NABC Chapter 6 Conspiracy
Chapter 6 Conspiracy
In the empty room, Lizzie and her companion quickly organized the bookshelves.
After the library was mostly tidied up, Lizzie looked at Pang Qingxuan, pointed towards the door, and gestured for her to stay close to her so they could meet up with the other two before making any further plans.
But just as Lizzie looked at Pang Qingxuan, she felt that something was not quite right, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Pang Qingxuan felt the same way, but she saw it more clearly. She suddenly felt that Li Qi looked a few years older.
…………
Meanwhile, in the reading room.
The reading room is simply furnished. Upon entering, you can see two rows of wooden desks neatly arranged, extending all the way to the back of the room.
Two unused bookshelves were placed to the side of the desk. The bookshelves were messy and contained books that had probably already been read.
Unlike the library, the reading room is very quiet, with only the occasional soft sound of turning pages.
There weren't many people; besides the organizers, there were only a few people reading, all dressed in police uniforms.
Tian Tian and the middle-aged woman moved slowly and carefully around the room, observing the surroundings.
Soon, Tian Tian discovered that time flowed in the same direction as in the library, also flowing backwards.
Like Lizzie, after looking around, Tian Tian picked up a piece of paper from the bookshelf, found a pen, and wrote to the middle-aged woman on the paper: "Sister Xi, don't make a sound, let's act together."
The woman's name was Zhang Qingxi, and she was also visiting the brain region for the first time. However, she was much calmer and more composed compared to Pang Qingxuan.
Sister hope nodded in acknowledgment and followed closely behind Tian Tian.
There wasn't much to search in the room, and after looking through all the books on the bookshelf, the two of them still had no clues.
"Where else has been overlooked?" Tian Tian thought to herself, then left the bookshelf and wandered between the two rows of desks.
Completely clueless.
Just as Tian Tian was at her wit's end, Zhang Qingxi tiptoed over, patted Tian Tian's shoulder urgently, and pointed to the corner of the room.
With her view blocked by the bookshelf, Tian Tian walked around it and saw a small, abandoned bookshelf in the corner.
The two walked up to the bookshelf, and the middle-aged woman pointed to the gap between the bookshelf and the wall. Tian Tian leaned closer and realized that there was a door behind the bookshelf.
Tian Tian couldn't help but think more highly of Sister hope, and she gestured for Sister hope to come over and lend a hand.
After the two of them worked together to move the bookshelf, a dusty door with slightly yellowed edges came into view.
Tian Tian gently turned the handle and found that the door was locked, and it was clear that no one had opened it for a long time.
"A key is needed."
Tian Tian wrote it down on a piece of paper for Zhang Qingxi to see, and added, "I think it's more likely to be the organizer."
After a pause, perhaps feeling uneasy about entrusting such a dangerous task to Sister Xi, she wrote again: "I'll go get it, you look somewhere else."
After reading it, Zhang Qingxi didn't linger and carefully left for the desk.
Tian Tian followed behind the janitor, her eyes glued to him, searching every corner. The man showed no flaws, and she couldn't even see a trace of the key.
Not long after, Zhang Qingxi, who had finished searching other places, also came over and shook his head at Tiantian.
At this moment, Tian Tian also realized that it was impossible for the two of them to find clues on their own; they needed help.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Lizzie and Pang Qingxuan walked towards the door, and as soon as they opened it, they saw Tian Tian and Sister hope standing at the door.
After Lizzie quickly recounted what had just happened to the two of them, Tian Tian said:
"I'm afraid you'll have to go in again to retrieve the watch face. We haven't found any useful clues here yet."
There's a door that requires a key, but we can't find it. I think we'll most likely need to use a dial to locate the key.
Upon hearing this, Lizzie did not object. She went back to retrieve the watch and enthusiastically offered to help in the reading room as well.
It wasn't because she was eager to help others, but because she didn't trust her teammates and wanted to verify the clues herself.
Pang Qingxuan didn't want to be alone in the corridor, so she reluctantly agreed to join them.
On the way back to the reading room, Tian Tian felt that Li Qi and Pang Qingxuan were somewhat different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. However, the key was the most important thing at the moment.
Tian Tian temporarily put aside her doubts and led the three into the reading room.
Lizzie reinstalled the battery, then turned the knob behind the dial, and from that moment on, time in the reading room began to rewind.
Soon, time returned to June 2010. Nothing unusual happened, so we fast forward.
It wasn't until the early hours of July 15th that a faint flame dispelled the darkness in the reading room with a crisp "click."
The warden's round face emerged from the darkness, his fleshy features appearing even more menacing in the firelight.
Immediately afterwards, the pungent smell of tobacco filled the air, and everyone covered their mouths and noses, enduring the acrid odor without daring to make a sound. To do so at this moment would mean certain death.
The warden shifted his obese body and plopped down on the reading table, puffing on his cigarette with heavy breaths, causing the table to creak under his weight.
And so the four humans and the ghost waited in the silent darkness. A short while later, a metallic clanging sound came from the ceiling, followed by the heavy thud of footsteps. Someone had arrived.
"009, don't make me wait this long next time. It's always like this." The warden's impatient voice echoed in the darkness.
"Yes, boss. You need something from me?" A fawning voice rang out in the darkness.
"A female prisoner arrived in District 3 last month. She is no ordinary person; she is Joe's sister. According to Joe herself, she was framed and that's why she was sent here."
A while ago, he gave me some money to help him gather evidence to clear his sister's name.
"So what are your plans?"
"Intend?
That Joe is ridiculous. He thinks his sister is innocent. I don't think she's any good person to begin with, yet he's thinking about clearing her name.
Ha, I didn't want to get involved in this mess either, but after thinking about it carefully... that kid is Sergei's son, he's not short of money.
"I'm in a bind, so I'm planning to..."
The man pulled Number 009 close and whispered something in his ear.
"Oh, boss, you're brilliant!" 009 exclaimed.
"You'll be indispensable to this plan. If you succeed, I promise to apply for a reduced sentence for you."
"Me?"
After a moment of silence, the warden, seemingly growing impatient, shouted, "Otherwise, why would I have called you here?!"
But then he chuckled and comforted her, "This is a great job, you don't need to worry. Besides, I'll cover for you, what's there to be afraid of? No one will know."
After saying that, he took another deep drag on his cigarette.
Hearing the warden's confident words, Number 009 immediately agreed, "Okay...okay! As for the sentence reduction..."
"Oh, stop nagging. You'll get your share of the benefits once it's done. Just get down to business."
"Okay, boss."
"There will be a signal during lunch. Once you see the signal, go to Women's Section 3 and wait for me."
"Understood, boss."
After realizing that the two of them had left, the four of them were shocked, but they also felt that the general outline of the matter had come to light.
Lizzie didn't stop and continued turning the clock forward. In the following time, the warden and the mysterious 009 never appeared again.
However, during this time, Tian Tian saw Qiao come to the library with another young man. The two seemed to get along very well and were probably friends.
Time continued to pass, and soon it was early October 2013. After adjusting the details, Lizzie stopped what she was doing.
That day, the young man burst through the reading room door as if fleeing, clutching his arm as he rushed in and then slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside, all in one swift motion.