Chapter 31: You Actually Killed the Boss’s Avatar?
The library of Huacheng University, over its decades-long history, has been renovated twice and expanded four or five times, making it quite spacious. Normally, even with many students studying inside, it feels somewhat desolate.
However, come exam month, the library becomes a hub for the usual top students as well as those last-minute crammers from all walks of life, making even the vast area and abundant study desks feel insufficient and overcrowded.
It seems that only by studying in the library can one receive the protection of the “God of Exams” and pass smoothly.
When Lu Yibei arrived at the library entrance, he saw students flowing in and out and felt quite satisfied.
Just as he thought, the library was exceptionally crowded during exam month, indeed a fitting place to meet the so-called boss of the Urban Legends Chat Group.
Entering the library, Lu Yibei took out his campus card and passed through the entrance, beginning to search for a seat.
However, as he looked around the spacious and well-lit library, it was filled with heads everywhere.
He had anticipated this situation and didn’t feel anxious; instead, he took his time to pull out his phone, opened a certain chat app, found the account that couldn’t be removed despite reporting, blocking, or deleting friends, and sent a message.
Wang Buliu: “I’m already at the school library; when is your boss coming?”
After waiting for about ten seconds.
One Hundred and Two-Thirds of Cats: “The boss said twelve noon sharp, see you on time.”
After reading Miao Xiaoqi’s reply, Lu Yibei glanced at the clock on his phone.
Time: just after ten past seven in the morning, with nearly two hours until the meeting time.
……
Wandering through the large library, Lu Yibei finally found a few empty seats in a corner on the top floor after about ten minutes.
Four or five desks were nestled among large bookshelves, secluded and tranquil, very suitable for quiet study.
Typically, such spots have high demand, the desktop piled high with books, and long occupied, but this area was surprisingly empty.
Only near the aisle sat a thin girl, and the desk at the far end was even covered in dust, as if it hadn’t been used for a long time.
Why was no one sitting here?
Lu Yibei furrowed his brows slightly as he approached, and he saw a yellowed sticky note on the desk.
[Someone is here]
As Lu Yibei stared blankly at that desk, his shoulder was suddenly tapped by someone.
Turning around, he saw a petite girl wearing round glasses and braids.
Perhaps worn out from studying for finals, she looked rather gloomy.
“Student, you must be a freshman, right? I advise you not to sit here; it’s unlucky—better sit next door.”
Haven’t I done many unlucky things already? Is it really worth worrying about this one? I’ll leave then!
Thinking this, Lu Yibei unconsciously asked before leaving, “What do you mean it’s unlucky?”
The girl looked suspiciously at the sticky note on the desk, leaned in slightly, and lowered her voice.
“That sticky note was left by a senior, who was murdered the night she left it. It’s said her ghost occasionally comes here and sits in that spot…”
“…”
Listening to this, Lu Yibei’s gaze involuntarily drifted toward the empty seat, suddenly feeling a different kind of sensation.
It was as if that sticky note was a spell of eerie power, sealing that seat with a chilling aura.
Vaguely, it seemed as if an invisible person was sitting there, casting a gloomy look towards him, filled with malice.
“I heard that anyone who has sat at that desk either gets hurt or sick, and there’s even a senior whose boyfriend cheated—no one has ended up well; over time, no one dared to sit there.”
“There are students who work part-time organizing books in the library; after closing at night, they’ve seen that girl, bloody and sitting there, with nothing above the neck…”
At this point, Lu Yibei furrowed his brows slightly and interrupted, “Senior, the girl you mentioned wouldn’t have been murdered near Gate Four, would she?”
Hearing this, the girl clearly froze for a moment and quietly said, “You know?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard about it.” Lu Yibei replied expressionlessly, thanked the girl, and then found a spot to sit down.
Studying brings happiness.
As a diligent student eager to learn, Lu Yibei originally planned to take advantage of the hour and a bit he had to catch up on the material he had missed due to various uncontrollable factors. However, after sitting down, he found it impossible to focus on his book.
His gaze consistently strayed back to the desk where the Decapitated Senior had left her urban legend, lost in thought.
Though he hadn’t interacted much with the Decapitated Senior, he had noticed she was a shy girl who would run away at the slightest disagreement and had deep affection for the school.
She was definitely not the type to casually bring bad luck to her juniors; there must have been a compelling reason for her actions.
What could have led her to make such a choice?
As Lu Yibei ambled about, absentmindedly reviewing his work while his mind wandered, he unknowingly lost track of over an hour.
When he snapped back to reality and looked at his phone, it was already 11:45. He hurriedly tidied up his desk.
Just as he was about to leave, he glanced at the time on his phone again and froze in place.
11:55?
Lu Yibei was certain that the time spent tidying his desk hadn’t exceeded a minute.
