2016.7.21
My name is Chen Qiwei, I'm 20 years old, and I live in Longgui. I'm a student at Waterjade Polytechnic Institute, majoring in Microelectronics, Class of 2015. Currently, I am at the square in front of the main entrance of Longgui Library. The weather is very hot, and the sun is scorching. There should have been a bus stop outside, but there is nothing there. There's not a single person around, neither inside nor outside the library. This situation has been going on for two days now, and the sun hasn't set yet. Fortunately, the library has air conditioning, and there are vending machines at the entrance where I can buy snacks and water, so I won't immediately perish here. However, the vending machine sometimes has issues; sometimes it dispenses items without money inserted, and sometimes it doesn't dispense items even after money is inserted.
Light green. A light green door. (I should record everything while I still remember it.) My memory before coming here was that I was indeed at the library, which was a properly normal library (?). Then suddenly everything around me started turning into bright green. Since I had already reached a dead end of a corridor, I decided to turn back. However, what used to be the library surroundings all turned into green corridors with doors on both sides. I walked for a long time, probably five or six minutes? The library couldn't possibly have corridors that long. "This won't work," I thought. I walked for about a day, but it was still corridors all around. I had no choice but to open one of the doors. The door wasn't locked, but it was too bright on the other side. I couldn't see anything clearly. I stepped inside and found myself in the square in front of the library, but there wasn't a single person around, not even now.
The library turns off the lights at night. I'm not sure who turns them off, probably controlled by computers. There are no blankets, so I have to sleep on the sofa in the reading area with my backpack as a pillow.
2016.7.22
The weather outside seems even drier now. Still, there's not a single person around. Surprisingly, the goods in the vending machine at the entrance keep getting replenished. Last night, there were positions marked as out of stock, but this morning they were all stocked up. I've decided that the next time there's an out-of-stock situation, I'll stay up all night at the entrance to see who's restocking.
The computers in the electronic reading room are functional. They can't connect to the internet, but they can access Wikipedia. I've heard before about a method where a mirror of Wikipedia is saved locally, intended for use in impoverished areas like Africa. Probably, that's what's happening with Wikipedia here too.
2016.7.23
I found a strange book on the fourth floor. Its title is "Shadows from the Walls of Death," and every page inside is sealed in plastic. The book's cover is green, just like the green I saw that day. I read the preface and discovered that the plastic-sealed pages in the book contain wallpaper painted with arsenic pigment. Whenever the green appears, patterns like those in the book also emerge.
It's not that I dislike green - my own blog background is green - but knowing this fact, whenever I see that glaring green in the book, I can't help but feel scared. After some thought, I realized that what I dislike isn't green itself, but rather the kind of green used as an accent in white, which gives off a very ominous feeling.
2016.7.24
The green color has appeared in the library again. It's not safe to stay inside tonight, so I'm sitting outside the door, drinking energy drinks and staying up all night. I propped the door open with books from inside the library to prevent it from closing on its own, then sat at the doorway, with half of my body inside and half outside.
The green first appeared from the center of the doorway, then slowly seeped into the surrounding walls and infected other doors. Although I have no evidence, I believe that from my current position, the green shouldn't spread here because this side of the doorway is connected to the outside, preventing it from creating a completely enclosed environment.
My assumption seems to be correct. After spreading to the children's reading area not far from the doorway, the green didn't continue but slowly receded.
2016.7.25
Another person appeared in the library. Suddenly, I heard someone shouting loudly, "Damn it, does every Scheele's Gate lead here!?" I went in and greeted him. When he saw me, he didn't say anything, just sighed.
He said his name was Max, living on the other side of Longgui. He used to work for an internet company but got laid off, so he's currently unemployed. He came to the library to clear his mind but unexpectedly encountered the Scheele's Gate and got trapped here. He called the green doors "Scheele's Gates" because the green reminded him of a toxic pigment called "Scheele's Green." It reminded me of the poisonous green pigment used in the wallpaper book I saw the day before.
He said sometimes the outside changes too. It's not always the original bus stop; sometimes it's an unknown street, sometimes it's the school playground, but there are never any people. He's only seen other people inside the library, adults and children, but they always disappear at some point without a trace.
2016.7.26
Max killed a few sparrows flying outside the door. We took out some inspirational books from the library and tore them up to use as firewood, then roasted the sparrows and ate them. "This isn't something you can easily come by," he said. It was the most delicious meal I've had since coming here. I was getting tired of snacking on instant noodles every day.
We bought all the remaining pineapple cakes from the vending machine. I mentioned my idea about catching the person who restocks the vending machine to him. He said he had done something similar before, waiting until he fell asleep and woke up to find the machine restocked. We decided to take turns keeping watch tonight.
2016.7.27
While on duty, I didn't see anything, so I switched with Max and fell asleep.
When I woke up, it was already daytime. I asked Max if there was any news, and he said no. The vending machine still showed a shortage of pineapple cakes. It seems the restocker didn't come.
At noon, Max saw me writing in my diary. "I'm too lazy to do that kind of thing now," he said. "Writing in a diary is a privilege for those who still have hope."
2016.7.28
It rained today. Max seemed nervous, saying that whenever it rains here, nothing good happens. He said he'd better go out and check the situation, so he left through the main entrance.
But he didn't come back, even till evening.
2016.7.29
Max still hasn't returned. I don't know where he went.
2016.7.31
Several days have passed, and Max still hasn't shown up. Perhaps he was swallowed again by the Scheele's Gate. The vending machine at the entrance was restocked at some point.
I don't feel like writing in my diary anymore.
The weather is very hot, so I bought a can of drink at the entrance. However, for some reason, this time when the drink can dropped from the dispenser, the price display in the window didn't show the price or indicate it was out of stock. Instead, it displayed a large cross. Looking at this cross, that ominous feeling returned.
2016.8.1
It's midnight now, raining outside, and I can't sleep. There's occasional thunder. I can see something moving outside the door. Maybe it's just the shadows of the bushes and the outside connects to some green belt. If the rain weren't so heavy, maybe I should go outside and see if I could find an exit or something.
Someone outside is screaming. I don't know who it is. The voice sounds a bit familiar.
Max's face is pressed against the glass door, but his lower body is gone.
Something tentacle-like is hitting the door. Can it hear me writing? I hope not.
Fuck it's going this way
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