r18novel Chapter 74 Qian Lili's Message Card
Chapter 74 Qian Lili's Message Card
The entire reading room fell silent for a second or two, as if the air had frozen.
Immediately, screams erupted like snapped strings!
The crowd surged backward in panic, the sounds of tables and chairs being knocked over, cries, and heavy footsteps mingling together.
Amidst the chaos, two school workers dressed in gray uniforms and matching hats appeared silently on the scene like ghosts.
Their faces were obscured by the shadows cast by their hat brims.
One of them, wielding a huge iron hook stained with dark red, thrust it into Clara's right shoulder blade without hesitation!
With a muffled "plop," the hook tip instantly pierced through below her collarbone.
Then, as if dragging an insignificant piece of cargo, he pulled on the iron hook and yanked Clara's body directly off the chair.
The heavy body slammed onto the floor and was then dragged mercilessly, leaving a long, sticky, and glaring trail of blood.
Another school worker silently followed behind, quickly cleaning up the bloodstains with a peculiar tool.
Wherever it went, the bloodstains disappeared completely, as if they had been wiped away with a rag, as if nothing had ever happened.
The commotion gradually subsided, but the faint smell of blood in the air and the bone-chilling fear lingered for a long time.
Su Wan stood up and reassured everyone in a clear and calm voice:
"Everyone, stay calm, don't get distracted, and continue your studies."
Suppressing their fear and discomfort, everyone sat back down, their eyes blankly fixed on their books.
Lin Feng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the cruel scene, and refocused his gaze on the homework in front of him.
Time passed slowly in the deathly silence and oppression.
About half an hour later, Lin Feng suddenly felt a sharp, unbearable cramping pain in his lower abdomen, followed by a strong urge to defecate.
"Oh no..." Lin Feng's heart sank.
He endured it for a moment, feeling his sphincter muscles undergoing a severe test.
Can't wait any longer.
He took a deep breath, grabbed a napkin, and stood up from his seat.
Su Wan, who was standing next to her, immediately turned her head and asked in a low voice, "Where are you going?"
Lin Feng awkwardly pointed in the direction of the restroom and lowered his voice, "My stomach isn't feeling well, I need to go to the restroom."
Su Wan gave a soft "Oh," then suddenly asked a seemingly random question:
Have you seen the oil painting of the first principal in the lobby downstairs?
Lin Feng was taken aback by the abrupt question. The cramping pain in his abdomen left him no time to think, and he nodded subconsciously.
"Yes, I saw it when I came in."
Su Wan was not satisfied with this answer and pressed further, "Did you look at it carefully? Every single detail?"
Lin Feng frowned slightly, suppressing his discomfort, and quickly recalled the oil painting titled "The Watcher" in his mind.
The first principal in the painting has a solemn face and deep eyes. He stands sideways, leaning on an ornate cane with his right hand and holding an open silver pocket watch with the hands pointing precisely to three o'clock.
The blurry, distorted humanoid shadow in the background, and the motto on the bronze plaque below—
The real danger lies not in what you see, but in what you turn your back on.
……
It seems there's nothing that's been overlooked.
He nodded affirmatively: "You looked at it quite carefully, remembering the composition, the details, and even the line of text below."
Hearing him say that, Su Wan's tense shoulders seemed to relax almost imperceptibly. She nodded, her tone returning to its usual calm: "That's alright then, go ahead. Come back soon."
Although Lin Feng was full of doubts and didn't know why Su Wan suddenly cared about an oil painting at this moment, the churning feeling in his stomach didn't allow him to think too much about it.
He gave a mumbled reply, squeezed his legs together, and quickly left his seat.
Stepping out of the reading room, the corridor outside seemed even colder and gloomier than before.
The lights were a stark white, reflecting a cold halo onto the gleaming marble floor.
Following the signs, he quickly walked towards the restroom.
As you turn a corner, a "Wall of Alumni Messages" covered with colorful sticky notes comes into view.
Lin Feng had no intention of paying attention and was about to walk straight past when his peripheral vision suddenly froze on the wall as if nailed down—
There, a familiar name was prominently displayed: Qian Lili.
His steps suddenly stopped.
Qian Lili?!
Could it be the senior from my department who made that mysterious phone call?
The intense desire to explore temporarily overcame the discomfort in my stomach.
He moved closer to the wall and quickly approached the message card signed "Qian Lili".
The card is pale yellow with slightly curled edges, and looks quite old.
The handwriting above is neat and legible; it reads:
Studying in the library is incredibly efficient, and the atmosphere is fantastic!
[By the way, I have to rave about the lockers here! They're a lifesaver for students, providing a lot of temporary storage. I hope all my juniors will discover this amazing feature!]
The signature was "Qian Lili," but there was no date.
"Storage locker..." Lin Feng muttered the three words to himself, his eyes narrowing.
He remembered clearly that there were two rows of dark gray metal lockers neatly arranged against the wall outside the reading room.
What was Qian Lili trying to imply by leaving this message?
Or perhaps she hid something in the locker?
Is it a clue, or... another trap?
Countless thoughts flooded Lin Feng's mind in an instant, but at that moment, his intestines spasmed violently again, the pain almost making him bend over.
He cursed under his breath, "Now is not the time to delve into this!"
He forcibly looked away from the wall of messages filled with unknowns, clutched his stomach, and rushed to the restroom at the end of the corridor at an even faster pace.
When he arrived at the bathroom door, he found that instead of the usual door, there was a heavy, floor-length black curtain.
The curtain was made of some unknown material, but it felt unusually cold and slippery to the touch, like the skin of some cold-blooded animal.
In the very center of the curtain, a strange pattern was embroidered with dark red thread—
It was a distorted symbol, resembling both an eye and a vortex; staring at it for too long could make one feel uneasy.
Lin Feng had no time to study the meaning of the pattern at the moment, as the urge in his stomach had reached its limit.
He held his breath, yanked open the cold black curtain, and slipped inside.
However, the scene before him left him dumbfounded.
The layout of the bathroom was completely unexpected!
It is not the common design with urinals on one side and cubicles on the other. Looking around, there are no urinals at all in the entire space!
Instead, there were six identical dark brown wooden partition doors.
They are not arranged in a straight line, but rather in a standard hexagonal pattern, surrounding the area in the very center of the room.
In the center of that hexagon stood a solitary white ceramic washbasin, with a gleaming mirror above it, reflecting Lin Feng's pale and bewildered face.
"What... what kind of design is this?!" Lin Feng felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
He immediately remembered Library Rule 6:
The library restrooms are safe, but please do not enter the innermost stalls.