The mainland of the Daxia Federal Empire, Guangnan Governorate, and Jiangcheng City.
A coastal industrial city.
It is world-famous for its automobile manufacturing and finishing.
At night, it was almost eleven o'clock.
In a small alley in the east of Jiangcheng City, Lingpingan looked at the alley where people were gradually disappearing, and sighed leisurely: "Why is this business getting worse and worse!"
"At least I was able to earn some utility bills last month..."
“I haven’t even made any money on utility bills this month!”
Lingpingan is the owner of this bookstore called Qiyuan.
The bookstore opened in a small alley next to the industrial park in the east of the city, and its business was once booming.
But since Lingpingan took over, the business has gone downhill inexplicably.
At first I could still make some money, then gradually I could only make some living expenses, and now I haven't made a single business in a month.
It seems that since the arrival of Lingpingan, the presence of bookstores in this area has become increasingly rare.
In the beginning, people would still remember that there was a bookstore called Qiyuan, which had a lot of books and was affordable, and they would often come here to buy books.
Slowly, people seem to forget this matter.
Many people don't seem to know that there is a bookstore just in the alley in front of their homes.
What is strange is that the neighbors nearby are all very familiar with Lingpingan.
I say hello and ask for help every day.
But when it came time to buy the book, I forgot about it.
Fortunately, the store is our own.
Therefore, there is no overhead. Lingpingan can also write some online novels and earn some royalties.
In addition, the federal empire center has subsidies and preferential policies for college students to start their own businesses, so life can still go on.
It was the lack of business that troubled Lingpingan.
Pulling down the rolling shutter, Lingpingan turned around and looked at his bookstore.
The area is not large, only thirty square meters.
There is an old cashier counter at the door. Next to an old model cash register, there is an old computer.
In the window behind the counter, there is a framed photo that looks like a family portrait.
It's just that the photo frame is too old, so the photos are a little yellowed and blurry, making it difficult to see clearly.
After passing the counter, there are rows of neatly arranged bookshelves.
Nameplates classify all books into categories.
There are popular science categories, teaching aids, and various reference books and best-sellers.
There is just no business.
"No matter what happens this month, I have to sell one book..." Lingpingan thought: "Otherwise, it will be a failure!"
While thinking this way, Lingpingan couldn't help but take out his mobile phone.
"If you have wine today, you will be drunk today, and tomorrow you will be worried about tomorrow..."
"Why do you think so much!"
"Play the game first!"
Playing games is his biggest hobby.
But I don’t know if he was careless or for some reason. In short, his cell phone clicked and fell to the ground.
Lingpingan quickly went to pick it up.
But his counter was a very old-fashioned counter, and the space under the counter was very narrow, so when he picked up his mobile phone, his head hit something on the bottom of the table under the counter.
Click!
A gray thing fell in front of Lingpingan's eyes.
It was a round ball the size of a thumb.
It seems to be made of wood, with some indescribable paint painted on the surface, which looks a bit weird.
Lingpingan took it and sat on the chair. He felt that this thing must have been stuck under the table of the counter a long time ago.
"Is this...my parents placed it under the counter? Or was it placed under the counter by my aunt?" Lingpingan asked murmured to himself.
This bookstore is a legacy left by his parents.
However, he was only ten years old when his parents passed away, so his aunt was taking care of this store and his parents' other inheritance.
It wasn't until he graduated from college that his aunt returned these things to him.
With this question in mind, Lingpingan held the ball and after careful observation, he found that its appearance seemed to be a closed pupil.
Moreover, this thing seems to be able to be twisted open!
He tried to gently turn the ball, twisting it in one direction.
Something surprised him.
As he twisted, the pupils of his seemingly closed eyes began to open slowly.
"This design... is wonderful!" Lingpingan couldn't help but praise.
There was a click.
As he twisted it away, a certain part inside the ball seemed to be activated.
An extremely sharp knife stretched out from the inside of the ball. With a bang, it cut Lingping's finger, took away a drop of blood, and then retracted it!
"Ouch!" Lingpingan screamed in pain, quickly held his hands and started blowing.
But when he wasn't paying attention, the ball automatically opened in all directions, revealing what was hidden inside.
