Chapter 468: Comrade, Are You Still Recruiting?

The power of the masses is great. With the help of the other passengers, Lu Yibei quickly explained the whole situation to that passerby young lady.

Under the scorching sun.

Standing at the bus stop, watching the bus disappear into the rising heat, she sighed with mixed feelings.

Good-looking people, even if they’re criminals, have a chance at reemployment after getting out of prison. Even if they’ve killed someone, there will still be people who only care about their beauty… let alone the fact that Lu Yibei hadn’t done anything at all.

It has to be said, in this world where so many people’s values follow their eyes, being good-looking is truly useful.

But aren’t they afraid that I really am a pervert?

The doctor said it himself, I’m an extremely twisted potential killer, Lu Yibei thought.

She imagined for a moment: a girl who looks about fourteen or fifteen, exceptionally beautiful, but in reality is a seasoned perverted killer. After killing someone, she walks in the sunlight, and passersby unconsciously give her kind smiles.

No one would associate her with a criminal, and no one would know that in her backpack, she’s carrying a kitchen knife stained with countless blood.

Lost in thought, Lu Yibei glanced at her own reflection in the glass window by the roadside and nodded thoughtfully.

Yes, just like that!

“But what does that have to do with me? What’s in my backpack is a proper toilet plunger.”

Probably…

—

A moment later, Hua City Library.

This library is located in a secluded corner of Hua City’s center, surrounded by a cluster of ginkgo trees. It’s autumn, golden leaves drifting down, and through the gaps in the branches, you can see the old building, covered in creeping ivy, its deep gray walls etched with the marks of time.

Lu Yibei walked through a small alley to the long steps in front of the main entrance of Hua City Library. Looking up, memories surged.

She, Nanling Rao Hua, and Su Mi used to come here often when they were in elementary school. Of course, they didn’t come here to study.

Back then, the electronic reading room of Hua City Library was the only place where elementary students from nearby schools could access the internet for free.

Although there were no games on the computers in the electronic reading room, children’s happiness was often simple. As long as they could watch a couple of episodes of cartoons or play some web mini-games, they were satisfied.

Lu Yibei still remembered, during those days, every time school ended, the students would burst out like wild dogs let out of a cage, swarming toward the library just to grab a spot in the electronic reading room early, so they could slack off for an hour or so on the way home.

She used to run fast, but would always slow down just to walk with Nanling Rao Hua, so that when she looked back, she could see her silly, happy smile.

But whether they could wait for Su Mi depended entirely on fate.

That kid wasn’t very bright from a young age. Even a simple word like “fine,” if he had to copy it ten times, he’d end up writing “fuck.” More complicated words, he’d just write them as if they were “Sanskrit” scriptures.

Sometimes, the teacher couldn’t tell if he was insulting their intelligence or if he really had a problem, so they’d often keep him after school for tea and a heart-to-heart…

Later on, who knows which unlucky kid’s parent reported the library, and the electronic reading room was closed for years. By the time it reopened, the kids had grown up, the internet was more widespread, and no one went anymore.

Everything was frozen in that year.

Even this library, which had stood in a corner of the city for decades, was about to be torn down with the completion of the new library. Word was, they’d move out early next year…

—

Recalling the happy days of childhood, Lu Yibei walked into the library, glanced around at the entrance, and muttered softly, “Haven’t been here in so long, why does this place feel so creepy now?”

Old buildings always have some flaws in their design.

Like Hua City Library-apart from a few reading rooms with good lighting, most other places like staff offices, corridors, and restrooms are poorly lit.

Plus, with old trees surrounding the library, the inside is sharply divided between light and dark.

The bright areas are filled with sunlight, and the ginkgo leaves outside the windows are golden.

The dark areas are shadowy, always making you feel like something is hiding in the unseen corners, or that the portraits of famous people in the corridors are secretly moving their eyes.

But the main reason the library feels creepy is that it’s just too deserted, lacking any sign of life.

Back when Lu Yibei and a bunch of elementary school kids swarmed in, she never thought it was creepy.

But now, in an era with so many ways to get information, few people are willing to come to the library and spend hours flipping through paper books.

Now everyone has a phone, practicing a hundred and eight poses a day to tempt people’s willpower. It’s hard for libraries to do business.

Even if someone occasionally wants to read or look up information, they’d go to one of the university libraries in University Town or a big bookstore, not this dying place.

Entering the library, Lu Yibei headed straight for the information desk.

