Alice in Borderland: The Cycle Continues

18) Seven of Clubs [3] ✮

===Chihaya Korinsu===

We were headed to the library, the closest mission location to the gymnasium that we haven't tried yet.

The air was smoky, and by now all of our clothing was blackened with soot. The heels of my shoes were shredding at the edges, amplifying the difficulty of running through the hazardous hallway.

A large set of glass doors led into the library. It was near the cafeteria, though the fire hadn't reached inside yet. Unlike the cafeteria, the library stretched to the second floor. The ceiling was lined with skylights, shedding streams of moonlight over the sea of bookshelves. An overlooking hallway ran across the sides of the second floor, with a patio at the corner for an elevated studying area.

"There!" Niko yelled, pointing to the left side of the room. There was an open space in front of rows of computers, and a small table contained the instructions for the next set of missions.

===Library Mission===
Click any key on the right-most keyboard of the front-most row.

Take a nonfiction book and put it in any bookshelf in the fiction section.

"Alright." I said, turning to everyone else. "Since it's my theory, I have no qualms testing it myself."

"Are you sure this'll work?" Komori asked, concern on her face.

"Of course not." I replied. "But then again, there are no definitives in the Borderlands. You gotta do what you gotta do, and you can't just play it safe." After ruffling my hair, I walked over to the computers... and clicked a key on the leftmost keyboard of the back-most row, nearest to us.

"So," I had said. "What if 'Civil Disobedience' isn't referring to us rebelling against the king, but rather alluding to how to actually complete the missions?"

Erina gasped quietly, skewing her face up, tracing a finger on her bottom lip. "Actually—now that you mention it—thinking back, the rules never said we had to follow the instructions in the missions."

And that had been enough confirmation for me to fully commit to the idea. I walked over to the fiction section, grabbing a random sky blue book, and brought it to the nonfiction section, sliding it between two encyclopedias.

I held my breath, awaiting the announcement.

"Library mission... Passed."

My eyes lit up, and everyone celebrated the victory. "Nice thinking, Chihaya!" Niko said, patting me on the back.

"Digit one of the code is seven."

Erina took out a small green book, flipping the pages, and jotted down the number. Everyone could recognize it: that book was what she used to log information on the games and Beach logistics. The blue floral washi tape glistened against the light as the cover moved.

"Okay, we need to hurry and go back to each of the missions. Since now we know the secret of the missions, I reckon it's safe to split up." Erina said, closing the book and putting it away in a small fold in her dress. "One group knocks out the classroom and cafeteria mission, and the second completes the lab mission, as it's the furthest from here."

Tori stepped forward. "I'll go with the cafeteria group. I've already been there, so I know what it's like."

"I can go with you." Komori said.

"I'll come too." Niko added.

"Then the rest of us—me, and Chihaya, will go to the science lab." Erina said. "Natsuki, how is your leg?