All sorts of books, new and old, thick and thin, were swept off the heavy bookshelf, which was made of quality hardwood. They fell from the shelf one after the other, making a pitter-patter sound like rain. The evil perpetrator of this action acted swiftly, and before long, the bookshelf was half empty.
"Look at this. Will this book work?" the young teenage girl asked as she held an old book between her white fingers. She called out to her brother and Lin Sanjiu, who were not far from her, "It's called The Hidden Truth. There's the word 'hidden.' Maybe we could use this."
Lin Sanjiu and the siblings decided to search through the sea of books in front of them to find a way to enter the multimedia section right under the noses of the west wing team. As each of these books was a Special Item, they were sure they could find a book whose effects would allow them to enter the multimedia section undetected. The biggest problem was that they could not open the books to check their content.
Once a book was opened, the content they read would immediately be activated as the book's effect. The effect could only be activated once, and the book would become just a normal book that couldn't be used again. In other words, they could only judge the usability of a book's content by its title or the occasional summary on the back of the book.
Lin Sanjiu looked up and frowned.
"Pick up the books on the floor," Lin Sanjiu whispered, her words firm. "If the bookshelves are empty, what will block us from their line of sight?"
This was the first time Lin Sanjiu had lectured her, so Rena panicked.
"Oh," she replied before hurriedly bending down and collecting the books. After placing some of the books back, she suddenly felt indignant. She wanted to throw a tantrum, but she couldn't. In the end, she obediently placed all the books back on the bookshelves. Then, she sashayed over to the end of bookshelf 100 and placed the book on the book pile. There was a large pile of books on the floor. They had all been carefully selected based on their potential effects.
As there were many pages in a book, there was no guarantee that the page they read would hold the needed effects. With that in mind, they had decided to place all the useful books to one side at the outset. A few hours had passed since Lin Sanjiu approached Siri. Through the windows, the color of the sky hinted that dawn was arriving.
Judging from yesterday morning, the lights in Kisaragi Library would switch off at 5 am, and the library would become dark, though not as dark as during the night. It would give Lin Sanjiu and the siblings a good opportunity to act.
"Ready?" Lin Sanjiu was crouching. She led the way as the two kids followed behind her. They looked a little pale as they nodded their heads. This was already the third day since they entered the library. This also meant that the actual number of lives Rena had was only 1.
At the moment, they had no idea what would happen if Rena received a lethal attack. They did not know if her "life" would be deducted from the actual 1 or the 4 that was on her back. Neither did they have an opportunity to ask Siri this question. Consequently, it was inevitable that the siblings were feeling very nervous.
"Just follow behind me later. If anyone attacks, I will take on the blows. Don't let yourself be separated from the group," Lin Sanjiu said. "My body is a hundred times more resilient than yours, so my number won't drop."
Hearing this, Rena let out a sigh, sounding a little relieved. Reno looked at the wall clock in the central hall and pulled out a small backup torch. Lin Sanjiu reached for one of the books and opened it from the middle.
"...Thus, before we could get more accurate information about the situation, we could only wait helplessly and anxiously. Jumon, our tribe chief, noticed our predicament and took the initiative to lend us his car..."
The book's effect was A Way Out Of A Predicament. Even though it was very useful, it wasn't suitable for their current situation, so they had wasted the book. Lin Sanjiu sighed and quickly took another book.
"...based on the logical considerations behind this behavior, this is very meaningful. Was there any other way to change this situation other than improving the natural essence of the matter? Unfortunately..."
"This won't work either."
"...She felt a wet sensation gliding past her thigh. It landed carelessly on the floor, spreading like a blooming white tulip. Goodbye, my child..."
"No."
"...She didn't want this! This man was more handsome, more influential, and richer. But so what? Did he think he could do whatever he wanted to her? They were just lovers by contract!"
"What bullshit is this?!"
As Lin Sanjiu grew increasingly frustrated, Reno exclaimed softly, "Found it!"
Lin Sanjiu and Rena looked over at the same time.
"Luo Bixue knew very well that Li Yulong was a man who was destined to have more than one woman. Besides, she was willing to allow Li Yulong to have more women to share her burden..."
"This is worse than the last book!"
"What can this shitty book do?" Rena asked with a frown. Much to their surprise, the book's effect was incredibly useful.
[A Description of Twisted Logic]
If a plot devoid of normal human logic can be rationalized in a few thousand words, you can twist everything in your reality.
"Quick, let's do it now!" Lin Sanjiu's eyes lit up. She patted Reno's shoulder, and he reacted immediately. He grabbed the book and ran out of the book section. Each book can be employed uniquely with minute differences between the users as it is entirely based on how a user interprets its effects. After a few seconds, Reno suddenly turned back and gestured for them. Lin Sanjiu and Rena immediately rushed toward him.
The west wing was quiet, though they could occasionally hear some footsteps. Even though the west wing team was close to Lin Sanjiu and the siblings, they did not notice anything unusual downstairs.
"We only have five minutes," Reno said as he crouched hastily beside a desk while he surveyed all possible crevices and hiding spaces. "Right now, our existence had been twisted. If someone were to look for us, they would still see us in the books section... While the item is activated, we can't attack anyone. Let's find the book!"
There were 200 computers in the multimedia section. The possibility of searching through all the desk spaces in five minutes was slim. However, none of them had the time to complain now. They grabbed every second and searched the area for anything that looked like a book.
"We still have 3 minutes."
"We still have 2 minutes."
Reno announced each time a minute had passed. They had to rush back to the bookshelves within 5 minutes. Otherwise, they would be spotted by the people from the west wing.
"We still have 10 seconds!" he shouted anxiously.
Lin Sanjiu's fingers trembled when she touched a book's cool, smooth cover.
She grabbed it and saw its title: A Girl's Sorrow.
YOU ARE READING
Kisaragi Station || Apocalypse Paradise #3
HorrorHer skin was warm and moist when she was alive, always with a honey-colored tan. It had only been an hour, but her body had stiffened, and her skin was pale white. At first glance, one could even imagine how cold her skin would feel. Her eyes were w...