Because Hua City Library is so old, its modern equipment is lacking. There are only two electronic borrowing systems like those in universities or big city libraries, and they’re broken most of the time. If you want to find where a book is, it’s still faster to just ask the administrator.

“Excuse me, do you have the Hua City Urban and Rural Construction Gazetteer here? I’m looking for the edition from ’95 to ’15.”

Behind the information desk, two elderly administrators were basking in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the window, drifting off to sleep.

Upon hearing Lu Yibei’s voice, one of the administrators frowned, a trace of impatience flashing across his face. He opened his mouth, about to complain.

But when he opened his eyes and saw the beautiful girl behind the counter, poised on tiptoe, leaning over the tall, old-fashioned desk, her large, watery eyes shining with the pure light of a newborn creature, his heart instantly melted, and a warm smile appeared on his face.

Pretty girls always seem to inspire extra patience.

“Please wait a moment, I’ll check for you.”

He turned around, switched on the computer monitor behind him, entered the book title into the library systems, sorted by the initials in pinyin, carefully scanned the list, and looked at Lu Yibei.

“Miss, you’re in luck,” the administrator smiled. “This book was checked out for a long time, and we couldn’t reach the borrower. We thought it was lost, but unexpectedly, it was returned just this morning.”

“Right now, the book is in the history section on the third floor. Would you like me to take you there to get it?”

This preferential treatment is way too obvious… Lu Yibei thought to herself.

Faced with the administrator’s unusual enthusiasm, she felt a bit shy and uncomfortable, and quickly waved her hand.

“No, that’s not necessary. Just tell me where it is, and I’ll go get it myself.”

“No problem! If you can’t find it, just come back and ask me again,” the administrator nodded.

As he spoke, he glanced at the computer again and gave Lu Yibei detailed directions to the shelf where the Hua City Urban and Rural Construction Gazetteer [95-15 edition] was located.

Third floor, history section, left side near the top of the third bookshelf…

Lu Yibei repeated the administrator’s directions in her mind, turned around, and was about to head upstairs.

Just then, a violent coughing fit suddenly sounded behind her.

“Cough, cough, cough-!”

With the coughing came a muffled, strange voice, suddenly invading her ears.

“Uh… Everything you see is an illusion… Don’t believe…”

The voice was very faint and weak, as if it came through several walls, a whisper that made her wonder if she was hallucinating.

Who’s speaking?

Catching that weak voice, Lu Yibei froze for a moment, then quickly turned around, following the direction of the sound, her gaze landing on the administrator, her body trembling slightly.

Sunlight outside filtered through the ginkgo branches, casting mottled shadows on the administrator’s face. He stared straight at her, his eyes hollow and lifeless, like a statue.

A cool breeze blew, the ginkgo tree outside rustling, shadows dancing.

In the silent library hall, their eyes met, and a chill quietly crept up Lu Yibei’s back.

“Gulp-!”

She swallowed, calmly took a toilet plunger out of her backpack and gripped it in her hand, tentatively asking, “Sorry, did you just say something?”

As soon as she spoke, the administrator gasped for air like a drowning man rescued, greedily inhaling as his lungs filled with air, his complexion gradually returning to normal, his rolled-back eyes clearing, now filled with confusion.

“I-I didn’t say anything!” the administrator said blankly, as if nothing had happened.

“Oh right, miss, you couldn’t find the book? How about I help you look for it?”

“No, that’s really not necessary!” Lu Yibei shook her head like a rattle drum. “I’ll look for it myself!”

I know you’re virtuous and kind, but…

You just looked like a ghost-who would dare let you come with me!

If I didn’t desperately need to check the gazetteer, I’d have run away already!

Thinking this, she jogged upstairs.

Watching Lu Yibei’s departing figure, the administrator’s gaze darkened, then he pulled out his phone and quickly sent a message to someone.

—

Arriving at the second-floor landing, Lu Yibei stopped, confirming that the administrator downstairs hadn’t followed and couldn’t see her. Leaning by the sunlit window, her thoughts were tangled like a complex ball of yarn, countless ideas weaving together, swirling in her mind.

“……”

The strange behavior of the girl on the bus could be explained as a prank or coincidence, but if she hadn’t misheard, the library administrator just said something similar?

If they weren’t in cahoots beforehand, this was just too bizarre, as if something was secretly controlling them.

But what does it mean to say those words to me in such a ghostly way? Is it a hint, or some kind of threat?

Damn, things are starting to get weird! Lu Yibei thought.