A piece of yellowed paper made of unknown material.
When Lingpingan discovered it, the note had already stuck to his hand, as if it was stuck with glue.
He curiously opened the note and found an inexplicable poem written in official script inside.
He couldn't help but read it out softly: "Idiot and foolishness are hidden in the gentle countryside, and I am blind in my dreams. Today I know that I am who I am, and I can cross all the worlds in a small boat!"
"What?" Lingpingan couldn't help complaining: "Who wrote this poem that has no rhyme, no beauty, and no logic?"
"No wonder you have to hide it!"
But he wasn't done with his complaints yet.
I felt my eyes go dark, and my eyes sank into darkness.
The whole person was sitting on the counter stupidly.
The paper in my hand burned without fire.
Soon it turned into little ashes and fell on him.
At this time, wolves were crying and ghosts howling inside and outside the bookstore.
The nameless mist overflowed from his body and filled the inside and outside of the bookstore.
There seemed to be something crawling on the wall of the bookstore, inside the poster.
The rustling murmurs are like the whispers of galaxies against the background of the starry sky.
Tentacle-like things crawled from the ground to the bookshelves of the bookstore, and then got into the books one after another.
They secrete a liquid as thick as asphalt, dragging all the bookshelves into an invisible abyss.
Then the things began to whisper.
A language that exudes terror and taboo.
Thick fog spreads from outside the bookstore, blocking all visions and cutting off the entire bookstore from the world.
An evil eye appeared on the glass door of the bookstore.
He slowly opened it, taking in everything in the bookstore, making everything quiet, and shielding all abnormalities, and then slowly disappeared into the door. The bookstore returned to normal, and everything was no different from before.
Except for the inexplicable fog that rose outside the door.
And Lingpingan also woke up from his sluggish state.
He seemed to have forgotten everything that had just happened.
"What did I just do?" he asked himself, "Why can't I remember it?"
"Forget it...forget it..." After thinking for a while, he couldn't remember it anymore, so he picked up his phone and said, "Let's play games!"
…………………………
Holding the short blade tightly in his hand, Han Li suddenly turned his head and stabbed the knife into the dark air.
"Ah...!" A monster with a human body and a ghost head appeared from the darkness, dark green blood flowing down drop by drop.
Han Li kicked it in the chest, then suddenly pulled out the short blade, poured spiritual power into it, and slashed forward.
A dazzling light burst out from the short blade.
A monster with two wings on its back struggled in the light
Han Li walked up to it expressionlessly and whispered: "Rest in peace!"
The short blade suddenly pierced its heart, and the monster turned into ashes.
With the temporary death of the monster, the battle of hunting demons also came to a temporary end.
But Hanli knew that they would appear again.
You can’t kill all the monsters!
Putting the short blade back into the scabbard at his waist, Han Li squatted on the ground, breathing heavily.
Under the black combat uniform, the skin and flesh were cracking bit by bit.
She took a medicine bottle from her waist, poured out a few green pills, and swallowed them.
The cracked flesh healed bit by bit, and the pain gradually went away.
However, Han Limingbai knew that one day, his body would collapse due to using too much spiritual power.
By then, she will also become a member of the monsters and become the nightmare of this world.
This is the fate of the witcher.
It is also the sadness of the world.
She raised her head and saw the thick fog shrouding everything in the streets ahead.
In the fog, there was only one light that flickered on and off.
Han Li stood up, tightly held the short blade at his waist, and stepped into the mist.
This is the mission of the witcher - to detect unknowns and slay monsters.
Along the fog, Hanli kept moving forward, heading towards the place where the light was.
Everything in front is so quiet.
Only the light in the mist guided her forward.
Soon, Han Li walked to where the light was.
That was the light coming from inside a closed door.
Han Li raised his head and looked at the building in front of him. It was an old building with only three floors.
On the mottled brick wall, covered with dust, a signboard came into view: "Qiyuan Bookstore?"
She frowned slightly: "Isn't there a bookstore named Qiyuan in Donglin City?"
As one of the few remaining demon hunters in Donglin City, Han Li remembers the name of every shop in the city.
What's more, this bookstore appeared in such a strange fog.
