Cysvhhz 108

The gap in the door was not wide enough, and the sharp edge of the iron door cut into the girl’s skin.

Yet she did not step back; gritting her teeth, she squeezed through.

At that moment, someone emerged from the nearby building, holding a lantern. “Who’s there?”

Gu Zhan whispered, “Run!”

The two children darted along the shadows of the wall, avoiding the light of the lantern, and headed toward the backyard.

Their movements were swift enough to escape the range of light before the person turned around.

Gu Zhan had begun to understand the survival rules of this place: as long as they were not discovered, they could run, escape, or skip lunch.

But once discovered, they would be locked in confinement.

The locks on the confinement room would gradually change, becoming increasingly difficult to escape from.

This time, he had even broken the door down. If he were locked in again, escaping would be much harder.

Gu Zhan and the little girl did not communicate, yet they instinctively ran toward the big tree in the backyard.

Once they reached the tree, they finally shook off the person behind them.

Standing under the tree, Gu Zhan looked up; the basket that used to hold the little birds was gone.

“Where are the birds?” he asked.

The little girl replied, “The little birds grew up and flew away with their mother.”

“What?”

The little birds that couldn’t fly in the afternoon flew away with their mother?

The little girl’s face once again wore that ethereal smile. She seemed so happy and cheerful as she said to Gu Zhan, "Thank you for helping me! The little bird has gone home, and it’s very happy now!"

"Wait a minute!" Gu Zhan sensed something and wanted to stop the little girl from continuing.

But the system’s announcement still rang out as scheduled.

[Congratulations, player, on completing the side quest <The Bird and the Sky>. Even helping a little bird shows you are indeed a kind person! We hope you can further promote your kindness.]

It was as if the world within the book couldn't wait to throw Gu Zhan out, as everything quickly faded to black.

In the gradually blurring scene, the little girl continued to smile at Gu Zhan.

Her expression was frozen in that moment—a smile that should have radiated gratitude and happiness was tinged with a deep sadness.

Gu Zhan felt powerless to intervene and could only let that sadness engulf him.

When the teleportation from the book world ended, it felt as if Gu Zhan had surfaced from a deep pool of "sadness," "regret," and "pain." Both his mind and body felt heavy, and sweat poured down him. Within just a few minutes, the sheets and blankets beneath him were soaked.

What was happening?

Gu Zhan remained lost in those emotions, unable to collect his thoughts.

The book before him was still open, but no matter how he flipped through the pages, nothing stirred.

The pages were filled with text, yet he couldn't understand a single word.

---

On Monday, Gu Zhan and Qin Yue went to school.

While getting on the bus, Gu Zhan noticed that many players were also on this ride.

Everyone’s expressions were similar—dejected, listless, and dazed…

They perfectly embodied the concept of “Monday blues.”

Qin Yue, the energetic one, stood out awkwardly among this crowd.

He looked around, and his gaze finally landed on Gu Zhan.

He could understand the lack of spirit from the others, but Gu Zhan was someone he considered very capable—why was he like this?

Unable to contain himself, he nudged Gu Zhan’s arm and whispered, “Bro, what did you do last night? Why do you look so lifeless?”

Gu Zhan didn’t reply, but Qin Yue chuckled and said, “Could it be that you rewarded yourself last night? Hmm…”

Before he could finish, Gu Zhan shot him a cold glance.

Qin Yue instantly shrank back and sat up straight, saying, “I was just joking! Just trying to lighten the mood since it feels so heavy in here.”

Gu Zhan said, “I’m going to rest for a bit.”

With that, he closed his eyes.

“Alright then,” Qin Yue mumbled.

The bus continued to the school, and when it stopped, the “students” just sat there, unwilling to move.

The driver didn’t rush them. After a moment, someone finally got up, saying, “You can’t dodge Monday forever; let’s go.”

He got off first, followed by others one by one.

Gu Zhan also woke up, and after everyone had exited, he finally stood up.

Qin Yue chased after him, asking, “Bro, what did you do yesterday? Did you end up in a book again?”

Gu Zhan replied with a simple “Hmm.”

Qin Yue looked at him with admiration, “What did you encounter in there?”

Gu Zhan said, “Nothing much. Just helped a little bird that couldn’t fly.”

“Really?” Qin Yue asked curiously. “What’s going on? Why are we so eager to help others?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Zhan suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He turned and fixed his gaze on Qin Yue, asking, “What did you just say?”

Qin Yue was taken aback. “Huh? I said… you’re really a good person…”

“No, that’s not it.”

Qin Yue paused, then said, “I said we’re always helping others and are eager to lend a hand…”

“Eager to help.” Gu Zhan repeated the phrase, feeling it was familiar.

Of course, it was familiar; since he first entered the book, the system had been repeating these words continuously.