Although the words of the bus girl and the library administrator coincided with the case she’s investigating and her own suspicions, as if secretly helping her,

That hidden presence controlling the bus girl and the administrator seemed to be watching her every move. Even if it really wanted to help her, she didn’t want to get too involved with it.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch; no one will help you for no reason.

The free things are often the most expensive-who knows what kind of ulterior motives that “thing” might have?

Compared to this kind of bizarre approach.

The kind where a fair-skinned, beautiful, and sexy big sister suddenly jumps out in front of you, pulls out a QR code from the valley of her chest, and gently says, “Make an in-game purchase! Spend 648, and you’ll have a 5% chance to solve a mystery. Buy ten in a row, and you’re guaranteed to solve one!”-that kind of approach.

Lu Yibei would actually feel more at ease and find it more trustworthy.

After thinking for a moment, she frowned, looked up at the floor above, her gaze growing deeper.

On the old staircase, the light was dim, the walls tinged with a yellowish hue like old photographs, and the celebrity portraits on both sides of the corridor wore strange smiles.

“Although it’s a bit off, I still have to go upstairs, right?” Lu Yibei muttered to herself.

Finding the location of the abandoned factory from her dream through the <Hua City Urban and Rural Construction Gazetteer> was, for now, the only way she could think of to find the Truth-Seeking Fellowship, and it was right in front of her.

Might as well go up and take a look first. If things seem wrong, I’ll leave immediately!

If I really run into danger, don’t I still have that… water heater explosion technique for self-defense?

Lu Yibei steadied herself and started walking upstairs.

—

The Hua City Library has five floors in total. Aside from the first floor, which houses the information desk, staff offices, newspaper reading room, and other miscellaneous areas, each of the other floors stores different types of books.

Each floor of the library is very spacious. About a third of the area near the windows is filled with old tables and chairs, while the rest is taken up by bookshelves that are taller than a person-much taller than Lu Yibei now.

These bookshelves, weathered by time, have peeling paint and are stacked layer upon layer like tombstones, blocking the light and forming narrow, secluded alleys.

In a place like this, if a pair of eyes were hiding behind the shelves, secretly watching, it would be hard to notice, wouldn’t it? Lu Yibei thought.

The moment this thought flashed through her mind, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, feeling a heavy stone pressing down on her heart.

Without warning, that secret, probing gaze appeared again!

Her intuition told her that a pair of eyes was watching her from the shadows-silent, deep, ominous.

Even more unsettling than the teacher’s stare that could appear at the back door or outside the window at any moment.

But…

Where exactly was that secret watcher hiding? Lu Yibei wondered, craning her neck to look into the third-floor reading room.

It was afternoon, and the reading room was almost empty. The air was filled with a special scent-a mix of old paper and wood.

A few faint footsteps sounded from somewhere out of sight, as if someone was moving slowly, with a hint of sneakiness.

The old wooden windows and doors swayed gently in the breeze, creaking and groaning.

Like a hallucination, a murmur of indistinct whispers drifted by, only to be scattered by the wind.

There were definitely people in the reading room, but she couldn’t see anyone in the corners, nor could Lu Yibei find the source of that gaze.

Those eyes seemed not to exist in the real world, but floated in midair not far from her.

It felt as if she was being watched by a lifeform from another time and space.

I wonder, when we stare at two-dimensional paper dolls with obsessive eyes and call them husband or wife, do they feel the same way?

Such a thought inexplicably flashed through Lu Yibei’s mind.

—

Lu Yibei mustered her courage and walked into the third-floor reading room. The strange situation she’d expected didn’t appear. Following the directions given by the librarian, she quickly found the <Hua City Urban and Rural Construction Gazetteer [95-15 Edition]>.

Holding the book, she picked a seat by the window, sat down, and, bathed in the afternoon sunlight, began to read in the quiet library.

In fact, if she could, she’d rather just borrow the book and take it somewhere safer-like squatting outside the police station-and then slowly look through it.

But in her current state, her library card didn’t match her appearance, so she couldn’t borrow the book. If she wanted to read it, she had to stay here.

That pair of secret, watching eyes was still there, but only quietly observing, not doing anything strange, which made Lu Yibei feel much more at ease.

If it’s just watching…

As long as it’s not during private moments like bathing, you can look all you want! Lu Yibei thought, steadying herself and opening the thick book on the table.

