The little girl repeated to herself ten times, "I never play pranks, I'm a good girl," then lifted her pixelated face again and raised the giant match: "You’re not helping me find the book at all!"

As she said this, Brian Carter had already walked to a bookshelf. He pulled a book from the G section and looked at the little girl: "Mm, you never play pranks, you just set fires and kill people."

The little girl hurriedly hid the match behind her back.

Brian Carter shook the "The Secret of the Disappearance of the Maya Civilization" in his hand: "Isn’t this it?"

Author’s note: Pixelated: I’m an obedient and sensible good girl. Even though I set fires and kill people, I’m still a good girl.

Chapter Six: The Little Match Girl~

"Ah, my book!"

The little girl ran to Brian Carter at a speed no human could match, snatched "The Secret of the Disappearance of the Maya Civilization" into her arms. Holding the giant match in her left hand and the book in her right, after confirming it was the book she’d lost, she ran to the bookshelf, sat down beside it, and started reading.

"Mom is going to test me on this book tomorrow, I have to hurry and read."

In the vast and spacious library, the sound of the little girl flipping pages rustled crisply.

At this moment, Logan Reed's face turned deathly pale, his lips purple, staring fixedly at the pixelated girl and the book in her hands. As if he’d just been pulled from water, in just a few minutes, Logan Reed's hair was soaked with sweat. He looked at Brian Carter, forcing a bitter smile: "So it was this book. When did you find out?"

Brian Carter glanced down at Logan Reed's right hand. On the back of that hand, the white angel wing tattoo gradually darkened, turning into black demon wings.

Brian Carter's voice was very calm: "From the moment I saw you."

Logan Reed stared in disbelief: "How is that possible!"

The little girl was still sitting on the floor reading, seemingly unable to hear their conversation. With the game now over, Brian Carter and Logan Reed walked to the library’s reading area, pulled out chairs, and sat down.

Brian Carter looked up at the pixelated girl in the distance. Probably only she still had the mood and patience to read in the whole library now. Logan Reed had lost all his previous timidity and fear. Sitting across from Brian Carter, he began to reveal the truth: "I’m the one who pulled you into this game."

This was indeed unexpected for Brian Carter.

Logan Reed said, "Sneaking into the library was an accident. I snuck in before you entered. You know, a lot of us drifters come to the library to kill time. Before closing, your security guards have to find us all and kick us out. But sometimes they make mistakes. Your library is too close to that tower, so after it made the 'Earth Online' announcement, I chose to stay here and observe the tower. Then, on the third day, while I was reading a book, I accidentally heard it speak to me."

Logan Reed looked up, his gaze earnest and feverish as he stared at Brian Carter, as if he wasn’t looking at Brian Carter but at some great existence.

"It told me the game was about to begin." Logan Reed stared obsessively at the air, repeating, "I was chosen by it!"

Brian Carter didn’t respond.

Logan Reed was just a fanatical religious zealot, not a lunatic—every library staff member knew this. So after a while, Logan Reed calmed down, though his face was still a little feverishly flushed. He said, "The game it picked for me was a 1v1 duel. I couldn’t complete it alone. I was considering whether to leave the library to find someone to start the game, and that’s when you came in. We sort of know each other, so I thought about it and deliberately made a noise to draw you over. Looking back, that was the worst decision I ever made."

Brian Carter asked him, "What’s the penalty for losing the game? What does elimination mean?"

Logan Reed shook his head: "I don’t know, it didn’t say. The voice I heard was the same as yours, it never says anything extra. It told me I could choose my opponent, but you would decide the game’s content. That’s fair. Before the game officially started, I didn’t know it would be a book-finding game. Maybe because you’re a librarian, it fit your identity, so this game appeared." At this point, Logan Reed paused, looking seriously at Brian Carter: "How did you figure me out?"

Actually, it was simple. Brian Carter: "You’re not crazy, and you’re not stupid. Your reason for sneaking into the library didn’t hold up, and every reaction you had after we met was full of fear and terror. God... Mr. Brooks, I also know a fanatical religious zealot. If three days ago that person told me 'the Black Tower is God,' then I believe that three days later, when he was chosen by the Black Tower to start a game, he wouldn’t be panicked or terrified—he’d be delighted."

Logan Reed slumped back heavily in his chair: "So that’s it..."

Brian Carter: "It was just a suspicion, I couldn’t be sure if you were just pretending or really that timid."

"Then how did you know it was me?"

"Because the game has to be fair."

Logan Reed looked at Brian Carter in confusion.