Chapter 78.2 Savage Expansion (11)
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According to the original story, removing the stone from the victim’s body would eventually restore them to their normal state. Watching the mutated Huang Mian, Lin Zhaohe formulated a plan in his mind. He swiftly turned around and ran towards the bonfire. Huang Mian sprinted towards him on all fours, moving at an astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Lin Zhaohe.
Fortunately, they weren’t far from the bonfire. Just as Lin Zhaohe reached the bonfire, Huang Mian tackled him from behind, knocking him to the ground. Huang Mian opened his mouth and mercilessly sank his teeth into Lin Zhaohe’s shoulder, his sharp fangs deeply embedded in his back.
Lin Zhaohe gritted his teeth, enduring the intense pain. Ignoring the agony, he grabbed a burning book from the nearby bonfire and swung it backward, aiming for Huang Mian’s glasses.
Following the premise set in the original story, the monster had two weaknesses: fear of fire and extremely fragile glasses. Lin Zhaohe seized upon these two points and directly slammed the burning book onto Huang Mian’s enormous eyeball. Coincidentally, the book’s cover bore the title “Beloved Stone,” which happened to be the original work where Huang Mian belonged.
Huang Mian’s eyes were scorched by the flames, causing him to roar in pain. He released his grip on Lin Zhaohe, who seized the opportunity, reaching out and grabbing the stone hanging from Huang Mian’s neck. With all his strength, Lin Zhaohe yanked it off and hurled it out of the nearby window.
Then, with a burst of energy, Lin Zhaohe struggled to his feet and stumbled into the nearby restroom. He locked the restroom door and forcefully leaned against it, hearing the door being pounded on with a thud.
Luckily, Huang Mian didn’t persist for too long. After a while, he gave up pounding on the door. Lin Zhaohe pressed himself against the door panel, listening as Huang Mian’s footsteps gradually faded away… He practically slumped to the ground, feeling completely drained.
Lin Zhaohe’s back was throbbing with intense pain. The previous bite marks from the monster had worsened, causing his injuries to become more severe. His back scraped against the wall, leaving behind patches of bloodstains. Lin Zhaohe felt a wave of weakness washing over him. He reached for his communicator, intending to call Zhuang Lao, but no matter how much he pressed, there was no response. He paused for a moment, suddenly noticing an exaggerated crack on the back of the communicator. Upon inspection, he realized it must have been damaged when it fell into the pond, as there was water and mud trapped within the crevice.
However, if the damage was caused by the fall into the pond, then how was Jiang Wenxue able to connect Zhuang Lao’s call just now? Was the person who answered the call truly Zhuang Lao… or could it be something else entirely?
Lin Zhaohe suddenly had a bad feeling.
The restroom was devoid of light, with a chillingly cold floor that exuded a sinister odor. Lin Zhaohe noticed that the window in the restroom was wide open, revealing the pitch-black sky with a solitary moon hanging in the firmament.
The moon had risen, Lin Zhaohe thought. He remembered Jiang Wenxue mentioning that when the moon appeared, the number of monsters outside would decrease. However, in contrast, the library would become even more dangerous.
Lin Zhaohe licked his dry lips and contemplated finding an opportunity to descend the stairs. He pressed himself against the door panel, attentively listening to the sounds outside. Once he confirmed that Huang Mian’s presence had subsided, he cautiously opened the door slightly.
As expected, Huang Mian had moved away, and there were no other visible monsters. Just as Lin Zhaohe was about to step out, his shoulder was gently tapped.
Lin Zhaohe’s body tensed slightly as he slowly turned his head, finding nothing behind him. He didn’t dare linger any longer and hurriedly stepped into the well-lit library. At that moment, the lights overhead began to flicker, indicating that the burning books were running out.
Lin Zhaohe quickly returned to the bonfire, picking up a dozen books nearby and throwing them in. However, to his surprise, the books he tossed in didn’t catch fire. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that those books were completely blank or filled with incomprehensible text.
Lin Zhaohe stood dumbfounded for a few seconds as the lights overhead flickered intensely, as if on the verge of extinguishing. Several thoughts raced through his mind, and suddenly, he had a realization. Gritting his teeth, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a few of his own books, swiftly tossing them into the fire before it could go out.
The flickering flames finally ceased their diminishing dance and burned brightly. Lin Zhaohe stood still, his face wearing a grim expression. It was at this moment that he finally realized the inseparable connection between himself and this library. Burning in the bonfire were his own works… every single one.
Lin Zhaohe’s novels spanned a wide range of genres, from cultivation to thrillers, from horror to romance, encompassing both short stories and novels. However, he had a distinct characteristic: a penchant for injecting chapters with elements of mystery and terror. While it served as an interesting embellishment within his works, when this embellishment became a reality, it turned into something lethal.
With an overwhelming number of things he had written, Lin Zhaohe couldn’t sort them out in his mind at once. As numerous storylines flashed through his thoughts, his expression grew even more grim.
He even remembered writing a short story set in a library, disguised as a romance, but with a horror twist. It was about a protagonist who came to the library to write a novel and penned a first-person love story. Subsequently, he encountered a girl in the library who was identical to the one in his story. The protagonist, in a cliched manner, fell in love with the girl, convinced that their meeting was fated.
Then, after spending some time together, they defined their relationship. However, due to a trivial matter, they had a major argument. In a bad mood, the protagonist continued writing his story, turning the girl in the story into a monster that mimicked human behavior, lurking within the human population to hunt.
