In Virtual Reality 68 ☆ The Library of Eternal Life (2/10)

“Dong~!”

The elevator bell chimed, jolting the person waiting outside.
Their grip on the delivery box trembled as they watched the doors creak open, sure they were malfunctioning.
But instead, a petite figure inside, leaving the person puzzled.

In the claustrophobic space, the girl breathed heavily and cast a fleeting glance at the stranger.
Her rigid smile was as false as her composure.
“Are you going up?” she asked, voice brittle.

The stranger hesitated before stepping inside the elevator with the delivery box.
Once they had regained their bearings, they deliberately positioned themselves at a distance from the other occupant.

Xu Jin Yi studied the stranger and inquired, “Which floor?”

“The top.
The top floor” came the hesitant reply.

“Very well,” she said, pressing the button for the stranger's floor.
She remained fixated on the elevator's languorous ascent, never once taking her eyes off the display.
Upon reaching her floor, she hesitated before wordlessly stepping out.

The elevator doors clamped shut behind her, and the carriage resumed its ascent.
Xu Jin Yi stood with her back to the elevator, her right hand lifted to examine her knuckles.
The skin was scrapped, mottled in red, and unsettlingly grotesque.
She had overexerted herself, feeling the pain radiating through her arm.
Despite her trembling, she clutched her phone in a vice-like grip.

Xu Jin Yi found herself in bewilderment, unable to explain what had just happened.
It felt like a dream, surreal and disjointed.
As far as she could recall, she had entered the elevator and pressed the floor button, waiting for it to descend to her destination.
But then, something inexplicable occurred.

Her lifeless and black phone moments ago suddenly lit up and played a video on the gaming website.
Xu Jin Yi was taken aback, unsure of what to make of it.

What was even stranger was that the elevator had no network coverage.
Yet, she could browse the gaming website and watch a video for nearly three minutes.
She had never experienced anything like it before.

Adding to the oddity of the situation was the fact that there was nothing else in the elevator with her.
Yet, a red balloon and a clown appeared.
Xu Jin Yi was startled by their sudden appearance.
Her instincts kicked in as she punched the clown, only to feel the cold, hard surface of the elevator's interior wall.

Everything felt like an illusion as if it were all a figment of her imagination.
The balloon and the clown had vanished without a trace.
Xu Jin Yi was left feeling disoriented and confused.

She rebooted her phone in the hopes of regaining some clarity.
As she waited for it to restart, she pondered over what had just happened, wondering when it all began.
It was as though the elevator ride had transported her to an alternate reality.

It occurred to her that the balloon and the clown were reminiscent of the NPC character she had seen in the «Elevator Safety Instructions», which only added to the already bizarre situation.

Xu Jin Yi's temple throbbed with pain as she tried to understand it all.
She finally managed to unlock her door, but her phone's screen was unresponsive, despite the muffled sound it made when she tapped it.
It was frozen again.

After a few moments of frustration, the interface spasmodically moved up and down, and the gaming website's personal interface appeared on the screen.
The flood of messages overwhelmed her.
Xu Jin Yi slumped onto her sofa, sliding them open with her unskilled left hand.

The gaming forum was abuzz with a new topic of discussion, and no one dared to mention the banned game that had caused so much controversy.
Xu Jin Yi furrowed her brow and opened one of the explosive posts, curious about the new game that had taken the top spot on the hot list.

【”The Library” is Back! Discussing the Masterpiece that Embodies the Wisdom of All Players on the Gaming Website!】【Hot!!】

“The Library”? Xu Jin Yi wondered what kind of game that was and why it was back.
She scrolled down and saw several posts about a new game called «The Library of Eternal Life,» which had been created by players, including veterans such as “I'm Ye Sir's Dog” and “Murphy Refunds!” and assisted by players from other gaming websites.
The game had officially launched its game version that day and was available for free to all players.

【”Awesome! It's the players' own creation!”】

【”Awesome! It's the work of Le Zi Ren!”】

【”Awesome! It's the work of NPC who's out of luck!”】

【”Huh?”】

【”So, is this a strategy guide or a game? I don't understand.”】

【”Just go try it out.
It's free, after all.
Don't miss out.”】

【”Freeloading is the best!”】

Xu Jin Yi was perplexed by the enthusiastic responses to the new game.
The posts read like official announcements, but they weren't.
She scrolled down further and saw replies like “Thank you, Old Dog,” making her feel like an outsider out of the loop.

Xu Jin Yi:?

