In Virtual Reality 76 ☆ The Library of Eternal Life (END)

As Xu Jin Yi gazed upon the girl standing before her with a pale face, her heart softened at the sight. She blinked, a smile slowly spreading across her face. "Just kidding~! I'm merely a newly-appointed librarian," she admitted, her hand resting on her head, creating an honest and sincere image. "What I said earlier was just something I made up. But, since you're here, you still need to be a little more careful," she cautioned, her smile vanishing as she spoke calmly. "After all, any wrongdoing in the library will be met with punishment."

Although she did not specify the punishment, Zhang Xiao Hua's expression revealed that she understood the severity of the consequences.

Xu Jin Yi and Zhang Xiao Hua needed a moment to process what had been said.

The The Library of Eternal Life was vast, almost too extensive for its own good, containing only bookshelves and a reception desk. No desks or chairs were in sight, except for the one at the reception desk.

Desperate for a place to sit, Xu Jin Yi searched for an area free of bustling customers and settled onto the floor, propped up against a bookshelf.

Once the VR glasses were removed, Xu Jin Yi rubbed her temples, exhausted from the overwhelming amount of information. She collapsed onto a nearby sofa to rest before heading to the study. Retrieving a small stack of pristine white loose papers from the cabinet, she placed them on the desk before slumping into her chair, sighing deeply. Time to organize this mess of tangled threads.

Determined to push through, Xu Jin Yi straightened her back and forced herself to focus, flipping the black signing pen between her fingers as her thoughts gradually shifted towards her memories.

A series of events in «The The Library of Eternal Life» left Xu Jin Yi shocked and bewildered. If she gathered all the scattered pieces, she could draw a very broken conclusion - some games on the website were related to reality.

The most prominent example of this connection was the appearance of «Summit's Second Gate High School» and «Sunflower High School» in «The Red Staircase».

Xu Jin Yi's pen hovered over the blank sheet of paper as she contemplated the words she was about to write. «Eternal Bus,» "NPC 【Tian Si De】 and 【Fang Wen Wen】, and "Spirit Shenanigans" - they all seemed familiar yet elusive, like the remnants of a half-remembered dream.

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She lightly chewed on the phrase "Spirit Shenanigans," feeling a strange sense of deja vu. It was as if she had heard it before, but where and when eluded her memory.

Suddenly, the thought struck her like a lightning bolt. It was like a dream, a never-ending escape dream, where she was trapped and powerless, but the memories faded like mist in the sunlight when she awoke.

"Snap!" she slapped herself on the forehead in frustration. Rubbing her throbbing temples, she whispered, "Don't overthink it. There's always a way."

Taking a deep breath, she retrieved her phone from her pocket. She dialled a number from memory that Zhang Xiao Hua had given her in the game. The owner of the number was Wang Jin Long, a self-righteous NPC who thought he had caught on to Silence's true identity in the game. Although it was unclear whether it was an Easter egg created by the player production team out of resentment towards «Murphy's Amusement Park,» Xu Jin Yi recognized the number's area code immediately.

Jiang City.

The realization hit her like a sledgehammer, causing her pupils to contract and her fingers to tremble uncontrollably. Despite her overwhelming curiosity, she hesitated to press the call button. Could it be a coincidence? Was it just a fake number? She tried to convince herself that it was nothing to worry about, but the nagging feeling persisted.

As she tossed the phone on the desk, it landed on the surface of the thick and soft paper with a muffled thud. Her mind raced with thoughts and possibilities, but she knew better than to take risks. Who knew what kind of consequences a single phone call could bring?

The urge to explore tugged at her, but she resisted.

Xu Jin Yi was in a predicament. She couldn't use her number to make the call, but using someone else's could work. If this number truly belonged to the enigmatic Wang Jin Long, he might answer, intrigued by the mystery of the call.

A rift had formed between the game and reality, and the characters in the game were now linked to people in the real world. The possibility of creating a new game based on this concept was thrilling; it was sure to be a massive hit.

Xu Jin Yi rubbed her temples, her mind racing. Was it only safe to make calls within the game?

With a heavy sigh, she placed her pen on the table and stretched her back to ease the stiffness. Suddenly, a thought struck her: "Spirit Shenanigans."

Though familiar with the term, she couldn't quite remember the details, so she turned to the internet to search for more information. After typing in the phrase, "Spirit Shenanigans," the computer screen flickered a few times, causing her to jump in her seat.

And then, she remembered. Before the holiday break, her roommate had mentioned the term in reference to some sort of incident. But the details eluded her. She attempted to open the news article her roommate had shared, but her phone froze and became unresponsive.

As the computer screen flickered again, the search results finally appeared before Xu Jin Yi, a lengthy list of information. Her eyes scanned the headlines:

【Seven People Vanish After Boarding Midnight Bus】

【Late-Night Bus, Seven Involved in Shenanigans Incident】

【Eternal Bus Route: Survivors' Notes Officially Released】

Her vision blurred as her throat tightened, but her fingers instinctively clicked on one of the links.

【Survivors Wang, Shen, and Qin in This Incident...】

Wang Zhou Zhou, Shen Xi, and Qin Yue Qing.

