wasn't any canteen in the library...
Lin Sanjiu scanned their surroundings and found nothing unusual, then gestured to Rena. The two of them slipped into the corridor. In the darkness, a lit green sign with the words "washroom" hung above their heads.
After their team split up in pairs, Silvan pulled down his personal ballistic eyewear and covered half his face. Somehow, that action left a lasting impression. "Let's have a chat with the people in the west wing." He placed his arm casually over Reno's shoulder as if both of them had already known each other for years.
"You both should be careful when you are searching for books, the south wing is way too quiet." Lin Sanjiu remembered Silvan's advice when she and Rena pushed open the thick wooden door to the female washroom. Controlling their strength, the wooden door opened soundlessly. A dull yellow light lit the washroom. Though the wattage of light wasn't that high, it was undamaged. They could see the basins, hand dryer, and cubicles in the silent washroom.
After a sweeping glance to guarantee no one was around, Rena felt slightly relieved. She closed the wooden door and mumbled quietly, "I hope the book is in this washroom…"
This was already the fourth washroom they had searched. After they had searched the two female washrooms in the Central Hall, they headed to the second floor of the east wing. If they still couldn't find any books, Lin Sanjiu was seriously considering checking the male washrooms.
"Are we going to search the cubicles individually?"
As they did not meet anyone on their way there, Rena lowered her guard. She walked into one of the cubicles without even checking and grumbled, "It is disgusting to search around these toilet cubicles. Siri is really…"
Lin Sanjiu walked into the second cubicle and answered her offhandedly, while she placed the cover of a toilet bowl down. Then, she checked the space behind the toilet bowl.
"Hey, are you really going to keep your name from big brother Silvan?" Searching for a target book certainly didn't deter Rena from small talk, "There aren't many gentlemen like him. Besides, not everyone from the Twelve Worlds Centrum works for Puppeteer…"
"I'd rather not. I think it is fine if you call me just Jiu."
Perhaps, during her time in the Garden of Eden, Gong Daoyi's unpredictability had left her very unsettled. As a result, Lin Sanjiu just couldn't bring herself to trust Silvan, who was also very attractive-looking. Furthermore, she didn't think well of the man's uniform attitude of gentleness to all the women around him.
After Rena checked the first cubicle, she walked past Lin Sanjiu and entered the third cubicle, "Ugh! This is so dirty! I've heard that female toilets are way dirtier than male toilets, maybe I'm witnessing it right now..."
"These young kids always seem to have an endless amount of energy. No matter how many battles they fought, and how many wounds they'd gotten. After some rest, they immediately go back to their lively, bubbly selves." Lin Sanjiu thought to herself and smiled faintly.
She didn't find anything in her current cubicle. When she left, Lin Sanjiu looked behind the cubicle door, checking conveniently.
She found a female satchel bag hanging from the hook on the door.
Lin Sanjiu couldn't help feeling excited. She reached for it and took it down. From the feeling of the PU leather of the bag, she could feel a something thick inside the bag. Lin Sanjiu opened the bag and found a book as expected. She pulled out the book and looked at the title under the light. It was "The Heart-Stealing Consort Escapes With a Baby".
Just as she averted her eyes from the cover of the book, Siri's muffled voice sounded over the speaker through the corridor and the wooden door. "Progress report: the fourth book has been found."
Lin Sanjiu couldn't contain her delight as she exhaled and a smile appeared on her face, "That's great. Now, we only need the last book… I don't think we will find another book in a washroom. Let's find for a spot that is suitable for an afternoon nap."
Looking at the book in her hand again, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help joking, "Say, it's quite appropriate to find this book in a toilet cubicle."
After she said that, Lin Sanjiu suddenly realized that something was amiss.
The washroom was too quiet.
Her body stiffened as she looked at the gap under the divider between the cubicle she was in and the adjacent cubicle. She saw a pair of donned red leather high-heels. The person was standing in the same spot that Rena was just moments before. Almost as if she or it noticed Lin Sanjiu looking, the pair of feet took a step back as if ready to bend down.
Chapter 270 - Time For The Decisive Fight
"To be honest, the way you people behave is a little irritating."
After lifting the cover of the toilet bowl in front of her, Lin Sanjiu saw a pool of dirty-looking water. It looked gross, and there was also suspicious-looking dark yellow streaks on the toilet seat. This wasn't the best scenery, but a duoluozhong had already been kneeling in front of this toilet for some unknown length of time.
"Let's just set aside the issue of whether you guys are even scary, you are just acting like idiots."
As a clear icy female voice rang out. Lin Sanjiu placed her b.a.r.e foot on a head wrapped in black hair. Soon after, the head was brutally forced into the toilet bowl with a thud. As the water in the toilet bowl splashed out, Lin Sanjiu quickly withdrew her feet.
She placed her hands into her pants pocket as she floated behind a long-haired spirit duoluozhong which was wearing a pair of red high heels. Lin Sanjiu was expressionless.
"Hey! Did I say you could lift your head up?" Lin Sanjiu was now acting like a bona fide female delinquent. Her voice was filled with an obnoxious hostility, "Stuff your ugly face back in there!"
