Chapter 292 University Town Civility Code (XII)
"Heart Sutra? Can you hear us?"
After waiting for a while, there was still no response in the mental link, so Guo Guo and the other two could only communicate the situation on their own.
Compared to Guo Guo in the small study and Zhang You on the spiral staircase, Zheng Wanqing, who had entered first, was in the most "normal" situation. She was surrounded by dozens of bookshelves, most of which contained incomprehensible garbled text, but there was also some useful information. For example, in one reference book, she even found a more detailed map of the library.
"If what's described on this diagram is true, there should be a total of 1,000 sections in the library."
She was located between blocks 100 and 150, which housed the library's historical materials. Zhang You was located around block 500, right in the heart of the library.
Although there is no sound from Xin Jue now, she said at the beginning that she entered a place similar to a screening room with many machines and disks in the room.
Zheng Wanqing compared them one by one: "I found it. This area in Section 950 is called the projection room. The projection room only occupies one section, but it is surrounded by the archives room, which occupies nine sections. And outside the archives room, there is a blank area that occupies 40 sections... It doesn't say what the blank area is."
[It's a defensive zone.]
The sudden answer made Zheng Wanqing subconsciously alert, but she soon realized that it was the registrar's voice: "Can you monitor us at any time?"
[I also work part-time as a librarian. You are officially registered visitors, and it is my job to observe the situation and answer your questions.]
The administrator's voice was tired and numb, and she clearly had no enthusiasm for her work. But she still dutifully said:
[To prevent anyone from breaking into the archives, hundreds of dangerous creatures are sealed in the defense area. Please do not approach.]
"What about those who have already gone in?"
[The university town will automatically conduct identity verification, and those who pass the verification can enter and exit through the security gate.]
It seemed that only Zheng Wanqing could hear the administrator's voice, but after she relayed it, Guo Guo immediately exclaimed:
"Wait, what does the security door look like...is it mine?"
From Guo Guo's perspective, a narrow door appeared on the wall of the small study at some point.
It just so happened that she couldn't find any information in this room - did that mean she could leave?
Zhang You reminded him sternly, "Are you sure you've searched all the nearby information? Do you need to search for any omissions?"
"Well...it's really gone."
Guo Guo glanced at the whole thing again, even picking up a book and taking a look. "Only this kind of thing—'The Great Escape from the Women's Dormitory'? The tastes in the university town are so strange."
If she were to read this kind of thing, she might as well read 606's own survival memoir.
There was a line of small text below the title page, marking the creation time as 1000 University Town Days - such a thin book, how could it take so long to write? Guo Guo was even more condemned by this. She was disgusted for a moment, then opened her mind:
"You guys check it out too."
“…It seems there’s really nothing worth noting.”
Zhang You and Zheng Wanqing also gained nothing.
At this time, the door of the small study room revealed a larger gap, so Guo Guo put the books back in place one by one, and then took advantage of his body shape to easily get out.
"Wait for me, I'll come to you soon!"
"The signal is still not working?"
On the ceiling, the female ghost said regretfully, "Then I'll finish my work first. Your signal should be restored by the time I leave."
There is nothing wrong with Tang Xin Jue.
As soon as she entered the room , she saw the girl searching for the machine. Strangely, although she wasn't human, her aura was distinct from the student ghosts in the university town. The girl described herself as a ghost from out of town, arriving in the university town to apply for household registration. She also affectionately addressed Tang Xinjue as "player."
"Player?"
Tang Xinjue's heart moved.
"Oh, I'm used to saying that. Sorry, are they called candidates here?" The girl jumped down and found a machine. She dug out a crumpled instruction manual from her pocket and turned it on. She explained as she operated it, "Our place is called Happy Island. Have you heard of it? Probably not. We're far away from the university town, but ever since the university town opened its doors to the public, all the anchor points have started to move closer to it. It won't be long before we'll be neighbors."
"Of course, University Town has the highest priority. After the anchor points are merged, the hubs of smaller systems like Happy Island will be taken over by it. So we have to hurry and get our household registration done. Otherwise, we'll become jobless vagrants, wandering the cracks in dungeons, even more miserable than wandering souls... Done!"
The girl pulled out a shiny ID card from the machine, and Tang Xinjue saw the name on it:
"Qing Lian?"
The girl chuckled and said, "Nice to meet you. You must be advanced players. I'm just a level 1 squishy NPC. It's better for me to stay away from you. Otherwise, if you raise your hands carelessly, my health bar will be gone. Bye, bye, come to Happy Island when you have time."
She hurriedly stuffed a business card into Tang Xinjue's pocket, then her figure swayed and hung on the ceiling, disappearing without a trace.
"Heart Sutra...Heart Sutra? You're back!"
The voice in the mental link finally returned. Tang Xinjue briefly explained the situation, and the others finally felt relieved. Zheng Wanqing said, "Guoguo and I have reunited. It seems a door will open after staying here for a while. We are currently looking for Zhang You, but you may be in trouble..."
"Okay, I understand."
As he spoke, Tang Xinjue also walked to a machine.
The machine was in the most inconspicuous corner of the projection room, with only two interactive ports: one for scanning and the other for ejecting images. The screen flashed a rather unintelligent blue light, with no specific description of its use. However, she noticed three rows of small, two-inch photos taped to the side.
There were 12 photos in total, each showing a vague outline of a boy or girl. While their faces were unclear, they were all dressed in student attire. Judging by the fading of the photos, it seemed they had been taken a long time ago.
The only two pictures that were noticeably brighter were the ones stuck in the very corners, one of a man and one of a woman. Seeing them, an inexplicable sense of familiarity washed over me.
The longer I look at them, the more familiar I feel. It's as if I can touch them through the blurry photos, or even walk into them...
Tang Xinjue frowned and stared at the photo until she suddenly heard a deafening howl like a gunshot, accompanied by a sudden jump like a warning from deep in her mind, and she suddenly turned her attention back.
When she turned around, she saw that Bai Tuanzi had entered the projection room at some point and was lying next to her, shouting:
“Chirp!”
Tang Xin Jue paused and asked, "Were you the one barking just now?"
White Tuanzi: "Chirp, chirp, chirp!"
The elf's voice was crisp and elastic, completely different from the howling sound she had just "heard". But when she recalled it again, it seemed that it was really just the elf's voice, and it only sounded a little different in her mind.
Tang Xin Jue took a deep breath, threw out all his thoughts, picked up the white ball and rubbed it twice:
"Are you here to see me?"
“Chiu!”
"Just right, the time has come."
Tang Xinjue opened the map and saw that the location of 606 and the other four had moved from the corner of the map back to the center at some point.
Guo Guo asked in the mental connection: "Are we leaving the library?"
"Yes." Tang Xinjue opened the door to the projection room and stepped out. The scene changed, and she was back at the library entrance. The administrator sat beside her, watching her quietly. After their eyes met, he scribbled twice on the registration form, and the library door opened immediately.
"Now, it's time for us to complete the main mission."
