Chapter 31: Ripples of Unease in the Library

The Chutian Provincial Library, third floor, southeast corner.

The Audio-Visual Arts Space.

The atmosphere here was distinctly different from other areas. Warm-toned lights filtered down from the ceiling grilles, casting soft pools of light on the deep gray carpet. Along the walls, rows of shelves meticulously displayed movie discs, vinyl records, and bound volumes of art books. Several listening stations stood quietly in the corners, where readers, headphones on, leaned back on sofas, lost in their own worlds.

A sense of lazy, afternoon tranquility permeated the air.

****

—Until a sudden sigh broke the quiet.

“Ugh—”

From a nearby seat, a young man wearing thin-rimmed glasses abruptly slammed shut the book in his hands, then tossed his pen onto the table. The pen bounced a few times before rolling off onto the floor, trundling a considerable distance away.

Several people nearby looked up, casting confused glances in his direction.

The young man, however, paid no mind to their stares. He merely rubbed his temples in frustration, muttering something under his breath.

Seated diagonally opposite him, a middle-aged woman suddenly furrowed her brows. She pushed the book in front of her aside, crossed her arms, and her expression visibly darkened.

Immediately after, from another seat not far away, a girl who had been quietly taking notes unexpectedly paused her pen. She stared blankly at her notebook for a moment, then snapped it shut, pushed her chair back, and stood to leave. The chair legs scraped against the floor, emitting a harsh, grating sound.

More eyes were drawn to the commotion.

Some began whispering, their tones laced with an inexplicable impatience. Others irritably flipped through book pages, creating a loud rustling. Still others simply stood up and moved to different seats, their faces etched with an unidentifiable irritation that seemed to scream, ‘Why is everything so annoying today?’

The entire audio-visual space was like a calm surface into which a small stone had been tossed, sending out unsettling ripples.

“Mommy, what’s wrong with that big brother?” A little girl tugged at her mother’s sleeve, asking in a hushed voice.

“Don’t mind others,” the woman replied, lowering her voice, though her own brows were unconsciously furrowing. “…Why is it suddenly so stuffy in here?”

She didn’t notice that the grip on her child’s wrist was a little tighter than usual as she spoke.

****

In a corner, a girl wearing a dark work vest with an ID badge clipped to her chest looked up, glancing in that direction.

Her face was delicate and pretty, her eyes calm and serene. Most striking were her eyes—her eyelids were slightly lowered, as if she hadn’t quite woken up, or perhaps she regarded her surroundings with a hint of casual detachment.

A thick art theory book lay open before her, with several handwritten notes tucked between its pages. In the coffee cup to her right, the coffee had long since gone cold.

She remained still.

But her half-closed eyes lingered for a moment on the retreating back of the young man who had thrown his pen, then shifted to the direction the girl who had slammed her chair had departed, finally sweeping slowly across the now agitated crowd.

Then, she lowered her gaze and turned a page of her book.

Between the pages, a faint, almost transparent wisp of purple light quietly emerged.

[Aster Library · Read]

[Record, Analyze.]

Those faint lights, like invisible currents, silently washed over the surrounding seats, brushing past the inexplicably agitated readers. Wherever they passed, the gloom on some faces subtly eased, tight brows slowly relaxed, and the rustling of turning pages grew softer.

The ripples gradually subsided.

The young man who had thrown his pen paused for a moment, looked down at the tabletop, then at the pen rolled far away, a trace of bewilderment flashing across his face. He stood up, retrieved the pen, and returned to his seat, reopening his book with his expression restored to focus.

The grim-faced middle-aged woman also picked up her book, flipped through a couple of pages, her expression softening. She even took a sip from her thermos.

The inexplicable agitation in the air dissipated as if blown away by a gentle breeze.

But the girl in the dark work vest—Ziyuan—did not relax.

Her gaze swept past the book pages, settling on the direction of the audio-visual space entrance.

There, an almost imperceptible wisp of gray, turbid aura was rapidly vanishing into the corridor outside the door.

It had escaped.

It wasn’t a ‘Mote,’ nor a ‘Wisp’—this thing’s escape speed was far greater than that of common, low-level ‘Corrosions.’ Moreover, the emergence of those abnormal emotions just now was clearly guided, systematic and layered, as if someone was manipulating everything from behind the scenes.

Ziyuan’s fingers gently caressed the spine of her book.

She closed the book and took a sip of the long-cold coffee. The bitter taste spread across her tongue, but her eyes remained unchanged, not clearing even a fraction.

Something was lurking in the shadows.

A special ‘Convergence.’

Just as she was about to stand, her phone vibrated gently in her pocket.

She lowered her gaze to look.

It was the secret group chat—an internal communication group exclusively for official Magical Girls in the provincial library and surrounding areas. Group nicknames were usually anonymous, displaying only rank. Normally, it was as silent as stagnant water, but now a new message had appeared.

[Discern · System]: [Special ‘Corrosion’ fluctuation confirmed, tentatively classified as Medium R ‘Convergence’. Characteristics: highly covert, low aggression, capable of guiding low-level ‘Corrosion’ activity, medium range of influence. Last located: Chutian Provincial Library, third-floor staircase. Personnel nearby please be vigilant.]

