【Congratulations! You have completed the side quest <Difficult Education>…】
His mind buzzed with noise, and he couldn’t hear what the system was saying afterward.
He only felt darkness before he was pulled out of the book world.
When he opened his eyes in the reality of the side story, he saw Qin Yue sitting eagerly beside him.
Upon seeing him emerge, Qin Yue excitedly waved his hands, “You’re back! What did you see this time?”
Gu Zhan: “…”
Qin Yue gradually lowered his hands, looking worried, “What’s wrong? Was the content in the book not good?”
Gu Zhan rubbed his temples and said, “It’s nothing; I just… I think I understand.”
“What do you understand?” Qin Yue asked, confused.
Gu Zhan said, “Did you go into The Forest Spring to help Mike confess?”
Qin Yue nodded.
Gu Zhan asked, “Did they end up together in the end?”
Qin Yue replied, “They did.”
“Did Mike tell you that? You haven’t seen Jane since then?”
Qin Yue nodded, puzzled. “Aren’t you the same?”
Gu Zhan said, “Exactly because it’s like that, it feels strange.”
“Ah?”
"We have gone through so many books that we can clearly understand that the content described within is the life of Ferdinand—from his childhood when he was abandoned by his parents and sent to an orphanage, to later being with Jane, falling in love and marrying, and then later his son's unexpected death, and he went to the battlefield..."
"Ah..." Qin Yue suddenly realized, "Now that you mention it, it's true."
Gu Zhan said, "But some of the content here differs from the teacher's description. He did indeed enter an orphanage, but that orphanage clearly wasn't normal; it didn't even spare a nest of birds perched on the treetops. Also, there are hidden circumstances about his relationship with Jane. As for the death of his son..."
Gu Zhan paused and continued, "If what I see in this book is correct, his son was killed by him."
"What?"
Gu Zhan glanced at another book in his hand, unsure whether to continue opening it.
The world within today's book had become even more grotesque compared to yesterday's.
It seemed these book worlds were impatient to hide themselves and were fully exposing their true nature.
Oh yes, their true nature.
Gu Zhan could now be 100% certain that Ferdinand's real life was completely different from how he portrayed himself in the book. The author was a cunning liar, hiding his true self behind false words.
Perhaps the key to this copy was discovering the real Ferdinand.
But that would require a lot of reading through the world of the books.
Clearly, their time and energy were insufficient.
Gu Zhan suddenly stood up and said, "Let's go find An Heyan and the others."
"We're going to find them again!" Qin Yue lamented, "Why can't we get away from then"
But Gu Zhan had already gotten up, so he could only follow.
Most of the people who had come out of the library were sitting on the steps at the entrance, some resting, some still in the book world.
Now there were no buses, and everyone couldn't go back.
Gu Zhan quickly found An Heyan and Xu Ke, who had just come out of the book world.
Their expressions didn't look good either, likely having encountered situations similar to Gu Zhan's.
Seeing Gu Zhan, An Heyan didn’t stand up but gestured for him to sit down next to him.
Gu Zhan didn't sit down but instead asked An Heyan, "What did you encounter in the book world?"
An Heyan still looked at Gu Zhan with caution.
Gu Zhan remained silent, simply meeting his gaze with a calm look.
After a moment of silence, An Heyan sighed as if conceding and said, "This time I was a man whose wife was ill, searching the whole city for doctors to treat her, but my wife still died..."
He paused for a moment and added, "She committed suicide."
"What?" Qin Yue was stunned.
An Heyan said, "It wasn't until the end that I discovered my wife had been bedridden, not due to illness and weakness, but because I had chained her to the bed. One day, when my son fell ill, I went out to take him to see a doctor, and she took the opportunity, untied the chains, and jumped from upstairs... Her blood traces extended from the door all the way to the seaside; she jumped into the sea."
Qin Yue: "..."
Gu Zhan asked, "Did that woman look very much like Jane?"
"No," An Heyan replied more firmly, "She was Jane."
"…"
Everyone fell silent.
It turned out that behind the beautiful love story lay such a bloody truth.
An Heyan said, "I suspect that Mike didn't truly love Jane. He merely wanted to possess her. Jane never agreed to Mike's confession; she was imprisoned until she gave birth to a child and found an opportunity to escape from home."
Qin Yue, who had just been through the forest spring gasped, "So I...?”
Helped Mike imprison Jane?
