With two more people around and significant progress in the station mission, Yu Xi finally had an appetite.
She took out a variety of dishes: boxed spicy chicken wings, original fried chicken, steaming fresh bone broth noodles, freshly made preserved egg and lean at porridge, silky milk tea, roasted squab, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, tata fruit pancakes, vegetable and fruit salad, fresh mint fruit, boxed jackfruit, boxed cherry tomatoes, and boxed green grapes…
In addition to the main dishes, she had taken an especially large amount of vegetables and fruits, neatly stacking the boxes in front of Xing Min.
Xing Min: …
Lin Wu: ?
Noticing Lin Wu’s expression, Yu Xi chuckled. “It’s fine. He can finish it.”
Xing Min: …
As the three of them sat around the bar counter for dinner, night had also fallen where Ya Tong and Yu Zhenzhen were. According to the rules of their ti-layer world, once night fell, they had to enter an enclosed indoor space with intact doors and windows; otherwise, their SAN value would continuously drop.
They had also determined their exact ti-layer: Light 2045.4.13, which was roughly three to four years earlier than Yu Xi and Lin Wu’s current tiline.
Although almost no one ventured outside during the day in their world, there were still resident students present. After searching and asking around, they managed to gather so information. They learned that this period marked the early stages of the academy’s strange occurrences—this was also the ti recorded in the diary Lin Wu had read, where the incidents were described as rumors spread by witnesses.
Light Academy had harbored a religious order for years: the Illuminati.
Despite its na, the organization secretly engaged in dark and evil practices. They worshiped blood and darkness, secretly offering sacrifices to an ancient malevolent spirit.
This entity had been sealed and suppressed centuries ago, and rumors suggested that its sealing site lay beneath the academy.
The Illuminati had long sought to fully release the spirit, planning for years to do so. Over ti, they had treated the academy as a sacrificial altar, covertly carrying out rituals, leading to the periodic disappearance of students.
As grievances and vengeful spirits accumulated, supernatural phenona began manifesting more frequently. However, the Illuminati had kept the situation under control, preventing the news from spreading.
But after years of bloodshed and countless wrongful deaths, the souls of the victims remained trapped within the academy, unable to leave. Paranormal events beca increasingly frequent, leading to even more innocent student deaths.
The real outbreak of these incidents occurred in the tiline where Lin Wu had previously been.
As for why the station had since fractured into different ti-layer worlds, why each ti-layer now existed independently, and why they were trapped in an eternal loop of specific tifras, no one knew yet.
Fortunately, they didn’t need to unravel the entire mystery. As long as they kept their SAN value from dropping to zero and found the hidden station within 22 days, they could leave.
Yu Zhenzhen: “We found more puzzle pieces today, but even with the ones we already have, we still can’t assemble a complete ‘key’ to cross ti layers.”
“There are other ti layers beyond just ours… Scattered pieces are missing from each one.”
She said this knowing that Lin Wu had already assembled a complete key and gone to Yu Xi’s location.
She could easily imagine how Lin Wu had spent his ti while missing—he must have been tirelessly completing missions to collect puzzle fragnts, managing to gather enough rewards in such a short period.
Yu Xi: “No rush. There are three of us here now, so the danger level has significantly decreased. You two should keep looking for pieces too. Let’s wait until Xi Yuan has so news before making any moves.”
Hearing Yu Xi ntion a new teammate, Yu Zhenzhen couldn’t help but ask:
Yu Zhenzhen: “Wu-ge! Wu-ge! Is the new teammate handso or not?”
Before Lin Wu could respond, Xi Yuan, who had been lurking silently, suddenly spoke up in the chat:
Xi Yuan: “Hah. Can you not be so shallow?”
Yu Zhenzhen: “How is it shallow? I’m just asking. Didn’t you used to say you were super handso? What, are you afraid the new guy is even better looking than you?”
Xi Yuan: “Hah.”
Yu Zhenzhen: “Ah-ha! I hit the mark! You’re the shallow one, not !”
Xi Yuan: “…I don’t have ti for this nonsense. I’m busy investigating the hidden station.”
