Chapter 048 Three Sentences Fill the World-weary Villain with Hope (Thirteen)
Although today's task was weird and strange, in order to get the full attendance award, Chen Yunli and Ming Shaotu still worked hard and picked up the mop and broom to clean the library roughly as required.
As for why it is rough rather than detailed, we should ask the people who built the library why they made it so big.
Time always flies when there is something to do. When Chen Yunli straightened up from the heavy task of mopping the floor, it was already after noon.
After wiping the table and emptying the dirty water, Ming Shaotu returned, wiped his hands with a wet towel, and asked, "What would you like for lunch, Mr. Chen? Someone brought me lunch, and I asked him to bring an extra portion so you don't have to order extra."
"Family? Or friends?" Chen Yunli raised the back of his hand to wipe the sweat off his face. "I'm not picky about food, as long as it tastes good."
"We're... friends, I guess." Ming Shaotu's expression faltered for a moment. He lowered his head and sent a message, then added, "I asked him to bring two servings of black pepper beef fillet rice and black tea."
"Okay, thank you."
As Chen Yunli spoke, he stuffed the cleaning tools into two buckets and put them back into the utility room.
In just a few seconds, when he came out of the storage room, he felt that the feeling of the library had completely changed.
Perhaps it was a problem with the lighting. The previous library was vast and deep, dark and silent, and the old and gloomy atmosphere that came from nowhere always made Chen Yunli feel weird and cold.
This is a psychological induction and there is no corresponding physical feedback. At least for Chen Yunli, it does not feel uncomfortable.
But their existence is like the thin dust on the cover of a book, the black veil covering his eyes, and the shadow covering his heart. They are clearly invisible and traceless, but they are like a thorn in his flesh and cannot be shaken off. They are constantly trying to evoke his negative emotions and drag him into some hidden abyss.
But now, all those feelings are gone.
The floor was shiny and bright, reflecting the bright light of the incandescent lamp, like the snow on the Cangshan Mountain covering every inch of shadow and drowning all hidden darkness.
Chen Yunli stood there, feeling the clean windows and bright, spaciousness. A breeze, carrying the crisp scent of pine and cypress, blew in, brushing against the hard corners of books, flipping soft old newspapers, and brushing against the ancient and ornate murals on the walls.
It’s really... relaxing and refreshing.
"It's nice to clean the library occasionally. The atmosphere has completely changed. It feels more like a library than before." Chen Yunli said with a smile.
Ming Shaotu was leaning on the table. Hearing this, he looked up at him with a faint smile in his eyes.
He pondered for a moment, took off his glasses, and pushed his already sharp "inspiration" to the highest level. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and a cool breeze and warm, strong white light poured into his eyes, almost instantly making him lose his six senses, as if he were a bug wrapped in resin, immersed in this warm white world.
Then, the white parted like a sea of fog, and a slender body stood up behind the fog. Its scales were snow-white, its eyes were red-gold, and there was a diamond-shaped crystal seal between its eyebrows, emitting a golden-red glow like lava.
It was a giant silver python so huge that it was beyond human imagination. Its gaze penetrated the fog and briefly rested on Ming Shaotu, but did not cause any further changes in his body.
Thus, he was able to briefly catch a glimpse of the giant python's movements—it turned and swam towards a human figure that appeared and disappeared in the depths of the fog. It spat at him and then lowered its raised head, as if saluting gracefully.
The next second, all the scenes disappeared like sand in front of Ming Shaotu's eyes, only the figure gradually became clear and merged with Chen Yunli's figure.
"Mr. Ming?" Chen Yunli saw that his eyes were unfocused and waved his hand in front of him in confusion. "What's wrong? Did you see something again?"
"...No." Ming Shaotu put away his glasses, no longer having to wear them. "You're right, we should clean the library regularly, even if it's just sweeping the floor."
Chen Yunli nodded, then shook his head: "Just sweeping the floor is a big job. After all, the library is so huge."
Ming Shaotu smiled slightly and was about to say something when he suddenly looked towards the door. A car was parked at the foot of the library steps. Someone got out of the car, jumping and waving at him.
"Shao Tu! Shao Tu! I'm here to bring you food! Since you won't let me in, you have to come out and get it!"
Ning Bufan's voice came from afar.
"Wow!" Chen Yunli raised the corner of his mouth, and the smile of watching the show appeared naturally like a knee-jerk reflex, "So he was the one who brought you food."