The subsequent development of the story held no surprises. The protagonist, sowing the seeds of his own fate, ended up with a girlfriend who devoured people. Like a snack, she consumed the protagonist, along with the readers who yearned for a taste of puppy love.
It was a short story, and readers who had initially sought sweet romance were suddenly taken aback. “What’s wrong with the author? Did he get dumped and get traumatized?” Thankfully, it was just a short story. If it were a novel, people would have marched to the author’s doorstep to have a serious talk.
Lin Zhaohe, however, confidently defended himself, claiming that he used the story as a means to advise everyone not to overlook the goodness of their partners due to minor quarrels. He emphasized the importance of cherishing those who cared for them, using his writing as a medium to convey the message.
Readers expressed their confusion, “Author, you have a girlfriend? Wasn’t it just last month when you celebrated Singles’ Day?”
Lin Zhaohe, being stubborn, retorted that his child was already three years old, so why would he still celebrate Singles’ Day?
Previously, Lin Zhaohe secretly congratulated himself for not blending certain stories together. Otherwise, the situation would have been really grim. But now, he realized that it wasn’t that they hadn’t merged, but rather that the timing wasn’t right. Within this small library, who knew how many stories were hidden? And the worst part was that he currently had no opportunity to escape.
Lin Zhaohe added numerous books to the bonfire and decided to check the situation on the first floor. Despite mentally preparing himself, his heart sank upon seeing the pool of blood on the floor.
The once polished floor of the first floor was now covered in blood, bearing the marks of a struggle. The several students and the bound Huo Nanjing were nowhere to be found. Chaos filled every corner of his vision.
After searching around, Lin Zhaohe finally spotted Huo Nanjing pinned beneath a fallen bookshelf in a corner.
“Huo Nanjing! Are you okay?” Lin Zhaohe exerted force to push the bookshelf aside.
“Shh, shh.” Huo Nanjing was still bound, but he anxiously made hushed movements with his mouth. He whispered, “Keep your voice down, keep your voice down, don’t let her hear.”
Lin Zhaohe was taken aback and lowered his voice. “What’s wrong??”
“Jiang Wenxue is far more terrifying than the monsters outside…” Huo Nanjing revealed. “The remaining students are acting strange too. They started fighting each other. I was almost crushed by the bookshelf, but luckily, Xiao Xiu saved me.”
Upon seeing it, Lin Zhaohe noticed that Huo Nanjing was still carrying Xiao Xiu on his back. When the bookshelf fell, it landed precisely on Xiao Xiu, cushioning a significant portion of the impact for Huo Nanjing. Otherwise, Huo Nanjing might have already breathed his last. It was a pity for Xiao Xiu, though, as her swollen body had been flattened by the impact, which, amidst the horror, carried a touch of absurdity…
Lin Zhaohe thought it was fortunate that Huo Nanjing couldn’t see Xiao Xiu’s condition, otherwise, he would feel even more heartbroken.
“Let’s get out of here quickly. This library is even more terrifying than the outside,” Huo Nanjing said after Lin Zhaohe untied him. “Anyone caught by Jiang Wenxue will be burned alive. She already caught two people just now and burned them right in front of me. Fortunately, I was hit by the bookshelf, or else you would be seeing a charred version of me right now.”
Lin Zhaohe: “Where are the others now?”
Huo Nanjing: “They’re in the break room. Let’s hurry.”
Lin Zhaohe glanced at him but remained silent.
Huo Nanjing became nervous under Lin Zhaohe’s scrutinizing gaze and weakly said, “Why are you looking at me like that? You haven’t turned into some strange creature too, have you?”
“No,” said Lin Zhaohe.
In reality, he was wondering if Huo Nanjing was also a character from his novels. If so, which one? Judging by his startled behavior, he couldn’t be from the leveling up novels. Could he be from one of the urban ones? If he truly belonged to an urban novel, then… he would be of no use at all.
“Let’s go,” Lin Zhaohe said.
Huo Nanjing sighed and adjusted Xiao Xiu on his back before preparing to leave. However, a cold voice came from behind, “Where do you think you’re going?”
Lin Zhaohe turned around and saw Jiang Wenxue.
Jiang Wenxue was still wearing her clean school uniform, but she had something extra in her hands. She had her delicate fingers wrapped around the neck of the transformed Huang Mian, who appeared ghastly. Huang Mian was barely breathing in her grasp as she dragged him around like a dead dog. Then, without mercy, she poured gasoline over his body, seemingly intending to burn him alive on the spot.
“Wait!” Lin Zhaohe urgently intervened. “Don’t kill him. He’ll turn back!”
“Turn back?” Jiang Wenxue said. “He has already become a monster. Even if he turns back, he’ll just be a human monster, not my classmate.”
Lin Zhaohe: “You’re making excuses!”
Jiang Wenxue sneered coldly and callously ignited the gasoline. Huang Mian’s body was instantly engulfed in flames. He convulsed violently, letting out a tragic scream. His skin quickly withered, and he was burned into a charred corpse. After his death, his body indeed reverted to its human form. Lin Zhaohe looked at his lifeless body and remembered the charred corpses he had seen when entering the library. It seemed that this was how it happened… Lin Zhaohe frowned as he gazed at Jiang Wenxue. He had never written such a character, yet somehow, she felt strangely familiar.
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