Ch89 - Brain Invasion

Translator-Rhapsodite

Editor-CherryApple, Proofreader-adjective 

Li Yinhang, “… How do you know this?”

Nan Zhou replied, “Knowing human anatomy is important for painting.”

Human anatomy books were mandatory reading for cartoonists, so he bought the Xinhua Bookstore’s set package in [Never Town].

Of course, Nan Zhou’s choice of a swift and easy assault maneuver including neck twisting was also learned from books. 

Li Yinhang rolled up her sleeve and asked, “Tell me, what do I need to do?”

She just needed the simplest instructions.

Nan Zhou, “Go through the book and look for clues. When you see tin soldiers, run faster.”

Li Yinhang looked at the fifteen complete tin soldiers standing still against the wall and holding a bayonet and musket, dressed like the one-legged tin soldier. She summoned up her courage and assertively said, “No problem.”

Nan Zhou turned to Jiang Fang, “Brother Fang, what about you?”

At this time, a new game of chess had begun.

The white chess piece opened the game first.

The withered corpse holding the black chess piece appeared to be hesitant to make a move. His eyes, which were like mercury, were rigid. He stared at the chessboard for a minute before moving a living piece among half of the dead pieces. 

Jiang Fang, “… Me? I will watch him play chess.”

Without waiting for the one-legged tin soldier to speak, Jiang Fang topped off with a perfect smile and interrupted, “You just don’t welcome cheating by helping to find pieces, not unwelcome chess watchers, right?”

The one-legged tin soldier’s mouth opened and closed for a while. Without saying anything, he continued to stand on tiptoe and watch the chess game.

Jiang Fang said to Nan Zhou, “Go.” 

Li Yinhang hesitated, “Are you really not going with us?”

Jiang Fang crossed his arms and looked at the labyrinth of books behind him, “So many books, what difference does it make if there is one less of me or one more of me?”

Nan Zhou looked into Jiang Fang’s eyes and said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here by yourself.”

Jiang Fang cracked his neck before rubbing his neck skillfully to help him relax, “I haven’t played chess for a long time.This will help me to review all the rules and moves so that I can teach you later.” 

After a pause, he pulled Nan Zhou closer to him, “Come here, I’ll teach you the basic knowledge of chess.”

When the two heads met, Jiang Fang spoke a few words and taught him how to recognize the chess pieces and some of the most basic chess rules for winning or losing.

Li Yinhang vaguely realized that, in fact, Nan Zhou and Jiang Fang had already thought of a way to get out of here.

She wanted to interrupt and ask a question, but when she realized that the one-legged tin soldier was still around, she resolutely shut up and pretended not to notice anything. 

Nan Zhou was indeed a good student. After roughly listening to the rules, he whispered an “oh” to show understanding.

He turned to the tin soldier, “After leaving this place, will the story that was eaten be returned to us?”

Tin Soldier, “We only accept the full book.”

The insinuation was that if they violated a rule and had their memories eaten as long as they could get out of this maze-like library, they would be able to recover all of their memories. 

As long as they could find the souls of the black chess pieces and win the chess match, they could leave with their memory intact.

At that, Jiang Fang raised an eyebrow at Nan Zhou.

When he did this action, he exuded a relaxed and confident demeanor that made people feel inexplicably at ease.

Nan Zhou, who was convinced by this statement of a tin soldier, said to himself, “…… Yes, I can do it, but you may not be able to.” 

Jiang Fang, “Have you figured it out?”

Nan Zhou, “I’ve figured it out.”

Nan Zhou looked at Jiang Fang, “Then, you must trust me.”

Jiang Fang shrugged and smiled brightly, “I always have.” 

Listening to Nan Zhou and Jiang Fang playing charades with each other, Li Yinhang was still confused.

When she entered the maze of bookcases, Li Yinhang understood what it really meant to be dizzy.

The books on the shelf didn’t have the so-called concept of “categorization”. The bookshelves were completely disorganized, like no one cared enough to put them back to their respective places.