No matter how she looked at it, she felt the need to investigate.
So, she walked forward and knocked gently on the store door: "Is anyone there?"
………………………………
"Is anyone here?" He had just finished playing a game and was hesitating whether to play another game when Lingpingan heard a female voice coming from outside the store.
"Who?" Lingpingan stood up, walked to the door, and pulled up the rolling shutter.
Then he saw a tall woman wearing a strange tight-fitting black dress, a felt hat, and a black silk-like mask on her face standing at his door.
"Role play?" Lingpingan thought to himself, but didn't take it to heart.
but……
"Why is it foggy outside?" Lingpingan was confused. He clearly remembered that before he closed the door, although the alley outside was as quiet as before, with no one in sight, the street lights were still on, and the moonlight tonight
It's beautiful and the moon is huge.
How long has it been!
There was a thick fog outside, and even the light of the street lights was invisible.
But he didn't pay much attention to it. After all, the weather was getting more and more unusual these days.
It often rains for half a month at a time and dries for two months at a time.
"Excuse me..." Lingpingan looked at the woman in front of him and asked, "Are you here to buy books?"
…………………………
Han Li looked at the man in front of him warily.
His body looked very thin and ordinary, as if he could be strangled with one finger.
but……
His face was shrouded in a layer of fog that was impossible to see through, with only a pair of metal-framed glasses exposed.
Under the two thin lenses, there is a pair of dark eyes, and some kind of heart-stopping fire flickers in them.
This made her swallow her saliva.
The tension and uneasiness in my heart reached its peak.
Fortunately, Han Li is a hunter who walks in danger and terror, and has seen countless terrifying and nerve-wracking things in the world.
So she knew that when faced with a situation like this that had never been recorded before, she should be calm and avoid irritating the being in front of her as much as possible.
She took a deep breath, tried to calm herself down, tried to use the calmest tone, and asked: "Do you sell books here?"
She carefully held her eyes and looked behind the man.
All she saw in her eyes was a space as endless, dark and silent as an abyss.
Everything around seemed to be shrouded in some uneasy atmosphere.
There seemed to be a pair of strange eyes, peeping in the darkness, looking at her with malicious intent.
What kind of bookstore is this?
It is clearly a hell in a nightmare, the devil's lair!
Han Li's face turned pale in an instant, and tension and uneasiness immediately filled her body and mind.
……………………
Lingpingan looked at the woman in front of him strangely.
Somewhat difficult to understand.
"Why is she so nervous?"
"It's just buying a book, how big of a deal is it? It's as neurotic as being a thief..."
Looking at her dress again, Lingpingan laughed. He probably understood, so he laughed: "Guest, I have the book you want..."
"Do you want to see it?"
In recent years, with the popularity of various animations and e-sports, role-playing has gradually become popular.
Many lovely ladies have made a lot of money from this.
However, there are still many parents who always feel that playing role-playing is immoral and not doing their job properly.
The woman in front of me is probably the kind of person who loves role-playing, but is opposed by her parents, so she can only learn to dress up secretly, right?
This can be seen from her outfit.
Although it looked like a deliberate effort, in fact, even a layman like Lingpingan could see through it.
There is no essence!
……………………
Han Li raised his head and looked at the blurry face in front of him, as if all his secrets had been revealed.
She swallowed hard and nodded cautiously.
………………
"Guest, please wait!" Lingpingan turned around and walked towards the bookshelf.
Walking to the end of the bookshelf, he carefully selected a book from a row of reference books.
He looked at the title of the book carefully.
"Secrets of Role Playing", this is a very authoritative role-playing book in the Federation. It has many beautiful illustrations. More importantly, it also has excellent tutorials, which is very suitable for novices.
Holding the book, Lingpingan walked to the guest and handed the book over: "Guest, you can take a look... This book should be very suitable for your current needs..."
…………………………
Han Li looked helplessly at the man with a vague face, turned around and walked towards a dark abyss.
As he walked into the abyss, Han Li saw something like asphalt crawling in the abyss, and then the man's figure completely disappeared from sight.
Han Li was trying to seize this opportunity to escape from this terrifying and strange place.
However, as soon as she turned around, she saw a pair of twisted evil eyes waiting for her on the door where she came from.
