Zhang Xiaowai slumped by the stone steps in the Ulong City Library's basement, looking like a salted fish defeated by knowledge. He clutched the torn page of the Ulong Tome, recently snatched back from the Shadow Syndicate, his heart pounding like a night market drummer gone wild. The air was so humid it felt like it could be wrung out. Water gurgled from leaking pipes in the ceiling, collecting in puddles on the floor that gleamed with a cold, damp light, mixed with dust, mold, and an indescribable scent of… failed graduate school tears.
Liu Piaopiao's deer-antler hat drooped, soggy like a rain-soaked plush reindeer toy, yet she maintained the tenacity of a professional detective. She held up her flashlight, her gaze sharper than her magnifying glass, fixed intently on the torn page. Her voice trembled with excitement, "Xiaowai! This torn page matches the previous two! The patterns overlap, and the layers align! This means the Shadows also know our progress. They're anxious, otherwise they wouldn't have sent people to snatch it!"
Beside them, Wang Dazhuang leaned against the wall, a police baton in one hand and a water bottle in the other. He took a swig, then twirled the baton three times, a triumphant smirk on his face like a wuxia hero. "A person of destiny, one strike settles the universe! Next time thieves come, I'll recognize them from their backs and knock them out cold! I've been practicing 'identifying enemies by listening to the wind with my eyes closed' recently!"
"That's just a symptom of hearing loss," Zhang Xiaowai mumbled, covering his face, almost forgetting he was covered in mud.
Tang Xiaotang sat on a relatively dry stone brick, diligently wiping her phone screen, muttering, "It's over, it's all blurry. The camera shook like earthquake news… Xiaowai bro, can your halo be a bit gentler? When that pipe burst, the water column directly hit my face. I almost filmed a horror movie!"
Zhang Xiaowai rolled his eyes with extreme exasperation, slumping as he complained, "Gentle? My Ulong Halo has almost sabotaged me eight hundred times already!" His mind replayed the recent disaster: the bookshelf collapsing, the pipes bursting, the man in black slipping and falling into a fire extinguisher. It was as if the entire library was collaborating with him to perform a slapstick comedy.
"But what's amazing is," he looked down at the torn page in his palm, "every time I'm unlucky, I somehow, by some strange coincidence… find a clue." He began to suspect he was the only officially licensed lead actor in the "Ulong Detective Role-Playing Game."
Liu Piaopiao suddenly turned, her magnifying glass "smack" against his nose. "Zhang Xiaowai! The evolution speed of your Ulong Halo is ridiculous! It's almost becoming a full-map unlock mechanism! Now even the Shadow Syndicate can't do anything about you—" She abruptly shifted her tone, her gaze sharp as a blade, aiming at Tang Xiaotang, who was nonchalantly playing with her phone. "However, some people are also very good at 'just happening' to appear, aren't they?"
"Me?" Tang Xiaotang was startled, almost dropping her phone. "Why are you looking at me? I'm an innocent intern reporter!"
"Innocent?" Liu Piaopiao put her hands on her hips, her tone instantly shifting into a New Year's Eve host revealing a secret. "From the night market to the auction house, and now to the library—you've mysteriously been at every critical juncture, and you always seem to know gossip about the Ulong Tome. Who exactly sent you?"
Zhang Xiaowai felt the hairs on his arms stand on end, a sense of "team trust level has plummeted again" rising in his heart. He stared at Tang Xiaotang's overly cute, doll-like face, and couldn't help but ask, "Yeah, you're a reporter, how come you're always more informed than us? Is your news internship with the Conan team?"
"No, no, no!" Tang Xiaotang waved her hands repeatedly. "I'm just… more perceptive, a reporter, you know, occupational hazard! My gossip radar is naturally installed in my brain!"
But Liu Piaopiao pressed on, the magnifying glass swaying like a small light bulb used in an interrogation. "Occupational hazard? Then explain to me how the Shadow Syndicate always manages to know our location in advance? At the auction house, the broadcast even singled you and Xiaowai out! Are you… an insider?"
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm innocent!" Tang Xiaotang shrank back against the wall, her face paler than a soaked face mask. "I'm definitely not an insider! Besides—" Before he could finish, Wang Dazhuang, waving his police baton, sidled over, his face clearly indicating "Interrogation Time." "People of destiny hate insiders the most! Here, listen—why are insiders most afraid of libraries? Because… there are too many books! They'll suffocate him! Hahahaha!"
