17: Whispers of the Special Collections Room
The black-red bloodstains on the doorknob, like some evil totem, exuded an ominous aura in the dim light. The chaotic and malicious energy fluctuation from behind the door, perceived through the reality stabilization anchor fragment, was like an invisible hand gripping Lin Mo's throat, making him gasp for breath.
Danger! There was something extremely dangerous behind the door! Moreover, this thing seemed to have contaminated or even occupied the "stable point" he had previously sensed!
"Lin... Brother Lin, what's wrong?" Da Liu also saw the bloodstains on the door, his voice trembling violently, and his knuckles, gripping the fire axe, turned white from the effort.
Lin Mo didn't answer immediately. He held his breath, concentrating all his attention on his perception. The editor interface flickered faintly, with an energy reserve of 0.02 units (binding the fragment just now seemed to have consumed a bit), insufficient to support precise deduction. However, his self-recovered 20% mental power, coupled with the faint stable field provided by the reality stabilization anchor fragment in his pocket, made his energy perception much sharper than before.
The energy fluctuation behind the door... was very peculiar. It wasn't purely cold and filled with destructive intent like the "cleanup units" outside. This energy was more complex, mixed with pain, resentment, madness, and even a hint of... lingering human struggle? It was like a bizarre existence where multiple negative emotions and twisted consciousnesses were forcibly melded together.
"There's something inside... very dangerous," Lin Mo whispered, almost in a breathy voice, to Da Liu. "The energy is very chaotic, unlike the monsters outside."
Da Liu's face grew even paler: "Then... what do we do? Go back?"
Go back? Lin Mo glanced at the tightly closed door of the special collection room. Perhaps important clues, or even another "fragment" or other things that could help them survive, were hidden inside. Moreover, although the chaotic energy was dangerous, it seemed to be confined within the door, with no signs of spreading outward. Perhaps... they could risk investigating?
But the risk was extremely high. Once the door was opened and whatever was inside rushed out, they would have almost no room to maneuver in this narrow corridor.
Just as he was weighing the pros and cons, the reality stabilization anchor fragment in his pocket suddenly vibrated ever so slightly, with a warning. At the same time, the editor interface captured a faint afterimage of an information stream escaping from the crack in the door—not language, but a mental fragment filled with despair and madness:
"...knowledge...curse..."
"...saw what shouldn't be seen..."
"...merged into one...eternal pain..."
"...stop...the latecomers..."
These fragmented messages, like ice picks, pierced Lin Mo's mind, making him shiver. Knowledge curse? Saw what shouldn't be seen? Merged into one? This sounded like some (or several) unfortunate victims, in their last moments, underwent an extremely terrifying mutation because they came into contact with something in the special collection room!
This special collection room housed the library's most precious and ancient documents and some special collections. Could it be that items containing extraordinary power or forbidden knowledge were hidden within? And the people who happened to be here when the disaster struck were consequently subjected to a backlash?
This speculation made Lin Mo's heart sink. If this was true, the danger behind the door might be more bizarre and difficult to deal with than a simple monster.
He again had thoughts of retreating. Unknown terror was often more frightening than known danger.
However, just as he was about to signal Da Liu to retreat, something at the center of that chaotic energy fluctuation seemed to... attract the jade slip in his hand? The jade slip once again emitted a faint warmth, and vaguely pointed in a specific direction inside the door. As if something behind the door had some faint connection with the jade slip (or rather, with the editor's authority)?
If it's a blessing, it's not a disaster; if it's a disaster, it can't be avoided. Lin Mo gritted his teeth. Retreating might be temporarily safe, but it would also mean missing potentially crucial information or items. In this world full of dangers at every step, information was the currency of survival.
"Da Liu," he made up his mind, his voice even lower, "I'm going to check the situation inside. You stand guard at the door. If things go wrong, run immediately, don't worry about me, and go back to tell Professor Wang and the others to keep the main door shut."
Da Liu became anxious: "How can that be! Brother Lin, it's too dangerous!"
"Listen to me!" Lin Mo's tone was firm. "I have this." He shook the jade slip in his hand. "Maybe I can protect myself. It's more important for you to stay outside as backup."
Da Liu looked at Lin Mo's resolute gaze, then at the mysterious black jade slip, and finally nodded heavily: "...Okay! Brother Lin, be careful! I'll be right here!"
Lin Mo took a deep breath, clutching the reality stabilization anchor fragment tightly in his left palm. The faint sense of stability calmed his chaotic thoughts slightly. His right hand gripped the jade slip, mobilizing his newly recovered mental power, ready to activate the faint "authority ripple" at any moment—though he knew that its effect might be minimal against the complex chaotic existence behind the door.
