novelhk Chapter 4 Tracing Back
Chapter 4 Tracing Back
Just now, during the meeting between the two parties, not only did Lizzie run into an acquaintance, but Tian Tian also ran into one.
It was Zeng Xiang; he was one of the people in their organization.
An older man who is in charge of organizing cybersecurity work, and also responsible for collecting the dreams encountered by survivors in the brain.
After making eye contact with Zeng Xiang, Tian Tian did not say anything, and both chose to pretend they did not know each other.
For Tian Tian and Zeng Xiang, who have experienced many dreams, no matter how friendly their teammates seem, they cannot be completely trusted.
We still need to take precautions; we must never easily reveal our true identity.
After the two sides separated, the prison guards found Lizzie and her three companions and led them into the building.
Unlike the previous route into the exercise yard, this time they walked straight along the iron fence separating male and female prisoners, and after walking about 500 meters, they arrived at a slightly rusty iron gate.
The four stood in front of the door and looked to the right, seeing that the men's prison had the same setup.
As a beam of green light from the scanning device above the gate swept across the female prison guard's face, the heavy iron gate slowly lifted upwards.
Behind the iron gate is a corridor that intersects with the corridor on the men's prison side at the second door at the end.
Upon entering, the restaurant's exit is right in front of you.
After everyone had entered, the iron gate slowly closed.
When everyone turned around, they were surprised to find that the color inside the iron gate was the same as the wall.
Once it was completely closed, it fit perfectly against the wall; no wonder I didn't notice it when I came out this morning.
Standing on either side of the iron gate are the locked doors we saw this morning, and you can see the stairs leading up through the gaps in the railings.
Following the prison guards up to the second floor, the empty corridor echoed with the sound of their hurried footsteps, and the dim incandescent light made the four of them nervous.
There are three rooms: a library and two reading rooms.
"Your task is to finish organizing the books in the morning. I will come to inspect the work at 1 p.m. If it is not up to standard, your salary will be deducted!"
We'll save your lunch for you, but whether you can eat it depends on your work situation. Do you understand?
The female prison guard was very indifferent.
"Understood."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
............
The four stood at the entrance of the library, remaining silent for a long time.
Lizzie was the first to break the silence:
"Qingxuan, open the door. Don't be afraid, I'm here with you, nothing will happen. If I notice anything unusual, I can save you immediately, trust me."
Lizzie looked at the slightly chubby girl closest to the door; the girl's name was Pang Qingxuan.
Her fingers trembled as she gently pushed up her glasses.
She slowly turned her head and glanced at the other two. Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her and they seemed to agree with Lizzie's words, she didn't argue anymore.
Pang Qingxuan was visiting the Brain Domain for the first time. She was a bright and cheerful college student. She was introverted and didn't like to talk. She had never been very brave since childhood and had never seen much of the world.
From the moment she entered this strange place until now, Lizzie has taken good care of her.
This made her develop a strong dependence on Lizzie, and at the same time, she trusted Lizzie very much.
Pang Qingxuan turned around, no longer hesitating, took a deep breath, and gently opened the door.
She opened the door just a crack before quickly slamming it shut again. Cold sweat instantly broke out on her forehead.
Sensing something was wrong, Lizzie quickly went to the door and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Something's not right inside the door!" Pang Qingxuan stammered, her expression contorted.
"I'll do it."
Seeing that there was nothing wrong when she opened the door, Lizzie decided to do it herself.
The door was pushed open halfway, and a cacophony of noise poured out along with it.
Lizzie's eyes widened as she saw people searching for books, tidying up, and chatting and joking around in the library, creating a lively scene.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Lizzie gently closed the door again.
The clamor abruptly ceased the moment the door closed, and a deathly silence once again enveloped the four of them.
Lizzie frowned slightly, but without pausing, she pushed the door open again, pulled Pang Qingxuan to her side, and went inside.
Seeing this, Tian Tian, who was standing behind, and the middle-aged woman beside her also went in. Tian Tian, who was the last to enter, turned her head and glanced at the quiet corridor. After finding nothing amiss, she gently closed the door.
The group walked inside together, and soon they were surprised to find that the people in the room seemed not to have noticed their presence at all, and everyone's actions and words were very strange.
Take the person organizing the bookshelves, for example; he's walking backwards.
She would put the books on the reading table back on the bookshelf backwards, and then pull the trolley backwards to the back of the bookshelf... repeating this process.
The people in this space seem to have had their time rewound.
Lizzie walked over to a group of prisoners who were fooling around and chatting. She raised her hand and waved it in front of one of their faces, but there was no reaction.
She withdrew her hand and stood quietly to the side for a while, and soon discovered that what these people were saying was also reversed, as if it were playing backwards.
"what!"
A scream pulled Lizzie back to reality from her reverie. The instant the scream was uttered, the noise in the room ceased, and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked toward the source of the sound.
This wasn't the most nerve-wracking thing for the four of them. What was even more unsettling was that the faces of the people in the room began to change. The prisoners, who had just been full of life, now looked lifeless.
The color began to fade from their faces, revealing a layer of deathly gray.
Even worse, the skin and flesh begin to peel off, hanging precariously on the yellowed bones.
Time seemed to stand still as the three companions stared in horror at the person who had spoken—Pang Qingxuan.
At this moment, Pang Qingxuan covered the back of her head with her hand, not daring to breathe.
Just now, as she walked across the reading table, a book flew towards the back of her head and hit her hard, causing Pang Qingxuan to cry out in pain.
Her heart pounded in her chest like a drumbeat. Pang Qingxuan lowered her head and glanced around out of the corner of her eye. She saw a prisoner sitting diagonally opposite her.
The person made a throwing motion, but because the book was upside down, it hit them from behind.
At that moment, the man was looking in her direction with a puzzled expression.
Immediately afterwards, the man slowly stood up. As he stood up, the flesh on his legs seemed to melt and flow out from his trouser legs. He dragged the flesh on the ground and walked stiffly toward Pang Qingxuan.
Unable to suppress her fear any longer, Pang Qingxuan screamed and backed away, but tripped over a book that had fallen to the ground and landed on her bottom.
As she watched the prisoner slowly approaching her, Pang Qingxuan was filled with despair and lost her mind, babbling incoherently for mercy and to beg for help.
He slowly bent down, his bones cracking as he bent, and reached out his rotting, pus-covered hand to grab Pang Qingxuan.
But just as Pang Qingxuan closed her eyes in despair, the pain she had imagined did not come.
The man picked up the book that had fallen to the ground. The instant the book was picked up, time began to flow again. The four also realized that, while picking up the book, the prisoner's hand had passed through Pang Qingxuan's leg.
The prisoners' bodies gradually returned to normal.
Seeing that everything was back to normal, the four of them breathed a sigh of relief. No one dared to make a sound. After exchanging glances, Lizzie pointed to the door, signaling everyone to leave.