Suddenly, she didn't even dare to move.
I could only stand there stupidly.
A moment later, Han Li saw the man's figure walking out of the darkness.
In his hand, he also held an evil red book.
The cover of the book was blood red, as if blood was surging from it. In a daze, Han Li saw things like blood vessels densely covered in it.
He handed the book over directly, with the same easy-going tone as a real bookstore owner: "Guest, you can take a look... This book should be very suitable for your current needs..."
But when Han Li heard it, he only felt that this was an order.
If she doesn't look... she will die.
Han Li had no choice but to reach out and take the crimson book, which was definitely not a good thing. Her palms immediately felt the scalding temperature.
There seemed to be something like magma flowing inside that book.
She trembled, lowered her head, and carefully looked at the cover of the book.
Countless gibberish suddenly filled her brain.
Therefore, she also knew the name of this book - "Inspection Report on the Lower Abyss".
A book containing forbidden knowledge.
With trembling hands, Han Li opened the cover of the book. Black worms squirmed among the pages, forming strange and terrifying words, outlining a picture that was almost taboo.
The murmurs from the nightmares of hell echo in my ears.
Put those terrible words and taboo pictures into Han Li's brain.
So, Han Li knew what kind of knowledge those terrible words and taboo pictures contained?
This is a book that records forbidden knowledge about more than a hundred kinds of ghosts and evil spirits.
The book not only records taboo knowledge about ghosts and evil spirits, but also contains knowledge on how to deprive them of their power, make potions, and take them in special ways.
…………………………………………
Lingpingan looked at the girl in front of him who was trembling and about to cry because he finally got the professional book he wanted, and he was very happy in his heart.
Everyone has hobbies.
For example, he always likes to write some online novels. Although he has always been on the street, he has not made any money and is often laughed at by people who know about it.
But, if you like it, you just like it.
As long as it does not affect others and does not hinder social order and good morals, Lingpingan believes that outsiders should not point fingers at other people's personal interests and hobbies.
After this experience, he gained some empathy and learned to feel the same way.
So, he walked to the water dispenser, poured a glass of water, handed it to the woman in black, and said softly: "How about it, do you like it?"
…………………………
Han Li found it difficult to describe his mood at the moment.
Fear?
fear?
Happy?
happiness?
she does not know.
But one thing she knew very well, the book she was holding now was the hope of the world.
The hope of bringing the deformed world back on track after the catastrophe.
The hope of returning the world to the golden age spoken of by my father and grandfather.
One without ghosts or evil spirits.
Girls her age can freely study, socialize and fall in love on a university campus.
Not like this now.
A world that is falling apart and all people are living in fear and nightmare.
And people like her have to bear the last hope of mankind.
Walking in terror and danger, bearing the consequences of distortion that may occur anytime and anywhere.
"How's it going? Do you like it?" A soft male voice came to my ears, and a glass of water was handed to me.
Han Li raised his head and saw the flames rising in the dark eyes of the man with a vague face.
She quickly faced the other person and bowed deeply: "Thank you, I like this book very much!"
"Excuse me..." Han Li raised his head and asked sincerely: "What price should I pay to get it?"
……………………
Lingpingan smiled and looked at the girl in front of him who was full of the second grade aura.
"It's so deep into the play!" he thought to himself.
But he didn't mean to ridicule or ridicule him at all.
Young people, who hasn’t passed the second grade in high school?
Therefore, he just quoted the price honestly: "Chenghui, fifty-five yuan!"
A very fair price.
…………………………………………
Han Li's mood was extremely tense.
She knows that there is nothing in this world that does not require a price.
Just like a demon hunter, in order to hunt ghosts and evil spirits, he has to seal a ghost or evil spirit in his body.
Use their power to drive away ghosts and evil spirits.
But the result is often that the ghosts sealed in the body break out.
The witcher becomes humanity's nightmare.
But this book, this forbidden book, records the forbidden knowledge of more than a hundred kinds of ghosts and evil spirits, as well as ways to deprive them of their power and then completely eliminate them.
Therefore, Han Li didn't know whether he could afford the price.
In anxiety, Han Li heard the other party's answer: "Chenghui, fifty-five yuan..."
