Qin Yue was still immersed in the magical setting of the instance, while Gu Zhan had already taken a step forward and was walking ahead.
As students, they had a little money in their pockets.
They could take the bus.
However, the library was actually in the suburbs, and just getting there would take two hours.
Qin Yue said, "By the time we get there, it’ll be dark. The library won’t be closed, will it?"
The task they were studying together was on Monday, so it didn't seem like a big deal if they couldn't borrow books today.
Gu Zhan replied, "Let’s just go and take a look."
The two of them got on the bus, and after arriving at the location, they realized they still had to walk for another half an hour to reach the library entrance.
After all that trouble, the chubby guy was completely exhausted. When they finally arrived at the library, just as Qin Yue had said, it was closed.
Qin Yue collapsed at the library entrance, refusing to move a single step. He said, "I think this instance is just messing with us. Who builds a library in such a remote place?"
There wasn't a single building around; only this solitary white library stood there.
"This is just the wilderness…" Qin Yue complained.
Gu Zhan didn’t respond. While he took the opportunity to observe the surroundings, he noticed that the area around the library was barren, with a wide field of view. There was only one road—the one they had just come from.
The library's architecture was grand and minimalist, with three floors in total. The first floor had a reading area with many floor-to-ceiling windows, through which rows of bookshelves could be seen.
Strangely, there was no notice about the library's opening hours at the tightly closed entrance.
Gu Zhan walked around the library, but found no hints.
When he returned, Qin Yue was still sitting at the entrance.
"Did you find anything?"
Gu Zhan shook his head.
Qin Yue got up and said, "Let’s see if there’s a way to sneak in…"
Gu Zhan replied, "There’s only one door to the whole library, and it’s locked. We can’t get in."
"What about picking the lock?" Qin Yue persisted.
Gu Zhan brought him to the door for a closer look. It was a glass door that appeared to be about fifteen centimeters thick, strong enough to be bulletproof. The door was perfectly sealed, with no visible lock.
Gu Zhan said, "It must be an intelligent lock, fully automated."
Qin Yue replied, "…Does it need to be that high-tech?!"
The two stood at the door, staring blankly. After a while, two more players arrived after a long trek to the library entrance.
The four of them exchanged glances. Gu Zhan recognized them as the two people who had been following them and had been chased away by the old gatekeeper.
Qin Yue felt a bit guilty and avoided their gazes.
The newcomers walked past Gu Zhan and Qin Yue. After finding the library door closed, one of them began to investigate the surroundings, while the other stayed behind to talk to Gu Zhan. "Did it look like this when you got here?"
"Yeah," Gu Zhan nodded. This wasn’t something that needed to be kept a secret. He said, "We arrived about an hour and a half early."
The person, wearing a watch, glanced at the time and said, "It’s only 5:30. Even now, it shouldn’t be the library’s closing time…"
Soon, his companion returned, shaking his head as he reported nothing.
The man sighed. "What’s going on… You two look smart; let’s get acquainted? I’m An Heyan, and this is my friend, Xu Ke."
Xu Ke looked at Gu Zhan and said, "I know you."
Gu Zhan wasn’t surprised; after the previous instance's blackout incident, many people probably recognized him.
Qin Yue watched the two curiously, not knowing what profound topic they were discussing.
An Heyan said, "Let’s talk somewhere else; more people will definitely come by soon."
They walked around to the back of the library and found some steps to sit on.
"To be honest, the last instance was the first time I paid attention to you. I thought you were doomed," An Heyan started after sitting down.
But Xu Ke interjected, "He can’t possibly die."
"Why? Although it turned out your word was correct, how can you be so sure? You don’t even know him."
It seemed like this topic had been debated between the two countless times.
An Heyan initiated the conversation, and they began to go back and forth.
Calling it a "chat" didn’t seem quite right; it felt more like a sharp exchange.
Xu Ke said, "Because I’ve watched a lot of his live streams, and this sudden blackout situation isn’t the first time."
After that, he turned to Gu Zhan and asked, "Your way of clearing the instance must be different from others, right?"
Gu Zhan paused and said, "I don’t know how others clear it."
"Ugh." An Heyan was clearly unsatisfied with that answer, but with Qin Yue nearby and this being a live instance, they couldn’t discuss the details of that instance.
Xu Ke suddenly said, "Do you want to know the normal way to clear that instance? After we get out, add us as friends, and we can chat about it."
Gu Zhan paused and asked, "Do you have a guild?"
"Huh?" The topic shifted too quickly for them to react.
An Heyan asked, "A guild? Do you want to join one? We don’t have… those things have too many rules, and you have to contribute points. And we can clear instances ourselves; We don’t need anyone to carry us."
Gu Zhan clarified, "No, it’s just that my friend started a guild. If you want to chat with me, you can join our guild."
He wasn’t particularly interested in the real clearing method of the last instance, but then he thought that Yu Yezhou must be struggling to recruit people, and he could consider it as helping him out.