Everyone present had entered the forest spring, they were all accomplices.
Gu Zhan glanced at him and said, "The world in the copy may not be real, but the world in the books must be false. Ferdinand wanted to use this method to turn or rewrite his life, but when the timeline was shown to have occurred, he must have done something even worse."
Gu Zhan turned to An Heyan and said, "We should piece together Ferdinand's life now."
An Heyan sighed, "You're right."
Qin Yue asked foolishly, "How do we piece it together?"
Gu Zhan was silent for a moment and said, "Now we know that it is true he was abandoned by his parents, and that he was sent to an orphanage, but that orphanage was not normal... This is related to what he did after becoming an adult. Jane was the one he imprisoned, and he killed his son... Oh, right, he hadn't gone to the army yet when he killed his son, but he was skilled with a gun."
An Heyan said, "In that era, having a gun was quite normal."
But Gu Zhan said, "Normal or not, it was still that era, when firearms had just appeared. People not engaged in related professions might not have access to guns at all."
An Heyan looked at Gu Zhan: "Are you saying that in the blank period before he went to the battlefield, he had a job related to firearms?"
Gu Zhan nodded, "It might be more than that. This experience led him to imprison a girl he liked directly; when he discovered his son had a mother complex, he killed his son directly..."
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by An Heyan and Qin Yue simultaneously: "Wait, what are you saying?" "What! His son had a mother complex?!"
Gu Zhan stopped and quietly looked at the two of them.
An Heyan quickly reacted; he covered his forehead and muttered, "A big pervert gave birth to a little pervert."
"Then we should enter more book worlds," Xu Ke, who had not spoken until now, suddenly said.
Gu Zhan replied, "That should be the case."
An Heyan said, "But the world in the books will only become more dangerous, and it would be difficult for one person to complete Ferdinand's life…"
As he spoke, he paused slightly, suddenly realizing something.
“I understand now; you’re looking for us to collaborate, right?”
Gu Zhan replied, “Not just you.”
An Heyan: “…”
He quickly grasped Gu Zhan’s meaning.
The more book worlds they could enter at this time, the more advantageous it would be for them.
He wanted to unite all players to conquer the worlds within the books together.
However, An Heyan didn’t hold out much hope: “That’s going to be difficult. In a place like this, it’s hard for everyone to trust one another.”
Gu Zhan said, “We can exchange the books we’ve read. It doesn’t have to be a large group; as long as someone is willing to join, it’s enough.”
After thinking for a moment, An Heyan said, “Alright, I’ll join.”
He glanced at the sky and added, “Time is short. If you want more book worlds, you need to find others quickly.”
Gu Zhan suggested, “Let’s split up.”
“Okay.” An Heyan agreed.
He and Xu Ke separated, heading off in different directions.
Qin Yue became anxious: “Do we have to split up too?”
Gu Zhan gave him a bland look, clearly indicating that they weren’t bound together.
“Fine.” Although Qin Yue felt a bit down, he was somewhat perceptive. He sighed, “Let’s split up then.”
Gu Zhan reminded him, “You can look for people in the library, but pay attention to the time. Make sure to be out before dawn.”
“Got it, understood.” Qin Yue nodded.
Thus, the four of them parted ways to handle their own tasks.
Gu Zhan arrived at the library and approached a few people to explain his intentions, but they all seemed to disagree with his approach.
“As long as there’s a story to tell the teacher tomorrow, isn’t that enough? Why take such a big risk?”
“Yeah, wanting to take the initiative in a dungeon? Don’t think too much about it; surviving is good enough.”
Most people had a negative attitude towards the dungeon, and Gu Zhan returned empty-handed.
Before dawn, the four reconvened at the entrance.
Gu Zhan asked about their progress, and everyone shook their heads.
On Qin Yue’s side, he had found someone, but…
Qin Yue hesitated, saying, “He seems to have not found a single book.”
An Heyan laughed: “He didn’t find a book but wants to join us? Isn’t that just freeloading?”
But Gu Zhan said, “Let him come over.”
“Are you really addicted to bringing newcomers along?” An Heyan raised an eyebrow, not very optimistic about Gu Zhan’s approach.
Gu Zhan responded, “One more person is still better than none.”
“Fine, you really don’t have any standards.” An Heyan crossed his arms and stood by, saying, “Just to be clear, I won’t be exchanging my books with someone who has contributed nothing.”
