In Virtual Reality 69 ☆ The Library of Eternal Life (3/10)

Xu Jin Yi had never considered becoming a librarian before, having only experienced borrowing and returning books using her campus card. As a Plum Blossom College student, she knew all students must abide by the two-month borrowing rule. However, Xu Jin Yi had not been trained for the position and therefore felt unequipped to do the job. She stood outside the counter, lost in thought for a moment.

Ultimately, she decided against it.

With a swift motion, Xu Jin Yi removed her name tag from her neck, slipped it into the pocket of her hoodie, and sprinted towards the shelves. As she ran, she felt an unfamiliar rush of excitement.

Having played countless horror games released by various companies, Xu Jin Yi considered herself a seasoned veteran. But now, as she gazed up at the impossibly high shelves, she couldn't help feeling a sense of unreality.

The books were stacked densely, their spines interweaved in a complex tapestry. Xu Jin Yi glanced around before reaching for a medium-sized book from the nearest shelf.

The cover was impressive, with thick black hardcover and embossed gold letters that gave it a sense of historical weight. However, the title was bewildering:

«On the Several Possibilities of the Appearance of the «The Eternal Bus» in the 'Murphy Amusement Park'.»

Xu Jin Yi furrowed her brow, perplexed by the book's content. «The Eternal Bus» and «Murphy Amusement Park» were entirely different games developed by different teams. One was a standalone game, and the other was part of a series.

Despite their shared horror genre, she couldn't fathom how they could be connected. Could it be that the bus was collecting fares at the amusement park?

Xu Jin Yi gingerly rubbed the embossed gold letters before carefully flipping the book open...

The thick book before her was filled with speculation on the collaboration of two games. It was not baseless, purely for fun, but a severe academic analysis that listed all the details for analysis. Xu Jin Yi was surprised by the depth of the author's insights.

She flipped through the pages, taking in the author's arguments. According to the writer, introducing the «The Eternal Bus» to Murphy's Amusement Park was a significant step forward in the future of collaborative gaming.

The writer argued that when Murphy's Amusement Park is fully open, and all the amusement facilities were effectively operating, the effective area of the park will surely increase. If players spend most of their time commuting between projects, it would be a waste of time.

As we all know, time was money, and wasting time was wasting money.

The writer claimed that introducing the «The Eternal Bus» to Murphy's Amusement Park could effectively solve this problem.

Furthermore, as a semi-enclosed single-player horror game, players' activities in the Eternal Bus were limited. This also meant that even if the game's production team optimized the game by adding interactive new characters when the VR game fever subsided, the Eternal Bus, as an old game, would be suppressed by new games once again.

In recent years, the development of new games had been booming, and various types of single-player horror games have occupied a large portion of the game network. The flourishing of diverse games was good, but when such games bloomed together, they had already deviated from the original intention of game development.

Lastly, as a series of games, Murphy's Amusement Park had demonstrated its success, from the initial 'carousel' to the latest renovated «Screaming Haunted House». According to reliable internal sources, its most anticipated «Murphy Amusement Park» main storyline horror game would complete internal testing and launch the official version next year. But when players paid attention to its glory, they also needed to notice its weaknesses.

If Murphy's Amusement Park was fully opened, how would the game production team integrate these projects? Would they rule separately or be weak when united? The author believed that if standalone horror games like the Eternal Bus were used as an adhesive to insert into this series of games, there was a great possibility of shining brightly...

She roughly flipped through it and then returned to the cover page.

【Author: I'm Excelsior's Dog!】

Xu Jin Yi: "..."

Xu Jin Yi closed the dense book, her face void of any personal emotion, and returned it to its rightful place on the shelf among its kindred spirits. She meticulously read the title, locating it in the section dedicated to game collaborations.

The library was far more immense than Xu Jin Yi had anticipated. A hapless search would prove fruitless, she mused. Pausing for a moment, she returned to the library's front desk.

A long table separated the area into two segments, front and back, with no visible crevice to enter. Xu Jin Yi extracted her badge from her pocket and scrutinized it. The front was adorned with a photo of her, fashioned out of raw leather, and her title. However, when she flipped it over and scrutinized the back, she observed small black letters.

【Please clock in on time, administrators.】

【25:00-25:00】

【The Library of Eternal Life】

25 o'clock? That means it's accessible all year round.

Xu Jin Yi clicked her tongue, donned her badge around her neck, and pressed her left hand on the sepia-toned tabletop. Her legs propelled her over the countertop in a sweeping motion, reminiscent of a compass drawing an arc, landing her safely inside the counter.

The space within the counter was extensive. As she descended, Xu Jin Yi espied a space roughly thirty centimetres below the visible table, which was also a table. Within the opening sat a contraption that resembled a time clock.

