Gathered around in the center of the library Eleri took out a piece of paper as she handed it over to Jerry and said "Here, this is the clue we found"
As Jerry and the others held it they heard the prompt that it was a clue and immediately read it
After reading it Jerry touched his chin as he said "So the owner of the library has a family"
Eleri showed three fingers as she said "A family of three to be more precise"
Jerry nodded then took out a pile of paper from his suit and handed it over to Eleri
Eleri received it and both of her and Kyle looked at it, afterwards Eleri frowned as Kyle said "So it seems they have a great dept to the landlord I see"
The paper they were holding were the message and the bill check of the landlord saying [If you don't pay for the next seven days then don't blame me for what is about to happen]
Based on this Eleri already concluded that the seven days time limit of the game and the seven days given by the landlord are connected and that the landlord is also connected to what happened to the family
Most likely, they were killed
But if so why is the child still alive right now? Did he survive?
Eleri frowned even more as she thought of this
Suddenly they heard someone's stomach growl and they looked towards the source
Lanas's face flushed from embarrassment and lowered her head in shame
Luc said in a low voice "None of us had eaten ever since entering the game"
Kyle hummed as he touched his chin and muttered "I don't think there is any food here probably the only way to eat is to buy from the system mall with coins"
Everyone's face turned ugly as they thought of using their coins for food
The coins that were obtained from games can be used to buy items from the system mall but once the coin bank turned zero then the player dies
No one spoke on who would buy the food, no one would exchange their coins for a stranger
Lana's face paled and she said trembling "I- I'll buy mine"
Jerome sneered as he heard this
Everyone else diverted their eyes from her
Lana bit her lower lip and looked at her bank
[Coins: 250]
Looking at the system mall for food she bought the cheapest one which is a piece of bread which costs 30 coins
Seeing her buy everyone else's stomach grumbled aswell and they begun buying theirs
Kyle shrugged as he bought rice and fried chicken from the shop system mall which costs 230 coins which was already over half of Lana's overall coims
Everyone looked at him with envy but no one dared to speak
"Seriously? You're gonna spend that much over that?"
No one except for one that is
Kyle looked at Eleri beside him and smiled as he said "Yeah? Why?"
Eleri was still indifferent as she said "You could've spend it more smarter"
Kyle choked on his food as he heard this and said with a slight angry tone "What?"
Eleri did not said anything but looked at her coins which is [Coins: 350] and bought a small canned food which costs 50 coins
Showing it to Kyle she said "This is already enough and it only costs 50 coins which is more suitable than what you bought"
Hearing her everyone else looked at the food they bought and felt like an idiot for not thinking like her
Kyle forced a smile as he said "I see" he actually did it to show off how much coins he had but it seemed like it backfired
[Pffft- hahaha deserve]
[Hahahaha this is so good]
[I'm dying jpg.]
As Eleri read the barrage she suddenly thought of a certain quote of Shakespeare and mumbled "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women are merely players"
"Hm? What did you say?" Kyle asked as he chewed on the chicken aggrieved
Eleri shook her head with a smile as she said "It's nothing"
Suddenly she saw the familiar small black silhouette and stood up as she said "I'm going to search for more clues" and left.
As soon as she was sure she was far away from the group she sat down and said "Come on, no one else is here"
A small round head peeked out from the corner and ran towards her side
Eleri smiled as she placed down the can and opened it, she then gave it to the child and said "Hungry?"
The child nodded his head slowly and took the can food hesitantly
Eleri apologized as she said "Sorry it does not come with a spoon"
The child did not understand it but just nodded as he used his hand and ate it silently
Eleri grabbed the child and placed him on his lap
The child was stunned and was about to struggle when he heard her voice
"Don't worry I won't hurt you"
The child somehow felt safe in her arms and she quietly leaned his back on her as he continued to eat
Suddenly Eleri smelled something coming from the child, as if it was-- burned?
Eleri was confused but heard the child grumble as she saw that the can was already emptied. She chuckled and stroked his hair as she said "I'll buy you some next time"
The child's eyes gleamed as he nodded happily
Remembering something Eleri asked "By the way, what's your name?"
The child was reluctant but said softly "J- J-…Ja- … Jacob"
"Jacob?" Eleri's eyes smiled in an arc as she said "That's a wonderful name,your parents must love you so much"
Jacob nodded happily as he smiled and laid comfortably in her arms
Eleri suddenly thought of something and took a deep breath as she thought 'Alright, let's try this'
"Jacob can I ask you a question? Do you know where your parents usually go to?"
Jacob was confused and tilted his head cutely at Eleri
Eleri thought 'Ahhhh! So adorable!'
"Alright let's see here, hmmm, do you know where is your parents favorite place is?"
Jacob blinked as he asked "Favorite?"
Eleri nodded and said "Yes, do you know where?"
Jacob smiled happily as his white baby teeth were revealed and said "Yeah Jacob knows!"
"Can you show big sister Eli where?" (Her name Eli is shortened of Eleri and the pronunciation is Eh=Li)
Jacob nodded and said "Yeah!"
As he said that he jumped off and gestured to Eleri to follow him and so Eleri did.
*****
At aisle 224PB Jerome looked around as he searched for clues
"Fuck I still can't find any" Cussing he turned around and was about to leave when a person suddenly came out
"Huh? Why are you here--"
Splatter!
Thud!
Before he could even finished his sentence his upper body was dissected into two parts and his lifeless body fell to the ground
Without him knowing it he died just like that.
The person looked at his hands where he was holding the heart of Jerome and squashed it without much effort
He clicked his tongue in disgust and left like nothing happened.
*****
Eleri and Jacob arrived at a certain door and Jacob entered as he said "Come"
Eleri felt amiss by the door but swallowed her words and entered
[Is there really such a good thing?]
[Ms. Anchor is really lucky to have such a cheat like the kid]
[If I was in that place I wouldn't find a single clue about the game]
As Eleri entered she was met with a simple place, one circular window and by it's side was two chairs with two bookshelves
The room was average and plain that made Eleri actually want to sit and relax but remembered that she is here for a purpose
Rubbing Jacob's head she said "Great Job"
Jacob smiled and raised his chin proudly if there was a tail it would be shaking right now like a proud puppy
Eleri chuckled and asked "Can I look around?"
Jacob was hesitant so Eleri said "It won't take long, I swear"
Jacob was silent for a moment before he nodded
Eleri smiled and first walked towards the seats and as she touched it she found that it was already covered in dust
'It hasn't been used for a long time I see'
She then walked over to the bookshelves
Jacob suddenly heard something and ran away without Eleri knowing it
Eleri was about to grab a certain attracting book when--
Bang!
Eleri grabbed a wrist and immediately pushed theb person against the wall
"Ow ow ow, hey it's me"
Suddenly hearing a familiar voice Eleri looked down at the person and found that it was Kyle
She immediately looked around but didn't found Jacob anywhere
"Hey, aren't you gonna let me go?"
Eleri clicked her tongue before she released Kyle. Kyle rubbed his wrist and said "You're so stromg are you sure you're not a man?"
"HUH?" Eleri growled at him and Kyle waved his hand in surrender and apologized
Eleri snorted coldly as she grabbed the book
Suddenly both of them heard the mechanical voice prompt inside their head
- Ding!
- Clue has been found!
They waited for the addition words on what the clue is but found that there was no more
They looked at each other strangely before Eleri opened the book
And then--
Shhshshshsshhs
Both Eleri and Kyle looked at each other in disbelief as Eleri muttered "It couldn't be…"
"...They were burned?"