Hearing this answer, Han Li frowned.
Fifty-five yuan?
money?
impossible!
She looked at the person in front of her and the abyss-like void behind him.
Does such an existence need a low-level currency like money?
I'm afraid, it means something.
So, what does he mean by fifty-five yuan?
Han Li couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought about it.
But she really wanted to get the book in her hands.
So, she blushed, gritted her teeth, and reluctantly took off the short blade she carried with her from her waist, connected to the scabbard.
Put it in front of that person and bow deeply: "Can I exchange this with you for this book??"
…………………………………………
Lingpingan looked at the short blade handed over by the girl.
This is an extremely exquisitely crafted knife. The scabbard is wrapped in genuine leather, and the handle is inlaid with yellow-yellow-green stones.
"This is not good..." Lingpingan said softly.
This short blade should be the opponent's true love.
Lingpingan understands that role-playing enthusiasts are passionate about the equipment of some anime, film, and game characters.
Therefore, he guessed that this short blade should be the equipment of a character that the girl in front of him liked very much.
He couldn't do such a thing as winning someone's love.
Besides, what's the use of this kind of role-playing thing?
As a decoration?
"Please accept it!" The girl bowed deeply.
She seemed to think for a while, took out a bag of tea-like things from her pocket, and handed it over: "This is the most valuable thing I have now besides this spirit blade!"
Listening to this, Lingpingan suddenly felt some pity.
"Poor child..." He couldn't help but imagine a person who loved role-playing, but because of his parents' objections, he ran away from home and wandered the streets late at night. He finally found professional books, but because he was short of money, he had to give up what he thought he had.
The most precious things are pledged to the children.
After thinking about it, Lingpingan finally accepted what the other party handed him.
"I will keep these two things for you first..." Lingpingan tried his best to use the gentlest tone and said to the other party: "You can take the book with you first..."
"Go home early..."
"My family should be looking for you..."
Han Li raised his head and looked at the man with a vague face. The fire in his eyes was extinguishing little by little.
"Is this a farewell?" she thought to herself.
So, he bowed deeply, grabbed the book in his hand hard, and turned around fearfully.
The evil eye at the door has disappeared without a trace.
Han Li took a deep breath and walked forward bravely.
……………………………………………………
Watching the girl in black go out.
Lingpingan put the short blade pledged by the other party and the bag of tea leaves on the counter and locked it.
Then he walked to the rolling shutter door and looked outside.
There was still a thick fog, and I could only vaguely see the girl in black walking in the fog.
After thinking about it, it was so late and the fog was so heavy.
The girl looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old at most.
I am somewhat worried in my heart - although the public security in Jiangcheng City has always been very good.
But for such a girl, walking alone in such a dense fog is not very safe after all. What if she misses the mark and falls into some sewer?
After thinking about it, Lingpingan picked up a flashlight from the counter and turned it on. A strong light immediately came out of the flashlight.
So, he picked up the flashlight and chased after it.
"Guest...guest..."
…………………………
When Han Li walked out of the weird bookstore door, he felt relieved immediately.
Then, she carefully walked back in the direction she came from.
Both hands held the book in his hands tightly.
Even though it was hot, it made her hands feel a little raw.
The surrounding fog is getting thicker and thicker.
This made her a little confused about the direction and couldn't see clearly in front of her. She could only rely on her memory to move forward in the direction she came from.
At this time, a voice suddenly came from behind.
"Guest...guest..."
Han Li turned around and saw the weirdo in the bookstore running up to her with something in his hand.
His face was still blurry and looked even weirder in the thick fog.
In the eye sockets under the two lenses, flames burned like never before, as bright as the sun.
"You must not be able to see the direction in such a thick fog..." The weirdo put the thing in his hand into Han Li's hand: "Take this and go home early!"
Hanli took the things.
That's a flashlight.
Very common and very common.
Han Li took it and shined it forward. The dense fog seemed to become thinner when illuminated by the electric light.
Let her finally know the way back.
"So, this is the certificate to leave this place?" Han Li thought, then turned back to the figure that was gradually moving away in the thick fog, and bowed deeply: "Thank you!"