Tentatively sliding her work badge along the machine's seam, Xu Jin Yi awaited a response.

【Ding.】

【Clock in successful.】

The machine emitted a clear reminder tone.

"Excellent," Xu Jin Yi mused. "I haven't even graduated yet, and I'm already employed."

As Xu Jin Yi clocked in, the library remained uneventful. Behind the counter, she patiently waited for any prompts to appear in the game. Still, after almost five minutes of waiting, she realized that she would have to explore independently. She rested her hand on the countertop, ready to climb over again, when suddenly, a large red cross appeared, causing her to startle and lean back. The cross persisted for three seconds before slowly disappearing, replaced by a line of words:

【In the library, climbing over the counter at will is forbidden.】

[Hey, somebody copy pasted my translations on another site! Please show some love by liking my work on https://puukkiss.wixsite.com/inkydragon. Without it, I may think that nobody is reading my work and consider abandoning it, which means you won't be able to find it anywhere else.]

Xu Jin Yi waved her hand, and the black letters dispersed between her fingers. She wondered if it was related to the machine earlier. She remembered the crisp sound of "clocking in success", and her face became pensive. Although there was no actual punishment for the game warning, Xu Jin Yi had no intention of continuing to climb over the counter.

As she walked along the long counter, Xu Jin Yi eventually found a regular entrance not far away. She lifted the lid, and it opened without resistance. It appeared that only after clocking in successfully could the library function normally. Xu Jin Yi stood still and rubbed her chin, contemplating how she would find the clues she needed in this vast library.

Regular libraries had dedicated staff to meet customers' book search needs, but now Xu Jin Yi was the librarian herself. There was no electronic book search device, so she would have to rely on her own wits. But standing in one place would not solve anything, so Xu Jin Yi decided to explore the area.

...It was enormous.

After walking for about twenty or thirty minutes, Xu Jin Yi still had not seen the end of the library. The shelves looked like a dense forest with tall, tightly packed trees from a distance. She resigned herself to lifting her feet and trudging forward.

On her left were towering bookshelves, while on her right, low desks only reached her waist. Many books were arranged on them, but these books were mere pamphlets compared to the hefty tomes on the high shelves.

As Xu Jin Yi sauntered forward, she nonchalantly picked up a book from a nearby shelf, hoping to pass the time. Its title, «Did I Fall in Love with a Ghost After Traveling to a Horror Game World?» made her raise an eyebrow before nonchalantly putting the book down.

She hesitated momentarily before reaching for another book, «Journeying togather with Excelsior, I Finally Became a God!» This was even more absurd than the last one! Xu Jin Yi couldn't believe that this library had every kind of book.

She quickly put the book down, feeling a little embarrassed, and took a few steps away from the small table. Her gait was no longer light. She felt a sense of unease creeping up on her. Though the library housed a wealth of information, she found navigating difficult.

She placed her right hand on a new table and began tapping it while pondering. The sound her fingers made was different from what she expected. Curious, she lowered her head to take a look. The table was initially piled high with books, and she had casually poked at it because it was uncomfortable to lean against. Unexpectedly, she revealed a small white sign: "Ask the librarian for help with book searches."

Xu Jin Yi glared at the sign, feeling frustrated. Even the librarian didn't know how to find the books she was looking for. However, a thought occurred to her. In a library, it was common knowledge to seek help from a librarian, who would usually be familiar with its layout.

She paused, wondering if she, as a librarian, actually knew how to search for books. Xu Jin Yi stood and looked around the endless rows of books, feeling lost in the vast expanse of knowledge.

She could try asking, knowing well that she was the only one in the library at that moment. Xu Jin Yi cleared her throat with an "Ahem," hoping to grab the attention of the library. "Excuse me, do you have any «Red Staircase» books?"

After her words fell, silence reigned over the library... No, wait! It wasn't complete silence. There was a sound coming this way.

Suddenly, Xu Jin Yi turned around. Her calm demeanour transformed into horror as a massive metal ladder carrying books barreled toward her at breakneck speed, the wheels screeching and sparking on the smooth ground. In less than a minute, it stopped in front of her.

"But I wanted a book, not a ladder," she thought, staring at the contraption in disbelief.

The metal ladder obediently stopped before her and nudged her toe as if impatient. Xu Jin Yi had no choice but to climb to the top.

As soon as she reached the highest point and grabbed the handrails, the book ladder began moving forward with incredible force. The inertia was so strong that Xu Jin Yi almost lost her balance, and she could see red exclamation marks flashing continuously around her.

【No drag racing with book ladders in the library!】

The message flashed before her, struggling to keep up with the book ladder's speed. It was about to hit her face in frustration when it disappeared and reappeared. Apparently, the new librarian had yet to master the rules and the book ladder.