Infinite Flow: An Invitation from World B

Chapter 18 Attrition

"This shape...could this be..." Pang Qingxuan was a little confused, but more than that, she was terrified. She didn't understand why she had ended up here while she was sleeping peacefully.

"Clatter—clatter—" The rustling footsteps came from behind. Pang Qingxuan turned around to look back and bumped into a nearby stool in her panic, almost falling to the ground.

The "crunch crunch crunch" footsteps sounded like someone was shuffling along the ground with their feet barely leaving the ground, and the speed was getting faster and faster.

The sound, which initially came from one direction, quickly spread to multiple directions, as if trying to surround Pang Qingxuan.

Faced with such agonizing threats, Pang Qingxuan began to sob softly, but her survival instincts still compelled her to take action.

She figured that this thing couldn't see her in the dark, otherwise she would have died just now. Right now, she needed to find a place to hide first and then make further plans.

So Pang Qingxuan began to feel her way along the table she had bumped into earlier, then slowly crouched down and carefully stretched out her arms to pave the way for herself, and she crawled under the table.

"This is... a book? What does it smell like? It stinks." Just as she was about to try to move forward to find an exit, she touched a square object right in front of her face.

If there were light at that moment, Pang Qingxuan would have seen a man standing in front of the table where she was, his legs seemingly melting away and overflowing from his trousers, dragging all over the floor.

At this moment, the man was pointing his toes at Pang Qingxuan, his upper body bent backward at an angle that normal people could not do, almost folding it in half with his lower body.

He strained to raise his head, his cloudy, yellowish eyes staring intently at Pang Qingxuan through the gap between his legs.

Pang Qingxuan was completely unaware of this, and she continued to grope her way forward.

next second.

She felt a soft, sticky, and wet sensation coming from the palm of her hand that was supporting her on the ground. She touched the blood and flesh flowing from the man's trouser leg, and at the same time, the pungent, fishy smell became even stronger.

She pulled her hand back as if she had been electrocuted. The texture of her palm felt like meat that had been sitting for a long time and had rotted.

Her body began to tremble uncontrollably. Pang Qingxuan retreated from under the table as quickly as possible and ran away.

She tried to find the exit by feeling along the wall, and the tables and chairs she bumped into made a series of noises.

With a dull thud, Pang Qingxuan crashed into the obstacle like a headless fly. Her body fell backward and landed heavily on the ground.

"Snap—" Footsteps and a stench appeared simultaneously, right in front of them. What they had just bumped into wasn't an obstacle at all, but that damned thing.

A gust of wind swept down on her head, and "Ah!" Pang Qingxuan screamed. She now knew where she was; this was the library, and the person who wanted to kill her was the one who had picked up the book during the day.

But it was all too late. Pang Qingxuan's screams were gradually drowned out by the "bang bang" of books falling, until they disappeared.

The next day, the sudden illumination of the incandescent lights and the shouts of the prison guards woke Lizzie and the others.

"Ah—!" A hoarse, elderly scream instantly woke up Tian Tian and Li Qi, who were sleeping on the upper bunk.

The person who made the sound was Zhang Qingxi, who was curled up by the bed and looked even older.

Because of her aging eyesight, she couldn't see Pang Qingxuan clearly, but she could see that Pang Qingxuan's bed was now covered in blood and gore, which had even splattered onto the wall.

Li Qi, who was sleeping on the upper bunk above Zhang Qingxi, looked down when she heard the sound and saw Pang Qingxuan's position. Her heart suddenly started racing.

Lizzie's pupils reflected Pang Qingxuan's bloodied and mangled face, making it impossible to recognize her at this moment.

Her arms and legs were covered with countless blunt force wounds, resembling the split flesh of a mango, a truly gruesome sight.

Pang Qingxuan's ten fingers were all spread out, her posture contorted, as if she had endured immense pain before her death.

"It doesn't feel like it was cut by the same weapon. Look, there's a triangular-shaped indentation behind her head. And there are deep slash marks and many shallow scratches on her body."

Tian Tian lifted Pang Qingxuan's head and showed the two the injuries, saying, "And... judging from these injuries, the commotion must have been quite loud, yet we weren't woken up."

Lizzie also got out of bed and came over to check on their injuries. This wasn't the first time either of them had experienced a dream, and their mental fortitude was much stronger.

"She was probably crushed to death by a book. Do you remember yesterday morning when Pang Qingxuan was hit on the head by a book? I think that's why she was killed."

It might be because she interfered with a time that wasn't hers, or perhaps with someone else at a different time.

As for why we weren't woken up, it's most likely because only she triggered the death condition; the rest of us were blocked.

"That means that whether we do it intentionally or unintentionally, as long as we intervene in what they are doing and change the original course of events, we will be discovered and killed."

Moreover, once you break the rules, you can only save yourself; no one else can help you.

"Yes, the main problem is that the chances of escaping once you're targeted by a ghost are really slim. Discovering this condition for death is very important to us."

"What should we do with her body?" Tian Tian was at a loss. She looked at Pang Qingxuan and sighed deeply. She was still smiling when they were having dinner last night.

"Let the people in prison handle it, Sister hope. Are you alright?" Lizzie asked, looking at Sister hope who was vomiting by the toilet.

Zhang Qingxi rinsed his mouth, indicating that he was fine.

............

At breakfast, Lao Zeng saw Edwin and his group. He scanned the area with a glimmer of hope but did not find Liu Runyu.

This last glimmer of hope was shattered, and his gaze dimmed.

Ron was also preoccupied with his own thoughts. Judging from Sissan's attitude yesterday, Ron believed that talking in the cafeteria must be risky.

With that thought in mind, he also secretly glanced at the prison guards standing at the two entrances of the canteen.

There must be someone secretly watching Sissan's every move, but this only strengthened Ron's belief that Sissan must know something, because insignificant people don't need to be watched.

The three of them didn't linger in the cafeteria for long. After quickly eating breakfast, they headed towards the place where they had met the group of girls the day before.

After waiting for a long time at the usual spot, they finally saw Tian Tian and Li Qi helping Zhang Qingxi walk over. Seeing that only three girls had come, Lao Zeng and his group's faces darkened.

"Where's that chubby girl with glasses?" Ron asked Lizzie.

"He's dead. He woke up this morning and was found dead in his bed."

Seeing that she was looking downcast, Lizzie glanced at Zhang Qingxi and said, "Of the four of us here, only Tiantian and I are still able to work. We need help."

"Why did that girl die?" Old Zeng interjected, as the cause of death was crucial.

Lizzie then recounted Pang Qingxuan's death and her own speculations to Ron and the other two.

"The situation now looks very pessimistic."

Old Zeng's face grew even more solemn, and he then reiterated that Liu Runyu was most likely dead.

"You must find a way to persuade that Sissan. We also need to find a way to go to the third section of the women's prison this afternoon. Quaid mentioned that place in the old days," Tian Tian said.

"Ron, please make sure you bring that watch face with you when you go to the library. I want to confirm one of my suspicions."

Su Zixu looked at Li Qi, then added, "We still have six people left, and Zhang Qingxi can't do anything. You must be careful this afternoon, and survival is the most important thing."

After discussing today's operation, the two teams quickly separated.

Ron and his two companions headed toward the third bench to the west, only to be surprised to find that Sissan had already arrived there before them.