He signaled Da Liu to step back a few paces, then leaned sideways against the door, reaching out to gently grasp the cold doorknob. The dried bloodstains on it gave a sticky sensation that made his stomach churn.
He slowly applied force, and the door hinge let out a faint, grating "creak" that was particularly harsh in the dead silent corridor.
The door was pushed open a crack.
An indescribable stench, a mixture of old paper and ink, blood, and a kind of mental decay, rushed out from the crack like a physical shockwave! Lin Mo was almost overwhelmed by the smell, barely managing not to retreat.
He peered through the crack into the room.
The special collection room had no windows and was pitch black. But with the faint light filtering in from the corridor and his enhanced perception, he could barely make out the outlines inside. The room was large, with rows of tall, specialized bookshelves like silent giants, but many had collapsed, and precious ancient books and scrolls were scattered everywhere, trampled and torn, a scene of utter chaos.
And in the center of the room, the sight was even more horrifying!
There seemed to be a twisted and complex magic circle outlined with broken pages, congealed blood, and some black viscous substance. In the center of the magic circle, an indescribable mass was coiled.
It seemed to be formed from the twisted and merged remains of multiple human limbs, barely maintaining a bloated humanoid outline, but its skin was an unhealthy waxy yellow, covered with constantly opening and closing mouths oozing black viscous fluid, and randomly rotating eyeballs. These limbs and organs were still twitching slightly, as if each possessed independent life, yet were forcibly bound together. It had no obvious head, only a large fissure opening above its torso, filled with densely packed, insect-mouth-like fangs, emitting a continuous, maddening low murmur and choked sounds.
This was the source of that chaotic energy! An Aberration formed by the twisted fusion of multiple victims!
What made Lin Mo's heart pound even more was that in the heart of this Aberration (if it could still be called a heart), an irregular, palm-sized crystal fragment, emitting a faint glow, was faintly embedded! The energy nature of that fragment was of the same origin as the reality stabilization anchor fragment in his hand, but it was much larger, and at the same time, it was polluted and eroded by dense negative energy!
The second fragment! And it seemed to be of a higher energy level!
But at the same time, it had also become the core energy source of this Aberration, or rather... it was imprisoned by the Aberration!
The warmth from the jade slip came precisely from that contaminated crystal fragment!
As if sensing the presence of a living person and the light filtering through the door crack, the countless randomly rotating eyeballs on the Aberration all simultaneously focused on Lin Mo behind the door crack!
"Ah ah ah—see... saw it..."
"Knowledge... shared... pain... eternal..."
"Join... us..."
A chaotic and malicious mental impact surged towards Lin Mo like a tide! The pain, resentment, and madness of countless deceased tried to flood his mind!
Lin Mo groaned, feeling as if countless needles were pricking his brain, his vision blurred, and he almost lost consciousness! The reality stabilization anchor fragment he clutched in his left hand immediately emitted a stronger stable field, barely helping him resist most of the mental erosion, but the force of the impact still made his spirit waver, almost collapsing!
"Brother Lin!" Da Liu, outside the door, heard the commotion and anxiously called out in a low voice.
"Don't come in!" Lin Mo hissed, stopping him, while furiously channeling his mental power into the jade slip!
No more hesitation! A decision must be made immediately! To retreat, or... to try and seize that contaminated fragment?
Retreating was relatively safe, but it would mean losing a powerful "anchor point" that could significantly improve his chances of survival.
Seizing it was a near-certain death, but if successful, he might truly be able to construct a temporary sanctuary!
The Aberration seemed to be enraged by Lin Mo's resistance and the faint aura of "authority" emanating from the jade slip. Its bloated body began to writhe, attempting to rise from the center of the magic circle, and its countless mouths let out even sharper, more piercing howls! The chaotic energy throughout the special collection room fluctuated violently!
No time left!
He'd gamble!
A flicker of determination flashed in Lin Mo's eyes! He abruptly pushed the door fully open, rushing into the special collection room! At the same time, he poured nearly 30% of his newly recovered mental power into the jade slip without reservation!
"Buzz—!"
A faint silver ripple, clearer and more solid than the previous two, spread out from the jade slip, sweeping towards the rising Aberration!
Lin Mo had no idea how effective the "authority ripple" would be against this type of monster formed by twisted human consciousness!
The ripple swept past the Aberration!
"Aow—!" The Aberration let out an even more painful and furious howl! Several of the randomly rotating eyeballs on its body instantly burst, oozing black pus! Its rising movement was interrupted, and its massive body staggered, clearly suffering a considerable impact and interference!
It was effective! But... not enough to destroy it! Instead, it completely enraged it!
All the mouths on the Aberration's body opened to their maximum, and an even more violent, more concentrated mental impact, mixed with a physical black energy stream, shot towards Lin Mo like a cannonball!
The aura of death instantly enveloped him!