novelsite Chapter 70 Entering the Library
Chapter 70 Entering the Library
Antonio opened his mouth, but no sound came out, as if his vocal cords were being violently shaken by that invisible force.
Immediately afterwards, a faint "crackling" sound came from inside his body—like ice cracking.
Under the horrified gaze of everyone, countless cracks, like sound wave patterns, began to appear on his skin, perfectly synchronized with the background music.
These cracks first appeared as fine red lines, as if the capillaries under the skin were breaking down one by one, and then they quickly deepened and spread.
His eyeballs burst first, turning into two pools of murky liquid.
Subsequently, all the bones in his body shattered one by one in that fatal resonance, and his whole body was like a broken piece of porcelain, with its internal structure completely disintegrating.
He collapsed like a lump of mud, but terrifyingly, his softened body continued to pulsate and tremble to the rhythm of the music.
Finally, at the moment when a high note was played, his body, like an overinflated water bag, burst open with a muffled "pop".
Instead of splattering blood and flesh, it was decomposed and atomized into a crimson blood mist that slowly swayed in the air to the rhythm of the music, under that eerie resonance frequency.
A dozen seconds later, the music changed, and the blood mist slowly sank as if it had lost its support, covering the ground with a layer of viscous, still slightly pulsating, warm substance.
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The remaining ten psychology students witnessed the horrific scene of Antonio's flesh and blood disintegrating during the resonance, ultimately turning into a blood mist. All of them turned pale and their pupils trembled.
Several girls had already covered their mouths tightly with their hands, but they couldn't make a sound.
In their immense shock, no one dared to delay any longer.
Almost mechanically, everyone swallowed the sticky food on their plates in two or three bites at a time, then hurriedly got up and rushed out of the cafeteria as if fleeing.
Once outside the cafeteria, the two girls who had been sitting at the same table as Antonio could no longer hold back and began to violently retch.
Evelyn strode forward, pressing firmly on their shoulders, her voice low but authoritative:
"Hold it in! Spitting it out might worsen the contamination!"
The two girls trembled violently, struggling between extreme fear and physical discomfort. Their throats bobbed violently a few times, and they managed to swallow back the vomit that was rising to their mouths. Their faces instantly drained of color.
Evelyn's gaze swept over the two of them, her voice as cold as ice:
"This is the world of ghost stories, cold and cruel. To survive, you must learn to control yourself, no matter how disgusting or terrifying!"
She paused, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's go to the library."
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The library's exterior is not made of modern glass curtain walls, but rather of thick gray stone, its overall outline resembling a huge, ancient, closed book.
The spine of the book faces the main road of the campus, and the slightly protruding side buildings on both sides are like slightly rolled-up pages.
The windows were nestled deep within the stone walls, and dim yellow lights shone through the thin mist, like weary eyes gazing at the survivors who had escaped the terrifying ordeal in the cafeteria.
The ten people stepped onto the stairs and pushed open the heavy, copper-clad wooden door, as if they had entered the belly of a giant beast.
The hall was unusually spacious and high, with several brass chandeliers hanging from the dome. The light was greedily absorbed by the dark wooden walls and floor, keeping the entire space immersed in a dim and tranquil atmosphere.
The air was filled with old paper and a faint scent of ink, but beneath this fragrance, there seemed to be another, more indescribable aroma—like aged metal or moss after the rain.
The silence was not absolute; a low, humming sound, as if the building itself were breathing, continuously pressed on everyone's eardrums.
On the wall directly opposite the entrance hangs a huge oil painting that almost covers the entire wall – "The Watchman".
The first principal in the painting is dressed in a well-tailored classic suit and stands sideways.
His face was solemn, etched with the marks of time and burdens, and his deep eyes seemed to transcend the boundaries of the picture frame, scrutinizing every soul that stepped into this place.
His right hand rested on an ornate cane, the tip of which pointed steadily toward the ground.
In his left hand he held an open silver pocket watch, the hands of which were precisely fixed at three o'clock.
In the shadows behind the principal, a blurry, distorted humanoid figure lurked silently, creating an eerie confrontation with the principal's clear image.
Below the oil painting, the motto engraved on the bronze plaque gleamed coldly under the light:
The real danger lies not in what you see, but in what you turn your back on.
The combination of this image and the proverb conveys an unspoken warning, making the hearts of the ten people who have just experienced a change even heavier.
To the right of the oil painting, on a simple wooden stand, are posted the "Library Rules".
The crowd quickly gathered around and examined the area closely.
【规则1：图书馆开放时间为每日8:00至21:00。闭馆铃声响起后，所有学生必须在10分钟内离开。】
[Rule 2: Please keep quiet in the library, consciously observe public order, and work together to maintain a good learning environment.]
Rule 3: The library's bookshelves are made of solid wood.
If you touch a bookshelf that feels warm or has a pulse, discreetly withdraw your hand and place three books—one on Confucianism, one on Buddhism, and one on Taoism—with their spines facing inwards and their edges facing outwards.
Rule 4: When reading, please ensure that the reading area you are in is well-lit.
If the light starts flickering for no apparent reason, or if you feel that the light is being "swallowed up," please close the book immediately and recite a poem related to light.
[Rule 5: If, while reading, the marginal notes on a page start to talk to you, immediately take a red ballpoint pen from your pencil case and draw a sharp strikethrough across the marginal note.]
[Rule 6: The library restrooms are safe, but please do not enter the innermost stalls.]
After reading the six rules, everyone's attention quickly focused on the fifth one.
Because it mentions a special prop—
"A red ballpoint pen?" Ichiro Sato instinctively touched his backpack. "Who brought it?"
"I only have black and blue..."
"I'm using a ballpoint pen..."
"I...I don't have any either."
Upon asking each other, it turned out that none of the ten people had a red ballpoint pen.
Just then, a calm, even voice rang out from the side: "The library offers basic stationery sales services."
The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a female administrator in a gray uniform with a stern face standing behind the service desk, staring at them blankly.
She pointed to a small rotating shelf next to the counter, on which were displayed several rows of the most ordinary red plastic ballpoint pens.
What a relief!
Almost without hesitation, everyone stepped forward, each buying one and clutching it tightly in their hands…