An Heyan and Xu Ke exchanged a glance, and An Heyan said, “I thought someone like you, who prefers to go solo, wouldn’t have a guild.”
Gu Zhan raised an eyebrow.
In this world, anything is possible.
Although, given his personality, it was indeed easy for him to be a lone wolf.
But the fact that he had a guild was also true.
“Alright, let’s go check out your guild then.” An Heyan was a smart person and understood what Gu Zhan meant; he readily agreed.
While they were chatting, Qin Yue was listening nearby, looking quite astonished.
After a moment, he exclaimed, “You all seem pretty impressive.”
Only then did An Heyan remember that Gu Zhan had a novice pendant. He glanced back at him and couldn’t help but say, “Why are you still bringing a newbie?”
Qin Yue’s eyes widened in surprise, “I’m not a newbie!”
Gu Zhan replied, “He can sneak out to skip class.”
“Ah…” An Heyan paused for a moment, then chuckled, “Alright, I guess I was narrow-minded; newbies have their own strengths too.”
Qin Yue protested, “I really am not a newbie!”
Gu Zhan added, “He’s quite proactive, and I didn’t bother to refuse.”
An Heyan: “…”
The group chatted aimlessly for a while. An Heyan glanced at his watch and said, “It’s almost six-thirty. The summer buses here stop running at seven. Should we head back?”
The sky was starting to darken, and no one else had come by.
It seemed they were the only ones in such a rush to skip class and come to the library.
Gu Zhan stood up, “Let’s head back.”
Their current personas were students; staying out too late could lead to unforeseen issues.
“Let’s go.” The other three stood up one after another.
On the way back, Qin Yue incredulously asked, “Is this really how our first day ends?”
An Heyan squinted and smiled, “What else do you want to experience, kid?”
Qin Yue: “…”
This person clearly wasn’t planning to have a serious conversation with him. Frustrated, he turned away and asked Gu Zhan, “Bro, can’t we try doing something else? What if the library opens at midnight?”
Gu Zhan replied, “The teacher assigned us to come borrow books over the weekend. Everyone should be in no hurry. We can come earlier tomorrow; the library won’t be closed for long.”
Gu Zhan ignored him after that, making Qin Yue even more frustrated as he slumped back into his seat.
The bus arrived at their stop quickly. An Heyan and Xu Ke got off together since their homes were adjacent.
Gu Zhan and Qin Yue stayed on for another stop before getting off.
At the intersection, the two were about to part ways and head home.
Qin Yue appeared anxious, looking around as if danger lurked everywhere.
He asked Gu Zhan nervously, “Bro, can’t we just stay over at one of our houses? Can’t we stay in a hotel? Do we really have to go home?”
Gu Zhan replied calmly, “You’re a high school student now. How would you convince your parents to let you stay out overnight?”
Qin Yue: “…”
He anxiously scratched his head.
Gu Zhan reassured him, “Don’t worry. As long as you stick to your persona, nothing will happen. This place’s copy won’t kill people for no reason.”
The main quest’s description was all about school life, not family.
Gu Zhan even thought that the copy probably wouldn’t arrange for them to have “families.”
Maybe when they returned home and opened the door, time would fast forward.
Many copies would fast forward time and compress space in unimportant places.
“Fine, let’s split here then.” Qin Yue finally gave in to Gu Zhan’s reasoning and walked ahead obediently.
Though he kept glancing back, Gu Zhan felt no attachment.
Following his “memory,” he returned to his doorstep.
He pushed open the door to find a man and a woman already home. They asked Gu Zhan about his day at school and kindly sent him off to do his homework. At dinner, they invited him out to eat.
Until the evening rest, nothing unexpected happened.
It seemed the focus of this copy wasn’t here.
The next morning at seven o’clock, the four of them met at the bus stop as arranged.
Gu Zhan mentioned that the teacher had asked him to borrow books from the library, and he had come out without any trouble; his parents hadn’t asked too many questions.
When they reached their destination, they checked in with the other three, and everyone’s experiences were similar.
Qin Yue said, “I can barely remember what I ate for dinner last night.”
Gu Zhan replied, “That’s normal.”
“That’s just the fast forward of unimportant details in the copy,” An Heyan explained. “Just think of it as the technique of the narrative in a movie or TV show.”
Qin Yue worriedly clutched his stomach, “So, does that mean what I ate still counts? I won’t end up starving to death because I had several meals of fast-forwarded food, right?”
An Heyan had never considered this question and burst out laughing.
This newbie was amusing, always focusing on things they no longer worried about.
While they were chatting, the bus arrived.
---
They took the bus and quickly arrived at the library.
What puzzled them was that the library was still closed that day.
An Heyan couldn’t help but say, “Could it be that this library doesn’t open on weekends?”
Xu Ke replied, “That’s impossible; if that were the case, the teacher wouldn’t have asked us to come borrow books on the weekend.”
Eventually, the four decided to wait at the entrance a bit longer.
But they waited until noon, and the library still didn’t open.
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