Chapter 144: The Book of Death (2)

Horror Movie Survival Rule #1: pay attention to the hints.

A group of five—all strikingly good-looking men and women—was already unusual in a small town like Micano. And what the black-haired girl, Beatrice, was saying was full of hints, the kind that easily set one’s imagination running wild.

Everly made a quick gesture to Old John, then walked over to the group of five. Pretending to be curious, she awkwardly inserted herself into their conversation.

“Um… could I ask what you’re talking about?”

At her words, all five of them turned their heads at once, looking at Everly with surprise, which made her feel a bit embarrassed.

At times like this, Misha’s social skills really stood out. If it were Misha, this kind of awkward “butting into a conversation” situation would never happen.

No one knew exactly how she did it, but she always seemed able to join others’ conversations at just the right moment, with the most natural attitude, and quickly become friends with them…

Maybe it was because Everly was pretty and gave a good first impression. Although her question was a bit abrupt, the five exchanged glances and still answered her politely.

“Well, it’s like this—winter break just started, and we were bored, so we decided to hang out together. Yesterday, while browsing a secondhand bookstore, Beatrice happened to find a book with a black cover…”

It was a book wrapped in black cloth. On the outside of the cloth were paper strips that looked like talismans, but due to age, they had mostly crumbled apart.

When Beatrice found it, the book was lying under a cabinet in the corner of the used bookstore, like a forgotten piece of trash.

Out of curiosity, she unwrapped the black cloth and glanced at the book. The cover was made of some kind of animal hide—soft, smooth to the touch, and slightly cool. In the center of the cover, the words “The Book of Death” were embossed in ornate script. Aside from that, there was no information about the publisher, author, or anything else on the cover.

The book’s spine was blank as well. Only when she flipped to the title page did she see a passage written in red ink:

[This book is intended to guide its reader, foretell the time of death, and point the way to life. Remember: life may be seized, death is inevitable. Read this book with a thirst for life and a fear of death, and enjoy it to the fullest…]

Beyond the title page, every page was completely blank. Nothing at all was written.

“I thought it was just a blank notebook and took it to ask the shopkeeper, but he said he had no memory of such a book. That day we bought a lot of comics, and he gave this book to us as a bonus. I brought The Book of Death home and tossed it on my desk. Somehow, due to the angle it landed, a page automatically opened, and that page—once blank—suddenly displayed words…” Beatrice leaned against Sophia’s shoulder, her voice trembling.

Where there should have been an empty page, the first chapter had appeared.

The chapter title was “Beatrice”, written in the same dark red ornate script as the title page. It looked like dried blood, sending chills down anyone’s spine who looked at it.

The content of the chapter was simple: it told an ominous little story:

[One day, a girl named Beatrice went out to play with her friends. Along the way, on a whim, they decided to visit a newly opened amusement park. Inside the park, Beatrice bought a stick of cotton candy, but she didn’t hold it properly. Luckily, a clown helped her and cheerfully warned, ‘DANGER OF FALLING.’ Beatrice ignored the warning. Holding her cotton candy, she followed the plan and went on the Ferris wheel with her friends. But due to an accident, the Ferris wheel cabin fell, and Beatrice died on the spot.]

“…Today we were supposed to go for a drive together, but Tylen suddenly suggested visiting the amusement park. Everyone got interested, so we changed our plans midway. I didn’t think much of it at first—until just now, when I went to buy cotton candy from the clown. He suddenly said, ‘Danger of Falling!’—exactly the same words as in the book!”

Then Beatrice suddenly realized that, just before they stopped to buy the cotton candy, the group had been discussing how to divide for the Ferris wheel—because each cabin could only hold four people, one of the five would inevitably be left out…

If it were just a blank book suddenly showing a new chapter, Beatrice could have comforted herself by thinking it was a prank by her friends. But as events unfolded, every little detail she encountered matched the story in the book perfectly. This horrifying coincidence finally made Beatrice genuinely afraid.

“Do you think… that book really has the power to predict the future? It says I would die from falling… could it really happen like that?”

“Come on, you’re overthinking it. It’s obviously just a coincidence,” scoffed a well-built boy dressed like an athlete, completely dismissing her worry.

“But…”

Seeing the group still arguing, seemingly unaware of how terrifying the situation was, Everly quickly spoke up to interrupt: “So Beatrice, what else does the book say?”

Beatrice shook her head.