She refreshed the page several times, hoping to find information about the game that would help her understand the fuss.
Eventually, she came across a post that caught her attention.

【”I'm back from the battlefield, and here's some advice for new players in the dark.
If you're stuck or want to know the background stories of some games on the gaming website, try downloading this game.
If you've been killed by an NPC in other games, you can try this one.
Because this game can actually kill NPCs!!! When I first saw the introduction of the game page, I thought it was a joke! Listen to me; go download it now! (Screaming.emoji) (Twisted.
emoji) (Dark Crawling.
emoji)】

The post intrigued Xu Jin Yi, and she wondered if the game was as good as people were saying.
She decided to download it and try it, hoping to find out what made «The Library of Eternal Life» so special.

【Old me: meekly scared in the horror Game.
Current me: killing recklessly in the Library!】

After a few page refreshes, the comments section became consumed by “sinister crawling,” Even a handful of arrogant individuals dared to kiss up to the leading producer of «The Library of Eternal Life».
It was like someone's trousers had suddenly vanished, and they were storming into the streets, eager for a brawl.

Xu Jin Yi shifted her position, feeling the stiffness in her shoulders loosened.
Her trembling right hand found peace again on the lovely, plush couch.
She located «The Library of Eternal Life» in the search bar.
She discovered that it had not been created by the official production team of the gaming website.

The game's first release was by an individual under the username “I am Ye Sir's dog,” and many others aided in spreading it.

During the website's inception, Xu Jin Yi had seen this username years ago.
The user's moniker wasn't as absurd back then.
The player utilized the forum as a notepad and created a new post each time they downloaded a game to play briefly to criticize it.
As the criticisms piled up, more and more players came to watch.
As the gaming website grew, more and more players found commonality with this user.

However, after Xu Jin Yi semi-retired from the internet a few years ago, she paid little attention to this user's activities.

Did she expect this outcome?

She gazed at the username, “I am Ye Sir's dog”, and mused that the world was full of peculiarities.
But since “The Library” included various game strategies and comprehensive story backgrounds, perhaps there would be clues to the new game «The Red Staircase»?

Xu Jin Yi entertained some suspicions in her mind.

While her device continued to download the new game, she returned to the search bar.
She searched for the username “Yu Zheng Yi” again.

There was indeed an administrator under that name, but the other party had not posted or uploaded any videos.
The gaming website forum merely labelled this administrator as the most straightforward “gaming website official administrator.”

After some contemplation, Xu Jin Yi paid closer attention to this person and sent a few more messages to the administrator.
However, after waiting for several minutes without receiving a reply, she didn't cling to hope any longer.
The moment she closed the interface, her device notified her that the new game had completed downloading.

**

«The Library of Eternal Life»

Black curtains adorned with white Simplified Chinese characters hung before Xu Jin Yi.
The small text below hinted at the game's capacity to switch languages.
With a tear, the curtain fell to reveal the game.
Unexpectedly, her first move was to reduce the brightness.

Like a flame, the sun beamed through the glass window, leaving Xu Jin Yi momentarily stunned.
She squinted her eyes and rapidly found the settings to lower the brightness.
The glass door reflected her skin-modelled face.
From the right angle, she could capture her beauty in a photograph.
Even a simple direct gaze was enough to highlight her well-proportioned features.

Attempting a seductive smile, Xu Jin Yi was disappointed with the response.
Her avatar's faint smile paled compared to the original skin modelling's performance in the bizarre video.

Chin in hand, Xu Jin Yi stepped forward.
The sliding doors parted and allowed her entry.
Compared to other games on the network, «The Library of Eternal Life» boasted impressive graphics and sound effects.
Crisp bird songs filled her ears, and she saw birds soaring outside the window.
Based on the reflection details from the glass door, Xu Jin Yi gave the game a primary rating of three stars.

However…

The introduction positioned it as a horror game, yet the world was too bright.
In horror games, players could dominate with nuclear flashlights and enough firepower to damage ghosts and monsters.
They could chat with dogs by the roadside, even when confronting ghosts.

Did «The Library of Eternal Life» also have hostile NPCs in such bright surroundings? Xu Jin Yi arrived at the library's front desk following the roadside sign.
On the brown wooden counter lay a small triangular ID card with a photo of her default avatar.

Xu Jin Yi bowed her head and discovered a pass dangling from her chest.
Gingerly, she picked up the tag and scrutinized it, her eyes tracing the outline of the face, which was still the same as the default avatar model.
The words «The Library of Eternal Life» caught her attention, printed boldly above her new identity: 【Librarian】.