As a modern person, of course, I wouldn't be unfamiliar with libraries.
Cheng Ye had lost count of how many days and nights he spent inside, frantically typing away to finish his thesis.
Nobody would have thought that upon arriving at the wasteland, he would still encounter a library.
Although in appearance, this library was not even as good as some rural school libraries, even so, Cheng Ye felt a familiar sense of affection welling up from his heart as he looked at it.
He took a few steps forward and pushed open the gate in front of the library.
To Cheng Ye's surprise, the hinges on this rusty gate were surprisingly smooth, which seemed out of place. It appeared that someone frequently maintained it.
Behind the gate, Cheng Ye saw a striking wooden sign.
[Survival Library]
[This library holds hundreds of books, containing survival content submitted by survivors from all over the wasteland. Authentic and reliable, it can significantly increase your probability of survival when facing infected bodies]
[Reading fee, 5 coins/hour (entrance requires a 20-coin deposit, no credit allowed)]
[Borrowing fee is priced according to the rarity of the book, collateral required]
[You may submit valuable information, books, etc., and if verified by the librarian, you will receive varying rewards]
"5 coins an hour?"
Cheng Ye raised his eyebrows.
No wonder when he got off the bus, a group of people gave him strange looks.
The reward for repairing sewers for a day was only 16 coins, not even enough to cover the entrance deposit here.
Watching for a few hours without careful budgeting could bankrupt an average citizen.
Even for an inspector like him, with a monthly salary of 500 coins, if not for the inheritance left by Cheng Long, he wouldn't dare to indulge without care.
"The training ground is only 10 coins a day, while this place is 5 coins an hour. It makes me curious about the quality of the books they have here."
Cheng Ye wasn't particularly concerned about spending Happiness Coins.
Especially when it comes to paying for knowledge; if it truly guarantees, as the sign claims, a significant increase in one's probability of survival when facing infected bodies, then it's worth 5 coins, or even 50 coins!
Following the old tile path, he entered the library courtyard.
When he reached the front door, Cheng Ye hesitated slightly before he took off his raincoat, folded it neatly, and hung it by the window. Then he scraped the mud off his shoe soles on the step beside him.
Creak.
As he pushed open the library door, a whiff of mustiness mixed with the unique, aged scent of paper hit him.
Cheng Ye craned his neck to look inside.
Indeed, it was a very simple and unadorned old-era library style!
Three old-fashioned tungsten lamps hung from the ceiling, casting a warm, yellow glow.
Two rows of wooden shelves were neatly arranged, each shelf slightly sagging under the weight of the yellowed books.
Further back was a setting that Cheng Ye was all too familiar with—study rooms.
Four large wooden tables, looking heavy and solid, each paired with two solid wood chairs.
Because there was no one around, the pendant lights above the tables were off, making the interior look somewhat dim.
"Ahem..."
A voice came from behind the door.
Following the source of the sound, Cheng Ye noticed a table propped behind the door, with a small bed behind it.
A slightly stooped middle-aged Western woman lay curled on the small bed, her gaze fixed on him.
After noticing there were no water droplets falling from Cheng Ye, and his shoe soles were not muddy, the woman's gaze softened slightly.
"Please come in, guest. Today, you're the only reader."
"If you're short of funds, I can make a decision; only 3 Happiness Coins an hour, 10 coins to read for a whole day."
The woman's face was pale, with gray-white hair scattered messily on her shoulders, appearing somewhat malnourished.
Yet her voice was very gentle, like a breeze in spring, softly surrounding his ears, forming a stark contrast with her haggard appearance.
"There's even a discount?"
Cheng Ye was quite surprised, then immediately understood.
The high price listed outside might just be a filter to keep out those with no spending capacity or those who didn't agree with the library's operational model.
And those who could come in wouldn't mind spending 5 coins.
Offering a discount to surprise the guests, coupled with the offer to read for a whole day for just 10 coins, made it feel like a loss not to spend those 10 coins.
"Here's the deposit."
Cheng Ye touched his pocket, pulling out two Happiness Coins valued at 10 each.
"May I ask..."
"Ace Gwen, guest, you may call me by my name."
"Alright, Miss... Miss Gwen, may I ask which book would be best if I want to learn about the types of infected bodies and how to deal with them?"
"The first shelf is full of this type of book. If the guest is in urgent need of learning how to deal with the Infected Body, they can go straight to the third row. Those are concise practical manuals, but my suggestion is to take some time to read from top to bottom to build a solid foundation."
Having finished speaking, Gwen sat up slightly, "The second shelf is a chronicle of Wasteland survivors. The first, fourth, and seventh books on the third row contain firsthand records about rare special Infected Bodies if you're interested in them."
"The third and fourth shelves feature some special survival manuals. Rest assured, guest, each book is valuable, containing the author's understanding of the Wasteland and some special survival techniques. Even though these techniques might not immediately be applicable to your situation, once you get to use them, you'll know what it means to get more than what you paid for."
"Alright, thanks!"
Such detailed answers and advice made Cheng Ye realize that this was the effect of him taking off his raincoat and cleaning the mud off his shoes.
It seems that mutual respect isn't completely absent in the Wasteland...
Cheng Ye chuckled to himself, suddenly remembering how, during his graduate exams, he was the only one allowed to eat in the library, saving him half an hour back and forth to the cafeteria.
Half an hour a day, accumulated over time, saved him several days over six months.