“…Ferdinand Milner's life is full of hardships and sadness; if someone could help him… that would be great…”

“…Please help him; helping him is also helping yourself.”

“Thank you for helping me, kind person.”

“…A little child got lost, and I helped him find his parents.”

“Thank you for helping me! The little bird has gone home, and it’s very happy now!”

These system prompts, the NPC's words, and An Heyan’s descriptions of the book world.

The word "help" appeared frequently.

Even at the end of each quest, NPCs would say to Gu Zhan, “Thank you for helping me.”

Except for the book in Qin Yue’s hand about finding spies, that quest was assigned to An Heyan, so he didn’t hear the NPC's words.

But had he truly helped them?

In the first book world, Mike claimed he was with Jane but Gu Zhan never saw Jane until the end.

In the second book world, they killed the spy, but there was no way to confirm whether that woman was indeed a spy.

In the third book world, Gu Zhan helped the girl rescue a little bird, yet at the story's end, the bird and its mother disappeared.

The word "help" already carried a layer of meaning.

That is, “I cannot do this; you come and help me.”

Gu Zhan couldn’t help but wonder: if he hadn’t appeared in these book worlds, would the stories change?

Could Mike still be with Jane? Would the spy manage to escape? Would the little bird on the ground have died?

What exactly was he helping?

Why did the characters in Ferdinand Milner’s book all need help?

Or was it that the person in need of help was Ferdinand Milner himself?

Gu Zhan suddenly froze, leaving Qin Yue at a loss.

He thought he might have said something wrong and quietly asked, “What’s wrong? Did I say something off?”

Gu Zhan snapped back to reality, his complex gaze falling on Qin Yue.

He made up his mind. After this dungeon ends, he must recruit Qin Yue into Yu Yezhou’s guild.

After all, someone who, despite being so clueless, could stumble upon the key to the dungeon is rare.

Luck, after all, is one of the hardest skills to compensate for.

“Let’s go. I’ve thought of a few things, but I’m still not entirely sure. Once we finish Ferdinand Milner’s appraisal class, I should have a better idea,” Gu Zhan said.

Gu Zhan knew very little about Ferdinand Milner—his teacher had only briefly mentioned him.

It was unrealistic to investigate this person on his own, especially since all the library’s information on him was restricted.

One advantage of Qin Yue was that although he didn’t understand much, he also didn’t ask unnecessary questions.

When Gu Zhan said it was time for class, Qin Yue obediently followed.

They arrived at the classroom. Perhaps they were too early, as the room was quite empty. About half the students were there, while the other half were nowhere to be seen.

As class time approached, more students trickled in.

Gu Zhan noticed that the students seemed to fall into two groups: one appeared mentally exhausted but still relatively relaxed; the other showed no signs of fatigue but seemed anxious, their eyes darting around the room.

It didn’t take long for him to figure it out: the first group had found books in the library and had likely read them. The second group… hadn’t found any books at all.

When class time arrived, a bell rang, and the sound of the teacher’s high heels echoed in the hallway.

At this point, about a dozen seats were still empty.

These were likely the students who had either remained stuck in the world of the books or failed to find one before the library closed.

They couldn’t make it to class.

No wonder this dungeon had over fifty participants, but after just two days, a dozen were already gone.

For an ordinary A-level dungeon, the death rate was unusually high.

Gu Zhan felt like he had fallen into a trap.

With a creak, the door opened, and the teacher walked in.

It was the same teacher from before. She smiled gently and said, “Long time no see, students. I received a notice yesterday that quite a few students have caught colds and are missing class today. Please take care of your health and don’t get sick.”

The gentle words, paired with the harsh reality, sent chills down everyone’s spine.

Those “sick” students might never recover.

“Today, we’ll be learning…” the teacher continued, unaffected by the missing students. She walked up to the podium and began the lesson.

The entire morning was filled with ordinary coursework.

It wasn’t until the second-to-last class in the afternoon that the teacher finally asked, “Earlier, I asked everyone to borrow some books. Have you all managed to borrow one?”

There was a sparse murmur of responses: “Yes.”

“Hm?” The teacher tilted her head, smiling. “But I see quite a few students didn’t answer. Did you not manage to borrow a book?”

The faces of those who hadn’t found a book grew increasingly anxious.

The teacher smiled and said, “It’s fine if you haven’t borrowed one. There are still some books on Ferdinand Milner available at the school’s book corner. Go and get one.”

The students were shocked. They hadn’t expected there to be another way to obtain the books outside the library.

Those who had already borrowed books were equally surprised. If they had known they could get them so easily, why had they fought over the books in the library?

Only Gu Zhan frowned.

Qin Yue whispered beside him, “Should we take this opportunity to grab two more books?”

Gu Zhan slowly shook his head.

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