The Whispering Puzzle of the Deep Sea Library
The bronze door of the Deep Sea Library slowly opened amidst the slime, and a scent of cod liver oil and old newspapers filled the air. Xiaodou's tentacles wrapped around the mechanical cat's energy chip (a foreshadowing of the third volume), and the chip's faint light illuminated the books floating in the slime—each with a blinking squid tentacles on its cover.
"Remember, don't look directly at the title page." The director (the school idol) raised the elemental arrow of the Western fantasy chapter (foreshadowing the ninth volume), the arrow condensed into a light shield to prevent the collapse of sanity. "These books will carve fear into your retinas."
Before he could finish his words, Investigator A's gas mask was knocked off by the slime. He stared at the cover of a book, his pupils instantly fissured like octopus suckers: "I... saw an indescribable delicacy... It's French fries with Cthulhu sauce..."
Noise-blocking bubble and tentacle translator
Xiaodou hurriedly released sweet dream energy, forming a rainbow-colored, noise-blocking bubble around them. The school arc's radio gymnastics music blared from within the bubble, successfully drowning out the whispers of the books. The secret-keeper, the cat Nightmare, dangled from the ceiling, its tail wrapped in the beeswax chains from the Ancient Words arc (a foreshadowing from Volume 8): "Foolish humans, communicate in tentacle language and you won't be contaminated."
"Gululu Cthulhu, what a nice weather today?" Xiaodou tried to slap the ground with his tentacles, imitating the rhythm of Cthulhu language.
Nightmare rolled his eyes (his cat eyes turned into salmon shapes): "You're talking about 'I got a coffee stain on my tail'. Listen, the core puzzle of the library is in 'The Recipe of the God of Gluttony'. Find it and you can stop the spread of hunger."
Fear Grammar and Cheese Triggers
As everyone was groping among the slime bookshelves, Xiaodou suddenly tripped over a book called "How to Devour the Stars Gracefully". Her tentacles accidentally pressed on the cover - the book spewed out spaghetti made of fear, almost blinding her eyes.
"Be careful!" The director swung his sword to shred the spaghetti. "These books will materialize based on your fears!"
Xiaodou suddenly had an idea. He gnawed on the slime on the edge of the bookshelf and spat out the translation chip from the Interstellar chapter (a foreshadowing of the second volume). After the chip was implanted in the tentacles, it could actually transform fear sentences into menus:
- Investigator B's fear: "I'm afraid of being swallowed by the deep sea" → "Recommended dish: Giant Squid Pizza (with cheese shreds)"
- The Chief's Fear: "I'm afraid I won't be able to protect the people who matter to me" → "Hidden Menu: Guardian's Special Coffee (with Triple Espresso Courage)"
The Ancient God's Code Cracked with Cheese
Deep in the library, everyone discovered Cthulhu's bubble text carved into the stone wall: "Only fear can open my stomach." Investigator C tremblingly pulled out his notebook: "According to the Cthulhu Language Primer, this sentence needs to be read backwards to decipher..."
"Lulala Cthulhu, the stomach is about to attack and I will scare you!" Just as he finished reading, the stone wall suddenly spurted out green gastric acid mucus, almost drowning him.
Xiaodou shook his head and sighed, then used his tentacles to lift the can of interstellar nutrients he had taken from the director (a foreshadowing in Volume 11), and shouted at the stone wall: "I want to eat cheese!"
Miraculously, the stone wall slowly cracked, revealing the fragments of the God of Gluttony's recipe book hidden within. The words on the fragments automatically translated to: "Only by mixing fear and hope can I quench my hunger."
The Nightmare suddenly jumped out from behind the bookshelf, its claws stepping on a secret letter written in tentacle slime: "This is the new plan of the Ancient God's followers... Wait, why does this look like a recipe?"
Xiaodou took a closer look and saw the following words on the letter:
"Step one: capture the dreaming mouse; step two: marinate it with fear for three days; step three: coat it in breadcrumbs and fry it until golden brown—the recipe for the Cult of Cthulhu's special octopus balls."
"So they've been looking for me as their food?" Xiaodou's tentacles twisted into dough sticks in anger. "Next time we meet, I'm going to blow their pot into sweet dream marshmallows!"
The director held his forehead helplessly, and suddenly noticed the mechanical cat's paw print on the back of the torn recipe page (a foreshadowing of the third volume): "Don't worry about that for now, take a look at the star map on the torn page - it points to a certain coordinate in the real world..."
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