Were they real? NPCs in the game were actually real people?

【Beep...】

Were they real people...?

【Beep beep...click...】

But this should only be a game, right?

【Beep click...】

"No, there's something else," she muttered as her mind raced with possibilities. Could it be that the production team saw the news and created this twisted game?

【Stab---】

Then, suddenly, the computer interface flickered like a strobe light at a rave. Memories of the last time flooded her mind - the frozen interface and unsolvable problem. Panic seeped into her veins, freezing her in place.

Wide-eyed, she stared in shock at the half-black and half-white computer screen, unable to believe what she saw. The reflection of a person, both familiar and unfamiliar, stared back at her. She whirled around to find a person with a rabbit mask behind her but found nothing.

The computer continued to flicker like a heartbeat on the verge of failure. Once bathed in daylight, the surroundings seemed to crumble and decay before her very eyes. She stood up yet continued to gaze at the computer with a mixture of terror and fascination.

【Beep---】

【Reboot was successful.】

**

"What in the world is happening? Wasn't the beta test already fixed? And now you're telling me about this situation?!"

"Restart at once! Retest everything! We must fix every last bug before the official release!"

"Has Wen Gui Yuan not returned yet? That fellow vanished into thin air...and he was responsible for this mess!"

"Delay the release? Ha! How absurd! We cannot afford to let our credibility crumble! Whatever it takes, complete this game with haste!"

**

【Bleep.】

【Restart was successful.】

**

The girl slumped over the desk and let out an unconscious whimper before slowly opening her heavy eyelids.

It was as if she had been lost in a dream world.

The computer screen before her was black, like an abyssal void. The girl stirred her numb arm and caught sight of the crumpled white paper beneath it. Nothing was written on it, just a pristine and unsullied sheet of paper.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then absently clicked the mouse. The temporarily blank screen flickered to life, revealing a picturesque landscape desktop. But still, there was nothing on it.

"How did I fall asleep?" the girl mused, her voice tinged with bewilderment. She scratched her head, furrowing her brows in thought. "Oh well, time to get back to the game."

She closed the computer, methodically tidied up the desktop, and then departed from the study, making her way to the sofa. She sank into the cushions, naturally donned the VR glasses, and delved back into her virtual world.

**

"..."

"..."

"..."

Zhang Rou Rou wandered through the library, her eyes scanning the shelves as if searching for something she couldn't quite grasp. That's when she stumbled upon a scene that left her bewildered.

The librarian, chatting away with Mr Wang on the phone earlier, now sat on the floor with a cold, detached expression etched on their face. A book rested on their slightly bent knee, and the spines of several others lay scattered around them. Perhaps Zhang Rou Rou's gaze was too obvious, or her footsteps were too loud.

As if pulled out of a trance, the librarian snapped their head towards Zhang Rou Rou with an emotionless gaze like a inorganic puppet. The uncanny valley effect overwhelmed her senses. Zhang Rou Rou panicked and bolted, leaving the librarian alone in their state. The librarian didn't glance in the girl's direction long as she ran away. Instead, they lowered their head and stared at their own hands, which were distinct in texture, white, and almost translucent.

Was this some kind of game? Another game?

Xu Jin Yi sat beside an empty bookshelf, her smile slowly fading away. She remembered. The muffled news broadcast playing on the TV in the restaurant downstairs. The news article stated that she couldn't read online or on any mobile device due to countless technical difficulties. No matter how hard she searched, there was no information about 'Spirit Shenanigans.'

The game character's head hit the bookshelf with a loud thud, and Xu Jin Yi's head hit the soft back of the sofa. It was as if something inside her had clicked. She knew who she was.

**

The seven-day holiday breezed by, and the inhabitants of dorm 603 at Plum Blossom College returned. As Yang and Tan walked through the door, their laughter and chatter subsided as they caught sight of someone unexpected inside the room.

"Jin Yi?" they exclaimed in unison.

Yang An An gazed at her roommate, who was already seated at her desk, with a perplexed expression. "Why did you come so early? You're from here, right? There's no evening self-study today. Tomorrow will be more relaxed for you."

Lao Xiang popped her head out and gracefully slinked into the dorm room beside Yang, inquiring, "What's going on? Did something happen?"

Tan Bao wordlessly and effortlessly entered the room and produced a bottle of tea from her shopping bag, extending it to Xu Jin Yi. "Please, have a drink."

Xu Jin Yi blinked twice before responding, "Thank you, Sister Bao."

"Hmm?" Tan Bao made a quizzical sound. "Why did you suddenly call me that?"

"I missed you." Xu Jin Yi beamed and winked. "I missed everyone."

Yang An An, Tan Bao, and Lao Xiang.

Her 603 dormmates.

——— Translator's Notes ———

Wen Gui Yuan (文归鸢)

Wen = language / culture / writing / formal / literary / gentle / (old) classifier for coins / Kangxi radical 67

Gui = to return / to go back to / to give back to / (of a responsibility) to be taken care of by / to belong to / to gather together / (used between two identical verbs) despite / to marry (of a woman) (old) / division on the abacus with a one-digit divisor

Yuan = kite (small hawk)