Gu Zhan shot him a glance, his expression indifferent, as if to say he never intended to let him contribute.
Earlier, An Heyan had taken Gu Zhan’s book, but Gu Zhan had snatched it back.
However, the one who initiates is the one at a disadvantage, and he felt a bit guilty.
Under Gu Zhan’s gaze, he straightened up immediately.
Qin Yue, unaware of the subtle tension between the two, quickly turned and said, “I’ll go call him now.”
After a while, a thin boy followed Qin Yue over.
He wore thick glasses and looked very timidly at Gu Zhan.
For such a cowardly person to survive until the next day was already a miracle, and it was no surprise that he hadn’t found any books.
Gu Zhan asked, “I heard you want to join us?”
The boy hurriedly said, “I’m a web novelist; I understand the rules of storytelling. I can help you!”
“Oh?” An Heyan became a bit interested.
“A web novelist? A writer?” This was the first time Gu Zhan encountered such a profession, and it sounded rather useless.
The boy felt a bit embarrassed, saying, “A web novelist is just a web novelist; it has nothing to do with being a writer.”
Gu Zhan said, “We can personally experience the worlds in the books; your profession doesn’t seem very helpful to us.”
The boy quickly replied, “But I can analyze story structures! I can see the author’s intentions! I just don’t have enough samples…”
Gu Zhan and An Heyan exchanged glances. An Heyan said, “Kid, we can do what you just said too; isn’t it just about having enough samples to discover that?”
Realizing he couldn’t convince Gu Zhan and An Heyan, the boy became dejected.
He muttered, “I already know what the author’s profession is; I just need more information…”
“Wait, you said you know what his profession is?” An Heyan asked.
“Uh…” The boy looked up, as if he had realized something, and suddenly shouted, “Let me join you! I’ll share the information with you!”
An Heyan hesitated for a moment.
Though the boy could provide some information, he still seemed like he was coming empty-handed.
Gu Zhan said, “I believe we can tell him that in this dungeon, players don’t have a competitive relationship; we’re all on the same side. The more we share information, the greater our chances of uncovering the truth and escaping from here.”
“Alright, since you’re the expert, you make the call.” An Heyan conceded, giving the decision-making authority to Gu Zhan.
Gu Zhan turned to the boy, who called himself a writer, and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Jiang Su; my name is Jiang Su.” The boy quickly responded.
“I’m Gu Zhan, and this is An Heyan.” Gu Zhan introduced the four of them and then said, “Let’s find a place to talk.”
They returned to the steps at the back of the library, where they had previously discarded snack wrappers.
Although many events had transpired in the past few days, stretching time infinitely, it had only been a few days since they entered the dungeon.
Qin Yue didn’t expect that they would transform into their current selves just a few days later.
Gu Zhan and the others took their seats to discuss matters, and he squatted beside them, picking up the scattered snack bags.
Seeing his actions, An Heyan clicked his tongue.
Gu Zhan was surrounded by odd characters, and it was even stranger that, despite everything, he could still walk ahead of everyone.
His understanding of the instance was the deepest, and he had the most information in hand.
Could it be that leading newcomers really has some benefits?
An Heyan glanced at Jiang Su, who was trembling beside him due to social anxiety, and thought, forget it. He’d rather not go out on the instance than deal with these bizarre newcomers.
Gu Zhan said, “As a sign of your sincerity in joining us, we need you to share information first.”
Jiang Su whispered, “Yesterday I found a book. After opening it, I was pulled into the world within the book, where I became a lawyer, helping people with lawsuits everywhere. The biggest case I took on was one where I was the plaintiff's lawyer, but it was strange. During the trial, my gaze was always fixated on the defendant's daughter. Oh, right, I’m the lawyer for the plaintiff.”
“The defendant’s daughter?” An Heyan exclaimed, “What does that have to do with what you want to share with us? You’re not saying this is a love story, are you?”
Jiang Su’s face turned red from being challenged, and his voice grew quieter, but his attitude was resolute: “Because I discovered that all the defendants I dealt with disappeared! The same goes for that girl’s father; they quickly held a funeral, and I even attended. That girl’s attitude towards me was very strange—she hated me.”
“So?” Gu Zhan asked.
Jiang Su replied, “So, I must be an assassin! Being a lawyer is just a fabricated identity in the book. I accepted the commission to assassinate targets, and that girl hates me because I’m her father’s killer.”