Two books with different authors and unrelated topics were placed together just because they were read on the same day. 

Looking at the oak bookshelf packed so tightly together that not even a piece of paper could be slipped in with its large and small, flowery and dazzling titles, she was filled with only one sentence.

——Fuck me, not even a stupid person could figure out the correct books!!

Even so, Li Yinhang still resisted the impulse to swear and focused on the bookshelf in front of her.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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She browsed through the shelf in front of her, raised her arm and took a book from a higher shelf that met her preconceived criteria, and quickly flipped through it.

Compared to Li Yinhang, who forced herself to think at a high speed and tried her best to start her search, Nan Zhou looked more like he was browsing a bookstore. 

In Nan Zhou’s short life, so far, he had been fighting with all kinds of irresistible forces, and was long accustomed to this type of situation.

Therefore, his way of thinking was always simple, direct, and effective.

——Only 48 hours were left for them to explore in the instance of [Brain Invasion].

Under the surveillance of the tin soldiers who patrolled every half an hour, it might not be enough even if they were given an extra 48 hours just to read all the books here! 

If one spends too much time here, even if one could barely pass this game, who knew what game was hidden behind the next door of the brain marrow passageway?

Therefore, this level needs to be explored, but there had to be a custom clearance method that did not require so much time.

After realizing this, Nan Zhou concentrated on the keywords that were clearly specified in the instance, since it was all too easy to become overwhelmed by the game’s rules and pressure.

——[Exploration]. 

He began to explore and discover freely.

Aside from the blank book which belonged to him and was already in his hands, he also took a book that introduced the basic rules of chess from the shelf and flipped through it roughly in his hand to gather more information.

If this was really someone’s brain, this person should be very fond of chess.

Books on chess games, chess techniques, and similar topics were the most regularly read books. 

There was no need for them to waste time and venture deeper into the maze because these books were arranged in the bookcase near the exit.

The instance also seemed to help players who didn’t understand chess.

Even if the players didn’t understand the rules of chess, there were also hand-in-hand tutorials available for them to use at any time.

Unfortunately, these books were too old. 

There was no trace of the soul of the chess pieces.

Nan Zhou’s fingertips slid along the spine of the book and walked into the depths of the maze.

He pulled out a book casually.

It was a book as beautifully bound and as evenly thick as the blank book he was holding. 

The spine seam was branded with stamped gilt lettering.

The scribble pattern was unlike any human civilization scripts he had ever seen.

Nan Zhou opened the title page and found that the content of the body, the text, and the title on the spine were the same odd-shaped words he didn’t understand. It reminded him of the unknown palm with frog web material in the [Fear of the Full Moon].

But Nan Zhou didn’t feel disappointed. 

He flipped open the book.

The words scribbled only made it to the middle of the page before abruptly and hastily ending.

The second half of the book was all blank white paper.

Nan Zhou took out another book from another shelf. 

As usual, it was the strange words that he couldn’t understand.

However, the content was richer than the one in Nan Zhou’s hand, the text composition was different, and nearly all the pages were filled with the strange words in contrast to the previous book.

According to the tin soldier, the library would only include a complete book.

It became evident that the strange contents contained in these hardcover books belonged to the players who had previously entered this instance, but had failed the game and had to leave their memories behind, imprisoned in the library for all of eternity. 

Nan Zhou was very interested in their story, but he couldn’t understand the contents.

As he pushed the book back to its original position with a little regret, the sound of leather shoes knocking on the oaken floor filled his ears.

Nan Zhou moved to the depths of the maze as light as a feather.

The distinct sounds of the tin soldiers’ shoes knocking on the hard floor caused Li Yinhang to break out in a cold sweat 

There was only one entrance into this maze of bookshelves.

Therefore, she also took the same course of action as Nan Zhou, steeling her nerves and making her way towards the more complex area deep within the maze.

However, the oak floor was a double-edged sword.

It helped Li Yinhang to identify the location of the tin soldiers, but also gave up her own location. 

