HAGLTP Chapter 53

The gray world is very quiet.

The architectural style of this world is more avant-garde than that of the zombie world, with most buildings featuring clean, straight lines, and a predominance of glass and metal facades, giving it a somewhat cold appearance.

Xiao Lu has been walking in this world for quite a while, yet he hasn’t encountered a single person; it seems the inhabitants of this world have vanished.

He headed to the library to search through some newspapers, but still couldn’t find any clues related to the mist.

“Brother Lu?” A sweet female voice rang out.

Xiao Lu turned around and spotted a head peeking out from around a bookshelf, with neat, long black hair and bangs. She had a delicate appearance.

Isn’t this the original owner’s little sister, Chi Ling?

Seeing Xiao Lu turn his head, Chi Ling’s face lit up with a surprised smile: “It’s really you?!”

Then Xiao Lu saw a few “familiar faces.” They were all former teammates of his.

These people used to call him “Brother Lu” with familiarity. But after the original owner had an accident, none of them were willing to return to school to check on his situation.

Now they were united under another leader.

He Xingming, the protagonist of this story. He had a buzz cut, a scar on his left eye, and wore a black jacket. He exuded a rebellious charm.

As the protagonist, He Xingming naturally had his own unique traits.

He was a book traveler. Early on, he leveraged his foresight of the plot to seize resources and avoid risks. At the same time, he recruited unestablished high-level abilities, guiding them to master the signature skills in the story, making them worship him and become his loyal subordinates.

He used the same tactics on Chi Lu’s small team.

When he joined the team, Chi Lu had just gone missing. He gradually showcased his foresight and successfully became the core leader of the team.

Originally, he should have been in the apocalypse, commanding a legion and embarking on a journey of dominance.

Unfortunately, another world invaded. His original prophetic advantage no longer existed, and he became just another foreigner struggling to survive in this other world.

Xiao Lu felt no excitement upon seeing old acquaintances; he merely nodded blandly: “You all are here too.”

In the plot setting, he was merely a tool providing resources to them. As long as the protagonist didn’t actively provoke him, he couldn’t be bothered with the protagonist’s trivial matters.

However… the fact that the protagonist’s group could still be lively in this world might indicate that Ai Zhenzhen and the others still had a chance of survival?

He Xingming extended his hand towards him: “Chi Lu, I’ve heard so much about you. I’m really glad to see you safe.”

Out of politeness, Xiao Lu shook his hand.

He Xingming: “It’s rare for us to meet in this world. Would you like to join us? There’s always a spot for you in this team.”

“No, thanks.” Xiao Lu declined flatly.

This team was originally established by Chi Lu. If he, the former leader, returned now, anyone with eyes could see the awkward situation that would ensue. If things went smoothly, he might even upgrade from a mere cannon fodder to a cannon fodder opposing the protagonist.

Moreover, there were traitors in the team who had once ignored his plight. His joining would surely make the internal strife even more entertaining.

But at this moment, Xiao Lu was not interested in such tedious and clichéd power struggles.

He just wanted to understand what had happened in this world and how to leave, without wanting to contribute to the protagonist’s path of dominance.

After sending the protagonist’s group away, the sky had darkened, and Xiao Lu decided to spend the night in the reading room.

Coincidentally, the protagonist’s group also chose to stay overnight in the library. However, they did not stay on the same floor as Xiao Lu but opted for the study room upstairs.

Nighttime.

The silence of this world at night was terrifying, so quiet that only the sound of the wind remained. With eyes closed, one could feel as if all connections to the world had been severed.

It was a feeling of being exiled into nothingness.

Xiao Lu lay on the sofa, his mind racing, unable to sleep.

“Brother Lu.” A delicate voice appeared in the darkness.

Xiao Lu opened his eyes and found Chi Ling had come alone.

Chi Ling gently lifted her skirt as she walked over, her movements light, like a little deer wandering in the woods. As she stepped closer, the dim moonlight revealed her slightly reddened eyes.

“Are you upset with me, Brother Lu?”

“What could I possibly be upset with you about?” Xiao Lu found her demeanor quite annoying. What was she doing here at this hour? Wasn’t it time to let people sleep?

“Upset that I didn’t come looking for you… You’ve always protected me, but I…”

Xiao Lu suppressed the urge to roll his eyes: “Cousin, even though you call me brother, the total time we’ve spent together since childhood doesn’t even add up to a week. We don’t have a bond that deep, do you think?”

Chi Ling: “…”

Her words left her at a loss for how to respond.

Xiao Lu turned over: “You should go back. Getting more sleep is good for your brain.”

But Chi Ling’s footsteps lingered, as if she still stood not far from Xiao Lu, looking at him with those doe-like eyes, filled with concern.

A flicker of irritation flared up in Xiao Lu, and he turned back impatiently.

In the moonlight, Chi Ling indeed had her eyes wide open, staring at him.

Her large eyes, when looking at someone, always instinctively tilted upward, glistening with moisture, the corners slightly drooping, giving off a pitiful vibe.

But at this moment, in those eyes—

There was no white.

Those big eyes had become vessels filled with ink, blackness continuously overflowing from the eye sockets, gradually spreading across Chi Ling’s delicate face, resembling black tears.

At the same time, rustling footsteps echoed.

Several figures appeared in the reading room, their eyes turned pitch black like stone forests, shadows spreading across their faces.

This scene reminded Xiao Lu of Huo Lin.

Even the protagonist’s group had been affected!

Xiao Lu rolled off the sofa, reaching for the steel pipe he had left on the table.

A shadow flashed by, swiftly attacking his outstretched hand, forcing Xiao Lu to retract his hand to avoid it.

He looked up and saw it was He Xingming. His original ability was fire control, but now the flames he conjured had turned black.

The steel pipe was burned through by the pitch-black flames, melting a hole in an instant, leaving a puddle of black liquid.

One against many, a low-level ability user facing a future high-level ability user, and he had lost his weapon.

What a terrible situation.

The group surrounded Xiao Lu, each person’s ability, regardless of its original form, had turned black.

Xiao Lu quickly dodged the first wave of attacks while his brain raced. Against ability users, especially those already tainted by shadows, cold weapons that could combat zombies seemed ineffective.

So, the only thing he could rely on was—

That unreliable, trashy encyclopedia.

Xiao Lu took long strides, sprinting through the reading room, dodging attacks while flipping through the book, trying to extract something useful from the chaotic scribbles.

This lump looks like a plastic bag, this one resembles the mud children play with downstairs, and this one is even more impressive, looking like three Godzillas in skirts dancing a square dance.

“Why is there nothing serious here?!” Xiao Lu couldn’t help but roar.

Three consecutive attacks came.

Xiao Lu had to sidestep behind a bookshelf. But the bookshelf wasn’t sturdy; after taking two hits, it shattered into dust. He narrowly avoided the last attack thanks to his quick reflexes.

With paper scraps on his head, Xiao Lu continued to dash between the bookshelves.

His hands were constantly flipping through pages.

Finally, he discovered an image that resembled a sword.

At that moment, He Xingming had already reached behind him, and Xiao Lu had no time to continue selecting; he could only hastily decide that this was it.

After tapping the image three times, the object within it materialized.

Xiao Lu grabbed it and looked: it was a fiery red whip.

Xiao Lu: “…”

He had a million-word complaint for that trashy artist. With such poor drawing skills, why would they even dare to show their face?

At this moment, the trashy encyclopedia had audaciously entered cooldown.

Xiao Lu had no chance to choose again; a whip was a whip. He hoped this thing had more lethality than a baguette.

The moves of “Zhu Jue” had already been practiced to the point of being ingrained in his soul. Even without a sword and no internal energy, his swordsmanship remained sharp.

With the advantage of length, the fiery red whip struck He Xingming’s face from an awkward angle.

“Crack—”

Both sides were stunned by the impact.

A fiery red mark appeared on He Xingming’s face, as if it contained magma, continuously burning the flesh beneath.

Xiao Lu looked at the whip in his hand with uncertainty.

What is this? An enchanted weapon?!

That book, which was supposed to be a joke, actually contained something so powerful?! Perhaps the “trash” in the trashy encyclopedia could be temporarily removed.

With this sudden weapon, the tide of battle turned.

In terms of close combat experience and skills, a group of modern people just entering the apocalypse could never compare to Xiao Lu, who had fought his way through an altered world and spent five years honing his skills in a martial arts world.

In his eyes, these former teammates had flaws in both coordination and attack techniques.

Someone behind him attempted to sneak attack. Xiao Lu raised his hand and swung the whip, sending the person flying against a bookshelf with a thunderous crash.

The whip seemed to come alive in his hand, like a fiery red snake dancing in the air.

In almost no time, several people were down and out.

The shadows crazily spread across their faces and bodies, and Xiao Lu could barely distinguish who was who. As he saw shadows vaguely emerging behind them, recalling his previous experiences, Xiao Lu decided to flee.

“Wait… wait…”

A faint cry for help came from behind.

Xiao Lu had no intention of stopping, resolutely continuing his escape.

“You… you’re also a performer, right? Help me… once we get out, I can apply… to transfer points to you.”

“1000 points.”

“2000…”

“5000!”

Xiao Lu’s footsteps halted. He turned to look at the person who spoke, their face obscured in darkness.

The person reached out to him: “Pull me up… just get me out of here, and I’ll tell you how to deal with these shadows.”

Xiao Lu stepped towards him.

The moonlight cast mottled shadows on the person’s face, the darkness occupying most of it. From Xiao Lu’s angle, he couldn’t see the subtle curve of a smile forming at the corner of their mouth.

It was a malicious grin.

The hand reaching out towards Xiao Lu still appeared human, but the palm was already pitch black.

Yet the person’s voice remained filled with joy and pleading: “Thank you… just take me away…”

At the same time, on the side Xiao Lu couldn’t see, the other hand had quietly grasped a small voodoo doll.

What he held was called a substitute voodoo doll, something he had deliberately accumulated by putting himself in near-death situations in the previous world. This was a method known only to seasoned performers for accumulating props.

As long as he could grab this person in front of him, he could transfer the shadows on him to the other party.

This was what he referred to as a method to deal with these shadows.

“Relax.” Xiao Lu’s tone was gentle.

“Please grab my hand…” The outstretched hand was now closer to Xiao Lu.

Just as he was about to grab Xiao Lu, a fiery red whip skillfully darted out from the side, tightly binding his hand, bringing a burning pain akin to being scorched.

At the same time, a powerful force struck, sending him crashing to the side.

That direction was where the protagonist’s group was.

Xiao Lu’s voice slowly echoed: “Life passes quickly.”

“You—”

The person’s furious shout had barely escaped their lips when the shadows spilling from the other members of the protagonist’s group had already ensnared him.

Xiao Lu retracted the whip, his tone calm: “Seeing the scar on the back of your hand, I suddenly remembered, it was you who ignored Chi Lu when he was in danger, wasn’t it?”

No wonder he knew he wasn’t the original.

“I wouldn’t be foolish enough to sympathize with someone like you who can’t keep their mouth shut.”

“Though I don’t know what you’re trying to do, I just won’t let you succeed.”

“%……%￥*@！！&#￥%@#！！！！！”

The person wrapped in shadows seemed to be cursing, but unfortunately, Xiao Lu had already fled, losing all interest in hearing his last words.