“Wait.” Gu Zhan had a sudden realization, “You said that girl hates you. Do you know her name?”
Jiang Su squinted, trying to remember, “I think... it’s something like... Jaime...”
“Jane!”
Gu Zhan and An Heyan said in unison.
Jiang Su was startled by their excited reactions, “How do you guys know?”
Gu Zhan and An Heyan exchanged glances.
With this, everything made sense.
No wonder Mike hesitated to approach Jane when he saw her. He had killed Jane's dad she would definitely not accept him.
He had imprisoned Jane causing her to become pregnant. After Jane gave birth, taking advantage of Mike's absence, she unlocked her chains and jumped into the sea to commit suicide.
After growing up, their son somehow found a photo of his deceased mother and fell in love with her. Mike’s feelings for Jane were unknown, but his possessiveness was undeniable. It seemed he didn’t love Jane nor did he care for the child she bore; he simply killed his own son.
“Well then…” An Heyan appeared a bit hesitant, “This connects a person’s entire life from beginning to end. No wonder when I killed the spy in that book about finding spies to complete the task, the NPC’s attitude was so ambiguous. It seems they weren’t conducting a righteous war at all; they were invading others' territory.”
Gu Zhan added, “He very likely killed indiscriminately on the battlefield.”
An Heyan frowned.
Jiang Su listened to their conversation in shock.
“You guys have already gathered so much information?”
Qin Yue comforted him with a pat on the shoulder, saying, “Just get used to it; my brother is that amazing.”
An Heyan smiled, “It’s fine. The information you provided is crucial and has filled in a missing link for us.”
He stretched and looked towards the eastern sky, which was slightly brightening with dawn, and said, “This damned instance; I’ve been staying up late every day since I got here… Once we get out, I need to sleep well for a few days.”
“So what? We already know what kind of story is depicted in the book world. How does that relate to how we get out of this instance?” An Heyan continued to ask.
Gu Zhan also inquired, “Do you think that Ferdinand is still alive?”
“Hmm.” An Heyan fell silent for a moment and shook his head, “I don’t know.”
Books, in a certain sense, can transcend time.
Even if the author has died, the book remains.
Gu Zhan said, “My thoughts are different from yours. I believe he is still alive.”
“What?”
“Once a person dies, it’s like a light going out; the dead won’t care how their story is rewritten. Do you remember the side mission from the first day? Whether at the beginning or the end of the mission, there were always words indicating help. This means Ferdinand hated his real life. He wanted us to help him change his past… If he’s already dead, why would he still care about his past?”
As soon as Gu Zhan’s voice fell, the mist surrounding them suddenly thickened.
The white fog began to flow like water, gradually closing in on them.
The four of them became alert, and Qin Yue stood up, retreating while shouting, “What’s going on?!”
Despite moving quickly backward, they were soon backed up against the library. The hard wall quickly blocked their path, leaving them with nowhere to retreat.
Xu Ke stood at the front; the white mist enveloped him first, but he merely frowned slightly, not letting out a scream.
It seemed that this mist posed no harm to the human body.
The mist quickly flowed past their legs like water, growing taller and obscuring their vision.
A strange phenomenon occurred with the wall of the library behind them. Gu Zhan took two steps back and shouted, “Move aside!”
The others scattered, only to see the wall behind them suddenly crack open, like a mouth stretching forward! It enveloped the four of them! The hard lips closed, and the sound of stone colliding against stone echoed.
There was no doubt that if Gu Zhan hadn’t shouted just then, they would have been crushed by this giant mouth.
But with that, they suddenly found themselves inside the library instead of outside.
At that moment, the sun was just rising outside.
The library's closing time had arrived.
Qin Yue shouted, "This library has no sense of honor!"
How could the walls crack open and swallow people whole?
Gu Zhan said, "We might have triggered some kind of plot mechanism."
"Huh?" An Heyan raised an eyebrow, a mocking glint in his eyes. "You think Ferdinand is preparing to come out and meet us?"
But after waiting for a while, the library remained eerily quiet.
Due to the shifting walls, many bookshelves had toppled over, scattering books all over the floor.
Just like the books they had gotten from Ferdinand, the words on these books were completely illegible.
An Heyan scoffed, "What kind of library is this? It’s clearly fake and deceptive. What library has books that can't be read, with no words on them?"
"You’re right," Gu Zhan nodded. He called out loudly into the library, "Ferdinand, come out!"