Why?
Because he had a preferential relationship with the librarian!
The same was true now. With Gwen's guidance, Cheng Ye immediately saved time from searching and sorting out things by himself.
"In that case, I'll start from the first row. Two days should be enough for me to quickly browse all the books on the first shelf."
He pulled out the first book from the first row and glanced at the title. Surprisingly, it was in familiar Chinese characters.
"Infection Origin"
The content just so happened to align with what he was very interested in at the moment.
Arriving at the reading area, Gwen had already gotten up to turn on the light. It wasn't a soft warm light, but a slightly cold white light that invigorated the spirit.
"The choice of lighting also aids in reading. If you need tea or food services, just call for me."
"Thank you."
Cheng Ye nodded and sat at the broad wooden table, gently laying the book open to the first page.
Some of the handwriting was a bit sloppy and joined together, requiring concentration to decipher. Yet, paradoxically, it imparted a sense of mission, as if he were opening a historic tome across time.
'Do you believe in fate, in prophecy, in the apocalypse?'
'I never believed, but reality taught me a harsh lesson, forcing me to accept the concept of destiny.'
'December 21, 2032, of the Old Era, would have been just another ordinary day if not for the twentieth anniversary of the Mayan apocalypse prophecy. No one would remember it, not even me, a writer fond of penning apocalypse novels, who only recalled it upon seeing related reports.'
'Oh? So it's the Mayan-apocalypse-predicted day!'
'Haha, two decades have passed, how could anyone still think there would be an apocalypse? It was nothing more than a hot topic hyped by capitals, like the 520 Valentine's Day, like the Double 11 Singles Day, ultimately being archived into history and forgotten by all.'
'But, but, but... it, in the end, still came!'
'This apocalypse was twenty years late, and on that day, at four in the afternoon, I opened the window and witnessed an unforgettable scene: a massive luminous object visited Blue Star, its long tail nearly filling the sky, even eclipsing the sun. Experts speculated it was an extraterrestrial life form that leapt through a wormhole. I don't know if that's true, but its brief appearance completely altered Blue Star's destiny, gradually tearing away the fragile veneer of civilization.'
'Fragments that fell off the comet landed across Blue Star, variously sized, sparking a mad scramble among humans.'
'Everyone was eager to glean something from these fragments, to discover something. Countries began overt and covert competitions, seeking opportunities for technological advancement.'
'Haha, a discovery was indeed made: the fearsome S-1 virus appeared!'
'Using saliva and blood as its vessel, the virus spread globally in just three short months. The infected resembled zombies from films, yet even more terrifying: once scratched or bitten, horrifying transformation would occur within ten seconds, launching indiscriminate attacks on their kind, rapidly expanding the infection area.'
'Even though human civilization was resilient enough, the infected remained constrained by the limits of carbon-based life forms. The S-1 virus persisted for a full four years, only temporarily sealed when the Human Federation was established, Shelter Cities rose, and organized combat units gradually formed encirclements.'
Below the text was an illustration of a man with a ghastly visage, slanted body, eyes cloudy white, his flipped gums exposing broken canine teeth, saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Zombies?
Cheng Ye's brow twitched. Maybe influenced by movies, he found these zombies actually more troublesome compared to those Infected Bodies with bizarre abilities.
After all, being bitten meant infection, implying that staying in a crowded Shelter City was even more dangerous.
Fortunately, according to the description in the text, these zombies still hadn't surpassed the limits of carbon-based life forms.
They could run, but due to rotting skeletal muscles, they couldn't outrun a healthy adult man.
They were fearless of death, but this only made them clumsy moving targets, easily trapped by human-laid baits.
And when humanity responded, forming combat units, the zombies' end was effectively sealed.
How could mere flesh stand against heavy machine gun fire?
Napalm left the area scorched; no matter how numerous the zombie hordes, they were only "kindling" fueling the flames.
'In the winter of 2037, Old Era, when the last S-1 infected was reduced to ashes in the incinerator, grand celebrations unfolded across Blue Star. Survivors emerged from Shelter Cities, returning to the ruins of cities, embracing and weeping, as if heralding the rebirth of civilization from the fire.'
'I was fortunate to be one of them, enduring this disaster, cheering for the end of doomsday.'
'However, the S-1 virus's granting of "infinite energy" to zombies inevitably sparked the greed of a minority, craving the secret of immortality, finding a way to defy the limits imposed on carbon-based life forms. In some underground labs, the original virus was harnessed and researched. Under human guidance, the S-1 virus abandoned its inefficient broad-area transmission, instead evolving toward the limits of life forms.'
'In the spring of 2041, the S-2 virus accidentally came into being!'
'The special S-2 virus completely lost its broad infection capability. Humans had to have close contact with the infection source for over 48 hours to be parasitized by the virus. And upon infection, mankind finally achieved its initial wish, successfully breaking through the genetic limits of carbon-based life forms.'
'During this time, giant infected over dozens of meters tall emerged, hyper-speed infected reaching subsonic speeds, special infected capable of flight, and intelligent infected able to exert mental control over humans, etc. Yet due to the fixed transmission method and the retained combat power of the Human Federation, the S-2 virus was easily suppressed in just one year and four months, with all infection sources destroyed.'
'But, with one and two, there will be a three and four. Now that the S-2 virus has unveiled its growth potential, can humanity truly resist the lust from within their genes?'
...