After a few more jabs from Yu Zhenzhen, Xi Yuan stopped responding.
anwhile, Yu Xi received a private ssage from him.
Xi Yuan: “I’m still investigating the hidden station, but since you all think it’s most likely in my ti layer, why don’t you co over sooner?”
Xi Yuan: “I haven’t seen you in days… kind of miss you.”
Xi Yuan: “Didn’t Lin Wu collect a bunch of puzzle pieces? Do any of them correspond to my layer? My place is a lot safer than that dark, creepy world of yours. Just co over already.”
…
Every ti Yu Xi thought about replying, he would send another ssage, making her unsure of where to even start.
Yu Xi: “Stop ssing around. I’m eating.”
Xi Yuan: “I don’t even have food or supplies here. I’m surviving on nutrient fluids…”
Yu Xi: “…”
Xi Yuan: “What’s with the dots?”
Yu Xi: “…”
Xi Yuan: “Hmph, abandoning the old for the new…”
Yu Xi: “Quit it. I’ve already adapted to the rules of this ti-layer and know how to earn rewards. Even if I do co over, it won’t be for a few more days—I need to collect more puzzle pieces. There are Easter egg fragnts in this station, and I might need to head to Ya Tong’s place as well. Your area is currently safe, and food and water aren’t an issue. Just hold tight for now.”
Xi Yuan: “Got it. Just be careful.”
All his earlier ssages were just him whining, wanting to chat with her for a bit and play the victim to see if he could—no, not trick—persuade her into coming over sooner.
After all, this was a station mission. He wasn’t so immature as to actually make trouble for her.
Besides, he was fully confident in his appearance and physique.
After all, he had been created to please his owner. As a companion-type synthetic being, his voice, looks, and mannerisms were all designed to be nearly flawless—perfection without fault.
He highly doubted that so random new recruit could truly outshine him.
After dinner, Yu Xi began sorting through the rewards she had obtained while clearing the area for Lin Wu to cross the ti layer.
Perhaps due to Xing Min’s ability boost, her attacks had beco incredibly effective. In just over ten minutes, she had collected five puzzle pieces, a portion of Life-Sustaining Coffee, a pile of instant canned food and bottled water, a
50 cubic ter expansion for her storage space, and an amulet nad Bane of Wraiths.
This amulet, when activated, could be applied either to a person or an object. If used on a person, it would keep them “impervious to all poisons” for three days—essentially preventing SAN loss. If applied to an object—such as her Tang blade—it would allow the weapon to deal damage to wraiths for the sa three-day period.
The amulet wasn’t a one-ti-use item; it could be used three tis, though each activation had a 24-hour cooldown.
However, the Easter egg puzzle piece she was hoping for still hadn’t appeared.
But, as she had told Xi Yuan, she had already adapted to the rules of this ti-layer world and knew how to earn rewards. Over the next few days, she planned to bring Xing Min and Lin Wu along to sweep through every corner of the library.
That night, as the three of them rested in the treehouse, Xing Min sensed an entity approaching once again. Yu Xi was the first to jump out of bed.
She imdiately activated Bane of Wraiths and had Xing Min cover her in a thin layer of pale golden light before charging out of the treehouse to confront the incoming darkness head-on.
Five minutes later, the once-ferocious wraiths were shrieking and fleeing into the shadows.
If wraiths could speak, their wails would probably translate to sothing like:
“AAAHHH—this woman is crazy! She’s staying up late just to wait for us! The mont she sees us, she doesn’t even say a word—just starts slashing! AAAAAHHH—why is she more ruthless than we are?! Who’s the real ghost here?!”
Yu Xi shook off the blood from her Tang blade, pulled out a towel, and wiped it clean before turning back toward the treehouse.
Inside, Xing Min was waiting. Seeing her step out of the elevator, he finally withdrew the shield surrounding her.
Lin Wu was also awake—having been startled by the wraiths’ screams. He had thought they were preparing for a large-scale attack, but when he rushed to the glass wall to check, he realized… it was just Yu Xi beating them senseless.