As the spirit's head was fully wrapped, Lin Sanjiu couldn't tell where its face was, or whether it was really ugly. When the spirit heard Lin Sanjiu's words, it made something like a soft whimper. Before Lin Sanjiu could kick it again, it dumped its entire head into the toilet bowl filled with filthy water.
"Now, it looks much better," Lin Sanjiu praised, but her voice was brimming with anger and aggression. It was obvious that she was running out of patience. "Now, answer me. Where is the girl who came in with me?"
The spirit, who was commonly described in urban legends as a woman who wears a mouth mask and red high heels, had her face in the toilet bowl, so she had no choice but to brush aside her hair at the back of her head. A mouth full of sharp teeth was revealed. It opened and closed with threads of saliva, "She has been pulled into the wall by a wall spirit…"
"See, what did I say?" Lin Sanjiu could feel the veins on her forehead throbbing, even though she sounded calmer, "You never give proper answers. You guys are really very annoying."
"No. No. I haven't finished. I mean, usually, when a person is pulled into a wall by a wall spirit, they would be trapped and would then suffocate in the wall…" the mouth which looked disgusting from all angles spoke, "But, you don't have to worry. The wall spirit should have transported her to the south wing."
"Why?"
"So, we can get your books…"
Hearing Lin Sanjiu's calmer voice, the spirit slowly lifted her head a little. If it could just catch the right opportunity with Lin Sanjiu's guard down, her mouth could get a little closer to that woman, and this would definitely change the current circ.u.mstances. "We don't have that many lives. Our leader thinks that you guys must be related, so you won't just leave the girl to her own devices. That's why… that's why we planned to use her to exchange for your books."
Lin Sanjiu inferred that their leader was the woman who drags her words. Their leader's guess about them being "related" was far from the truth.
"What sort of spirit is your… leader?"
"I really don't know! I have never seen her face. She always wears a hooded cape and a Changpao (traditional Chinese male clothes). And, we haven't seen her fight…" the spirit reacted hastily, probably because it was very afraid that Lin Sanjiu might have a misunderstanding. "Her face is totally covered…"
Lin Sanjiu frowned her brows as she ruminated. While she considered something, she peeked out of the cubicle, as if to confirm that no one was heading this way. At that very moment, she heard a gust of wind behind her back, directed at her neck.
The next second, the spirit which tried to hit Lin Sanjiu with a sneak attack froze in mid-air.
"Have I forgotten to tell you something?" Lin Sanjiu remarked coldly as she raised one of her brows. She had grabbed the spirit by its neck, stopping it while the spirit tried to attack her by rushing toward her in reverse. Lin Sanjiu could only see the back of the spirit's head and its spine. She watched as the spirit struggled non-stop, seemingly unable to understand the situation it was in.
"Actually, I am not technically alive."
"Look, I am floating now… When I kicked you, I didn't use any Special Item. I just used my b.a.r.e foot."
Lin Sanjiu was an existence that lay right on the boundary between that of the living and the spirits.
After giving that curt pop-science explanation, Lin Sanjiu tightened her grip. The spirit was crushed like a soda crack. The crumbs of its essence disappeared in the air slow
ly. After the spirit was eradicated, the washroom was silent. It was as if nothing of that sort had ever existed. Lin Sanjiu's worried expression suddenly melted away from her face. She c.o.c.ked her head, thought for a moment and even smiled.
She walked in front of a basin, lifted her shirt and looked at the back of her waist in the mirror. The number had already turned to "43".
"I hope Silvan and Reno are being as successful…"
After Lin Sanjiu converted the book into a card, she mumbled to herself as she walked out of the washroom. The moment she stepped out of the door, Siri's voice sounded clearly over the speaker, "Progress report: the fifth book has been found."
"Did Silvan and Reno find that book? Or did the people from the south wing get their hands on it?"
Lin Sanjiu became anxious. Giving up on hiding her presence, she sped to the central hall using her maximum speed.
As she heard the sound of the wind whizzing past her, she also heard every single word from Siri's announcement.
"As of now, all five books have been found. Would the team that had gathered all five books come to my work desk for verification. Before verification, your lives will be deducted at the same rate with each passing day.
Once Lin Sanjiu reached the central hall, she immediately found a hiding spot. Following that, she spotted two people running down from the west wing through her higher consciousness scanning. They were Silvan and Reno.
"Who found the fifth book? Did the west wing agree with our plan?" Lin Sanjiu asked without missing a beat.
"They agreed, with the condition that they would have all the lives from the members of the south wing," Silvan replied and waved the book in his hand. He laughed suddenly without any obvious reason. Before Lin Sanjiu could question him, he looked around Lin Sanjiu. Both Silvan and Reno realized that Rena was missing. With some nervousness, Reno asked promptly, "Rena?"
Lin Sanjiu nodded her head. Reno exhaled and didn't say another word.
Luckily, things were working out according to their plan. With Silvan's "How to Render", they already collected four target books. Lin Sanjiu took the book and gazed for a few seconds at the long English title of the book. Suddenly, they heard the woman from the south wing speaking: