Clown Game
Chapter 234 - 221: Fairy Tale Twenty-Four

Chapter 234: Chapter 221: Fairy Tale Twenty-Four

Like most libraries, there was nothing particularly decorative about this one; wood tones were the dominant theme throughout the space. In the center, neatly arranged tables and chairs were placed, and behind these, rows upon rows of bookshelves partitioned the area. Between the bookshelves, two parallel benches offered rest to those who frequently needed to exchange their books.

Looking up from the library’s main hall, one could see the ceiling above. The second floor’s center was hollowed out, giving an open feel, and around the walls was a circle of modest partitions covered in yet more bookshelves.

This was the full extent of the library. Although there were many items, the design was not complicated, so one could easily imprint the structure in their mind.

Of course, these were just the first impressions Chen Xiao gathered after pushing open the door, habitually collecting information as he did so.

But what truly caught his attention was a seat at the edge of the hall.

A little girl sat there, quietly.

She was probably only in her teens.

She wore clean, albeit unremarkable clothing—no bright colors or lace, still more traditional than common attire—, her twin ponytails fell neatly to her chest, suggestive of a serene air cultivated in a scholarly family. However, somewhat detracting from her elegance was a pair of large glasses that covered half of her face. In an era where expressing individuality was the norm, such a girl was a rarity, though a few years back, in a less developed small town like this, she wouldn’t have been as uncommon.

At this moment, the girl was naturally reading a book.

The whole town trembled violently, but she seemed completely unaware, engrossed in her reading, impervious to all things around her.

She just sat there, so out of place in the otherwise deserted library.

She had been there for...how many years now?

Chen Xiao stared at her blankly for half a second.

C-177.

If there was an anomaly, it was surely this girl before him...or the book she was reading.

Without delay, Chen Xiao quickly scanned the surroundings as if searching for something. Soon enough, he found his target—a cleaning storage closet. Such places were always equipped for indoor public areas.

Moving quickly and silently, Chen Xiao went over, pulled open the door of the storage closet...and indeed, besides the cleaning supplies, there was also a cleaner’s uniform.

That wouldn’t be taken home to wash every day; it was bound to be stored with the cleaning tools.

Without a second thought, Chen Xiao slipped on the uniform, not bothering with brooms or mops, and headed towards the little girl...

During this time, he made no attempt to hide the sound of his footsteps.

Of course, the girl continued to read with relish, seemingly oblivious to the less-than-handsome man who had taken a seat opposite her.

"Hi~~" Chen Xiao greeted her.

There was no response...

Chen Xiao looked down, observing the book from his angle.

The yellowed pages suggested it was printed at a private press skimping on material, marked with unclear small font and lacking page numbers below. But it was certain that the pages left behind by those dead creatures had been torn from this very book.

Seeing the girl completely ignore him, Chen Xiao hesitated slightly...

Then he reached out his hand~~

And slowly, very slowly, extracted the book from in front of the girl.

In the next second, Chen Xiao flipped through the content of the book and quickly glanced at the front and back covers.

There was no print date, no publisher, no author. Other than the four large characters "Grimm’s Fairy Tales" printed on the cover, all the writing described fairy tale stories different from the ones we’ve read before, similar in style, of course, to those previous ones.

After finishing these things

...

Another second passed...

It was then that the girl finally seemed to realize her book had been snatched away, and with a baffled look, she lifted her head to see Chen Xiao standing opposite her.

"Oh, I’m sorry, I was so engrossed in my book, I didn’t notice you~," the girl’s voice was soft and polite, matching her appearance well. As she spoke, she seemed to become aware that something was amiss, glancing around the deserted environment with a hint of surprise, "Ah, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize it was time to close up..."

With that, she lowered her head apologetically... You could tell she was genuinely apologizing, unlike the bratty children these days, especially the girls, this young lady was truly well-mannered.

Of course... Chen Xiao didn’t care about these things. He frowned and took a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Um... actually, it’s been closed for quite a while now..." he said carefully.

A clear flicker of panic shot across the girl’s eyes as she peered through the library window at the dim lighting outside, "Right~ it’s already late!! I need to get home!"

She muttered to herself~

Chen Xiao licked his lips in resignation.

Although he had covered his tattered clothes with a work uniform and pretended to be a cleaning person,

it was still difficult. Anyone with half a brain could see that this girl was probably key to dealing with the monsters outside... But just like Chen Xiao had just speculated!! This silly girl had no idea what was happening...

Exactly as suspected! How should he explain? Telling a young girl, in a rush to get home for dinner, something like, "Actually, many years have gone by, this isn’t the world you knew, and your parents, along with everyone else in the town, are dead without exception, having turned into disgusting monsters... and it is very likely all because of you!! Now, calm down, don’t cry, and first tell me how to deal with those things outside, okay?"

That would be absurd! If he scared her into crying at this critical moment, even the dead townsfolk would not forgive him.

But there’s no time left, and who knows how much longer those people can hold on; after all this time, he had finally found a few daring souls, oh, insightful individuals, willing to team up with him... If they were to be smacked dead by the monsters, he’d probably be commanding an army of none for the rest of his life!

Indeed... dealing with a little girl was proving to be much harder than dealing with those vicious creatures.

...

Chen Xiao was lost in his wild thoughts, of course, he was always like that, and these thoughts flashed by in an instant, not taking up any time at all.

"Oh, of course, it certainly is getting late," Chen Xiao said, managing not to let any kid-frightening expressions show, and then, as if something occurred to him, "Oh, right, this book... the content inside..."

Unexpectedly, the girl took the initiative to pick up the conversation. It seemed that when it came to reading, this child suddenly became a bit more mature than her actual age, her tone carrying a distinct "study-nerd" flavor.

"Yes! It’s a bit different from the fairy tales I’ve read before... It feels a bit uncomfortable to read, but it’s fascinating."

Chen Xiao nodded, then took another look at the crudely printed fairy tale in his hand, "Speaking of which, it seems this library doesn’t have this book, so where did it come from?"

The young girl smiled, as if recalling something that had happened just that afternoon.

"Oh... it was a gift from an old man who was also sitting here reading~"

She pointed to the seat opposite her.