Yet, it felt as if some mysterious force had sped up the time on his phone, creating a sense of time confusion, as if ten minutes had been stolen from him.
Could it really be that just organizing two books and a phone charger took ten minutes?
How could this be!
Lu Yibei sensed something was off and quickly gathered his backpack, heading towards the crowded area, feeling as if a small figure representing him in his mind was hopping around and displaying a countdown—1S, 1S, 1S…
The library was lined with bookshelves, their heights blocking the light, casting shadows in the corners, piled high with books, leaving just enough gaps to occasionally glimpse people moving behind.
As Lu Yibei walked between the shelves, a strange thought popped into his head.
Movies often depict a scene where the female lead pulls a book from a shelf only to see the male lead’s smiling face behind it.
But what if behind the shelf lurked not a male lead, but a lurking urban legend? What would happen then?
Would a ghastly pale face suddenly invade his line of sight as he reached for a book?
Or a bloodied hand wielding a fruit kn*fe stabbing right into his forehead the moment he took the book down?
Or something even more horrifying, strange, and indescribable suddenly lunging at him from the gaps between the shelves?
As Lu Yibei’s mind wandered, feeling uneasy, he quickened his pace, soon crossing the dense aisles to arrive at the library’s expansive upper area.
Here, many tables and chairs were set up, with numerous dedicated students immersed in their studies. The air was filled with the sporadic sounds of light footsteps, pages turning, low murmurs, and the ticking of clocks.
Seeing this, Lu Yibei’s tense nerves instantly relaxed.
This was why he loved learning; diligent students were always so friendly and adorable!
Among the vast throngs of exam preppers, he found a corner, sat cross-legged against a stone pillar, pretended to take a book from his backpack, laid it on his lap with one hand reaching inside his bag, ready to draw his “blade” at any moment, and quietly waited.
Time: 11:56, four minutes until the agreed meeting time.
Seconds ticked by.
A very pretty girl, stylishly dressed with teary, red eyes and smudged makeup, walked over.
Could it be her?
Lu Yibei looked at his phone; still 11:56, not a minute had passed.
The girl walked by as if she didn’t see him and continued on.
When the time on Lu Yibei’s phone ticked to 11:57, it suddenly vibrated twice, causing him to jump slightly. It was a message from Jiang Li, asking him to come to her office later for something important.
Lu Yibei simply replied with a “Got it,” then set his phone down and continued to wait.
Soon, a boy walked toward him.
The boy was tall and robust, his hair slightly long and messy, wearing black-framed glasses with reflective lenses obscuring his eyes, as well as a mask covering his face.
The boy crouched beside Lu Yibei, prompting him to quickly raise his gaze.
The boy had a very dark face, with large eyes and a lot of scary white around the irises.
“Hey, buddy, can I discuss something with you?” the boy lowered his voice, sounding hoarse as if he had a bad cold.
Lu Yibei looked at the boy, puzzled. “Who are you?”
“Ha ha, we don’t know each other. I just noticed your phone model is the same as mine. I wanted to ask if you have a charger I could borrow.”
Lu Yibei, “…”
“Sure, one hour fifty, take it or leave it.”
The boy was taken aback, and a look of disdain flashed through his eyes. He stood up and lightly coughed as he walked away.
Lu Yibei diverted his gaze from the boy, checked his phone: 11:59!
One more minute!
He suddenly felt nervous, scanning his surroundings for the pockmarked guy, whispering couple, and the cleaning staff sorting through the trash…
So many people—who could possibly be the boss of the Urban Legends Chat Group?
If it didn’t disguise itself as a human, could it really appear before him under everyone’s noses?
He suddenly felt an impression that the final minute felt extraordinarily long, as if stretched countless times.
He kept checking the time on his phone, glancing at it continuously ten or twenty times, but the time remained static at 11:59.
At the moment the clock struck twelve, Lu Yibei held his breath as everything around him fell silent.
It was dead silence; even the library couldn’t be that quiet.
The sounds of footsteps, book pages turning, hushed conversations, and the ticking of the clock had all disappeared, as if the whole world consisted of him alone.
He was momentarily stunned, looking up to encounter a bizarre scene.
Inside the library, everyone was looking down at their phones, their brows furrowed in thought, lips curled in smiles, or faces darkened… but every person was fixated on their phone, silent as if their spirits had been sucked away by the palm-sized screen.
As Lu Yibei stared at those motionless individuals in a daze, a strange sensation suddenly arose on the back of his hand.
It felt icy cold like a metal, yet with the soft body of a mollusk, very small and light, crawling across his hand, raising goosebumps.
That feeling was as if a small insect were crawling on his hand.
An insect!
Lu Yibei’s mind made that judgment, and his body quickly reacted.
He jumped up from the ground, catching a glimpse of something rolling off his hand and hitting the ground. He stomped down hard.
