Chapter 528: The Bookstore
A gaze fell upon the Moon.
......
“The owner of the haunted bookstore is awake!” In a remote corner of the Moon, a group of children suddenly began to whisper amongst themselves.
Accompanying the commotion and chaos downstairs, a young man who had been lying on the sofa fully clothed was slowly waking up on the bed in the attic.
In the children’s memories, that young man in white was the manager of the bookstore and the only living person in the store.
Every day at noon, after finishing an entire cup of black tea, he would sleep until deep into the night and never tended to the business. This routine had never been broken since the first day they saw him.
It was only a little past three in the afternoon now, and by all accounts, he shouldn’t be awake. Sensing something unusual, the group of children all clutched the books in their hands tightly and stared intently at every movement in the attic.
The bookstore had no other employees; at least, no one had ever seen anyone helping out. Yet, not a single book had ever gone missing, nor had anyone ever seen the owner step out of the store’s entrance.
It wasn't that no one had considered taking books. It was just that any book they stole would always mysteriously disappear without a trace, only to reappear on its corresponding shelf the next day.
In the bookstore, spanning hundreds of square meters, books were everywhere. Coupled with the cold and empty atmosphere, it was easy to imagine that ghosts lingered within.
......
The haunted bookstore could be considered a unique sight in this small town. Every day, many people came here to read books for free. In an era where mobile internet had penetrated countless households, it was truly rare for a pure bookstore to attract such a crowd.
Many people were initially drawn here by the rumors of haunting. Legend had it that this bookstore wasn't without employees; it was just that they were ghosts invisible to ordinary people.
The store manager, meanwhile, was a necromancer who, every night, would command his servants to silently and stealthily restore everything to its original state.
......
In the new era, most people had lost their fear of ghosts and spirits and instead developed intense curiosity.
One reason was the emergence of superhumans. Monsters that could smash a building with a single punch were, by all accounts, far more terrifying than petty ghosts only daring to harm people in dark corners.
Some individuals with related abilities even captured ghosts to create various yin-aligned materials. In the cultivation of the <Thousand Souls Sutra>, several related spirit materials were needed.
Another reason was that after the emergence of Spirit Qi, many high-level cultivators could observe the existence of spirits. They left behind extensive research records.
Fear mostly stemmed from the unknown. When the veil over spirits was gradually lifted for everyone, their frightening degree was not much greater than that of lions, dragons, or tigers in the wild.
......
“Respected Mage, I...” A child who was the first to react immediately grabbed the book in his hand and stammered as he ran as fast as he could towards the bookstore owner.
There were a few others like him.
These children either had family guidance behind them, urging them to seek opportunities to connect with important figures, or, relying on their instincts, they sensed a glimmer of opportunity and rushed forward.
Coming from humble backgrounds and having been tested with poor cultivation aptitude, this group of people would seek any glimmer of hope to change their fate.
The disparity in status between cultivators and ordinary people on the Moon had widened even further over the past decade, to the point where it was almost openly codified into law.
......
Unfortunately, the drowsy, white-clad bookstore owner had no intention of stopping. Though seemingly slow in movement, he passed through the children’s attempts to block him like a phantom, without even a glance.
He walked step by step towards the entrance, his steps steady and mechanical, like a robot.
The disappointed boys and girls felt a slight resentment in their hearts but didn't dare to approach further. They feared offending the store manager; after all, putting everything else aside, the fact that they could occasionally find information in the bookstore that required Contribution Points to access outside was enough reason to respect its owner.
......
And at the same moment he awoke, several intelligence posts that had been monitoring the bookstore day and night in shifts instantly exploded into a frenzy.
“Immediately send a report to superiors!”
“Special situation, contact the special commissioner immediately!”
“Urgent notification: the target appears to be attempting to leave the bookstore!”
“All surveillance officers, maintain concealment!”
......
A series of orders was issued from the command center in a corner of the town, transmitting pain signals, as if pricked by a needle, layer by layer, to the central nervous system of the vast Human Federation government.
“Boss, I’ve been transferred to this district for two or three years now. My daily task is just to stare at him. So who exactly is this person? Every time I check the database, it says ‘insufficient permissions.’” A young man with a flat top haircut secretly asked his team leader.
“I don’t have permission either.” The team leader said with a straight face, giving the answer he had given before.
“......”
“Special Commissioner Red Fox, you’ve arrived?”
Just as the atmosphere was becoming awkward, a girl wearing a dress and a fiery red fur coat appeared silently outside the command room door.
“After I received the message, I rushed over as quickly as possible.”
“No matter how many times I look, those legs are lick-worthy!” After the young man with the flat top haircut saw the faintly visible black stockings beneath Red Fox’s dress, his brain had already thrown the question he was about to ask to the back of beyond.
“Where is he?!” She ignored the young man’s gaze behind the team leader and asked in a feigned indignant tone.
This was a mission she had painstakingly secured after pulling many strings. It absolutely, under no circumstances, could afford to fail.
“The target is at... what, the target disappeared?!!!” The team leader in charge of command was utterly bewildered. How could a perfectly fine living person possibly vanish in front of radar and a crowd of people?
Red Fox stared at the two of them with an expression that looked like she was looking at dead men. Her man-eating gaze made the flat-top young man, who had originally been thinking with his lower half, redirect more blood supply back to his brain.
“Miss Red Fox, please wait a moment. We will immediately re-locate him for you! We absolutely won’t let the target get lost!” Having worked in the intelligence department for many years, the team leader, deeply aware of the ruthless nature of the beautiful woman before him, immediately swore a military pledge.
“Send me the high-definition image of the target’s last known location before he disappeared!”
......
“Are you... looking for me?” The surveillance footage had just been sent when a cold and somewhat mechanical voice resounded in the command room once more.
“Who?!” The team leader instinctively drew his pistol and took a defensive stance. He was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person, an intelligence officer with a power rating of 1-1. His pistol remained his most potent weapon.
“Sir, the Presiding Council requests your presence. The escort convoy is already on its way.” Red Fox was the first to react. She pressed the signal light on her person, indicating for the convoy, which had gathered urgently outside the city, to come to her location.
“The Presiding Council...” After hearing these words, the flat-top young man finally understood why even his team leader’s security clearance wasn’t enough.
He had always thought it was just that the team leader didn’t want to tell him, but it turned out he genuinely didn’t know.
As the de facto highest authority of the Human Federation, the Presiding Council, the security clearance of anyone connected to them was....
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