So she simply took off her shoes, carried them in her hand, and continued to sneak in.

Her soft socks eliminated any noise that could give away her location.

But occasionally, when her feet hit the ground and the joints at her heels pulled and cracked with a tiny bone-crunching sound, her nerves would explode.

It was only after she had twisted and turned through more than a hundred meters away that she dared to stop and catch her breath. 

She wasted no time as she started to rummage through the nearby bookshelf, keeping an attitude of a blind cat running into a dead mouse. She tried her best to find “the soul of chess pieces”.

But after the interruption from the tin soldiers, she was panicked and her mind was in a disarray.

Despite repeatedly convincing herself to be calm, her hands were shaking like a Parkinson’s patient.

Besides, she couldn’t concentrate at all. 

In addition to the one-legged tin soldier, fifteen more tin soldiers were patrolling.

Five soldiers in a group, divided into three groups.

Their hard cowhide soles were making a very distinct sound on the oak floor.

For a moment, she was startled by the noise of the patrolling soldiers’ shoes. 

The sharp sound of leather shoes treading on the ground was omnipresent, making it impossible for her to assess their whereabouts based on sound alone.

Therefore, if there was a furtive strike at any moment, she could only lunge horizontally in a wretched manner, holding a pair of sneakers and her blank book, hiding to the side of the bookshelf.

A team of tin soldiers, surprisingly hidden in the loud footsteps, approached Li Yinhang in a dignified manner.

Even though she had dodged fast enough, she was still caught by the sharp eyes of the leader of the team, who led his team to circle the bookshelf. 

She heard a dull, inhuman tone.

“It’s a book.”

“Our… Book ran away.”

Li Yinhang’s scalp exploded with a buzzing sound. 

She glanced over the blank book in her hand, apprehension growing within.

Her name appeared in a stunning font on the spine of the book.

She opened it with trembling hands and found that a black printing font began to appear on the originally blank title page.

Title, Li Yinhang. 

Author, Li Yinhang.

… Chapter One, One Year Old.

Li Yinhang didn’t have the courage to read any further; she closed the book, picked a direction randomly, and fled.

Her heart was hammering in her chest and the soles of her feet burned. 

She was terrified and bolted through the maze, winding between the bookshelves.

But things were going down a slippery slope in a direction beyond her control.

She had just scurried past the shelter of a bookshelf when she came face to face with three tin soldiers who turned back in unison to face her.

Li Yinhang took a stiff step backwards and felt that the weight of the book in her arms had increased subtly. 

As if her soul was bit by bit being transferred to the dead book in her hand.

——It seems that my soul is gradually transferring to this dead thing.

The subtle weight of the book pulled her spirits to the ground.

She tried to convince herself that an exploratory, non-spiritual section of the instance like this wouldn’t be so difficult. 

She tried to ignore the difficulty of “Star Coin 11” in order to lessen her panic.

She had never imagined that she would suffer a loss in a library.

The desire to survive rose within her once again and she made a desperate run towards a hiding place.

But she was already exposed. 

By the time she got to the center of two bookshelves, she was already trembling because she was encircled by two groups of tin soldiers who had followed her by her loud footsteps.

She abruptly retraced her steps, and for a moment she could not make head or tail of her directions.

Her heart was pounding so fiercely that she thought it might rise to her mouth, making it more difficult for her to breathe.

As a last resort, she threw down her shoes and holding her book in one hand, she started to scale up the bookshelf. 

Suddenly, a hand stretched out from the gap between the books from the other end of the bookshelf and lightly touched her hand!

Li Yinhang’s body stiffened, the words “I’m dead” flashed past in her head. She saw a pair of quiet eyes across the gaps in the bookshelf, blinking at her.

Li Yinhang acted immediately and threw the book in her hand across the bookshelf without hesitation.

With that, her figure disappeared into thin air moments before being caught by the gaze of the tin soldiers rushing in. 