"You know where he is?" An Heyan asked in surprise.
Gu Zhan replied, "The librarian."
This answer seemed strange at first, but upon further thought, it made perfect sense.
If someone wanted to use external forces to modify their life, what place would be most suitable?
Of course, it would be somewhere they could constantly monitor their progress and correct mistakes in real-time.
The librarian.
It was the most fitting role.
He was already integrated with the library itself.
Sure enough, after Gu Zhan shouted, a pair of slow footsteps echoed in the otherwise silent library.
After a moment, a hunched figure wearing a black hood emerged from behind the bookshelves.
His voice was aged and rasping, "Haha, I didn't expect to be discovered so soon. You’re quite clever, perfect for helping me with my tasks."
"Helping you?" An Heyan retorted. "You want us to help you correct the mistakes in your life? Do you really think we’d agree to that?"
The librarian was a villain, and An Heyan despised him. If possible, he didn’t want to assist him.
But many things were beyond one’s control.
The librarian didn’t seem angered by An Heyan’s words; he lifted his gaze slightly, revealing a pair of cold, sinister eyes beneath his hood.
He appeared to smile as he looked at the group, and the temperature in the library began to drop: "Do you really have the right to refuse?"
Jiang Su was trembling behind An Heyan and Gu Zhan.
He hadn’t anticipated that joining a random team would lead him to witness the core secret of the storyline.
Ah, if only he hadn’t come, he could have lived another day.
Now, it seemed like he might die at any moment.
But the Gu Zhan standing before him remained calm and silent, seemingly oblivious to the fact that "he might die soon."
Qin Yue felt anxious as he turned to Gu Zhan, "Bro, what should we do now?"
Gu Zhan replied, "I haven't received the main mission yet... um..."
He called out to Ferdinand, "What do you want us to change your life into?"
As soon as his life was mentioned, Ferdinand became agitated.
"My life! What should it be changed into?"
"I want to ban children from crying! If I hadn’t been crying loudly on the street, I wouldn’t have ended up in that damned orphanage! That wasn’t an orphanage at all; it was a killer training camp! We had no choice!"
"If I hadn’t discovered the little birds in the tree, their entire family wouldn’t have died. Their soft, cold bodies were placed one by one on my windowsill because I helped the fallen bird! So they were punished!"
"I loved Jane! But that damned mission, that damned commission, made me kill her father! And that damned son—if it weren't for treating him, I wouldn’t have left Jane... Jane wouldn’t have died..."
"He even dared to have thoughts about his mother! I regret not picking up the photo on the ground first..."
As Ferdinand recounted his experiences, his mental state grew increasingly deranged.
From his words, it was clear his psychological condition was far from stable.
Perhaps his tragedy began when he was abandoned by his parents, but his worldview had twisted. He didn’t blame his parents for casually discarding their child; instead, he blamed himself for crying in public.
He didn’t blame the orphanage or the nuns for killing the birds; rather, he blamed himself for helping the birds...
As he continued, his regrets became more absurd.
By the time he personally killed his own son, he might have already gone mad.
His mind seemed linked to the library itself; his mental peak was reflected not only in his words but also in the walls of the library, which began to writhe. Gaping mouths appeared on the walls, while bookshelves, windows, and walls began to open and close, converging towards Gu Zhan and the others.
There was no doubt that if they didn’t agree to Ferdinand’s request, they would soon be torn to pieces by the entire library!
"We agree! We’ll help you change the past!"
At a crucial moment, An Heyan exclaimed.
Although he despised Ferdinand, that dislike was insignificant compared to their lives.
Moreover… Gu Zhan had repeatedly emphasized that the world of the storyline was not necessarily false, but the world in the books was undoubtedly fake.
This pitiful man intended to modify the world in the book to correct his life.
However, time would show no mercy to anyone.
What happened in the past could never be changed.
"You’ve agreed."
After An Heyan spoke, the library suddenly fell silent.
Ferdinand’s cold gaze peered from beneath his cloak as he quietly observed the group. Suddenly, he sneered, as if seeing through An Heyan's thoughts.
"Since that’s the case, then help me!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the walls of the library began to shift again.
This time, it was no longer intense and urgent. The walls extended outward, twisting and distorting within the space, and in just a few breaths, a new world unfolded before them.
The four stood on a busy street, with the sound of car horns and children crying echoing around them.
"……"
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