Chapter 124 Midnight Library

Chapter 124: The Midnight Library

“Among the Seven Campus Mysteries of Honghuai No. 1 Middle School, the 'Midnight Library' ranks first. Students living in the residential area behind the school say that occasionally, around midnight, a faint light appears in the library, as if someone has lit a lamp in the study room. They also claim to hear crying emanating from that direction.”

Just as Ai Xiaojia was about to dutifully recite all "Seven Campus Mysteries" from beginning to end, as if answering a teacher's question, Zhou Qingshou clapped a hand over her mouth and pulled her behind himself and Zhang Pan.

“We’ve introduced ourselves. What about you? Who are you?” Zhou Qingshou and Zhang Pan, the two male students, attempted to stand with hands on hips to project authority, but their efforts fell a little short.

The three players opposite exchanged glances. Finally, the one holding the flashlight spoke: “If you truly are just ordinary students, it’s best you know as little as possible about our identities and mission. After all, for ordinary people, the more they know, the greater the potential danger.”

“What we can tell you is that we have two objectives: first, to uncover the Seven Campus Mysteries hidden within this school without any prior knowledge; and second, to lure out the true forms of these mysteries and photograph them.” Mr. Flashlight paused. “Furthermore, we’re restricted to completing this mission within a few hours. While the difficulty doesn’t seem high, time is pressing, and we’re quite worried. We can’t exactly dismantle the entire school and photograph every piece just to draw out those seven entities.”

“But… you’re clearly very familiar with the Seven Campus Mysteries of Honghuai No. 1 Middle School, aren’t you? While I don’t know if the mysteries in the real-world Honghuai No. 1 Middle School are the same as those hidden in this Honghuai Ghost School, it’s still crucial intel.”

As he spoke, Mr. Flashlight glanced again towards the library in the distance.

“Besides, we were just about to check out the library. After all, it’s the only place in the entire school with lights on, and you also mentioned the ‘Midnight Library’ is one of Honghuai No. 1 Middle School’s Seven Campus Mysteries. Perhaps this isn’t a coincidence.”

“If you can help us complete the mission quickly, we’ll do our utmost to ensure your safety. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.” Mr. Flashlight forced a friendly smile before continuing, “As for names… since it’s better for you to know as little as possible, just use some codenames for us.”

“So… Number One, Number Two, and Number Three? Or Strawberry, Banana, and Steamed Bun?” Zhang Pan scratched his head, not particularly adept at naming others.

“…” The three players opposite clearly caught on to the awkwardness.

“How about Dongfang Daqiang, Duanmu Fugui, and Ximen Jianguo?” Ai Xiaojia, who considered herself more well-read than Zhang Pan—even if it was mostly light novels—suggested.

“Perhaps it’s better to use something more distinctive to refer to us. For example, I’m Flashlight,” Mr. Flashlight said, gesturing to his two teammates. “The one who’s always cautious is Greatsword, and the more impatient, hot-tempered one over there is Axe.”

“That’s probably a tiny bit better than what we came up with,” Zhou Qingshou nodded.

“Then let’s head to the library first,” Flashlight said, then, like an elder addressing children, he admonished the trio of students, “Remember, don’t wander off. If you encounter any danger, stick close behind us.”

The three students nodded repeatedly, their movements resembling three small hamsters nibbling on sunflower seeds.

Having reached a consensus, the group of six began walking towards the library. Flashlight and Greatsword led the way, followed by the three “little hamsters,” while Axe, who appeared the most physically robust, brought up the rear.

This arrangement could be seen as protection for the three ordinary students, but it also served to prevent them from suddenly turning into malevolent spirits with ulterior motives and backstabbing the players. It must be said that while the three nightmare world players’ choice was somewhat risky, it clearly demonstrated valuable game experience.

The group soon arrived at the library entrance, not far away.

Honghuai City First Senior High School was undoubtedly a prestigious local institution. While its teaching buildings and playground were quite ordinary, it boasted a standalone library built to university standards, with a collection richer than that of the local university. It also featured study rooms that provided an excellent learning environment for students after school, on weekends, and even during holidays.

However, even though Zhou Qingshou and the others were already in their third year of high school, they had only set foot in the library a handful of times.

“The light seems to be in the study room. Wait… is the study room on the first floor?” Having never entered the study room before, Ai Xiaojia momentarily doubted herself.

But even as they approached, the light inside the library remained faint, as if someone had lit a small candle in the spacious building.

“This is terrifying,” Zhang Pan said, a hint of fear in his voice, as he looked towards the lit area.

“Don’t be afraid, we’re here,” Mr. Flashlight said reassuringly.

“How can I not be scared?” Zhang Pan’s lips turned pale, and his whole body trembled. “If there really is a ghost, like the school forum says, wouldn’t that mean even after death, we’d still be studying? That’s absolutely horrifying!”

“Wow, so scary!” Ai Xiaojia also started trembling.

“Indeed,” Zhou Qingshou agreed with a nod.

“…” The three players felt they had been out of school for too long and were struggling to follow the students’ logic.

“Keep quiet and stay behind us,” Greatsword turned and gestured for them to be silent. Then, along with Mr. Flashlight, who had turned off his own flashlight, he led the way into the library.

The library featured an open, hollow design. Standing in the semicircular lobby and looking up, one could see the transparent glass ceiling and the red moon in the sky. A central staircase led directly to the second floor, with elevators and emergency stairs providing access to higher levels.

The red moonlight filtering through the high glass roof illuminated the interior just enough to prevent complete darkness for the six individuals.

Although they hadn’t frequented the library, Zhang Pan and the others at least knew that most commonly used books were on the second floor, while the first floor housed study rooms and current periodicals for students.

Since the study room walls were made of semi-transparent frosted glass, everyone entering the library could clearly see that the faint light was coming from a corner of the first-floor study room.

The study room door was always left open, reducing the risk of alerting anyone inside.

Under the dim moonlight, following gestures from Greatsword and Flashlight, the three students moved as quietly as possible. Then, together with the three players, they crept into the study room.

They could see a figure, wearing the same Honghuai No. 1 Middle School uniform as them, sitting in the farthest corner of the study room. The figure was flipping through a book while frantically scribbling in a notebook at a dizzying speed, completely absorbed in studying.

The only source of light was a desk lamp plugged into a wall socket, which didn’t look like it belonged to the library.

“Terrifying, so terrifying,” Zhang Pan and the other two couldn’t help but whisper fearfully.

Greatsword and Axe immediately glared at the three students, but it was too late. Even their faint whispers had drawn the attention of the “person” in the corner.

Almost instantly, the figure stopped writing, lowered their head as if pondering something, and then looked up at the six people who had entered the study room.

The moment the figure raised their head, Zhang Pan and the others, illuminated by the desk lamp, clearly saw their face.

It was a very beautiful face, striking even in such poor lighting conditions. Moreover, it was a face that felt both familiar and unfamiliar to Zhang Pan and the others.

Unfamiliar because Zhang Pan and the others had never had the chance to know this person.

Familiar because… during their first and second years of high school, they frequently saw this face on the school’s honor roll. For those two years, that photo had always been displayed at the very top of the board, never taken down even when it faded with age.

“Ah!” Zhang Pan and Zhou Qingshou exclaimed in unison, “The top student from the class next door!”

“Su Bai!” Ai Xiaojia directly called out the name, her expression tinged with surprise.