Ming Shaotu rubbed his eyebrows, as if feeling ashamed, but he took a step forward honestly.
Chen Yunli followed him out with a smile, and saw Ming Shaotu standing at the top of the stairs. He waved to Ning Bufan and said, "Come up, you can enter the library now."
"Huh?" Chen Yunli was stunned. "This isn't..."
Is it dangerous to ordinary people?
As if knowing what he wanted to ask, Ming Shaotu nodded: "It was before, but not anymore. Besides, with you here, Mr. Chen, it won't be a problem."
Chen Yunli scratched his head, feeling like an invincible god who had strayed into the world of Cthulhu and had done many earth-shaking things without realizing it.
However, as long as the result is good, the process doesn’t matter.
While Chen Yunli was lost in thought, Ning Bufan had already run up the stairs carrying two...three meals. He had changed his flashy suit into casual clothes that looked simple but were actually full of design. His hair was styled exquisitely and handsomely, and he even wore an earring on his right ear which was not covered by his hair.
Personal image management is invincible.
Chen Yunli was amused as he watched Ning Bufan hand him a box lunch, then walk up to Ming Shaotu and ask him if he would like to have lunch with him.
Ming Shaotu subconsciously wanted to refuse, but when the words came to his lips he swallowed them back as if he remembered something, and replaced them with a casual "Okay".
Ning Bufan had clearly prepared himself for rejection, but when he heard the sudden "OK," he froze in silence, muttering, "What good day is today... I'm going to buy a lottery ticket tonight. Will I win first prize?"
Ming Shaotu couldn't help laughing. He stretched out his index finger to hook the strap on the lunch box packaging bag, and walked in with the dazed boy.
Chen Yunli looked at the backs of the two people. The sun was shining and the breeze was gentle. It was really good weather.
Chen Wenjian poked his head out of his pocket, and seeing him smile unconsciously, he also curled up his cat lips.
…
"See you tomorrow, Mr. Chen."
"See you tomorrow."
In the evening, after saying goodbye to Ming Shaotu at the intersection, Chen Yunli walked home with Chen Wenjian in his arms. Passing the entrance to Masheng Lane, his steps paused for an inexplicable moment, and he turned to look into the lane.
It was already dark, the setting sun was dim, and there was a long, narrow line of clouds in the sky, slanting and spreading above the alley. Its edges were dyed with the golden color of the setting sun, shining on the alley with extremely low visibility, like a sharp blade suppressing the shadows. Even though the sun was setting and its remaining power was about to fade, there was still a heavy sense of oppression.
A sudden impulse drove Chen Yunli to step into the alley, but the next moment, a biting chill from behind and a hairy claw in front of him stopped him.
He came to his senses and found himself only one step away from entering the Hemp Rope Alley. The shadow of the collapsed brick wall was right at his toes.
"Don't go in, Yunli." Chen Wenjian said, "It's very dangerous in there, even more dangerous than last night."
“…”
Chen Yunli took a few steps back: "What do you mean?"
"I don't know, it's just a feeling." Chen Wenjian closed his eyes and tilted his face slightly upwards, the fur on his face swaying slowly in the wind. "Something's missing inside. It might be something originally used to suppress the evil god. Now the evil god's aura is stronger. Although it hasn't spread out yet, it's condensed into a ball, almost becoming solid."
"Something is missing..." Chen Yunli frowned, "Could it be that I accidentally took it out?"
He still hasn't figured out what his ability is, let alone how to use it freely. When he asked the system, the system only said that his ability originally belonged to him, but refused to reveal any more specific information.
What ability does he have that originally belongs to him and can suppress the evil gods and the so-called "true nature" of this world?
Chen Yunli thought about it over and over again, and always felt that the answer was about to come out, but he always lacked that flash of enlightenment.
"If you took that thing out of Masheng Lane and kept it with you, I wouldn't be able to feel it. Only you discovered it yourself. Other people... or non-humans can feel it at the same time." Chen Wenjian rubbed his fingers.
Oh, it turns out that this san value stabilizer and evil god barrier also has a shielding function.
Chen Yunli thought about it and took a few steps back. The chill on his back slowly subsided.
Then in the next moment, it comes back again.
But this time it is no longer cold in the physical sense, but a psychological thriller.
"who!"