“Smack—smack—smack—!”
After stepping three times, the once silent library returned to normal.
Various familiar sounds surged back to Lu Yibei’s ears like a tide.
He looked around, and those previously odd-acting people now seemed to be behaving as if nothing had happened, engrossed in their activities.
Furrowing his brows, Lu Yibei checked his phone.
12:03—three minutes had passed since the agreed meeting time.
Was he late?
Or had it appeared already, but he hadn’t noticed?
Could it be…
Suddenly remembering something, he looked down, shifted his foot, and his expression changed slightly.
He was sure he’d just stepped on an insect, but underfoot, there was no squashed tissue mixed with goo, just a pile of black ash that looked somewhat like crushed graphite.
“What is this…”
Could it be that… it’s possible…
He was deep in thought when his phone vibrated again. Pulling it out, he saw a message from Miao Xiaoqi.
One Hundred and Two-Thirds of Cats: “What happened? Our boss personally went to meet you, and you actually killed the boss’s avatar?”
Lu Yibei, “…”
Wang Buliu: “Does your boss mean… it was an insect?”
One Hundred and Two-Thirds of Cats: “d*mn! The way you say it, did you really k*ll it?”
Wang Buliu: “I thought at least a ‘human’ would show up; I didn’t expect… Sorry! [Shiba Inu awkward expression]”
One Hundred and Two-Thirds of Cats: “If apologies were useful, why do we need the police? [Little policewoman expression]”
Wang Buliu: “I’m really sorry! At worst, I won’t report you today?”
After waiting for several seconds.
One Hundred and Two-Thirds of Cats: “You shouldn’t have reported me in the first place! [Cat getting angry expression] Fine, fine, our boss says you can find a place with a computer in the library. It will create another avatar to meet you.”
A computer? Lu Yibei furrowed his brows slightly, images of the library’s computer used for looking up book information flashing through his mind. He quickly put away his phone and walked briskly in that direction.
Arriving at the computer, he pretended to randomly type a book title in the search bar, anxiously waiting while scrolling through.
In the next moment, that sensation of time flowing leisurely returned.
Lu Yibei glanced toward a distant desk, where people, just as he expected, were glued to their phones, in a dead silence.
He pulled his gaze back to the computer screen.
The screen appeared frozen, showing a blue screen without any text, just a white dot in the center like a period.
Soon, that dot seemed to come to life, continuously growing bigger, quickly occupying most of the screen.
It resembled an egg? Lu Yibei furrowed his brows, as this image reminded him of the black-and-white screen electronic pet games he had played as a child.
While he pondered, the pixelated egg hatched, and a pale little worm crawled out, traversing the screen’s edge a few times before suddenly lunging at the screen with a crash…
In an instant, the cold, hard display screen rippled like a water surface disturbed by pebbles, sending vibrant red, green, and blue sparks flying about, while a shrill electrical sound filled the air. A plump, pale little worm emerged from the screen and landed with a “plop” on the desk.
It was a chubby, completely pale creature with skin reflecting a metallic sheen, about the size of a fingertip, with a pair of mung bean-like eyes and a mouth shaped like a pixelated smiley face.
Watching that little worm, Lu Yibei instantly felt tense.
He sensed a terrifying spiritual energy fluctuation emanating from the worm; although not intense, it was vast, like something elusive in the void.
Could this be because it was just an avatar? Lu Yibei wondered.
While deep in thought, the little worm spoke.
“Hello, dear member Wang Buliu, companion inheriting the powers of the ancient goddess Nvwa and the witch Lilith, happy to meet you.”
“Due to certain reasons that I cannot share at the moment, my main body is unable to come personally and can only meet you through an avatar. I feel very distressed about this.”
Listening to the little worm’s voice, which resembled that of a virtual idol, generated by voice synthesis technology, Lu Yibei paused before responding, “Uh, I’m sorry for just… killing your avatar earlier…”
“No worries, creating an avatar doesn’t consume much spirit energy.” The little worm replied, “I heard Miao Xiaoqi mention that you’re not very trusting of us? You want to establish an ally contract with our members?”
“Uh, yes…”
“Which idiot suggested you that kind of nonsense? I hope they are alright? I really want to say—beep—beep—beep!”
Lu Yibei, “???”
“Ahem, sorry, due to my language database being based on words collected from online information, sometimes I might… you know what I mean, right?”
“I get it, I get it…” Lu Yibei nodded, speaking weakly, “But without establishing an ally contract, I’m afraid I won’t be able to trust you.”
Facing such a spiritually powerful and amiable urban legend, one had to feign understanding even if one didn’t.
The little worm’s face squirmed, its expression turning from a smile to a comical one. “I have a different method here, but I wonder if you dare to give it a try.”