The effect of the enhanced Tang blade was excellent. Yu Xi was in high spirits and didn’t feel sleepy anymore. She waved her hand at the other two, signaling that everything was under control and they could go back to sleep.
Then, she sat at the bar, took out a cup of hot cocoa and a cloud pastry, and happily checked her new rewards on her phone.
Over the next few days, Yu Xi systematically visited every haunted zone in the library, guided by her previous mories of SAN loss.
The girl in the fourth-floor restroom mirror, who loved gouging out her own eyeballs. The boy with impossibly long hair, who dangled from the chandelier on the sixth floor. The shriveled figures in the burned-out zone on the second floor, who pressed themselves against the walls—charred bodies whose genders were indistinguishable…
Once Yu Xi figured out their fixed locations, she started hunting them one by one.
She soon discovered that each ti the library reset, the defeated wraiths would respawn at full health.
So, she switched tactics. Instead of doing all the fighting herself, she let Xing Min and Lin Wu take turns clearing them.
Sure enough, after the ti reset, the sa enemies could be fard again for new rewards.
Their relentless farming eventually enraged the wraiths. One night, a full-scale riot broke out in the library.
The wraiths howled in fury—so piercing through the floor and hanging upside-down from the ceiling, so crawling headfirst down the walls, so contorting their bodies like insects and wriggling across the ground, so clawing open their own chests and pulling out their own entrails…
There were so many of them that even the library building itself trembled.
Caught off guard, Yu Xi and her team were unprepared. Their SAN values instantly dropped below ten.
Xing Min, who was usually the most relaxed of them, furrowed his brow slightly. He quickly shielded all three of them, then glanced at the raging wraiths.
“All of this… just because she was farming them?” he asked.
The wraiths shrieked in rage, completely ignoring him.
Xing Min shook his head. Countless thin, blade-like rays of light erged from his hands.
Monts later, golden fragnts of light surged in all directions—so plunging downward, so shooting skyward, and even more streaking like arrows into the surrounding darkness.
A chorus of agonized screams followed. The riot dissolved into chaos as the wraiths scattered and fled.
Silence returned.
Lin Wu stared in shock as Yu Xi briskly walked over to Xing Min, half-extending a hand toward him.
“Dizzy?” she asked. “No dizziness?”
Xing Min chuckled lightly and reached out to press a hand on her head. “Not dizzy.”
A day later, Yu Zhenzhen and Ya Tong, still busy running around their own ti-layer searching for mission triggers, received a ssage from Lin Wu.
Lin Wu: “Just a suggestion—if you’ve already assembled the key to Dark 2048.2.18, I recomnd stopping by for a few days.”
Yu Zhenzhen: “??????”
Lin Wu: “It’s just that… the reward system here is much more direct and efficient.”
Ya Tong: “Understood. On our way.”
An hour later, the dark and silent library, which had been lifeless for years, welcod its fourth and fifth visitors.
Since the library had just undergone a ti reset, the spatial disturbance once again attracted a large number of wraiths.
After Xing Min’s large-scale attack the previous day, he had accumulated plenty of rewards and decided to take a break for the next few days. He would only step in to provide shields when necessary.
Thus, when Yu Zhenzhen and Ya Tong stepped out of the ti vortex, they saw the scene before them split into two distinct perspectives.
In the foreground, Lin Wu and Yu Xi were engaged in battle, clearing out the creatures clinging to the walls and floor.
In the background, a man sat calmly in a camping chair, sipping coffee.
Yu Zhenzhen barely had ti to mutter, “Wow, he’s so good-looking—” before she realized her SAN was steadily dropping.
Xing Min noticed their arrival and imdiately raised a hand. A stream of pale golden light shot toward them, forming a thin protective shield around their bodies.
This light shield was familiar—it was a standard barrier. But unlike most, it could directly block wraith attacks, halting their SAN loss.
Yu Xi turned to them and gestured for them to join the fight. “Make it quick. These large-scale riots don’t happen often. Once we clear this wave, we might have to wait until the next reset before they have the energy to attack again.”
Ya Tong: “…”
Yu Zhenzhen: “…”
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