Alright—looks like this horror movie is just getting started. No one has died yet, so the main characters only know a little…

Everly searched her mind. This was another film she hadn’t seen before. But after watching so many horror movies, she knew some patterns were universal. For example, in The Book of Death, the title page already claimed it could predict the time of death. So if Beatrice went on the Ferris wheel, she was bound to die.

Everly was a cautious person. She didn’t want to wade into this mess herself, but she also couldn’t stand by and watch a girl die. So she slipped them a business card for Rebecca. In the field of the occult, Rebecca was far more professional—she could judge the difficulty of the task, decide whether to accept it, and figure out how to deal with the book herself.

Everly’s involvement ended there. Whether they sought out Rebecca, and whether Rebecca chose to take the task, was no longer her concern.

Today, she was just an ordinary person at the amusement park with Old John. Encountering a horror film scenario was already unlucky enough—she had no desire to get more deeply involved, thank you very much.

After saying goodbye to the five young people, who were still staring at the business card in confused disbelief, Everly turned to Old John and told him she had a bad feeling. Together, they retraced their steps back the way they had come.

The only thing certain so far was that the Ferris wheel at the amusement park was unsafe and likely to cause an accident. That didn’t mean other rides were safe—after all, it wasn’t like the park could only be enjoyed today. For safety’s sake, it was best to get out of the potential danger zone first.

The two of them moved quickly. Not far from the entrance, as they were walking along the exit pathway, a sudden, violent explosion erupted from the direction of the Ferris wheel.

Everly turned her head and, together with Old John, gazed into the distance. They saw an explosion at the connection point of one of the Ferris wheel cabins.

The cabin had already reached three-quarters of the wheel’s height. The explosion caused it to drop immediately, like an apple falling from a branch, with a loud clang as it struck the cabin below. Then, due to the recoil, it swung outward, flipped over, and plummeted straight to the ground.

“Boom!”

After the heavy impact, the muffled crash was followed by screams and cries from visitors far off.

“What… what happened?”

“I don’t know… looks like the Ferris wheel had an accident.”

“Should we still go in and ride…”

The people crowded at the entrance, waiting in line, saw this and whispered among themselves. Many worried about the park’s safety and immediately abandoned the line.

Amid the chaos, only one person reacted differently from everyone else.

“Haha! That’s what it gets!” While everyone else fretted over the sudden explosion, the environmental activist who had been thrown out of the park earlier laughed loudly, pointing at the Ferris wheel engulfed in thick smoke. “This is exactly what the McMurkin Company deserves. People who don’t respect nature deserve to be punished!”

“Hey, don’t you have any sympathy? After all that just happened, how can you laugh like that!”

A visitor who couldn’t stand it stepped forward to confront the activist.

“None of your business!”

“Damn it! I’ve hated you from the start!”

Before long, their argument escalated into a full-blown fight—punches and kicks flying.

The scuffle drew a huge crowd. Some tried to break it up, others cheered, and some recorded videos. For a while, both inside and outside the amusement park, complete chaos reigned.

Everly and Old John exchanged a glance, both thinking today’s experiences had been utterly bizarre.

Not wanting to get caught up in any more incidents, they quickened their pace and left the amusement park, driving toward Everly’s real destination: the Micano City Library.

In horror films, whenever the main characters encounter a case requiring research, a single trip to the library usually provides all the answers. Unfortunately, Everly wasn’t the protagonist of a horror movie, so she didn’t get that luxury.

Micano was a small city and not a region with a significant Native American population. Books about Native Americans were scarce in the library, and those concerning the Winton tribe were even rarer. She finally found one, but the tiny portion it devoted to the tribe only covered their language and daily life, with nothing about their beliefs.

As expected, for this kind of specialized information, you needed to consult an expert on Native American culture—or directly ask someone local.

Leaving the library empty-handed, Everly scrolled through her phone, searching for nearby cities with experts on Native American culture. Just then, Old John spoke up.

“Everly, what are you looking for?”

“Ah…” Everly thought for a moment. What she was researching wasn’t exactly a secret, so she told Old John that she was studying Native American mythology and wanted information about a deity called Aurelbis from the Winton tribe.

“The Winton tribe, huh? If I remember correctly, they mainly live in Yanifly State.”

Everly nodded, a little surprised that Old John even knew such obscure information.

“I recall your university route requires a transfer stop—through Gilosha City, right?”

Everly nodded again.

Old John then suggested, “If you’re not in a hurry, how about mid-January? I can drive you and Misha to Gilosha. We’ll leave a few days early, and once we arrive, I’ll take you to meet an old friend of mine from the Winton tribe.”