Ziyuan lightly tapped her fingertip.

[First-Tier Budding Bloom (Anonymous)]: [Received.]

Almost simultaneously, another message popped up.

[Second-Tier Flourishing Blossom (Anonymous)]: [Tch, more work?]

The tone carried clear impatience. Ziyuan ignored it.

[Group Owner (Anonymous)]: [Regional supervisor notified. All floor duty personnel please note: prioritize reader safety, do not alert the enemy. Target has not yet manifested, large-scale extermination will not be initiated for now.]

[Second-Tier Flourishing Blossom (Anonymous)]: [Is anyone responsible for the third floor?]

Ziyuan lowered her eyes, slowly typing.

[First-Tier Budding Bloom (Anonymous)]: [Present. Briefly lingered, now escaped. Suspected of possessing low-level guidance ability.]

[Second-Tier Flourishing Blossom (Anonymous)]: [Received. Will private message floor supervisors shortly. Please confirm tasks, maintain vigilance, and synchronize any issues promptly.]

Ziyuan finished reading and put her phone back in her pocket.

She stood up, returned the art theory book to the shelf, and carried the cold coffee towards the trash can. As she passed the young man’s seat, her footsteps paused slightly.

The young man was engrossed in his book, completely unaware of what had just transpired.

Ziyuan averted her gaze, dropped the coffee cup into the trash, and then walked nonchalantly towards the entrance of the audio-visual space.

****

The book cart was parked at the corridor corner.

She placed her hands on the cart’s handle and slowly pushed it forward. Several stacks of books awaiting shelving were neatly arranged on the cart, along with a pile of movie discs returned by readers. Her movements were slow, as if she were performing a perfectly ordinary daily task.

Yet her gaze meticulously swept over every inch of space along both sides of the corridor.

Something else was still nearby.

She could feel it.

****

Meanwhile, on the other side of the third floor, in the Chinese Book Lending Area.

Lin Mo leaned against a bookshelf, looking down at her phone.

The screen displayed the chat history of the secret group. She scrolled through it message by message, her brows gradually furrowing.

‘Special Convergence’… high covertness… capable of guiding low-level ‘Corrosions’…

She looked up, her gaze sweeping over the quiet readers around her, and a sudden tightness seized her heart.

Just moments ago, she had been idly wandering, thinking today would be a day to slack off. Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, the mission had escalated.

‘Master,’ Xiao Li poked her head out from Lin Mo’s shoulder. ‘And there’s Jasmin.’

Lin Mo’s heart lurched.

Right, Jasmin. She was still an apprentice and wouldn’t receive messages from the group chat.

She glanced down at the time on her phone—almost four o’clock.

She hesitated for two seconds, then opened the chat with Jasmin.

Her fingertip hovered over the screen, unsure what to say.

‘Tell her there’s danger? Warn her to be careful? But Jasmin is just an apprentice; would telling her these things only make her more nervous?’

‘But if I don’t tell her, what if…?’

Lin Mo bit her lower lip, then began to type:

[Jasmin, a special ‘Corrosion’ aura has been detected on the third floor of the library, tentatively classified as a Medium R ‘Convergence’. It hasn’t manifested yet, but please be extra careful. I’m on the third floor; if you notice anything unusual, contact me immediately. Do not act alone.]

She paused, then added another sentence:

[Don’t worry, I’m here.]

Clicking send.

She put her phone back in her pocket, took a deep breath, and walked towards the southeast direction of the third floor.

****

Her phone vibrated.

Su Xinxin had only just wandered around the vicinity for a bit longer when she received another message from Jasmine.

She read it once, then again.

‘Special Convergence’… Medium R… hasn’t manifested yet…

She instinctively looked up, her gaze sweeping over the quiet readers around her. The Chinese Book Lending Area on the third floor looked no different than before—some people slowly paced among the bookshelves, selecting books; others buried their heads in reading at their seats; some napped on tables.

Everything was calm.

But her heart, however, was slightly on edge.

‘Xiao Ming,’ she asked inwardly, ‘Can I… sense that ‘Convergence’?’

Xiao Ming was silent for a few seconds, as if sensing intently.

‘No,’ it finally said, ‘The aura is too faint. It’s hiding very well. This special type of ‘Corrosion’ can probably only be located by Magical Girls with stronger abilities or more acute sensory perception.’

Su Xinxin nodded, putting her phone away.

She suddenly recalled the faint, small commotion she had vaguely heard earlier from the direction of the audio-visual space—the sound of something being thrown, the harsh scraping of a chair, the murmuring of the crowd… At the time, she hadn’t paid much attention, thinking it was just a typical reader dispute.

Now, it seemed likely that the ‘Convergence’ was behind it.

She slowly walked in that direction, her footsteps very light.

Her gaze swept over the rows of bookshelves, over the bowed heads of readers, and over the occasional figures of staff passing at the end of the corridor.

The third floor was so vast; where could that thing… be hiding?

She didn’t know.

But she knew at least one thing: Jasmine said she was also on the third floor.

With her here, surely… nothing would go wrong.

No, it wasn’t a matter of ‘surely.’ She was her mentor; naturally, she should trust her unconditionally.

Su Xinxin silently clenched her hands.

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