Shen Xixi sat alone by the window, reading a book. The sunlight shone on the side of her face, distracting the boys around her.
Zhang Heng increased his pace. Shen Xixi looked up and saw a certain someone waving at her.
Shen Xixi put down the book in her hand and smiled. The library had to be quiet, and no talking was allowed. Hence, the two did not talk for long.
Zhang Heng had already borrowed the grammar book he wanted, and after saying goodbye, he was ready to leave. Before he left, his eyes inadvertently caught sight of the half-closed book in Shen Xixi's hand, and he realized that the title of the book was Criminal Psychology Analysis.
Of course, as someone who had read Water Supply, Heating, and Gas Engineering Bill of Quantities, Zhang Heng had no right to question other people's reading choices.
But when he thought about Shen Xixi's amazing observation and reasoning skills, Zhang Heng had to admit that this girl's hobbies might be a little unique. Was she planning to enter the criminal investigation system after graduation?
But she's studying public administration now, right?
Zhang Heng had no intention of interfering with other people's life choices. Besides, he and Shen Xixi were not that close to each other. When he found out that Shen Xixi was particularly interested in criminal investigation, he was only a little surprised. After that, he found another level to study grammar.
Zhang Heng stayed in the library until it was closed. He packed his things and left, only stopping by the cafeteria for dinner.
He did not take the grammar book with him, putting it back on the shelf. He would be back in an hour anyway.
He went back to his dormitory to wash his face and brush his teeth. He checked his email and found a new email from the photography club, informing him that his work had been nominated for the city's impression photography competition. The judges would be judging his work, and the results were expected to be announced a week later.
Zhang Heng had been so busy lately that he had almost forgotten about it. He had only participated in the photography competition to test the results of his studies. Entering the semi-finals was already within his expectations. As for the prize money and prizes, it would be great if he could win. If not, he wouldn't force himself on it.
Zhang Heng browsed the forums and Tieba on his phone for a while. Soon, it was midnight, and everything around him was quiet. He got dressed and planned to go to the library to read for a while. He did not expect to receive a text message the next moment.
It was an unknown number, and there was only one sentence on it that didn't make any sense.
[I need your help. Let's meet at the place where we first met.]
This was the first time Zhang Heng received a text from someone in a still time. For countless nights, he was the only person who could move freely in this silent city. But soon, a figure in a traditional Chinese suit, hat, and tie appeared in his mind.
The supernatural phenomena happening to him now were all related to that strange old man. If there was anyone who could enter this world, Zhang Heng would think of that old man first.
From this message, it seemed that the old man was in trouble.
He changed into his sportswear and went to the archery hall to retrieve his SF recurve bow. After that, he bought an outdoor knife from the outdoor equipment store next door and hid it at his waist.
After doing all this, he rode the little yellow bike to the maid café where they met before.
The door of the mall was uncharacteristically unlocked. It was half-open, and light shone through. Zhang Heng took the recurve bow from his back, nocked an arrow, and walked in carefully.
"I like the milk tea shop on the second floor, but every time I come here, there is a long line. Now that there is no one here, no one will make me milk tea. Maybe this is life. It's hard to find the best of both worlds." The old man in the Tang suit sighed.
He was sitting in the elevator on the first floor of the mall, dressed almost the same as when he first met Zhang Heng two months ago. The only difference was that he had replaced the little hat with a baseball cap, and he still looked out of place.
Other than that, he was holding a bag of M beans in his hand. He tore it open and swallowed half of it in one gulp.
Zhang Heng put down the bow and arrow in his hand, frowning. "With all due respect, you don't look like you need help right now."
"Trust me. I care more about your privacy than any employer you can find after graduation. I won't come to you if it's not something serious," the old man said while chewing on the M beans.
"Something serious?"
"Let's talk about it on the way. We don't have much time." The old man in the Tang suit poured the rest of the M beans into his mouth, then stood up and patted his butt. "Let me ask you something first. You should have finished two rounds of the game, right? What skills have you acquired?"
"Wilderness survival, archery, and driving." Zhang Heng reported his Lv.2 skills.
"That's a good start. You'll need them soon enough. Now, find the mount. Oh, sorry, old habits are hard to change. Go and drive the car." The old man tossed a car key to him. "Black Audi A6. It's on the basement floor, parking lot B34. I promise, I will tell you everything in the car."
Zhang Heng took the elevator down to the parking lot at the ground floor and quickly found the car the old man mentioned. When he opened the glove compartment, he found a fat man named Wang Jianguo on the driver's license. Obviously, this was not the name of the old man in the Tang suit. Looking at the photo, there was at least a twenty-year age difference between them.
The old man was waiting at the entrance of the mall, carrying a worn-out travel bag. He looked like a lonely old man who had just run out of a nursing home. He opened the door and sat in the back seat.
"Don't worry about these small details. In those game worlds, you must have done things that you wouldn't do in the real world. Considering the enemy we are going to face, you don't want me to ride a public bike to fight them, do you?"
"What enemy?" Zhang Heng asked.
"In Papua New Guinea, there is a tribe called Alkiz. Their ancestors went there a long time ago. They fought a few battles with the Huri tribe, the overlord of the island. Both sides won and lost. Although the Alkiz warriors were brave and could fight ten enemies at once, as the war continued, the problem of their insufficient population was exposed. Compared to the Huri people, the Alkiz population was only one-twentieth of the Huri people's. If this continued, they would be the ones to die. So, the Alkiz people prayed to a monster called the Moresby."
"They sacrificed the old, weak, and sick in their tribe to the Moresby. In return, the monster only took a few months to mature the babies of the Alkiz tribe, allowing them to quickly obtain batch after batch of warriors. Fortunately, the tribe was eventually destroyed by the Huri people. All the totems and altars related to the Moresby were destroyed. Under normal circumstances, the monster was as good as dead."
"But, by the way, I hate to say this word, but … the Moresby is a monster with the attribute of time. It is very difficult to truly destroy it. At the last moment, it used a certain method to seal itself in a short time loop, escaping the fate of death. Of course, in a sense, you can also think of it as dead. After 20,000 years, it couldn't escape. It could only struggle for a short period of time, until … well, this balance was broken." The old man suddenly stopped talking. His eyes fell on Zhang Heng, who was driving in front.
Zhang Heng had a bad feeling in his heart. "Are you kidding?"
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