In Virtual Reality

rotesque and eerie world.
The once immaculate white walls transformed into murky, black nests, and the ground squirmed as if something was trying to break through.
The books scattered across the room sprouted black, jumbled characters that crawled out of the pages while minuscule, dense creatures slipped onto the ground, some sinking into the sludge and others climbing up Zhang Rou Rou's body.
Her screams echoed through the room, tearing through the air like razors, causing the characters to fall to the ground.

Zhang Rou Rou tried to stand but stumbled, flailing her arms and striking her clothes like a drunken person, trying to rid herself of the nauseating creatures.
She wanted to escape, but the sludge had already swallowed her delicate legs, and she couldn't free them.
It continued to creep up her legs until it almost reached her knees.

“Are you okay?” A hand grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the sludge.
Her legs trembled in the air as the black sludge clung unwillingly to her skin.

When her feet touched the ground again, the pristine white floor had returned, and the grotesque world vanished.
Zhang Rou Rou trembled, her legs feeling weak.
Luckily, the person who had pulled her out had not let go.
She looked up, dazed, and saw her saviour: the librarian.

In the grasp of the other person was a dark brown book, and the mere sight of it, even just the cover, triggered an instant and distressing recollection of the garbled text from before.
As she flailed away from the perceived danger, Zhang Rou Rou's legs turned to noodles in fear.

“Relax, relax…” The librarian's kind voice tried to soothe the struggling girl, one hand holding her firmly in place.
“The library has warned you twice,” Silence began, their tone flat but tinged with a hint of threat.
“If it happens again, I cannot guarantee what will follow.”

Zhang Rou Rou's animal-like intuition made her regard the librarian warily, frozen in place by their ominous warning.

At last, the librarian let go of her, showing a concerned expression as Zhang Rou Rou stumbled.
“Let me reintroduce you,” Silence sighed, speaking softly, “to the 'The Library of Eternal Life,' which holds many…
well, stories that may not pique your interest.”

The librarian, dressed in a youthful pink hoodie, set the dark brown book on the nearby desk and then turned around to retrieve the scattered books from the ground.
“Please don't damage the library,” the hoodie said earnestly, picking up and stacking the books neatly.
“I'm a newly appointed librarian.
I can help you once but can't always save you.”

After organizing the books, Silence took back the book they were reading before and said to the dazed Zhang Rou Rou: “By the way, you might find this book intriguing.”

**

«The Library of Eternal Life».
What a curious name for a game, Xu Jin Yi thought as she tidied her desk with the guidance of the red dialogue box.
As she finished, her eyes nonchalantly scanned the now immaculate surface.
She had just cleared away twenty-three books, and after restoring order to the scattered pages, the desk should have been pristine.
However, a slim volume lay atop the desk, different from the others.

Xu Jin Yi picked it up.
A book.
It had the same cover as the books on the shelf but was pitifully thin, with only about twenty pages.

She flipped to the front – «The Marvelous Adventures of Zhang Xiao Hua.»

Xu Jin Yi's brow furrowed.

Zhang Xiao Hua?

With an unimpressed look, she observed the girl in front of her.
The changes in the library were already noticeable before Xu Jin Yi arrived by scaling the book ladder.
Without her, Zhang Xiao Hua would have been consumed by the engulfing mud.
She casually flipped to the first page, and her eyes widened after reading a few lines.

Oh my…

So that's what “eternal” means in The Library of Eternal Life.

**

Zhang Xiao Hua left with the slender book while Xu Jin Yi turned her attention to the library entrance.
A red dialogue box had just flashed, indicating someone had arrived at the library.
Without anything pressing to do, curiosity nudged her towards the registration desk.
Unlike before, Xu Jin Yi didn't climb the noisy book stairs.
Instead, she took a leisurely stroll towards the front.

The Library of Eternal Life…
Who could it be this time? It wasn't long before she found out.

“Wen Wen,” said the bespectacled boy, adjusting his glasses and positioning himself protectively in front of his girlfriend.
“Something's not right here!”

Fang Wen Wen: “…”

It was clear to anyone that the college library was smaller.
The situation brought to mind the haunted house and the person who had led them out.
Fang Wen Wen surveyed her surroundings before her gaze settled in the distance.
she rubbed her eyes.

“Si De,” the girl hesitated, blinking rapidly.
“That person looks familiar…”

-How could he not be familiar?!

Tian Si De's pupils trembled as the hooded figure approached them slowly.

“Welcome, ah! It's you guys!” exclaimed the hooded figure, waving enthusiastically and looking particularly happy.
“Are you here to see me? And you brought a friend?”

-What friend?

A hand with dirt under the fingernails pressed onto Tian Si De's shoulder with a misty breath blew into the stunned boy's ear.