“…1995, relocation, Hua City Paper Mill [photo][photo]… The architectural style seems a bit different…”

“…1997, closure, Hua City Sugar Factory [photo][photo]… There’s no chimney here…”

“…”

Lu Yibei carefully flipped through the <Hua City Urban and Rural Construction Gazetteer [95-15 Edition]> page by page, constantly comparing the pictures and information in the book with the abandoned factory from her dream.

Time slipped by quietly. After more than an hour,

when she flipped to about three-fifths of the way through the book, she suddenly stopped, slightly stunned-the content in the book had a gap, the sentences didn’t connect.

Immediately, Lu Yibei carefully compared the page numbers before and after, and her eyes trembled slightly.

Page 336… page 343… three sheets missing, a total of six pages?

This kind of officially published book shouldn’t have binding errors. Could it have been torn out by someone?

This Hua City Urban and Rural Construction Gazetteer was thick, but the paper used for printing was relatively thin, so even if someone tore out three sheets from the middle, it would be hard to notice.

Staring at the book in front of her, Lu Yibei frowned. She felt she had already found the abandoned factory from her dream, and the information about that factory was hidden in the six missing pages.

But who would have torn them out? Was it the last person who borrowed the book?

Thinking this, Lu Yibei hurriedly flipped to the first page, pulled out the borrowing record card tucked behind the cover, and looked at the last line.

Gu Xinian? That name sounds familiar…

Wait, Gu Xinian, Gu Xiliu…?

Crap, could this be Gu Qianqian’s sibling?

As she pondered, she suddenly felt that the gaze secretly watching her had disappeared, and then she heard footsteps approaching from afar.

She looked up and saw a face both unfamiliar and familiar.

A round face, thick eyebrows, a straight nose, short deep chestnut hair, amber eyes, tightly pressed lips-she somewhat resembled Gu Qianqian.

Unless Gu Qianqian had suddenly changed gender overnight, this person must be related to her, and most likely was the Gu Xinian who previously borrowed this book… Lu Yibei thought.

“Miss, are you very interested in this book?”

“…,” Lu Yibei looked down at the book in front of her, then squinted at the man before her, nodding, “Yeah, what’s up?”

A faint smile appeared on the man’s face. “Then do you know, what you’re seeing…”

Crap! Again? Lu Yibei sensed something off and interrupted expressionlessly, “I bet your next line is, everything I’m seeing is an illusion, right?”

“Uh…” The man was clearly stunned, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

“Looks like I guessed right!” Lu Yibei curled her lips and continued, “I bet you also want to say, don’t believe it, right?”

“I also know your name is Gu Xinian, and you’re a member of the Truth-Seeking Fellowship, right?”

Although Lu Yibei wasn’t completely sure, she said it anyway. After seeing the man’s flustered and panicked eyes, she was immediately certain she’d guessed correctly.

Having confirmed his identity, her mind suddenly cleared.

If the one secretly watching me is a member of the Truth-Seeking Fellowship, and the girl on the bus and the library administrator are also with the Truth-Seeking Fellowship, then all those strange things I encountered before make sense, Lu Yibei thought.

The man stared at her, his eyes seeming to say, “What the hell, how does she know all this?”

He tried to read something from her micro-expressions, but got nothing.

The girl before him had a frosty face, expressionless, as if she carried an invisible aura that kept all scrutiny and probing at bay…

Damn, what’s this girl’s background? Gu Xinian thought uneasily.

Earlier, after the gathering ended, he had acted on his second uncle’s instructions, secretly leaving some clues about the Fellowship for the girl named Lu Yibei.

The torn pages in this library gazetteer were one such clue, and the library administrator was indeed a member of the Truth-Seeking Fellowship.

But what Gu Xinian hadn’t expected was that he didn’t wait for Lu Yibei, but instead this mysterious girl appeared.

He had used the Fellowship’s connections to investigate the girl’s background, but found nothing, which made him decide to show himself and meet her.

But after meeting her, he realized not only did she know his background, she was so calm-it was just too strange.

You had to know, the Truth-Seeking Fellowship was rumored to be a cult with a fierce reputation; ordinary people couldn’t possibly remain so calm when meeting a member.

She… could she be the “Doctor”?

Images of those nightmarish white figures flashed through his mind, and Gu Xinian suddenly felt as if, after casting out bait and setting the net, he’d become the fish being caught instead, and almost wanted to get up and flee.

Just then, Lu Yibei’s slightly excited voice drifted into his ears.

“Finally found you guys! Comrade, are you still recruiting?”

Gu Xinian, “???”