Nan Zhou reached out to catch Li Yinhang’s book, and collected Li Yinhang and her book into the storage warehouse. He shook his numb wrist and quickly retracted his arm from the gap of the bookshelf, releasing Li Yinhang again when he considered it safe.

When she saw Nan Zhou, realization dawned on her. Before entering this bookshelf maze, they have come up with a plan in case of an emergency, which was to pull the person in danger of being seen by the tin soldiers into the storage warehouse.

Now that the two of them have met, they collaborated and utilized this method, managing to rapidly travel deeper into the maze without getting caught.

A few seconds later, a tin soldier’s head suddenly emerged from the top of the bookshelf. 

The connection between his neck and head creaked with a metallic scraping sound, like someone was scraping their nails over a chalkboard.

It looked around the top of the bookshelf.

The top of the shelf was empty.

No book had escaped. 

It lowered its head again.

It wanted to look over the other side from above and find any fleeing figures.

Fortunately, the bookshelves were too tall for their height.

Even with area supremacy, it couldn’t see far away. 

They still lost their tracking target.

Seventeen bookshelves away, Nan Zhou and Li Yinhang sat side by side, catching their breath.

Li Yinhang covered her mouth and controlled the surging airflow of panic. The alveoli in her lung cavity felt like they were about to explode, and her chest was on fire.

Nan Zhou took out the hardcover book belonging to Li Yinhang and glanced at the spine with added content, and understood most of what had happened. 

But he didn’t say anything.

Nan Zhou stuffed her book of memories firmly back into her arms, to let her hold it, and perhaps the reassurance it bought her would help her calm down faster.

When the faint redness on Li Yinhang’s face receded, Nan Zhou asked softly, “Did you find anything?”

Li Yinhang took a deep breath, opened the book in her arms and quickly glanced over it, before handing it to Nan Zhou. 

She put her arms on her knees and spread her five fingers, “I’ve been seen by five tin soldiers.”

Upon hearing this, Nan Zhou turned the page to the table of contents and found that it had been updated up to Li Yinhang’s life until she was five years old.

Nan Zhou, “So this is how the book will eat a part of your story?”

“I don’t know, I don’t remember much before the age of four.” Li Yinhang inserted her hand into her messy and sweaty hair and tried her best to settle herself down, “The things that happened when I was five……” 

Images of her parents before she was five years old, the joyous time of her childhood, and the taste of various small snacks, all gone, forcibly erased from her memories.

The innocent flowers of her memories were blooming on the cold pages of the book.

The oddity of it was chilling.

“This time, if I mess up, the consequences will be more severe.” Li Yinhang panted slightly, pulled out a pen and paper, and wrote with shaking hands as she analyzed for Nan Zhou “The soldiers will make multiple rounds during the chess match. This was the first round and I was spotted five times making me lose five years. I believe the punishment will be doubled with each round from the violations. Next, I will lose two years, then the third round four, and so on. .” 

Being seen by the patrolling tin soldier once meant a year of memory from the person would be eaten.

Overturning a bookshelf and disturbing a chess game should also be calculated by rounds.

Li Yinhang’s operation was a test of her own, and she figured out the principle.

It was also a piece of valuable information. 

Nan Zhou replied to her very seriously, “Thank you. You have worked hard.”

Li Yinhang leaned back, closed her eyes, and smiled bitterly.

She was very lucky at this time to be accompanied by Nan Zhou.

She knew she had made a mistake and almost dragged herself into danger. 

At a time like this, Nan Zhou wasn’t warm and comforting like Jiang Fang.

He just accompanied her in silence and said nothing.

As a partner, just this was enough to make people feel at ease.

Nan Zhou turned over his own blank book page by page, waiting for the tin soldiers to end their search, while imagining what his story would be like if it were presented in words. 

He tried to visualize it for a long time.

Then, he couldn’t help but think, if there were words in Brother Fang’s book, would it record how he looked when he was a child.

He remembered the beautiful childhood that Jiang Fang had described to him.

If it existed…