Silence fell for three seconds.
Zhang Xiaowai and Liu Piaopiao simultaneously covered their faces. The air was so thick you could almost hear a spider sighing in the corner. Tang Xiaotang looked utterly defeated. "Alright, alright, I'll confess, okay? Don't use bad jokes to extract confessions!"
He cleared his throat, his expression more serious than ever before. "Actually… I'm not just a reporter. I'm an undercover agent sent by the Ulong City Secret Observation Organization. My mission is to monitor the flow of the Ulong Tome." He paused, glancing at Zhang Xiaowai. "Especially… your Ulong Halo."
"What did you say?!" Zhang Xiaowai almost choked, feeling a queue of question marks forming in his brain. "You're… sent by Old Zhou?"
"Yes," Tang Xiaotang nodded. "Old Zhou, who you call 'Grandpa Zhou,' is actually a member of the organization. The organization noticed your peculiar halo a long time ago. Initially, they only intended to observe remotely, but later they discovered that you always manage to lead things in a strange but correct direction, so they sent me for close-range research."
Liu Piaopiao was so angry her deer antlers seemed to tremble. "You sly Tang Xiaotang, you've hidden it well! How much more haven't you told us? Do you have connections with the Shadows too?"
"No!" Tang Xiaotang quickly shook his head. "I swear, the organization only tasked us with monitoring unusual movements of the tome. The Shadow Syndicate is a different faction entirely, we have nothing to do with them. If you guys didn't always stumble into such dramatic developments, I would have reported my mission a long time ago!"
Zhang Xiaowai's head throbbed. He felt like their entire detective squad was gradually transforming into a circus. Just as he was about to speak, suddenly—
"Click—"
A low sound came from the iron door of the basement, as if someone outside was prying the lock open. The sound was unhurried but like nails being driven into bone, and a chill immediately crawled up their spines.
Liu Piaopiao instantly switched to detective mode, pulling out a small iron hammer. "The Shadows are here! Find an exit quickly!" She began to tap the wall, raising clouds of dust. "According to the library's structural plans, there might be a hidden passage here!"
Wang Dazhuang also immediately entered combat mode, swinging his baton and shouting, "Power of destiny, open for me!" He then bravely inserted his police baton into a crack in the wall, only for it to get stuck. He had to tug it three times to pull it out, scraping off half a piece of wall plaster in the process.
Zhang Xiaowai, meanwhile, was backing away, trying to find a safe corner. Then—he "thwacked" his foot on a raised stone tile on the ground. The next second, the entire wall "boomed" open, slowly revealing a deep, hidden passage.
"Holy cow," he murmured, stunned.
Liu Piaopiao excitedly rushed over. "Xiaowai! Your halo is simply a trap-buster! Can you help me buy a lottery ticket?"
Tang Xiaotang pulled out a spare phone, filming and shouting, "Quick, quick, this scene absolutely has to go on TikTok! I've already thought of the title: 'One Kick Reveals Tunnel God-Detective, Ulong City Squad Breaks Through Blockade - Full Record of the Scene!'"
They filed out through the tunnel, returning to the library's main hall. The four of them sat panting on the steps, the torn page still tightly clutched in Liu Piaopiao's hand.
Zhang Xiaowai wiped sweat from his brow, staring at Tang Xiaotang. "Honestly, what other secrets does your organization have that you haven't told us? Don't wait for my halo to act up again and directly cause your phone to explode."
Tang Xiaotang raised his hands in surrender. "Truly, nothing else! I only know that the tome is related to some treasure, but the exact location relies on you. My mission is to observe, not to be the main character!"
Liu Piaopiao snorted, shaking her magnifying glass. "Hmph, I'll believe you for now, but you must prove your innocence. Otherwise… I'll use your phone to check your contacts!"
Wang Dazhuang finally pulled out his still-dusty police baton and happily patted his shoulder. "Come on, let's celebrate with a bad joke! Why are mechanisms afraid of the Ulong Halo? Because once it's triggered, even the walls tremble!"
Zhang Xiaowai covered his face, feeling that the destructive power of this bad joke was even greater than that of the Shadow Syndicate. He looked down at the torn page, his heart rate involuntarily accelerating once more—Tang Xiaotang's secret had been revealed, but the mystery behind the Ulong Tome had only just begun.
And behind the library's not-quite-closed iron door, something quietly waited for their next "Ulong-style" intrusion.