dognovel Chapter 43 Faint Light
Chapter 43 Faint Light
"Let me do it." Su Yan crawled forward and placed her palm on the steel bar. The power of the fire gathered, and the steel bar quickly turned red and softened. She carefully pried open a gap large enough for her to pass through, without making much noise.
After passing through the fence, the pipe widened a bit, and a faint light could be seen ahead—the exit had arrived.
Li Shancheng climbed to the exit, where there was a ventilation shaft covered with rusty wire mesh. Through the mesh, he could see a narrow space outside, piled with old book boxes and discarded furniture. According to the blueprints, this was a maintenance space under the floor of the antiquarian book section, with the antiquarian book section floor directly above it.
He carefully cut through the barbed wire and silently slid into the maintenance space. The others followed closely behind. The space was low, requiring them to stand bent over, and the air was thick with the smell of dust and old paper.
"This is the ancient books section." Cheng Xu pulled up a diagram of the library's interior. "We're currently in the southeast corner of the ancient books section, about thirty meters from the central area. According to the energy readings, the core of the ritual should be in the central area, but its exact location is unknown."
Li Shancheng placed his hand on the ceiling and closed his eyes to sense the situation. Through the floor, he could "see" what was happening above: at least twenty people were active, eight of whom were modified beings, and twelve were human cultivators. In the central area, a powerful energy source was pulsating rhythmically, like a giant heart.
But there is an even more subtle feeling: pain, struggle, and cries for help... It is the very core of the Wen Shu array itself that is being forcibly drained of energy, emitting a silent wail.
"I've sensed the core of the formation," he whispered. "It's still alive, but rapidly weakening. We must act quickly."
"How do we get up there?" Xu Qingqing asked. "The floor must be protected."
Li Shancheng carefully inspected the ceiling and found an access panel—a movable wooden board secured with a simple latch. However, there was a faint energy seal on the latch; touching it would trigger an alarm.
"I need thirty seconds to break the seal," he said. "There can be no interruptions during that time."
"We'll provide cover." Su Yan and Xu Qingqing stood guard at the two entrances to the space, while Liu Wei and Cheng Xu monitored the surrounding energy fluctuations.
Li Shancheng pressed his finger on the seal of the latch, and the Wen Shu bloodline automatically analyzed the seal structure. It was a double-nested seal: the outer layer was the universal alarm rune of Hanshan Technology, and the inner layer was an ancient guardian seal—possibly left over from the construction of the library.
The outer layer of warning runes was relatively simple; he carefully infused them with anti-phase energy, temporarily disabling them. However, the inner guardian seal was more difficult, requiring a specific bloodline frequency to unlock. Fortunately, he possessed the Wen Shu bloodline and wore his grandfather's ring.
When the ring comes into contact with the seal, the seal automatically recognizes it, emits a soft blue light, and then dissolves. The entire process takes only twenty seconds.
He gently pushed aside the wooden panel of the access panel, revealing a crack. Through the crack, he could see part of the ancient book section: huge bookshelves were arranged like a forest, and in the central open space, a complex rune array was glowing. Within the array were seven stone platforms, three of which had people lying on them—three guardians! The guardians of the Dui, Zhen, and Gen positions were all unconscious, fixed to the stone platforms by energy chains, with black curse marks on their chests, just like Editor-in-Chief Qin.
On the fourth stone platform lay an open metal box, inside which was... the phantom of the Book of Light! Although the vault had collapsed, the core projection of the Book of Light had been forcibly extracted and was suspended in the box, its pages flipping rapidly as if in a painful struggle.
The other three stone platforms were empty, but spaces were reserved for Li Shancheng, Jiang Han, and Su Yan (or Su Qing).
Eight people stood around the rune array. Seven of them wore robes of different colors, each representing the energy color of one of the seven array eyes. The eighth person was Lin Han, dressed in a simple black suit, standing outside the array, calmly observing everything.
"Three more are needed." Lin Han's voice echoed in the silent ancient book section. "But it doesn't matter. Using the four we already have as a starting point, plus the fragments of the Tianquan relics, will be enough to initiate the initial ritual. When the full moon rises completely, the Heavenly Gate will open, and the seed of the new world will be sown. The rest is just a matter of time."
He walked to the projection of the Book of Light, extended his finger, and touched a page: "Tell me, Book of Wisdom, how should the laws of the new world be written?"
The Book of Light trembled violently, attempting to resist, but under the suppression of a powerful external force, words began to appear on its pages—not voluntarily, but with knowledge forcibly extracted.
Li Shancheng knew he couldn't wait any longer. He gestured downwards, then abruptly pushed aside the wooden planks of the access panel and leaped onto the floor of the ancient books section.
"Lin Han!" His voice echoed in the empty ancient book section.
Everyone turned their heads at the same time. The seven people in long robes immediately assumed a fighting stance, but Lin Han raised his hand to stop them.
"Li Shancheng, you've arrived." He smiled. "I've been waiting for you. And your friends, come out too."
Su Yan, Xu Qingqing, Liu Wei, and Cheng Xu climbed out of the maintenance hatch one by one. Five against eight, they were outnumbered, but Li Shancheng could sense that although the seven opponents were powerful, they had an unnatural stiffness—they might be being controlled or modified.
"Release them." Li Shancheng pointed to the three guardians on the stone platform. "Stop the ritual."
"Why?" Lin Han tilted his head, like a curious child. "Don't you think this world is terminally ill? Greed, jealousy, hatred, war, inequality... Humanity has proven over thousands of years that it cannot create a perfect society on its own. Therefore, external intervention is needed, a 'reset' is required."
"You don't have the right to decide what's best for everyone," Li Shancheng said.
"Then who does?" Lin Han countered. "Elected governments? They're controlled by interest groups. Religious leaders? They have their own dogmas. Scientists? They haven't even figured out how consciousness arises. At least I have a clear vision, the ability to realize it, and the awareness to sacrifice for it."
He pointed to the Book of Light: "Moreover, this isn't just my opinion. The relic of the Textual Relic itself yearns for change. For three thousand years, it has recorded all of humanity's folly and mistakes; it knows the problems of this system better than anyone else."
The Book of Light suddenly emitted a brilliant light, and new words appeared on its pages: "He's right... Knowledge is painful... Memory is a burden... Forget... Start anew..."
"It's being distorted!" Li Shancheng shouted. "You're forcing it with external force!"
"No, I just released its true thoughts." Lin Han walked towards Li Shancheng. "Just like I released Su Qing's true thoughts. You think she was controlled by me? No, it was her own choice. She saw the hypocrisy of the Guardian system, saw the constraints the array core placed on the Guardians, and she wanted freedom."