Chen Yunli suddenly turned around and swept his eyes across the street behind him. He was shocked to find that the pedestrians and vehicles on the street had disappeared without a trace. The world had turned into a dead and empty city. The fading afterglow of dusk was gradually approaching from all directions, like the rising sun, spreading over the concrete ground and the steel jungle, dim and silent, desolate and deep.
"Chen Wenjian! Look..."
Chen Yunli subconsciously looked into his arms, but saw that his arms were empty, and Chen Wenjian had disappeared!
His bent arm trembled slightly, he exhaled lightly, lowered his hand, and looked at the ground with his eyes lowered. The dim light from behind cast a shadow that was getting longer and longer in front of him.
That is not his shadow, but that of the "person" behind him.
Chen Yunli turned around and suddenly met eyes with the figure floating in the air.
It was a figure wrapped in the golden light of the setting sun. His face could not be seen clearly, but he was tall. The edges of his outline were covered with a layer of faint light, and tiny particles of light peeled off from it, like fireflies in summer, surrounding him and Chen Yunli.
"Who are you……"
Chen Yunli looked at the creature in front of him and strangely did not feel fear or nervousness. He just felt as if his heart was torn open, and some strong and complex emotions slowly flowed out from it.
The figure raised his right hand, his knuckles long and sharp, and slowly stretched it towards Chen Yunli.
Just when Chen Yunli thought that His fingertips were about to land on his face, the five "fingers" deviated to the side at a slight angle, and five rays of light shot out like sharp arrows, passing by Chen Yunli, sinking into the street behind him, and penetrating every building in their path.
Then the figure clenched his five fingers, and a crisp shattering sound resounded through the heavens and earth, so sharp that it almost pierced Chen Yunli's eardrums.
As far as the eye could see, everything, including the space in front of him, was shattering, peeling off, and collapsing, revealing a dark, pale, and scarlet background.
Chen Yunli suddenly realized something - the "reality" and "true nature" of the world that Ming Shaotu and the others had been talking about might be the scene that appeared before him at this moment.
But what he saw was not clear. There were only colorful and blended blocks of color, like an overturned paint palette, with irregularly shaped stains everywhere, and no formed... thing that could be called a living thing or object.
But it’s not so much that he can’t see it, it’s more that the world doesn’t want him to see it.
Even though someone has already unveiled the "curtain" for him, the world still finds ways to hide itself from him.
"Danger……"
After an unknown amount of time, the blocks of color and the figures gradually faded from Chen Yunli's retina. He heard a voice that passed through his hearing and echoed directly in his heart. He couldn't tell whether it was a man or a woman, and it didn't have any emotion.
"You are not him... dangerous..."
"You... are too dangerous..."
The echo was endless, repeating the same sentence over and over again. The main point was that Chen Yunli was a dangerous existence. It was okay once or twice, but hearing it too much was really annoying.
Chen Yunli couldn't help but frown: "Is it annoying? I heard it."
"Bang--"
The moment he finished speaking, Chen Yunli once again heard the sharp and piercing sound of glass shattering, which filled the entire world.
Then he was distracted and returned to his original position. The sounds of car horns and crowds filled his ears. The evening breeze blew through his hair, rubbing against his earlobes, causing a gentle tingling sensation.
Chen Yunli looked ahead intently. It was so dark in Masheng Alley that he couldn't see his hand in front of him. The narrow golden cloud in the sky had also dissipated.
"Chen Wenjian, what just happened...Chen Wenjian?"
Chen Yunli subconsciously looked at Chen Wenjian, but found that there was still no trace of the black cat in his arms. Alertness instantly filled his heart.
What's going on? Where's the cat?
Hasn't he returned to reality yet?
"Yun Li."
A gentle and low voice sounded behind him. Chen Yunli quickly turned around and was unexpectedly met with those familiar eyes in the bustling world.
At the junction of night and dusk, the street lights and the light of the setting sun are like two intertwined swords, meeting beside the man and under his feet, and extending in opposite directions at this point.
A young man with black hair and blue eyes stood in the wind, his face youthful and delicate, his long hair cascading down from his shoulders, blown up by the wind and brushing across Chen Yunli's cheek.
Chen Yunli widened his eyes: "You...how..."
Chen Wenjian frowned slightly, stepped forward and held his hand: "Yun Li, don't you know what just happened?"
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